Printing apparatus and performance maintaining method

A printing apparatus comprising:

• a carriage on which a printhead, which is configured to discharge ink, is mounted, the carriage being configured to move in a first direction such that the printhead moves across a printing region where a printing operation by the printhead is performed and a standby region adjacent to the printing region in the first direction;
• a cap arranged in the standby region and configured to cap the printhead,
• a wiper configured to perform wiping for the printhead,
• a first moving mechanism configured to move the cap in a gravity direction to an upper first position where the cap caps the printhead, a lower first position which allows the wiper to wipe the printhead, and a middle first position between the upper first position and the lower first position;
• and
• a second moving mechanism configured to move the cap to the middle first position and a second position, which is located nearer to the printing region than the middle first position and allows the printhead to perform preliminary discharge to the cap.