Patent ID: 7422305

Claim:
An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit including a plurality of recording heads arranged for ink of the same color, each recording head including a plurality of nozzles configured to discharge ink droplets, the nozzles of each recording head being arrayed along an arraying direction, the recording head being arranged in a direction different from the arraying direction of the plurality of nozzles, wherein the recording unit performs recording by discharging ink droplets on a recording medium from the nozzles while the recording unit and the recording medium are moving relatively in a direction intersecting with the arraying direction of the nozzles; and a complement unit configured to perform complement recording on a corresponding point on the recording medium where an image is to be formed by any defective nozzle of the nozzles arrayed in the plurality of recording heads, by employing one or more complement nozzles selected from the plurality of nozzles adjacent to the defective nozzle, wherein the plurality of recording heads are arranged so as to enable the nozzles arrayed in each of the plurality of recording heads to form a same raster, wherein the nozzles adjacent to the defective nozzle include first and second nozzles located on both sides of the defective nozzle in the recording head in which the defective nozzle exists, a third nozzle located on the same raster as the defective nozzle, and fourth and fifth nozzles located on both sides of the nozzle located on the same raster as the defective nozzle, wherein the complement nozzle includes one of: (i) one of the first to fifth nozzles and (ii) a plurality of nozzles selected from the first to fifth nozzles, and wherein the complement unit selects the third nozzle and at least one of the nozzle from the first, second, fourth and fifth nozzles as the complement nozzles.