Patent ID: 7578574

Claim:
An ink-jet image forming apparatus, comprising: an ink-jet head having at least a first nozzle portion and a second nozzle portion, the first nozzle portion and the second nozzle portion ejecting a same color ink, the ink-jet head performing printing ink ejection and preliminary ink ejection, wherein during printing ink ejection the ink-jet head ejects ink to form an image on a surface of a recording medium and during preliminary ink ejection the ink-jet head ejects ink onto a surface of a preliminary ink ejecting section; a moving member, the moving member capable of supporting the recording medium thereon and including the preliminary ink ejection section, and the moving member moving the recording medium and the preliminary ink ejection section relative to the ink-jet head; and an ink ejection controller, the ink ejection controller controlling the ink-jet head such that when the ink ejection controller determines that the preliminary ink ejection section of the moving member substantially overlaps the first nozzle portion, the first nozzle portion, and not the second nozzle portion, of the ink-jet head performs preliminary ink ejection and when the ink ejection controller determines that the preliminary ink ejection section is subsequently substantially overlapping the second nozzle portion, the second nozzle portion, and not the first nozzle portion, performs preliminary ink ejection.