PURPOSE: To make the speed fast and to make it possible to record a picture with a intermediate tone by providing serial-in parallel-out shift registers in two stages in a driving ICs for DD type thermal head, and providing a gate circuit group for resistor units.

CONSTITUTION: Video signals 20W22, which are digitalized by an AD converter, are inputted to input terminals E0WE2. The first bit of the binary coded video signal is inputted to the shift register 1G1W1Gn, and the binary coded second bit is simultaneously inputted to the shift registers 2G1W2Gn. Then the terminal E1 is turned On, the terminal E2 is turned OFF, and a current is conducted under this state for a time period T1. Then E1 is turend ON and E2 is turned and the current is conducted for a time period T2. Then the current is conducted during the time period T1 for the video signal 20, the current is conducted during the time period T2 for the 21, and the current is also conducted during the time period (T1+T2) for the 22. Thus the half tone picture can be obtained.