INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF COLLECTING WASTE INK

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can surely prevent ink nozzles from clogging as a result of degradation of ink characteristics and prevent a printing quality from decreasing. SOLUTION: The ink jet recording apparatus 1 reuses a waste ink from an ink jet head 2 by returning the ink to an ink tank 4 via a selector valve 12. When it is detected by a detecting circuit 25 that the ink in the ink tank 4 exceeds a use limit, the selector valve 12 is switched by a valve control circuit 24 and the waste ink is collected to a waste ink tank 10 without being reused. The waste ink can be effectively utilized until the ink reaches the use limit. The ink nozzles can be surely prevented from clogging and the printing quality can be surely prevented from being deteriorated by the reuse of the ink after the use limit.