The invention relates to a printing method that repeats in alternation a carrying operation of carrying a medium in a carrying direction, and a formation operation of forming an image on the medium by ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles that are aligned in the carrying direction and that move in a movement direction. In this method: (a) a first blank section arranged along the movement direction is detected from an image to be printed in a certain formation operation; (b) a second blank section arranged along the movement direction is detected from an image to be printed in a next formation operation; and (c) if the first and second blank sections are detected and a width in the carrying direction of an image to be printed in the next formation operation downstream in the carrying direction from the second blank section is smaller than a width in the carrying direction of the first blank section, then the width in the carrying direction of the first blank section is shortened to print, in the certain formation operation, an image to be printed between the first blank section and the second blank section.
