Patent ID: 7097267

Claim:
An ink-jet printing method for performing printing by scanning an ink-jet printhead over a print medium, the ink-jet printhead having orifices for discharging ink droplets of a first volume and orifices for discharging ink droplets of a second volume smaller than the first volume, said method comprising: a selecting step of selecting a mode, which is to be used in printing, from a plurality of modes including a first mode in which printing in a prescribed area on the print medium is completed in a predetermined time and a second mode in which printing in the prescribed area is completed in a time longer than the predetermined time, each of the first mode and the second mode carrying out printing using the ink droplets of the first volume and the ink droplets of the second volume; a data generating step of generating print data in accordance with the mode selected; and a printing step of carrying out printing by discharging ink toward the print medium from the ink-jet printhead based upon the print data generated, wherein a number of ink droplets of the second volume used in printing an area expressing maximum density in regard to a prescribed color in the first mode is less than a number of ink droplets of the second volume used in printing the area in the second mode.