Patent ID: 7055943

Claim:
An ink-jet recording method comprising the steps of: (i) providing an ink set comprising at least three aqueous inks for ink-jet recording, each of the aqueous inks comprising a water-insoluble coloring material, an aqueous medium, a dispersant for dispersing the coloring material in the aqueous medium, and a water-soluble organic compound, wherein: at least two inks of the at least three aqueous inks have the same hue; the at least two inks are different from each other in pigment concentration based on the total weight of each ink; the at least two inks have the same or substantially the same viscosity at an actual usage temperature (T1); Pmax/Pmin is not less than 3, where Pmax represents a highest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks and Pmin represents a lowest concentration of the coloring material among the at least two inks; and the ratio of the dispersant to the coloring material (B/P ratio) in an ink of a lower coloring material concentration is larger than the B/P ratio in an ink of a higher coloring material concentration; (ii) discharging each of the at least three aqueous inks by an ink-jet recording method using ink-jet recording heads; and (iii) conducting a suction/recovery operation for the ink-jet recording heads by sucking the at least three aqueous inks with a common suction/recovery means.