The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and a method for controlling an ink jet printing apparatus which can shorten the stirring duration without losing any stirring effect by stirring ink at a required time to only a required level and still perform a printing operation with no image impairments. By a reciprocal movement of the carriage according to a mode during a non-printing operation excluding a print operation that is accompanied by a reciprocal movement of the carriage, ink in an ink tank is stirred. The stir mode is set according to the color of the ink in the ink tank mounted on the carriage.