Abstract: According to an embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming units, an exposure unit, a transfer unit, and a processor. The processor is configured to, if a difference between an environmental temperature and a temperature in the exposure unit during a time from a start of activation to a start of image formation satisfies a predetermined condition, display, on a display device, a guidance to notify misalignment of each image that the transfer unit transfers to the medium after a predetermined guidance start time has elapsed from an activation operation.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer bearer, a supply chamber, a first conveying screw, a collection chamber, and a second conveying screw. The developer bearer bears developer containing toner and carrier. The supply chamber stores the developer supplied to the developer bearer. The first conveying screw is in the supply chamber and supplies the developer to the developer bearer in a first direction. The collection chamber collects the developer. The second conveying screw is in the collection chamber and conveys the developer to the supply chamber in a second direction to circulate the developer between the supply chamber and the collection chamber. The supply chamber has an arc-shaped cross-sectional portion in a lower part of an inner surface of the supply chamber lower than a horizontal line passing through a rotation center of the first conveying screw. The arc-shaped cross-sectional portion follows a rotation trajectory of the first conveying screw.

Abstract: A document reading device includes a document stacker on which a document is placed, a conveyor, a reader, a document presser, a detector, and circuitry. The conveyor conveys the document placed on the document stacker. The reader reads the document conveyed by the conveyor. The document presser is movable between a contact position at which the document presser contacts the document placed on the document stacker and a retracted position at which the document presser is retracted from the document. The detector detects whether the document presser is present at one or both of the contact position and the retracted position. The circuitry performs control based on a detection result of the document presser detected by the detector.

Abstract: An inference apparatus includes a sheet jam detector to detect occurrence of a jam of a sheet on a conveyance path in a case that the sheet is conveyed along the conveyance path by an operation of a sheet conveyor and circuitry to acquire information indicating a state of the sheet conveyor and a state of the sheet on the conveyance path in a case that the occurrence of the jam is detected, input information indicating at least one of the state of the sheet conveyor or the state of the sheet on the conveyance path to a learning model, the learning model being generated by performing machine learning to infer a cause of the jam of the sheet, and receive an inference result of the cause of the jam from the learning model.

Abstract: An input device includes a display, a touch input device, a touchless detector, and circuitry. The touch input device has a body and a touch region partially overlapping the display face of the display when viewed from a normal direction normal to the display face of the display. The touch input device receives a touch or a press to input operations in the touch region in a touch mode. The touchless detector is attached to the body of the touch input device and detects a touchless input in a touchless region covering a switching region outside the touch region in a touchless mode. The circuitry is configured to determine whether the touchless detector has detected the touchless input in the switching region, and switch from the touch mode to the touchless mode when it is determined that the touchless detector has detected the touchless input as a switching operation.

Abstract: A post-processing apparatus includes a sheet binder to bind a sheet bundle including a sheet to perform a sheet binding operation. The sheet binder includes a sheet folder to fold a part of the sheet to form a folded portion on the sheet of the sheet bundle.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, a charger to charge a surface of the photoconductor, a current detector to detect a charging current that flows when the photoconductor is charged, and circuitry. The circuitry outputs a determination result of a condition of the photoconductor obtained using a machine learning model having learned a relationship between the charging current and the condition of the photoconductor.

Abstract: A transfer sheet is provided that includes a release support, a first toner, and a second toner. The release support has a surface having a peeling force of 250 mN/25 mm or more and 2000 mN/25 mm or less. The first toner includes a release agent and a binder resin, and the binder resin includes a polyurethane resin accounting for 50% by mass or more of the first toner. The toner has a sea-island structure in a scanning electron microscopic image of a cross section of the first toner, and has a glass transition temperature of lower than 0° C. The second toner is a color toner including a binder resin, a colorant, and a release agent. The second toner is layered over the surface of the release support, and the first toner is layered over the second toner.

Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a printer control program controls a printer control device configured to control printers through a network. The program causes a processor of the device to: provide to a user an acquisition environment for acquiring model type information that is preset for each of model types of the printers, acquire the model type information in response to an acquisition request by the user for the model type information, and register the model type information in preset information; provide to the user a selection environment for selecting the model type information from the preset information, and register the model type information selected by the user in set information; and provide to the user an instruction environment for instructing a job to the printer by using the set information, and instruct the job instructed by the user to the printer.

Abstract: A thermal printer includes a print head, a transmitter, a receiver, and a controller. The print head is configured to print an image on a recording medium by applying heat. The transmitter is configured to transmit an authentication request including authentication information about a user to an external image forming apparatus. The receiver is configured to receive an authentication result response including an authentication result for the user using the authentication information from the image forming apparatus. The controller is configured to control the print head, based on the authentication result included in the received authentication result response.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes a stacker, a pickup roller, a conveyor, a separator, a pressing member, and a pressure. The pickup roller contacts the sheet on the stacker, and conveys the sheet in a conveyance direction. The conveyor is downstream from the pickup roller in the conveyance direction, to convey the sheet. The separator contacts the conveyor to form a nip to nip the sheet, and restricts a conveyance of multiple sheets. The pressing member is upstream from the pickup roller in the conveyance direction, and switchable between a pressing state and a separated state. The pressure mechanism causes the pickup roller to apply a first pressure force to the sheet when the pressing member is in the separated state, and causes the pickup roller to apply a second pressure force to the sheet when the pressing member is in the pressing state.

