Printer and printer control method

A printer comprising:

• a thermal head configured to thermally transfer ink of an ink ribbon to a label;
• a platen roller provided opposite to the thermal head;
• a ribbon transport unit configured to transport the ink ribbon between the thermal head and the platen roller;
• a transport unit configured to transport a sheet carrying the label between the thermal head and the platen roller such that a printed surface of the label and the thermal head face each other across the ink ribbon;
• a clamping mechanism configured to clamp the ink ribbon, a printing area of the label, and the sheet between the thermal head and the platen roller;
• an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of print commands and draw print data to be printed on each of a plurality of labels based on the acquired plurality of print commands;
• a non-printing area specifying unit configured to specify a non-printing area on the sheet based on the print data of consecutive labels after drawing the print data to be printed on each of the plurality of labels;
• and
• a control unit configured to control the clamping mechanism to separate the ink ribbon from the sheet and stop transport of the ink ribbon by the ribbon transport unit, when the transport unit transports the non-printing area on the sheet carrying the label between the thermal head and the platen roller.