Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure can provide a sensor system. The sensor system can include a belt having an undesirable portion and an aperture formed at a distance from the undesirable portion, a reflector located in the aperture, and a detector that senses a light reflected by the reflector to determine a location of the undesirable portion.

Abstract: Forced compression halftone processes and forced compression techniques may be used to forcibly compress page raster images passed between a Digital Front End (DFE) processor and a Continuous Feed (CF) printer within a CF printing system. If a DFE processor determines that a compressed image size exceeds a static or dynamically predetermined threshold, the DFE processor may re-render the image using a “forced compression” halftone process, such as 2-to-1 forced compression, 4-to-1 forced compression, reduced resolution, etc. Once the page raster image has been re-rendered, the DFE processor may use a forced compression technique, which is complimentary to the applied “forced compression” halftone process to re-compress the page raster image. The approach allows page raster images to be compressed to meet interface bandwidth constraints associated with the physical interface between the DFE processor and CF print engine, thereby allowing otherwise unprintable jobs to be printed with reasonable quality.

Abstract: One embodiment is a method for suppressing background inaccuracies in binary to grayscale image conversion. A binary image is converted to a grayscale image using a neighbor map. An image enhancement function is applied to the grayscale image to suppress background inaccuracies in the grayscale image. Another embodiment is method for converting a binary pixel of a binary image to a grayscale pixel of a grayscale image and suppressing noise in the grayscale image using selective filtering of the binary image. Another embodiment is a method for converting a binary image to a first grayscale image and suppressing noise in the first grayscale image to produce a noise suppressed grayscale image using selective filtering of the first grayscale image.

Abstract: An iso-thermalizing printer structure can be used to provide temperature uniformity across a width of a printer fuser roll or fuser belt. Various embodiments are contemplated, including a solid natural graphite shaft, a solid natural graphite core having a sleeve of metal such as aluminum, and other flexible and rigid structures which can comprise natural or synthetic graphite.

Abstract: An emulsion aggregation toner composition includes toner particles including: an unsaturated polymeric resin, selected from amorphous resins, crystalline resins, and mixtures thereof; an optional colorant; an optional wax; an optional coagulant; and a photo initiator capable of initiating crosslinking of said unsaturated polymeric resin.

Abstract: There is provided a variable data image generating device including a plurality of first type image generating units that execute a first rendering instruction for a distributed record and generates a first type image corresponding to the record; a first type image memory that stores the first type image corresponding to each record generated by each of the first image generating units; a distributing unit that distributes a record in variable data to each of the first type image generating units; and a document image generating unit that executes a drawing program including one or more instructions for each record in the variable data, wherein the document image generating unit generates a document image for each record by obtaining the first type image corresponding to the record from the first type image memory and laying out the obtained image in response to the first rendering instruction in the rendering program.

Abstract: Apparatuses useful in printing and methods of controlling the temperature of surfaces in apparatuses useful in printing are provided. An exemplary embodiment of the apparatuses useful in printing includes a belt including a first surface; at least one heat source for heating the first surface; a roll including a second surface; a temperature sensor positioned to measure a temperature of the second surface; and a roll positioning device coupled to the roll for positioning the second surface of the roll in contact with the first surface of the belt to form a nip and increase the temperature of the second surface, and for positioning the second surface out of contact with the first surface to decrease the temperature of the second surface, in response to the temperature measured by the temperature sensor.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a novel system and method for identifying and removing print defects from an original document such that user markings applied to the hardcopy originally can be more readily identified and extracted. In one embodiment, an image of an original document and a marked document are received. The original document was printed using a print device which caused a print defect in the hardcopy print. Methods for identifying the print defect in the difference image are provided herein. The identified print defect is removed from the difference image. The difference image retains the user-applied markings once the print defects have been identified and removed. The user markings can then be provided to a storage device for subsequent retrieval and added into the image of the original document to generate an image of a new marked document containing the user markings without the defect. Various embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: The methods of manufacturing a curable wax, such as an acrylate of a hydroxyl-terminated polyethylene wax having the structure CH3—(CH2)n—CH2OH, where n=22-24, and removing a fouled material in a reactor are disclosed. The methods may include reacting a wax having a transformable functional group and a curable compound in the absence of an organic solvent to form an acrylate. The methods may further include removing excess curable compound using hot water having a temperature of more than about 85° C., solidifying the acrylate, removing the acrylate, and removing a fouled material in the reactor by emulsification.

