Abstract: Disclosed is a printing mechanism having a printing head mounted on a carriage frame so as to linearly move the printing head toward a platen.

Abstract: An electrophotographic process includes the steps of forming a visible image composed of coloring particles on a photosensitive member having a surface insulating layer, providing the visible image with an electrostatic charge by first corona discharge, bringing a transfer sheet into contact with the photosensitive member, providing the rear surface of the transfer sheet with a predetermined amount of an electrostatic charge of a polarity opposite to that of the charge on the coloring particles by second corona discharge thereby transferring the visible image onto the transfer sheet, and providing the rear surface of the transfer sheet with an electrostatic charge, which is the same in polarity as that of the coloring particles but is less in the amount than that provided by the second corona discharge, thereby separating the transfer sheet from the photosensitive member, and an apparatus adapted for executing the above-mentioned process.

Abstract: In a method of image formation, a primary electrostatic latent image is formed on a screen having a number of fine openings, the primary electrostatic latent image is used to modulate a flow of ions to thereby form a secondary electrostatic latent image on a recording medium, the secondary electrostatic latent image is developed by the use of a developer, the developed image is transferred to another recording member, the charging polarity of the residual portion of the developer remaining on the recording medium is controlled so that, at a position whereat the recording medium and the screen come close to each other, the residual developer may be subjected to a force directed toward the recording medium by an electric field present between the recording medium and the screen, and thereafter the recording medium is reused.