Printing apparatus and management method

A printing apparatus comprising:

• a transport mechanism for transporting an elongated strip-shaped base material in a longitudinal direction of the base material along a predetermined transport path;
• a plurality of heads for ejecting inks to a surface of the base material transported by said transport mechanism;
• a plurality of sensors for measuring states at a plurality of measurement places in the apparatus;
• a camera for capturing an image of the surface of the base material on a downstream side of said transport path from said plurality of heads;
• and
• a controller communicably connected to said plurality of sensors and said camera, wherein
• said controller includes:
• a detection part that detects the amount of mutual misalignment between the inks ejected from said plurality of heads to the surface of the base material on the basis of a captured image acquired from said camera;
• a causality search part that acquires measured values from said plurality of sensors and acquires said misalignment amount from said detection part, estimates a causal relationship between observed variables using a plurality of said measured values and said misalignment amount as said observed variables and using said statistical causality search program, and calculates a strength of the causal relationship between said observed variables;
• a selection part that selects a measurement place to be adjusted from said plurality of measurement places on the basis of a plurality of said strengths if said misalignment amount deviates from a permissible range;
• and
• an input part that accepts input of a selection criterion,
• wherein said selection part selects a measurement place to be adjusted on the basis of a plurality of said strengths and said selection criterion input through said input part.