Image forming apparatus, method of suctioning liquid from nozzles of recording head and computer readable information recording medium

A method of suctioning liquid from nozzles of a recording head configured to have a nozzle face on which the nozzles that discharge liquid droplets are formed in an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:

• capping the nozzle face of the recording head by a cap;
• suctioning the liquid from the nozzles of the recording head by a suction pump provided in a discharge path and discharging the suctioned liquid into the cap;
• pressurizing an airtight space that is created when the nozzle face is capped by the cap, by driving a supply pump to supply the liquid to a head tank that supplies the ink to the recording head;
• opening the airtight space to the atmosphere by an atmosphere opening part, wherein the atmosphere opening part communicates with the inside of the cap at a position higher than a surface of the liquid discharged into the cap;
• and
• discharging the liquid, once discharged into the cap, from the cap through the discharge path by the suction pump.

A non-transitory computer readable information recording medium storing a program which, when executed by one or plural computer processors, performs a method of suctioning liquid from nozzles of a recording head configured to have a nozzle face on which the nozzles that discharge liquid droplets are formed in an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:

• capping the nozzle face of the recording head by a cap;
• suctioning the liquid from the nozzles of the recording head by a suction pump provided in a discharge path and discharging the suctioned liquid into the cap;
• pressurizing an airtight space that is created when the nozzle face is capped by the cap, by driving a supply pump to supply the liquid to a head tank that supplies the ink to the recording head;
• opening the airtight space to the atmosphere by an atmosphere opening part, wherein the atmosphere opening part communicates with the inside of the cap at a position higher than a surface of the liquid discharged into the cap;
• and
• discharging the liquid, once discharged into the cap, from the cap through the discharge path by the suction pump.