Patent attributes
In an inkjet printing apparatus utilizing an inkjet head and an ink tank for supplying ink to the same, it is made possible to suppress any reduction in image quality attributable to changes in physical and chemical properties of the ink that occur during an elapsed time from the manufacture of the ink tank to the use of the same, thereby allowing images to be formed with high reliability and stability at a low running cost. The apparatus has a discharging unit for discharging the ink through a nozzle at the head and an ink detecting unit for detecting the consumption of the ink in the ink tank. The detected ink consumption is compared with a threshold for ink consumption appropriately determined based on the elapsed time, and control is performed such that the amount discharged by the discharging unit is increased when the ink has not been consumed sufficiently.