Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a liquid discharge head, an irradiation unit, a carriage, and a moving unit. The liquid discharge head discharges a liquid including a metallic ink and a color ink onto a recording medium. The irradiation unit irradiates the liquid on the recording medium with light. The liquid discharge head and the irradiation unit are mounted on the carriage. The moving unit perform a main scanning movement and a sub-scanning movement. The liquid discharge head discharges the metallic ink in a region of the recording medium in the main scanning movement and discharges the color ink in the region in which the metallic ink has been discharged, in the same main scanning movement in which the metallic ink is discharged. The irradiation unit irradiates the region in which the metallic ink and the color ink have been discharged, with the light in the same main scanning movement.

Abstract: The present invention is a tile and mosaic printing kiosk that creates custom-designed, sanitary, green, and environmentally friendly tiles and mosaics. The tile printer kiosk is a modular system made up of multiple modules, including feeding, alignment, printing, coating, drying, registering, and packaging. The kiosk is made to fit into any retail home improvement business because of its modest footprint. It can quickly print any design submitted by a customer on tiles and mosaics. Additionally, it applies an antibacterial coating to the tiles for cleaner and better indoor air quality.

Abstract: A machine for printing substrates and a method for printing substrates using the machine, which has a print head, the print head having at least one ejection nozzle for ejecting a product on the substrate; translation device with a movable part, the translation device configured for supporting and translating the substrate by the movable part; positioning device for establishing and fixing a relative position between the substrate and the print head. The machine additionally has guiding device for guiding the movable part; and holding device for fixing the substrate with respect to the movable part; with the substrate being fixed to the movable part and the movable part guided by the guiding device, the substrate can be translated to receive the product being ejected.

Abstract: A printer includes a platen roller, a substrate, a heating element, a first defining part, and a second defining part. The platen roller conveys a medium in a conveyance direction. The substrate has a front surface which faces the platen roller in a facing direction intersecting an axis direction of the platen roller and the conveyance direction. The heating element is provided on the front surface of the substrate. The heat sink is in contact with a back surface of the substrate. The first defining part and the second defining part define the conveyance path. The first defining part is provided on a further upstream side than the heating element in the conveyance direction. The second defining part is provided at the heat sink on a further downstream side than the substrate in the conveyance direction. and has a contact surface with which the medium comes into contact.

Abstract: A printing system comprises an intermediate transfer member (ITM), an image forming station, a conveyer for driving rotation of the ITM, and a treatment station disposed downstream of the impression station and upstream of the image forming station configured for coating the ITM surface with a layer of a liquid treatment formulation, the treatment station comprising an applicator for applying the liquid treatment formulation to the ITM, a coating thickness-regulation assembly comprising a plurality of blades, a blade-replacement mechanism, and a blade-replacement controller for controlling the blade-replacement mechanism.

Abstract: A fluid interconnect system including a mating component having an inlet port and a liquid outlet, the inlet port configured to support an interconnector and the liquid outlet configured to engage with a print cartridge so that liquid flows from a liquid source, through the interconnector and the inlet port, and out of the liquid outlet into the print cartridge.

Abstract: A printer includes an ejecting head that ejects ink, a glued belt including a support surface, a first fan and a second fan configured to blow air toward the support surface, and a facing portion facing a portion of the first fan and a portion of the second fan. The facing portion includes an opening that opens in the Z direction. The opening is located between the first fan and the second fan in the X direction when viewed in the Z direction. When a spacing in the X direction at a first position in the +Y direction is defined as the first spacing and a spacing in the X direction at a second position upstream of the first position in the +Y direction is defined as the second spacing, the second spacing is larger than the first spacing.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a technique that improves material efficiency in generating garments and textiles that include graphics. A given product is sorted into cut patterns used to assemble the product. Graphics are digitally applied to each cut pattern in order to generate abstract cut patterns including aligned graphics. Blank cut patterns are nested across a virtual sheet of fabric in a 2D space without any consideration to the graphics. The nested cut patterns implement the abstract cut patterns that include graphics. The graphics are aligned to the positions of the cut patterns according to the nesting scheme. Print instructions including nested cut patterns with aligned graphics are delivered to a printer that executes the print job. The cut patterns are cut away from the fabric sheet including graphic designs that are aligned with the cut patterns.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet conveyance device; an image forming device including a sheet conveyance roller and a pressure roller; a memory; and a controller. The memory stores profile data indicating variation in conveyance amount in a circumferential direction due to eccentricity of the conveyance roller. The controller calculates, in intermittent conveyance processing, a correction value based on corresponding profile data for each of positions included in a width of an image to be formed in next image forming processing, the correction value being a difference between a predetermined conveyance amount and an actual conveyance amount; corrects a reference amount of rotation by a representative value of calculated correction values to calculate a corrected amount of rotation, the reference amount being an ideal amount of rotation of the conveyance roller that conveys a sheet by the predetermined conveyance amount; and rotates the conveyance roller by the corrected amount.

