Patent ID: 7819497

Claim:
An ink jet printing apparatus that uses a print head to perform printing and is capable of executing a plurality of print modes which are distinguished from each other by mode parameters and are set correspondingly to types of print medium, said apparatus comprising: a patch printing unit that prints a plurality of patches in which values of the mode parameters are differentiated, when a print medium other than print media corresponding to the respective plurality of print modes is used; an evaluation obtaining unit that obtains image evaluation information for each of the mode parameters that are differentiated from each other, based on measurement results of the printed patches; and a selecting unit that selects a print mode from the plurality of print modes set correspondingly to the types of print medium, based on the mode parameters for which evaluations, indicated by the image evaluation information, are above a certain evaluation level, wherein said patch printing unit includes a category obtaining unit that obtains category information indicating which category of a plurality of categories the print medium other than print media corresponding to the respective plurality of print modes, belongs to, where each category of the plurality of categories groups a respective plurality of types of print media, and wherein said patch printing unit prints the plurality of patches such that values of the mode parameters are differentiated within a range corresponding to the category of the plurality of categories that is obtained by said category obtaining unit.