Patent ID: 7798632

Claim:
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a plurality of color ink recording heads for jetting a plurality of photocurable color inks onto a recording medium; a transparent ink recording head for jetting a photocurable transparent ink onto the recording medium; a light emitting device for emitting light to the plurality of photocurable color inks and the photocurable transparent ink on the recording medium to cure the inks; and a controlling device that controls the plurality of color ink recording heads and the transparent ink recording head such that one of: (i) the plurality of color ink recording heads jet the plurality of photocurable color inks onto the recording medium, the light emitting device cures the plurality of photocurable color inks all at once on the recording medium, and then the transparent ink recording head jets the photocurable transparent ink onto the recording medium and the light emitting device cures the photocurable transparent ink on the recording medium, and (ii) the transparent ink recording head jets the photocurable transparent ink onto the recording medium, the light emitting device cures the photocurable transparent ink on the recording medium, and then the plurality of color ink recording heads jet the plurality of photocurable color inks onto the recording medium and the light emitting device cures the plurality of photocurable color inks all at once on the recording medium.