To provide a thermal head and a printer which realize improved heating efficiency and improved strength, and to manufacture the thermal head stably, provided is a thermal head manufacturing method including: a concave portion forming step of forming a concave portion on one surface of a supporting substrate; a bonding step of bonding a thin plate glass shaped like a substantially flat board, to the one surface of the supporting substrate where the concave portion has been formed in the concave portion forming step, in a manner that hermetically seals the concave portion and forms a hollow portion; a heating step of heating the supporting substrate and the thin plate glass which have been bonded together in the bonding step, to thereby soften the thin plate glass and expand gas trapped inside the hollow portion; and a heating resistor forming step of forming a heating resistor on the thin plate glass so as to be opposed to the hollow portion, wherein the heating step concavely curves a surface of the thin plate glass that is on the hollow portion side.