Abstract: In some implementations, a device may receive print data associated with a printer. The device may receive an image that depicts content that is printed on media by the printer. The device may determine, using a printhead analysis model, a status of a printhead of the printer based on the print data and a characteristic of the content, wherein the printhead analysis model is trained based on reference data associated with historical printing operations associated with one or more printers, wherein the reference data includes reference images associated with printed content from the historical printing operations and corresponding resistance measurements for one or more respective printheads of the one or more printers. The device may perform, based on the status, an action associated with the printhead of the printer.

Abstract: A printer includes a head, a lamp, a first sensor, and a processor. The head is configured to eject photocurable ink onto the object to be printed. The lamp is configured to irradiate light onto the object to be printed. The first sensor is configured to detect a temperature inside the printer. The processor causes the first sensor to acquire the temperature inside the printer. The processor acquires, based on the print data, a duty ratio indicating a printing ratio when ejecting the ink onto an ejection region of the object to be printed. The processor increases a number of times of a flushing operation compared to a predetermined reference number of times, when the acquired duty ratio is a low duty ratio lower than a predetermined reference duty ratio, and the temperature detected by the first sensor is higher than a predetermined reference temperature.

Abstract: A vacuum system for a printing apparatus comprises a structural member. The structural member comprises a fluid conduit to be connected to a vacuum source. The vacuum system comprises a coupling. The coupling comprises a first end and a second end defining a fluid passage therebetween. The coupling is attached to the structural member at its first end thereby connecting the fluid passage of the coupling to the fluid conduit of the structural member. The second end of the coupling comprises a resiliently deformable material. The second end is to connect to a vacuum chamber of a print unit.

Abstract: A recording device includes: a transport unit configured to transport a medium along a transport path, a recording unit configured to perform recording on the medium transported, a wrinkle forming mechanism configured to form wrinkles on a portion of the medium on the transport path before recording is performed, a detection unit configured to detect a state of the wrinkles, and a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate a rigidity characteristic of the medium based on detection data of the detection unit.

Abstract: A valve assembly for controlling airflow along sheet edges on a vacuum transport assembly including a platen including one or more holes arranged in rows in a cross process direction, and a belt displaceable with respect to the platen in a process direction, the valve assembly including a flexible plate, including a first end, a second end, a first top surface, and a first bottom surface, and a first actuator connected to the second end and operatively arranged to displace the flexible plate.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a tank, a recording head, a cover, a monitor, a cover sensor, an operation panel, and a controller. The cover is movable to cover a plurality of injection inlets associated with a plurality of ink chambers and to expose the plurality of injection inlets. The cover sensor outputs signal depending on position of the cover. The controller controls the monitor to display one of inquiry information and notification on the monitor depending on receipt of the signal from the cover sensor.

Abstract: A replenishing-type liquid storage tank includes a tank body, and a backpressure application member. Liquid is replenishable in the tank body and the tank body is configured to store the liquid therein. The backpressure application member is accommodated in the tank body to apply backpressure to the liquid stored in the tank body. The backpressure application member has a portion positioned equal to or higher than a liquid level of a maximum tolerable amount of the liquid storable in the tank body.

Abstract: An air knife assembly is provided to jet an air current to control the landing of sheet of print media during transfer between two adjacent conveyors in a printer. The air knife forming unit is configured for jetting an air curtain formed such that said air curtain and air currents resulting from it flow substantially perpendicular to a transport direction of the conveyors. Thereby, lifting and consequently wrinkling of the leading edge during transfer and landing may be avoided.

Abstract: An inkjet printer configured to control the temperature of ink discharged from nozzles of an inkjet head is proposed. The inkjet printer includes: an inkjet head including a plurality of nozzles configured to discharge ink, an ink reservoir configured to store ink supplied to the inkjet head, a supply channel configured to supply the ink in the ink reservoir to the inkjet head, a pressure control device connected to the ink reservoir through a pressure control tube and configured to maintain the meniscus of the ink injected into the inkjet head, and the ink temperature control unit configured to control temperature of the ink discharged from the inkjet head.

Abstract: A system for stretching a surface of a shoe for digitally printing onto the surface by an external device, the system comprising an apparatus and a controller in electrical communication, the system having: a main plate to receive and support the shoe; a side arm to traverse longitudinally along an edge of a medial portion of the main plate and to engage with at least a portion of the tongue of the shoe; and a driver causing the longitudinal traversal of the side arm, having: an end bearing and an end connector; a rotary band; an end bracket opposite the end bearing and beneath the main plate; a driving screw between the end bracket and the end bearing, and associated with the side arm; and a motor adapted to receive an electrical signal from the controller selectively causing a rotation of a rotary shaft of the motor.

Abstract: A hybrid printing machine is described having both silk screening stations and a direct-to-garment digital printing station with a raster image processor to control a portion of a printing process.