Patent ID: 7380903

Claim:
An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a printing device including a print head which discharges ink droplets onto a recording medium to perform printing, the print head having discharge ports through which the ink droplets are discharged; a liquid removal device which absorbs droplets deposited on an ink discharge surface of the print head in which the ink discharge ports are formed; and a deposit removal device which wipes away matter deposited on the ink discharge surface, wherein the liquid removal device and the deposit removal device are a common device that moves in a reciprocal movement relative to the print head and one continuous reciprocal movement relative to the print head includes an inbound path and an outbound path, the inbound path comprises a path from one end of the print head to an opposing end of the print head and the outbound path comprises the path from the opposing end of the print head to the one end of the print head, the common device performs one of a liquid removal and a deposit removal on the outbound path and one of the deposit removal and the liquid removal on the inbound path during said one continuous reciprocal movement, and printing is not carried out during said one continuous reciprocal movement.