Patent ID: 7658485

Claim:
A method of forming an image comprising the step of: ejecting droplets of an ink-jet ink comprising water, a colorant and a polymer through a nozzle of an ink-jet head onto an image recording medium, wherein the polymer comprises a hydrophilic main chain and a plurality of side chains which are capable of cross-linking between the side chains by irradiation with an active energy ray; and applying, continuously, a shearing stress to the ink-jet ink in an ink-jet head channel of the ink-jet head during the time when the ink-jet head is in a stand-by condition to eject the droplets of the ink-jet ink, wherein the ink-jet head channel of the ink-jet head has at least two aperture sections for the ink-jet ink, the shearing stress is continuously applied to the ink-jet ink by circulating the ink-jet ink from one aperture section to another aperture section; and a total flow volume of the ink-jet ink in the ink-jet head channel per a unit time is 10 to 10,000 times larger than a total volume of the ink-jet ink ejected from the nozzle.