Color image recording apparatus

A color image recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer to form a color image by printing coloring agents such as inks of a plurality of colors comprises: recording heads (19A-C) to sequentially form coloring agents of a plurality of colors onto a recording sheet; a detector (20A) to detect a signal indicative of a print amount of the colorintg agent which is previously printed from among the coloring agents which are printed at the same position; a correction circuit (23) to correct the signal level (on 15b) indicative of the print amount of the coloring agent to be printed later at the same position on the basis of the output of the detector; an input circuit (13a-c) to input a color signal consisting of a plurality of color component signals; and a color processor (14) to output the signals indicative of the print amounts of those coloring agents and to perform a linear masking process. Since the optimum gradation correction is executed on the basis of the ink amount which has previously been printed, the good gradations and color reproducibility are obtained.