Method of exchanging waste ink pack of ink jet recording apparatus

An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of ink jet recording heads for executing color recording;
• and
• a recovery structure for maintaining and recovering a discharge state with respect to said plurality of recording ink jet recording heads;
• wherein said recovery structure has a first waste ink collecting route connecting a predetermined one of said ink jet recording heads and a first waste ink tank that collects waste ink discharged from said predetermined ink jet recording head, and a second waste ink collecting route connecting all remaining ones of said plurality of ink jet recording heads and a second waste ink tank that collects waste ink discharged from said remaining ink jet recording heads, said second waste ink collecting route being completely separate from said first waste ink collecting route.