Recording apparatus and data processing method for recording apparatus

A recording apparatus that records by scanning a recording head having a recording element array, in which a plurality of recording elements are aligned, in a direction intersecting with the alignment direction, relative to a recording medium, said apparatus comprising:

• a receiving buffer which stores setting data and recording data that are transmitted from a connected host device, the setting data containing registration information in a scanning direction corresponding to the recording element array, the recording data containing a plurality block data, each item of block data containing at least data for the recording element array;
• a print buffer which has a plurality of memory areas corresponding with the scanning direction, the memory areas being respectively assigned a predetermined number of columns;
• a reading control unit which performs reading of the print buffer and performs updating column position information for the recording element array;
• and
• a writing control unit which includes a register which holds the column position information, and performs storing to a memory area, where reading is performed by the reading control unit, among the plurality of memory areas, on the basis of the registration information corresponding to the recording element array and column position information held in the register.