Image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a paper transport unit, a paper position measuring unit, a deviation compensating unit in preparation to image forming, a control unit for controlling the image formation and the deviation compensation, wherein the control unit includes a function that receives the results measured by the paper position measuring unit and compensates the deviation of the paper in accordance with the measured results, wherein, the control unit shifts the paper toward a predetermined position in the direction across the paper transporting direction and shift the image forming position in the main scanning direction in accordance with the predetermined position of the paper, wherein, the control unit decides the predetermined position so that the image area based on the image forming position being shifted does not go out of the range of the image formable area.