Patent ID: 8622515

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a carriage movable in a main scanning direction in the image forming apparatus; a recording head mounted on the carriage to eject droplets; a maintenance unit disposed outboard of a recording area in the main scanning direction of the carriage, the maintenance unit comprising a first liquid receptacle to receive droplets ejected, by the recording head, for maintenance and not used for image formation; a first space provided between the recording area and the maintenance unit; and a first sloped member disposed between the first liquid receptacle and the recording area and provided at a side of the first space and next to the maintenance unit, the sloped member comprising a sloped portion inclined downwardly from an upper side toward a lateral side of the recording area to guide droplet mist generated by ejection of droplets from the recording head to a lower part of the first space with movement of the carriage from a position facing the maintenance unit to a position facing the recording area.