An apparatus for dot-matrix printing with proportional character spacing utilizes a conventional character generator for generating characters with fixed spacing in which a matrix storage area of equal size is assigned to each character, regardless of the actual width of the character, and has an advance control for a printer carriage drive for advancing the drive in increments corresponding to each single column of the storage area, the apparatus having a control unit operable in a state for generating proportional character spacing as well as in a state for generating characters with fixed spacing, and a printing control unit for operation in a state for generating proportional character spacing which executes advance increments for occupied columns in the storage areas and assigns a space advance of a predetermined width to the total of the number of empty columns between two adjacent characters in the storage areas.