Abstract: An optical filter is disclosed which adjusts the contours of blurred images and maintains the size of blurred images. The optical filter includes a substrate being substantially transparent and a first layer whose optical density changes continuously, formed on the substrate. A transmission rate of the first layer decreases substantially linearly from a center toward a periphery of the optical filter, and the transmission rate distribution is symmetric with respect to the center.

Abstract: A light amount adjustment member, which causes little deterioration of image quality by diffraction at a grain boundary between ink dots in a colored portion, is provided. A production process of a light amount adjustment member, by which a light amount adjustment member can be simply produced at low production cost and high yield, is also provided. A production process of a light amount adjustment member, by which a light amount adjustment member having a density distribution that an optical density varies continuously or stepwise can be simply obtained, is further provided.

Abstract: An optical filter which can be manufactured at low cost and is excellent in optical characteristics is disclosed. The optical filter comprising a transparent substrate and a first layer which is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate. Here, the first layer has a first area which is substantially transparent and a second area which has colored ink and is light-amount adjustable, and the optical path lengths with respect to the first and the second areas are substantially equal.

Abstract: It is an object of this invention to independently control the F-number and the number of light attenuation steps of a multi-density ND filter by using a light amount control apparatus using an iris stop and the ND filter. The iris stop mechanism made up of a plurality of aperture blades and the ND filter having a multi-density pattern are stacked in a single unit. This simultaneously realizes continuous control of the F-number, multi-step control of the light attenuation ratio of the ND filter, a substantially circular stop aperture, and a uniform transmittance distribution in the stop aperture. In the first embodiment, the driving region of an actuator is divided into an ND control region and aperture control region. This makes it possible to independently control the F-number and the number of ND steps by the single actuator.

Abstract: An image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium includes applying a melting colored powder to the recording medium to fix the powder heating and applying liquid inks containing a colorant in a non-aqueous solvent to the recording medium. An image forming apparatus includes device for forming an image with a melting colored powder and a device for forming an image with liquid inks containing a colorant in a non-aqueous solvent.

Abstract: A production process of a light amount adjustment member, by which a light amount adjustment member that can sufficiently satisfy optical properties can be economically produced at low production cost and high yield by a simple operation is provided. In addition, a wide variety of light amount adjustment devices and photographing apparatus equipped with a light amount adjustment member are cheaply provided while achieving satisfactory optical properties. The production process of the light amount adjustment member comprises the step of applying a coloring liquid containing a coloring material to a transparent base material using a liquid jet recording process to form a light amount adjustment region having a particular optical density.

Abstract: Provided is a color filter which comprises a substrate and a resin layer on the substrate, the resin layer containing a plurality of colored portions of different colors and non-colored portions.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention relates to an aqueous dispersion containing pigment-containing particles. The dispersion is an aqueous dispersion comprising particles containing a water-insoluble colorant dispersed in a water-containing medium, wherein the light-scattering intensity of the dispersion is at most 30,000 cps when the absorbance peak value of the dispersion in a visible region is regarded as 1.

Abstract: A production process of a light amount adjustment member, by which a cheap light amount adjustment member hating excellent optical properties can be simply produced is provided. A light amount adjustment device and a photographing apparatus which are cheap, have excellent optical properties and are equipped with the light amount adjustment member are provided by providing the simple production process of the light amount adjustment member. The production process comprises the step of relatively scanning an ink-jet head, from which an ink is ejected on a transparent base material, on the surface of which an ink-receiving layer has been formed, to the transparent base material to apply the ink to the ink-receiving layer, thereby forming a light amount adjustment region, wherein in the step of forming the light amount adjustment region, the ink is ejected from the ink-jet head in such a manner that the ink is applied to the whole light amount adjustment region.

Abstract: There is disclosed a light amount adjustment apparatus for adjusting a state of a flux passed through an aperture having a predetermined aperture diameter, the apparatus comprising: a light amount adjustment member in which a first region having a predetermined transmittance to the flux and a second region for blocking the flux are disposed on the same base material. In the light amount adjustment apparatus, although an optical filter is integrally constituted with a diaphragm blade, there is little positional shift of an ND filter, a shape of the ND filter has a degree of freedom, deterioration of resolution of an image is improved for use in optical apparatuses such as a photographing apparatus, optical properties are superior, the whole apparatus can be miniaturized, and cost reduction of a product can be achieved.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium, which comprises the steps of applying a melting powder toner to the recording medium to fix the toner by heating and applying liquid inks containing a colorant in a non-aqueous solvent to the recording medium. An image forming apparatus comprising a means for forming an image with a melting powder toner and a means for forming an image with liquid inks containing a colorant in a non-aqueous solvent is also disclosed.

