Patent ID: 8191996

Claim:
A printhead element substrate having a plurality of sets of electrothermal transducers, each of the plurality of sets of electrothermal transducers including a first electrothermal transducer and a second electrothermal transducer, and a plurality of sets of switching elements provided in correspondence with the plurality of sets of electrothermal transducers to drive the first electrothermal transducer and the second electrothermal transducer, comprising: an electrothermal transducer selection circuit which receives a print data signal and a block enable signal to divide the plurality of sets of electrothermal transducers into a plurality of blocks, and selectively and time-divisionally drive the blocks and outputs a driving signal; a plurality of level converters, each of which is provided for each of the plurality of sets of switching elements and steps up the input driving signal; a plurality of switching element selection circuits, each of which selects, from the plurality of sets of switching elements on the basis of an externally input selection signal, a supply destination of the driving signal output from the level converter; and a selection signal level converter which steps up the externally input selection signal to be supplied to each of the plurality of switching element selection circuits.