An ink-jet printer including a carriage carrying recording heads, air collecting chambers, and discharging passages communicating with the respective air collecting chambers; opening and closing valves provided in the respective discharging passages; opening and closing bars which open and close the respective valves; an air discharge cap which has a bottom wall, a side wall, and a suction hole, wherein an upper end surface of the side wall is closely contactable with a lower surface of the carriage to cover respective openings of the discharging passages; a suction device which sucks air through the suction hole; and an air-flow generating device which causes an air flow inlet to open at a position distant from the suction hole, so that when air is sucked through the suction hole, the air flows from the air flow inlet toward the suction hole. An ink sucking method is also provided.