A photographic printing apparatus including a lens controlled to be positioned at a printing position, immediately adjacent a film negative, during photographic printing operation of the apparatus and at a normal position, displaced from the film negative, during other operations of the apparatus. Positioning the lens at the normal position, displaced from the film negative, enables the lens to be more easily protected and adjusted. The apparatus further includes a sample print detector apparatus comprising a CCD camera for capturing the sample print for display on a video monitor with a print position recognizing cursor. Key-subject points are specified with the cursor and mismatch between the key-subject points is determined in order to provide correction of filming-position. A rotating mechanism is also provided for rotating a negative mask member, lens member and exposure station by an identical angle of rotation to obtain a predetermined angle of exposure. Moving elements are provided for the enlarging lens and exposure station in order to execute printing by trimming. The apparatus also has an edge-shaper for machining photographic paper cut by a cutter to remove wastes on the frontal region of the leading edge of the photographic paper. The edge-shaper machines in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the photographic paper advances through the apparatus, and the removed wastes are routed to a waste-box by a suction mechanism.