Printing apparatus and printing method

A printing apparatus, comprising:

• a transport unit configured to transport a fabric formed with a pattern in a transport direction;
• an imaging unit configured to image the fabric transported by the transport unit;
• a printing unit configured to perform printing on the fabric transported by the transport unit;
• a pattern extracting unit configured to, based on a comparison between first image data representing the pattern and second image data generated by imaging the fabric by the imaging unit, extract a pattern region corresponding to the pattern in the second image data;
• a printing image generation unit configured to arrange third image data representing an image to be printed overlaid on the pattern in accordance with a positional relationship between the pattern regions extracted, to generate printing image data;
• and
• a printing control unit configured to cause the printing unit to print the printing image data on the fabric, wherein
• the pattern extracting unit
• performs positional relationship identification processing for setting one of the pattern regions as a search source pattern region, setting, as a search destination pattern region, the pattern region successfully found in a certain range set at a position separated in a predetermined search direction from the search source pattern region by a predetermined distance, and storing information that a position of the search destination pattern region is adjacent in the search direction to the search source pattern region, and
• newly sets the search destination pattern region as the search source pattern region to perform the positional relationship identification processing.