Patent ID: 7014288

Claim:
A recording apparatus which performs recording on a recording medium while repeating a main scanning operation of record-scanning with a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arrayed in a predetermined direction, in a main scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and a sub scanning operation of relatively moving the recording head and the recording medium in a sub scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, comprising: shift means capable of shifting, by a magnitude corresponding to a designated number of the recording elements, recording data stored in a buffer memory, and then transferring the recording data to said recording head, and control means for controlling said shift means so that, in a case where a region which cannot be record-scanned by said recording head exists in a region near an end part of said recording medium in the sub scanning direction, and where a relative position of said recording head and said recording medium in said sub scanning direction cannot be renewed, said recording data to be transferred to said recording head may be shifted by said shift means onto a side of the region which cannot be record-scanned in said sub scanning direction, wherein; in a case where the recording is performed by relatively moving said recording medium every stipulated movement amount n in said sub scanning direction each time the record-scanning is performed in the main scanning direction by said recording head whose recording elements number N, and where said recording can be started only from a position which is shifted by a heading amount X from a front end of said recording medium in said sub scanning direction, said control means controls said shift means; so that, in a case where an accumulative value obtained by accumulating the stipulated movement amount n from zero every record-scanning is less than the heading amount X and where a difference between said heading amount X and the accumulative value is not less than said stipulated movement amount n, such record-scannings may be repeated by shifting said recording data onto a side of the region which cannot be record-scanned in said sub scanning direction in correspondence with the difference between said heading amount X and said accumulative value by said shift means, without relatively moving said recording medium; that, in a case where said accumulative value is less than said heading amount X and where said difference between said heading amount X and said accumulative value is less than said stipulated movement amount n, said recording medium may be relatively moved in correspondence with said difference between said heading amount X and said accumulative value after said record-scanning; and that the record-scannings may be thereafter repeated by relatively moving said recording medium every stipulated movement amount n in said sub scanning direction, without shifting said recording data by said shift means.