Abstract: An imaging device includes print media and a plurality of ink jets for ejecting drops of substantially clear ink onto the print media. One of the print media and the substantially clear ink has a fluorescent characteristic and the other of the print media and the substantially clear ink is substantially non-fluorescent. The imaging device includes a fluorescence sensor having (i) a light emitter for illuminating the print media and the drops of substantially clear ink ejected onto the media by the plurality of ink jets with light of an activating wavelength, and (ii) a light detector for detecting a fluorescence intensity of light received from the print media and the drops of substantially clear ink ejected onto the media in an emission wavelength. A controller is configured to modify an operating parameter of the imaging device based on the fluorescence intensity detected by the sensor.

Abstract: A printing apparatus and method include a charging device positioned adjacent a photoreceptor that places a latent image charge on the photoreceptor. A donor device is adjacent the photoreceptor, and transfers marking material to regions of the photoreceptor that have received the latent image charge. In addition, a media path that is adjacent the photoreceptor causes at least one sheet of media to be placed on the photoreceptor and the marking material. A transfer assist blade that is also adjacent the photoreceptor, presses the sheet of media against the photoreceptor to cause the marking material to be transferred to the sheet of media. The apparatus also includes a controller that is operatively connected to the transfer assist blade. The controller causes the transfer assist blade to apply more pressure to leading and trailing portions of the sheet of media relative to the middle portion of the sheet of media.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides processes for producing polyester toners by emulsion aggregation where the resulting toner particles have high pigment loadings and desired circularity. The methods include adding a metal, in embodiments a metal compound, at the beginning of coalescence, which speeds the coalescence process and produces toner particles having a desired size and circularity for use in electrophotographic imaging systems.

Abstract: In methods and apparatuses at least one power supply is connected to at least one functional component. The power supply is also connected to an alternating current power source. The power supply provides power to the functional component when the functional component is operating in a relatively high power mode (normal operating mode). In addition, at least one energy storage device is connected to the functional component. The energy storage device supplies energy storage device power to the functional component when the functional component is operating in a relatively low power mode, such as a sleep mode.

Abstract: A device driver setting device includes an acquiring unit, an allowing unit, and a writing unit. The acquiring unit acquires, from a data group constituting a device driver, condition information for each of one or more items which the device driver refers to. The condition information for each of the one or more items indicates a condition which can be taken by a setting value to be set in each of the items. The allowing unit allows a user to select a setting value which is to be set in each of at least a part of the items acquired, in accordance with the condition information associated with each of the at least a part of the items acquired. The writing unit writes setting values which are to be set in the respective items acquired into the data group based on a result of the selecting.

Abstract: A solid ink printer is configured to learn the identity of solid ink sticks for printer operation. The solid ink printer includes a feed channel having an insertion opening configured to receive solid ink sticks, a sensor positioned near the insertion opening of the feed channel and configured to obtain solid ink stick type data from a solid ink stick inserted into the insertion opening of the feed channel, and a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor to receive the solid ink stick type data, the controller being configured to store the solid ink stick type data in a memory in response to an initialization signal and to operate the solid ink printer with reference to the solid ink stick type data stored in the memory by the controller.

Abstract: The methods of manufacturing a curable wax, such as an acrylate of a hydroxyl-terminated polyethylene wax having the structure CH3—(CH2)n—CH2OH, where n=22-24, are disclosed. The methods may include reacting a wax having a transformable functional group and a curable compound in the presence of an organic solvent to form an acrylate. The methods may further include removing excess curable compound using hot water having a temperature of more than 85° C., and solidifying the acrylate. The methods may thereby provide safe and cost effective methods for curable wax production at large scale.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides processes for producing images with toner particles. In embodiments, toner particles of a certain diameter in size are applied to a substrate as an incomplete monolayer, and then fused to form an image that is a complete monolayer and possesses a thickness less than the diameter of the particles utilized to form the image.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for creating virtual models, primarily through actions taken in actual 3D physical space. For many applications, such systems are more natural to users and may provide a greater sense of reality than can be achieved by editing a virtual model at a computer display, which requires the use of manipulations of a 2D display to effect 3D changes. Actions are taken (markup is drawn or laid out, etc.) in a physical workspace. Such physical workspaces may in fact be identical to the space being modeled, small physical scale models of the space, or even a whiteboard or set of papers or objects which get mapped onto the space being modeled.

Abstract: The present teachings provide an intermediate transfer member which includes a substrate layer and a surface layer disposed on the substrate layer. The surface layer includes a polyimide polymer having the formula: wherein R is alkyl or aryl and the like and mixtures thereof; and n and m are the mole percent of the repeating unit.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments provide an intermediate transfer member used for electrophotographic devices, wherein an outermost layer of the intermediate transfer layer can include a plurality of fluoroelastomer-coated carbon nanotubes dispersed in a fluoroplastic matrix to provide desirable surface properties useful for the intermediate transfer member.