Abstract: A developing device (3a-3d) is provided with a development container (20), a first stirring conveyance member (25), a second stirring conveyance member (26), and a developer carrier (31). The development container (20) has a first conveyance chamber (21), a second conveyance chamber (22), and a communication portion (20). The first stirring conveyance member (25) includes a first rotation shaft (23a) and a first stirring blade (24a). The second stirring conveyance member (26) includes a second rotation shaft (23b) and a second stirring blade (24b). The developer carrier (31) is opposed to the second stirring conveyance member (26). The first rotation shaft (23a) includes, at least in a partial region in an axial direction of the first rotating shaft (23a), a tapered portion (36) of which a shaft diameter increases toward a downstream side in a developer conveyance direction in the first conveyance chamber (21).

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods relating generally to pre-rendering prior receiving a command to print are disclosed. In such a method and system therefor, a determination is made that a document is open. An idle time is identified to pre-render at least a portion of the document prior to assertion of a print command therefor. At least the portion of the document is pre-rendered during the idle time thereof. In another method thereof, a determination is made that a document is offline. The document is determined to be a candidate to be pre-rendered. The document is pre-rendered to provide a rendered version thereof prior to assertion of a print command. The rendered version is cached.

Abstract: A display control device includes a display section and a display controller. The display controller controls the display section so as to cause the display section to display a first image (703a to 703f) and a second image. The first image (703a to 703f) is displayed in an upper layer for the second image. The first image (703a to 703f) represents a category item. The second image represents a setting item belonging to the category item. The display controller controls the display section so as to cause the display section to display a predetermined image (705) in the first image (703a to 703f) according to the setting item that has been entered.

Abstract: Provided is an image forming apparatus including: an image bearing member which is configured to bear a toner image; an intermediate transfer belt; a transfer roller; a drive roller; a driven roller; a meandering prevention pulley; and a meandering prevention belt. The meandering prevention pulley is arranged to face an end surface of the driven roller in an axial direction of the driven roller. The meandering prevention belt is arranged on an outside in the axial direction relative to the meandering prevention pulley, and protrudes from an inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt. The meandering prevention pulley has a guide surface which faces the meandering prevention belt in the axial direction, and which is formed to have a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.5 ?m or more.

Abstract: A development device includes a development container, a stirring conveyance member, a developer carrier, a vent hole, a filter, and a developer leakage prevention sheet. The stirring conveyance member conveys, while stirring, the developer containing toner inside the development container. The developer carrier carries on its outer circumferential surface the developer to feed the toner to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The vent hole is formed in the development container to allow the inside and outside of the development container to communicate with each other. The filter is arranged to cover the vent hole from outside the development container. The developer leakage prevention sheet is flexible and is arranged inside the development container, opposite the vent hole so as to overlap the entire vent hole. A gap is formed between the developer leakage prevention sheet and the opening edge of the vent hole.

Abstract: An inkjet ink contains coloring particles and an aqueous medium. The coloring particles contain a reaction product between a reactive dye and a specific resin having a primary hydroxyl group. The reactive dye may have a chlorotriazinyl group. The specific resin may include a styrene-(meth)acrylic resin, a polyester resin, or a urethane resin.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a charging device, an exposure device, a development device, a development voltage power supply, a humidity detection device and a controller. The exposure device exposes the surface of the image carrying member charged by the charging device to form an electrostatic latent image. The development device includes a development container which stores a developer including a toner and a developer carrying member which supplies, to the image carrying member, the toner in the developer, and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The development voltage power supply applies, to the developer carrying member, a development voltage with an alternating voltage superimposed on a direct voltage. The humidity detection device detects an absolute humidity around the development device. The controller stepwise increases the frequency of the alternating voltage as the absolute humidity detected by the humidity detection device is increased.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a two-component developer, a photosensitive member, a charging device, a development device and an intermediate transfer belt. The intermediate transfer belt contains a base resin and a conductive agent. The base resin includes a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. The photosensitive member includes a base member and an amorphous silicon photosensitive layer. The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the surface of the photosensitive member is equal to or greater than 37 nm but equal to or less than 105 nm. The toner particle includes a toner base particle and a toner external additive that is adhered to the surface of the toner base particle. The toner external additive includes a spacer particle. The number average primary particle diameter of the spacer particle is greater than the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the surface of the photosensitive member.

Abstract: An inkjet image forming apparatus includes an image part, a precoating unit, and a control part. The image forming part ejects ink on a printing base material conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction, based on image data to form an image. The precoating unit is arranged on an upstream side of the image forming part in the conveyance direction, and performs a precoating treatment in which a precoating liquid is ejected on the printing base material. The control part controls an amount of the precoating liquid ejected by the precoating unit. The control part increases an amount of the precoating liquid ejected to a region where adjacent pixels have different color compared with an amount of the precoating liquid ejected to a region where adjacent pixels have the same color.

Abstract: Provided is an industrial printing system that enables output with the attribute of a printing apparatus at the distributed destination of production printing in a peer-to-peer manner. An attribute acquisition unit acquires other attribute information supported by other printing apparatus at distributed destination. A table generation unit compares acquired other attribute information with own attribute information supported by own printing apparatus to generate a conversion table that is set with a conversion rule for a mismatched attribute. A processing management unit sends the job to the other print server to request for processing based on generated conversion table so that the job is to be printed by the other printing apparatuses.

Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a document tray, a common transport route, a curved transport route, a linear transport route, a switching device, a document transport device, a first image sensor, a second image sensor, a trailing edge detector, a multi feed detector, a leading edge detector, and a controller. The controller determines a length of the document in the transport direction, on a basis of a time point that the leading edge detector has detected the leading edge of the document, a time point that the trailing edge detector has detected the trailing edge of the document, and a time point that a detection status of the multi feed detector has been switched to a non-detection state, and guides the document to the curved transport route or the linear transport route from the common transport route, according to the length of the document, by controlling the switching device.

Abstract: Provided is an ink-replacement method for an inkjet recording apparatus that includes a recording head having an ink ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a recording medium is arranged, a sub-tank for temporarily retaining the ink supplied from an ink container, and an ink flow path along which the ink circulates from and to the sub-tank by passing through the recording head. In replacing a first ink present in the ink flow path with a second ink to be newly supplied to the recording head via the ink flow path, when the second ink is caused to flow from the sub-tank into the ink flow path, pulsation is generated in the ink flow path.

Abstract: A roller cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning member making contact with a conveying roller, a holder holding the cleaning member, a housing for the holder, and an urging member. The holder is supported on the housing swingably about a swing shaft parallel to the axial direction of a driving roller. The urging member urges the holder oppositely to the rotation direction of the conveying roller. When the conveying roller rotates, its rotative driving force keeps the holder at a cleaning position where a cleaning face of the cleaning member makes contact with the outer circumferential face of the conveying roller. When the conveying roller is halted, the urging force of the urging member keeps the holder at a retracted position where a part of the cleaning member different from the cleaning face makes contact with the outer circumferential face of the conveying roller.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus transfers an image onto a surface of a sheet at a transfer position on a conveying path. A pair of conveying rollers convey the sheet to the transfer position. The image sensor reads the sheet upstream of the transfer position. The rotary body is disposed to face the image sensor with the conveying path interposed therebetween. The rotary body includes a background portion configured to face a reading surface of the image sensor when the rotary body is at a first rotational position, and a cleaning portion configured to come into contact with the reading surface of the image sensor when the rotary body is at a second rotational position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image carrying member units and an intermediate transfer unit. The image carrying member units include image carrying members and image carrying member support frames. The intermediate transfer unit includes an intermediate transfer belt. The image forming apparatus includes: a locating member; image carrying member-side guide rails that are formed on upper end portions of the image carrying member support frames and extend along a horizontal direction; and a main body-side guide rail that is formed as a bridge in the horizontal direction between the image carrying member-side guide rails. When the intermediate transfer unit is fitted to the main body of the apparatus, the intermediate transfer unit slides on the image carrying member-side guide rails and the main body-side guide rail and is guided by the locating member to be located in a fitting position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a development voltage power supply, and a control section. The developing device includes a development container which contains a non-magnetic one-component developer and a developer carrying member which includes a rotary shaft and a roller portion stacked on the outer circumferential surface of the rotary shaft, and the resistance value of the roller portion is 9 to 11 [Log ?], and when the amount of toner conveyed on the developer carrying member is Md [g/m2], the amount of toner adhered on the image carrying member in a solid image is Mp [g/m2], the peripheral speed of the developer carrying member and the image carrying member are Sd [mm/sec] and Sp [mm/sec], 0.8×Sd/Sp<Mp/Md and 0.8?Sd/Sp?1.2 are satisfied.

Abstract: A print image generation unit is configured to perform a first rasterization process for printing and thereby generate print image data, and perform a second rasterization process for inspection and thereby generate reference image data, on the basis of a print request. A print unit is configured to perform printing based on the print image data onto a print paper sheet and thereby produce a print product. An image scanning unit is configured to perform image scanning of the print product and thereby generate scan image data. An inspection processing unit is configured to compare the scan image data and the reference image data and thereby perform inspection of the printed matter. Further, the second rasterization process is a rasterization process performed in a rendering condition different from a rendering condition of the first rasterization process.

Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus for ordering a plurality of scanned page data with high accuracy. The OCR unit performs optical character recognition for character and layout in a page for each of the plurality of page data. The rule order unit classifies the characters and layouts that are performed optical character recognition by the OCR unit based on the page ordering rules, extracts the page numbers, and calculates the certainty of the page numbers. The ML order unit classifies the page data of pages with low certainty calculated by the rule order unit by machine learning, and it infers the page number.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus includes: an ink-jet head with a nozzle plate; a blade that wipes the nozzle plate; a supply member provided upstream of the nozzle plate in a direction of wiping and capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to the blade upon contact with the blade; a link member that supports the supply member and rocks about a shaft below the supply member; a biasing member that biases the link member upstream in the wiping direction; and a pressing portion provided in conjunction with the ink-jet head and facing the supply member. While the ink-jet head is moved up, the supply member is kept away from the nozzle plate upstream in the wiping direction. When the ink-jet head moves down, the pressing portion presses down the supply member against a biasing force of the biasing member and, thus, the supply member moves downstream in the wiping direction.

Abstract: A drying apparatus dries a recording medium on which an image is formed, under a high temperature atmosphere while conveying the recording medium, the drying apparatus includes an endless conveying belt, and a roller. The conveying belt supports and conveys the recording medium in a predetermined conveyance direction. The conveying belt is wound around the roller. The roller includes a cylindrical roller body, and flange bodies fitted into both ends of the roller body. In a fitting region between the roller body and the flange body, a thermal expansion coefficient of an inside fitted portion is higher than a thermal expansion coefficient of an outside fitted portion.