An improved photographic printer having a source of light such as a laser can produce printed copies from a photoconductive surface. Data representative of the images to be printed can be transformed into intermediate codes which are stored for driving a print controller. A timer can set a predetermined time depending on the length of the paper for the data transformation into the intermediate codes and various elements in the printer can be activated prior to the completion of the transformation, including forwarding copying paper to a predetermined position adjacent the photoconductive surface whereby excessive wear of the printer is prevented and an increased printing speed is achieved.