Ink jet printer with maintenance device and maintenance method for the printer

摘要

A maintenance device wipes the nozzle surface (15) of a print head (12) using a wiper (52) having no ink adhering thereto. The wiper (52) is able to move in a direction towards and away from the nozzle surface (15) of the print head (12), which travels bidirectionally widthwise to the printing paper. Foreign matter on the wiper (52) is removed by a remover (56) when the wiper (52) is moved while in contact with the rake part of the remover (56).