Patent ID: 7909422

Claim:
A printing method comprising: creating print data by rearranging an order in which a plurality of pieces of pixel data which make up image data are arranged; and based on the print data, alternately repeating a dot-forming process for forming, on a medium, a row of dots along a movement direction by ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles which move in the movement direction and a carrying process for carrying the medium in a carrying direction with respect to the nozzles, to form, on the medium, a plurality of the rows of dots arranged in the carrying direction, wherein, every time the print data for performing a dot-forming process is to be created, positions, on the medium in the carrying direction, of the rows of dots to be formed by the nozzles during that dot-forming process are calculated and stored in a table, a comparing process is performed in which positions, on the medium in the carrying direction, of the rows of dots to be formed by the nozzles during an other dot-forming process are compared with the positions stored in the table, if there is any matching position as a result of a comparison, that position is deleted from the table, the pixel data corresponding to the positions in the table after the comparing process are extracted from the image data, to create the print data, and creation of the print data to perform a first dot-forming process is started before creation of the tables corresponding to all of the dot-forming processes is finished.