Abstract: Particles including a biodegradable resin and a metal oxide, in which a ratio of an absorption amount of oleic acid to an absorption amount of triglyceride in the particles is 1.5 or more.

Abstract: A medium processing apparatus includes a tray, a medium stacker, a media bundle ejector, a media bundle guide, and a drive source. The medium stacker stacks media bundle on which a process is performed. The media bundle ejector ejects the media bundle from the medium stacker to the tray in an ejection direction. The media bundle guide is movable in the ejection direction to guide the media bundle ejected in the ejection direction. The drive source drives each of the media bundle ejector and the media bundle guide.

Abstract: A medium processing apparatus includes a stacker, a first direction aligner, a second direction aligner, a binder, a drive source, and a switch. The stacker stacks media conveyed in a conveyance direction. The first direction aligner aligns a position of the media in the conveyance direction. The second direction aligner aligns a position of the media in a main scanning direction. The binder binds a media bundle of the media on the stacker. The drive source moves the second direction aligner in a first-side direction and a second-side direction. The switch switches the first direction aligner between a first state where the first direction aligner is allowed to move in the first-side direction by the second direction aligner and is restricted to move in the second-side direction and a second state where the first direction aligner is allowed to move in the second-side direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, an image forming device, and a document reading device. The document reading device reads a document and includes a feed tray that place the document before reading, a document reader that reads the document fed from the feed tray, an ejection port that ejects the document read by the document reader, and an ejection tray that places the document ejected from the ejection port. The document reader is disposed between the feed tray and the ejection tray in a horizontal direction. The ejection port is disposed between the document reader and the ejection tray, and closer to a center of the apparatus body than both ends of the apparatus body in the horizontal direction in the front view. At least a part of the ejection tray is overlapped with the apparatus body in a vertical direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: a first storage medium storing a startup program configured to start an operating system; a second storage medium storing startup data of the operating system; a third storage medium storing one or more pieces of software and user data; and an update processor configured to update at least one of the startup data and the software. The update processor is configured to: when updating the startup data, store updated startup data in the third storage medium; start the operating system using the updated startup data stored in the third storage medium; store, in the third storage medium, the startup data stored in the second storage medium; and replace the startup data stored in the second storage medium with the updated startup data.

Abstract: A toner contains toner particles that contains a polyester resin, an aromatic petroleum resin, and a release agent, wherein cross sections of the toner particles observed with a scanning electron microscope have domains of the release agent that satisfy the following requirements (i) and (ii): (i) the average number of the domains present per toner particle is 2 to 8; and (ii) each of the domains has a long diameter of at least 400 nm and an aspect ratio of at most 0.7 as calculated by Formula 1: Aspect ratio=(short diameter of domain)/(long diameter of domain)??Formula 1.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a heater, a first rotator, a second rotator, a bearing, a bearing holder, and a side plate. The first rotator has an outer circumferential surface. The second rotator includes a rotation shaft extending in an axial direction of the rotation shaft. The second rotator faces the outer circumferential surface of the first rotator to form a fixing nip, through which a recording medium passes, between the first rotator and the second rotator. The bearing rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the second rotator. The bearing holder holds the bearing. The side plate holds the bearing holder. The bearing is relatively movable with respect to one of the bearing holder or the side plate in the axial direction.

Abstract: A medium processing apparatus includes a conveyor, a position changer, and circuitry. The conveyor conveys a sheet medium in a conveyance direction. The conveyor includes a roller pair having opposed rollers opposed to each other in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. The roller pair nips an end portion of the sheet medium in the main scanning direction and convey the sheet medium in the conveyance direction. The position changer changes a position at which the roller pair nips the sheet medium to change an opposing distance between the opposed rollers of the roller pair in the main scanning direction. The circuitry is to control the conveyor and the position changer to change the opposing distance based on attribute information of the sheet medium.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes intermediate-transferor facing members including an image bearer, an intermediate transferor; a transferor to transfer the toner image from the intermediate transferor, a cleaner to clean a surface of the intermediate transferor, a lubricant supplier to supply a lubricant to one of the intermediate-transferor facing members, and circuitry to form a toner pattern, on the surface of the image bearer, in a portion where the image is not formed, control the transferor to input the toner pattern to a contact portion of the cleaner with the image bearer, determine whether a non-supply portion is present on the intermediate transferor due to a decrease in the lubricant supplied from the lubricant supplier, and increase an amount of toner in the toner pattern input to the contact portion of the cleaner based on a determination result that the non-supply portion is present on the intermediate transferor.