Patent ID: 8020957

Claim:
A printing apparatus, comprising: a recording system with a nozzle surface from which ink is ejected onto a recording medium according to recording data; a platen which is installed in a position to face the nozzle surface to hold the recording medium with a clearance provided between the nozzle surface and a surface of the recording medium held by the platen; a feeding system configured to carry the platen to a recording position at which the recording system forms an image on the recording medium according to the recording data; a detecting system configured to scan the surface of the recording medium to detect an object that may otherwise interfere with the nozzle surface on the recording medium by scanning the surface of the recording medium; a scan objective area determining system configured to determine a scan objective area, which is an area to be scanned by the detecting system, based on a size of the platen and a record objective area being indicated in the recording data and on which the image is formed by the recording system; and a scan controlling system configured to control the detecting system to scan the scan objective area determined by the scan objective area determining system to detect the object on the recording medium.