Patent ID: 7083252

Claim:
An ink jet printer comprising: a recording head for jetting ultraviolet curable ink on a recording medium; an ultraviolet irradiating device for curing the ultraviolet curable ink jetted on the recording medium with irradiation of the ultraviolet rays; a carriage for scanning to form an image on the recording medium, the carriage including the recording head and the ultraviolet irradiating device; a maintenance unit for performing maintenance on the recording head at a predetermined timing, the maintenance unit being switchable between a masking state in which the ultraviolet rays are masked and a non-masking state in which the ultraviolet rays are not masked, the masking state being a head maintenance disabling state in which head maintenance is not allowed, and the non-masking state being a head maintenance enabling state in which the head maintenance is allowed; and a control section for controlling the maintenance unit so as to be converted to the masking state which is the head maintenance disabling state when an image is formed, and for controlling the maintenance unit so as to be converted to the non-masking state which is the head maintenance enabling state after securing a non-irradiating state in which the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiating device are not irradiated on the maintenance unit, by a function provided by a unit other than the maintenance unit, when the head maintenance is performed.