diff --git a/src/column_ansi.pl b/src/column_ansi.pl
index 3ed7f6e..1fce9d4 100644
--- a/src/column_ansi.pl
+++ b/src/column_ansi.pl
@@ -83,13 +83,13 @@ sub trim_ansi {
 foreach my $line_ref (@stdin) {
 	my $line = $line_ref;
 	$line =~ s/\r?\n?$//;
-	$line =~ s/(\\+)/$1$1/g;		# escape backslashes
-	$line =~ s/"/\\"/g;				# escape double quotes
-	$line =~ s/'/\\'/g;		        # escape single quotes
 	# Ignore line if prefixed with argument from `-i`
 	if ($IS_IGNORE_LINE_PREFIX_SET && (rindex $line, $IGNORE_LINE_PREFIX, 0) eq 0) {
 		next;
 	}
+	$line =~ s/(\\+)/$1$1/g;		# escape backslashes
+	$line =~ s/"/\\"/g;				# escape double quotes
+	$line =~ s/'/\\'/g;		        # escape single quotes
 	my @columns = quotewords($INPUT_SEPARATOR, 1, $line); # split(/\Q$INPUT_SEPARATOR/, $line);
 	my $column_index = 0;
 
@@ -115,15 +115,15 @@ sub trim_ansi {
 foreach my $line_ref (@stdin) {
 	my $line = $line_ref;
 	$line =~ s/\r?\n?$//;
-	$line =~ s/(\\+)/$1$1/g;		# escape backslashes
-	$line =~ s/"/\\"/g;				# escape double quotes
-	$line =~ s/'/\\'/g;		        # escape single quotes
 	# Print as is if prefixed with argument from `-i` but ommit the prefix
 	if ($IS_IGNORE_LINE_PREFIX_SET && (rindex $line, $IGNORE_LINE_PREFIX, 0) eq 0) {
 		print(substr $line, $LENGTH_IGNORE_LINE_PREFIX);
 		print("\n");
 		next;
 	}
+	$line =~ s/(\\+)/$1$1/g;		# escape backslashes
+	$line =~ s/"/\\"/g;				# escape double quotes
+	$line =~ s/'/\\'/g;		        # escape single quotes
 	my @columns = quotewords($INPUT_SEPARATOR, 1, $line); # split (/\Q$INPUT_SEPARATOR/, $line);
 	my $column_index = -1;
 
diff --git a/src/column_ansi.sh b/src/column_ansi.sh
index e0d38c5..3b2b07f 100644
--- a/src/column_ansi.sh
+++ b/src/column_ansi.sh
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ column_ansi ()
 					;;
 					-i | --ignore-line-prefix)
 						_ignore_line_prefix="$2";
-						shift 2;
+						shift 2 || return 1;
 					;;
 					-\? | -h |--help)
 						__usage
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ column_ansi ()
 			printf "${__indent_2}${__bold}IMPORTANT${__reset}: This option is not present in the original column command.\n";
 			printf "\n";
 			printf "${__indent_1}${__red}-i${__reset}, ${__red}--ignore-line-prefix${__reset}\n";
-			printf "${__indent_2}Print line as is and do not treat it as table content.\n";
+			printf "${__indent_2}Print line as is and do not treat it as tabular content.\n";
 			printf "${__indent_2}This option allows for table sections and titles while keeping columns aligned.\n";
 			printf "\n";
 			printf "${__indent_1}${__red}-h${__reset}, ${__red}--help${__reset}\n";
diff --git a/tests/test_column_ansi.sh b/tests/test_column_ansi.sh
index b00fc5c..4db72e5 100644
--- a/tests/test_column_ansi.sh
+++ b/tests/test_column_ansi.sh
@@ -173,6 +173,13 @@ System Up Time       :  \tRotation   :
 	# Expect: \Backslash | "Quotes" | Backslash\ | Separator " | " in quotes | Separator ' | ' in quotes
 	# (Quotes should not be parsed - a separator should take effect as a separator even if in quotes)
 
+	string4_mixed_columns_and_ignored_lines="
+Date & Time\t: $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')\tOther Date & Time\t: $(date '+%Y%m%d%H%M')
+\i -- This is an informative line about above dates. Note that it's not used to align tabular content.
+More Date & Time\t: $(date --utc '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%3N%z')\tRunning out of Date & Time\t: $(date '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%3N%z')
+\i -- You might find that above dates are kind of same same but different and that this notice is pointless apart from testing purposes.
+";
+
 	# string4='Dangling quotes "'"'"
 	# Expect: Dangling quotes "'
 
@@ -196,10 +203,13 @@ System Up Time       :  \tRotation   :
 	printf "\n\n"
 
 
-	printf "\033[1mCOLUMN (Custom - mine): Empty Data without Ansi Codes\033[0m\n"
+	printf "\033[1mCOLUMN (Custom - mine): Empty Data without Ansi Codes:\033[0m\n"
 	time echo -e -n "${string2}" | column_ansi -t -s $'\t'
 	printf "\n\n"
 
+	printf "\033[1mCOLUMN (Custom - mine): Mixed tabular data with inline comments:\033[0m\n"
+	time echo -e -n "${string4_mixed_columns_and_ignored_lines}" | column_ansi -t -i '\i' -s $'\t';
+	printf "\n\n"
 
 	# printf "\033[1mCOLUMN (Custom - mine): Backslashes and quotes\033[0m\n"
 	# time echo -n "${string3}" | column_ansi -o " | " -s '@'