PURPOSE: To perform both a high speed printing and a high printing quality by the same printer by printing after a type selecting mechanism and a carriage lateral feeding mechanism are sufficiently steadily stopped if the high printing quality is required in addition to a normal high speed printing by switching with reception data.

CONSTITUTION: In case of a normal high speed printing mode, a master controller 2 receives printing data from an external unit 1, and transfers, as required, data of moving amounts and operation start signals 10, 13, 15 to controllers 3, 5, 7 of a type selecting mechanism, a carriage lateral feeding mechanism and a sheet feeding mechanism. The controllers 3, 5, 7 respectively drive the type selecting, carriage lateral feeding and sheet feeding mechanisms 4, 6, 8. The controller 2 receives all operation end signals 11, 12, 14, then drives a printing hammer 9, and prints. When the unit 1 transfers a high printing quality mode set command to the controller 2, the controller 2 sets a high printing quality mode, and receives the signals 11, 12, 14 similarly to the above. Thereafter, time required for steadily stopping completely all the mechanisms is set to a timer 16, and the drive of the hammer is not started until the set time is up.