An in ink jet printing method and apparatus are disclosed which prevents mixing of ink with a liquid insolubilizing and/or agglomerating the ink and which can print images having excellent water resistance and high quality. Prevention of mixing of the ink with the liquid is achieved by separately arranging an ink receiver for receiving ink ejected by preliminary ejection and the liquid insolubilizing and/or agglomerating the ink ejected by preliminary ejection, or by setting the distance between the ink jet cartridge for the liquid and the cartridge for ink adjacent thereto is made larger than the distance between two adjacent ink jet cartridges. Alternatively, the direction of ejecting ports of an ink jet ejectors may be deviated. Prevention of mixing may also be achieved by using in addition to printing head ejecting ink onto a printing material, a printability improving liquid ejecting head ejecting a printability improving liquid which insolubilizes and/or agglomerates the coloring material in the ink, and recovering units for recovering the heads. Also, mixing of the ink with the liquid is prevented upon capping, wiping, suction recovering.