Ink-jet recorder having a driving circuit for driving heat-generating elements

An ink-jet recorder having an arrangement of a plurality of heat-generating elements, drivers for driving said heat-generating elements, and a drive circuit for controlling said drivers according to image data, said drive circuit comprising:

• a split-block drive circuit that divides said plurality of heat-generating elements into a plurality of blocks, and drives said heat-generating elements on a block-by-block basis in a time-sharing manner, the split-block drive circuit generating a pre-pulse and a main pulse;
• and
• a data retaining circuit coupled to the split-block drive circuit for retaining print data, said data retaining circuit switching the retained print data according to whether said heat-generating elements are driven by the pre-pulse or the main pulse, said split-block drive circuit:
• driving each of said blocks of said heat-generating elements at printing operations, using the pre-pulse during which ink is not squirted and the main pulse during which ink is squirted;
• and
• driving another block of heat-generating elements differing from a currently-driven block of heat-generating elements, during intervals between the pre-pulse and the main pulse.