Patent ID: 6871934
Filing Date: 2005-03-29
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An ink jet printing apparatus for forming an image on a print medium by performing a printing operation and a transport operation, wherein the printing operation scans a print head over the print medium a plurality of times in a direction different from a nozzle array direction and ejects ink from the nozzles onto the print medium in each scan, the nozzle array direction being a direction in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink are arrayed in the print head, wherein the transport operation moves, between the plurality of scans, the print medium a predetermined distance relative to the print head in a direction different from the scan direction of the print head, the ink jet printing apparatus comprising: a front end area printing means for printing on a front end area of the print medium by using only a part of the nozzles, the front end area ranging from a front end of the print medium to a predetermined position on the print medium; and an ejection readying means for making ready to perform ejection those nozzles that have not been used in preceding scans but begin to be used in a current scan after the print medium has been printed up to the predetermined position by the front end area printing means and when the printing is to be continued further following the predetermined position.