A printing apparatus includes a replaceable set tray on which a target printing material is set, an ink discharge unit which prints by discharging ink according to printing data onto the target printing material, a storage unit which stores the type of set tray specified in the printing data when printing is performed, a detection unit which detects the type of set tray, and a control unit which controls the tray detection operation. The tray detection operation is performed by the detection unit before printing starts and detects the type of set tray when necessary. The control unit compares the type of set tray specified in newly acquired printing data and the type of set tray stored in the storage unit. When the types are different, the tray detection operation is performed. When the types are the same, the tray detection operation is omitted.