To prevent the hitting position of an ink drop from being shifted by providing means for jetting ink irrelevant to recording on the opposite sides of a recording area.

Preliminary receivers 300, 302 for receiving jetted ink irrelevant to recording (preliminary jetting) are disposed on the opposite sides of a reading area (an area deviating from the recording range of the recording head of an ink cartridge 13). Furthermore, means 301, 303 for cleaning the jetting face of the recording head 16 of the ink cartridge 13 are disposed on the opposite sides of the reading area adjacent to the outside of the preliminary receivers 300, 302. Upon ending the recording scanning of a recording means, ink jet irrelevant to recording is carried out and recording is resumed after return operation is carried out similarly to a case where it is not executed. According to the arrangement, hitting position of ink drop can be prevented from being shifted when recording is carried out after irrelevant ink jet is carried out.