Abstract: An ink which includes a first pigment, a second pigment, a polymer dispersant and an aqueous medium; wherein the first pigment is a self-dispersing pigment having on its surface at least one anionic group bonded to the surface directly or via an atomic group, the second pigment is dispersed in the aqueous medium by the polymer dispersant, and the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit, or the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit. Diffusion of this ink in the printing medium is suppressed in the cross-sectional direction but not horizontal direction. Thus, the ink can form an ink dot that has a proper dot size, uniform and high density in the dot, with little feathering or blur.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an ink which appropriately spreads on a surface of a recording medium while being suppressed from permeating into the recording medium the thickness direction thereof to form a dot having an appropriate diameter, a high image density in the dot, and excellent outer shape with substantially no feathering, thereby stably forming a high-quality image. The ink includes a self-dispersible pigment having an anionic group or cationic group bound to the surface thereof directly or through another atomic group, a pigment which can be dispersed in an aqueous medium with a polymeric dispersant, and a polymeric dispersant in an aqueous medium. The ink shows one peak in particle diameter's distribution, the peak positioning at the particle diameter of from 50 to 300 nm.

Abstract: An ink which comprises a first pigment, a second pigment, a polymer dispersant and an aqueous medium; wherein the first pigment is a self-dispersing pigment having on its surface at least one anionic group bonded to the surface directly or via an atomic group, the second pigment is dispersed in the aqueous medium by the polymer dispersant, and the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit, or the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit. Diffusion of this ink in the printing medium is suppressed in the cross-sectional direction but not horizontal direction. Thus, the ink can form an ink dot that has a proper dot size, uniform and high density in the dot, with little feathering or blur.

Abstract: Provided is a recording method for image formation on a recording medium by application thereon of an ink containing a water-soluble dye having an anionic group or a cationic group in the molecule: the recording medium comprising a substance having an ionic group counter to the anionic or cationic group of the water-soluble dye and having molecular weight of not higher than 1,000, and a polymeric substance having molecular weight of not lower than 2,000.

Abstract: A liquid crystal elemental device comprising a pair of substrates arranged in opposed relation to each other through a spacer and a liquid crystal held in a space between the substrates is produced by applying a spacer-forming material onto one of the pair of substrates by an ink-jet system to form the spacer, arranging the pair of substrates in opposed relation to each other with the spacer held therebetween, and enclosing a liquid crystal compound in the space between the pair of substrates.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a printing medium comprising a base material and an ink-receiving layer which comprises inorganic fine particles and a binder and is provided on the base material, wherein the inorganic fine particles are partly projected from a binder layer of the ink-receiving layer and contained in a proportion of 0.05 to 3 parts per 100 parts of the binder in terms of solids.

Abstract: A process for producing a color filter which comprises arranging a light-transmitting colored part on a surface of a base plate by applying an ink onto the base plate by an ink-jet system. The ink comprises water, an aqueous organic solvent and a coloring material, and the coloring material contains a self-dispersing pigment having at least one species of hydrophilic group bonded directly or through a linker group to a surface thereof. The color filter obtained by the process may be used in a liquid crystal panel.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a printing medium comprising a base material and an ink-receiving layer which comprises inorganic fine particles and a binder and is provided on the base material, wherein the inorganic fine particles are partly projected from a binder layer of the ink-receiving layer and contained in a proportion of 0.05 to 3 parts per 100 parts of the binder in terms of solids.

Abstract: A color filter manufacturing method comprises the steps of forming, on a substrate, a photosensitive layer that increases or develops hydrophilic property upon irradiation of light; exposing the photosensitive layer to light for patterning to form hydrophilic areas in which hydrophilic property is relatively high and non-hydrophilic areas in which hydrophilic property is lower than the hydrophilic areas; and applying a setting ink to the hydrophilic areas with an ink jet technique, thereby forming colored portions. A color filter includes at least a photosensitive layer formed on a substrate and having hydrophilic areas in which hydrophilic property is increased or developed upon irradiation of light, and colored portions formed on the hydrophilic areas of the photosensitive layer. A liquid crystal device is constructed by using the color filter. The color filter can be manufactured inexpensively with the reduced number of steps while satisfying requisite characteristics.