PURPOSE: To form a patterned film of an excellent design in a reduced number of processes, good operability, accuracy, and reproducibility by discharging a colored ink from the nozzle of an ink-jet printer on the surface of an article which is coated with a lower layer colored film in advance and applying the ink in the shape of a pattern.

CONSTITUTION: When a substrate (a) coated with a lower layer colored film is carried on a conveyer 1, the front end part is detected by a sensor 12, and a detection signal is sent to a control part 11. Besides, pulses are sent from an encoder 15 to the control part 11, the control part starts counting the pulses by signals from the sensor 12, when the value reaches a set value, reads a pattern from a storage part 10 corresponding to the number of pulses received, sends control signals based on the pattern to a valve controller 8 in sequence, and controls the operation of valves 9 individually by the signals. As a result, an ink 5 which is supplied into a printer head 2 by a prescribed pressure is discharged from a nozzle 3 through the valves 9, and the pattern based on pattern data is depicted on the surface of the substrate (a).