A discharge ink collecting apparatus that is placed under an ink jet head at its ink discharge recovery position for receiving ink discharged from nozzle heads (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) of the ink jet head by an ink discharge recovery operation, wherein the apparatus comprises: a cap member shaped in the form of a pan such as to cover all the plurality of nozzle heads (1a 1b, 1c, 1d) of the ink jet head, the cap member having a peripheral wall and an upper end portion of the peripheral wall which extends over its entire perimeter; a seal member having a base portion and an elastically deformable seal portion, the seal portion having a cross section like that of a tongue as being thinner at its upper end than at its root, the base portion of the seal member being fastened to the upper end portion of the entire perimeter of the peripheral wall of said cap member without being in contact with any portion other than the upper end portion of the cap member while the elastically deformable seal portion being then tilted outwards of the peripheral wall of the cap member; and a lifting unit for lifting the cap member and the seal member fastened thereto up and down so that the upper end of said seal portion may be moved over between a position at which it is brought into contact with and elastically deformed against the lower surface of a carriage of the ink jet head at the ink discharge position and a position at which it is spaced from the lower surface of said carriage; wherein the base portion of the seal member is formed with a groove adapted to receive and to have the upper end portion of the entire perimeter of the peripheral wall of the cap member inserted enough so that its upper end comes onto contact with or against a bottom of the grove, and wherein an upper edge of the seal portion of the seal member lies on a plane parallel to that on which an upper edge of the peripheral wall of the cap member lies. a cap member shaped in the form of a pan such as to cover all the plurality of nozzle heads (1a 1b, 1c, 1d) of the ink jet head, the cap member having a peripheral wall and an upper end portion of the peripheral wall which extends over its entire perimeter; a seal member having a base portion and an elastically deformable seal portion, the seal portion having a cross section like that of a tongue as being thinner at its upper end than at its root, the base portion of the seal member being fastened to the upper end portion of the entire perimeter of the peripheral wall of said cap member without being in contact with any portion other than the upper end portion of the cap member while the elastically deformable seal portion being then tilted outwards of the peripheral wall of the cap member; and a lifting unit for lifting the cap member and the seal member fastened thereto up and down so that the upper end of said seal portion may be moved over between a position at which it is brought into contact with and elastically deformed against the lower surface of a carriage of the ink jet head at the ink discharge position and a position at which it is spaced from the lower surface of said carriage; wherein the base portion of the seal member is formed with a groove adapted to receive and to have the upper end portion of the entire perimeter of the peripheral wall of the cap member inserted enough so that its upper end comes onto contact with or against a bottom of the grove, and wherein an upper edge of the seal portion of the seal member lies on a plane parallel to that on which an upper edge of the peripheral wall of the cap member lies.