Patent ID: 6494561
Filing Date: 2002-12-17
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A control method of a printing apparatus comprising conveying means for conveying a recording medium, a carriage with a recording head mounted thereon, and maintenance means for maintaining said recording head, said printing apparatus performing recording by intermittently operating said conveying means to intermittently convey said recording medium by a predetermined distance and by causing said carriage to scan with said conveying means stopped, said method comprising the steps of:determining, in the middle of a recording operation to said recording medium, whether said recording head needs maintaining; performing maintenance control by stopping the operation of said conveying means during the maintenance job carried out by said maintenance means, when the recording head is maintained in the middle of the recording operation in accordance with the result of said determining step, and then conveying said recording medium by said predetermined distance subsequent to the maintenance of said recording head, when the recording head is maintained; and conveying said recording medium after performing said maintenance job and then performing the recording operation by scanning the recording head.