Abstract: According to one example there is provided apparatus for curing ink on a substrate. The apparatus comprises a substrate support, a curing sheet positionable above the substrate support to create a gap between a substrate on the substrate support and the curing sheet. The apparatus further comprises an oxygen-depletion mechanism for reducing the oxygen level in the gap and an ultra-violet, UV, radiation source to apply UV radiation through the curing sheet to a substrate on the substrate support.

Abstract: An aqueous ink composition including water; a co-solvent; and an aqueous submicron colorant wax dispersion comprising a plurality of colorant wax particles comprising a colorant core surrounded by a wax shell, wherein the colorant wax particles exhibit a particle size distribution of from about 150 nanometers to less than about 300 nanometers; wherein the aqueous submicron colorant wax dispersion is prepared by (a) melting and mixing a dry colorant with at least one wax to form a colorant concentrate, wherein the colorant concentrate contains at least 25 percent by weight of colorant; (b) milling the colorant concentrate of step (a) to form a milled colorant concentrate; (c) combining the milled colorant concentrate of (b) with water and dispersing to form the colorant wax dispersion; wherein the melting and mixing of step (a) and the milling of step (b) is done in an immersion media mill or a horizontal mill; and wherein the combining of step (c) is done using a piston homogenizer.

Abstract: A nozzle assembly with a nozzle body cooperating with a flexible portion, the nozzle assembly also contains a throttle plate, and this combination is used to mitigate pressure variations transmitted to the nozzle assembly. The combination results in a more uniform liquid deposition during continuous liquid printing.

Abstract: A tension fluctuation alleviating device, for use in a fabric printing apparatus including a fabric supplying device, a printing mechanism, a guide between the fabric supplying device and the printing mechanism, and a fabric take-up device, the fabric printing apparatus configured to perform printing on the fabric while intermittently sending the fabric to the printing mechanism, includes a support member provided between the fabric supplying device and the guide device and extending across a width direction of the fabric, and a tension relieving member including an elastically deformable elastic portion supported by the support member and extending from the support member toward the fabric, and a contacting portion closer to the fabric than the elastic portion and contacting with the fabric.

Abstract: A printing apparatus comprises an ink ribbon conveyance section; a recording medium conveyance section; a thermal head which comprises, in the printing section, heat generating elements for thermally transferring the ink of the ink ribbon onto the recording medium; a platen member; a thermal head moving section; a temperature measurement section configured to measure ambient temperature; and a control section configured to drive the thermal head moving section to move the thermal head to the second position when the recording medium is conveyed in a conveyance direction reverse to a conveyance direction for printing and when the ambient temperature measured by the temperature measurement section is above a specific head-up temperature.

Abstract: A print head die is described. In one example, the print head die includes a substrate having liquid feed slots formed therein extending along a major dimension of the substrate and nozzles extending along opposite sides of each of the liquid feed slots; and electrical interconnect formed on the substrate along the major dimension adjacent a last one of the liquid feed slots. A first one of the liquid feed slots opposite the last liquid feed slot and farthest from the electrical interconnect supplies an ink using a higher drop volume than inks in other ones of the liquid feed slots. The last liquid feed slot supplies an ink having a higher contrast with the ink in the first liquid feed slot than with inks in other ones of the liquid feed slots.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatuses and methods for acoustically ejecting the fluid from a reservoir contained in or disposed on a substrate. The reservoir has a portion adapted to contain a fluid, and an acoustic radiation generator is positioned in acoustic coupling relationship to the reservoir. Acoustic radiation generated by the acoustic radiation generator is transmitted through at least the portion of the reservoir to an analyzer. The analyzer is capable of determining the energy level of the transmitted acoustic radiation and raising the energy level of subsequent pulses to a level sufficient to eject fluid droplets from the reservoir. The invention is particularly suited for delivering fluid from a plurality of reservoirs in an accurate and efficient manner.

Abstract: A device for processing media may include a system and method for loading and unloading consumable supplies of a printer, and more particularly, a system and method for providing a compact form factor printer which provides convenient access to the replaceable components of the printer. A printer may include a base and a lid hingedly attached to the base, moveable between a closed position in which the lid is secured to the base, and an open position. A cavity may be defined between the lid and the base, where the cavity is inaccessible when the lid is in the closed position and the cavity is accessible when the lid is in the open position. The printer may include a ribbon positioning assembly disposed within the cavity.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of controlling a printer, the printer having an array of nozzles which extends across a print zone of the printer, the method comprising the steps of: evaluating a nozzle status of the array of nozzles; printing a first swath across the print media in the print zone, wherein the array of nozzles is located in a first position during printing of the first swath; determining a second position of the array of nozzles for printing a second swath so that, under consideration of the determined nozzle status, the combined output of the first and second swaths meets a predetermined criterion; moving the array of nozzles to the determined second position and printing the second swath across the print media in the print zone.

Abstract: An ink jet printer including a transportation mechanism transporting a medium in a first direction; and a carriage having a plasma irradiation mechanism that irradiates a portion of the medium with plasma generated in an electricity discharge portion and emitted from a plasma irradiation opening and a head that ejects ink from a nozzle to the plasma irradiated portion of the medium, and that moves in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The plasma irradiation mechanism is on one side of the head in the second direction, a partition board is between the plasma irradiation opening and the head, and if a distance from the medium's surface to the nozzle is (A), a distance from the medium's surface to the plasma irradiation opening is (B), and a distance from the medium's surface to the bottom edge of the partition board is (C), then (C)<(A)?(B).

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a cap, and a dummy discharge controller. The liquid ejection head has plural nozzle rows in a nozzle formed face thereof. Each of the plural nozzle rows includes multiple nozzles through which droplets are discharged. The cap caps the nozzle formed face of the liquid ejection head. The dummy discharge controller controls a dummy discharge operation to discharge dummy discharge droplets not contributing to image formation from the nozzles with the nozzle formed face opposed to the cap. The dummy discharge controller controls the liquid ejection head to discharge the dummy discharge droplets at different timings between adjacent nozzle rows of the plural nozzle rows in the dummy discharge operation.

Abstract: A printer attenuates curl in media sheets being printing by the printer. The printer includes a moisture ejecting subsystem that ejects a water-containing material in the margins of the media sheet in the cross-process direction to reduce a moisture gradient across the media sheet when the grain of the media is parallel to the process direction of the media moving through the printer.

Abstract: A drying device includes: a drying unit in which a plurality of laser light sources are arranged two-dimensionally and that dries ink placed on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from an ejecting unit by irradiating the ink with laser light; a measuring unit that measures a temperature characteristic, in a conveying direction of the recording medium, of the ink placed on the recording medium; a generation unit that generates, based on the temperature characteristic, a laser light irradiation profile with which the ink temperature will be raised by irradiation with laser light to become higher than or equal to a flex temperature at which the ink temperature starts to flex and then kept in a range being higher than or equal to the flex temperature and lower than a boiling temperature or the ink; and a control unit that controls the drying unit using the irradiation profile.

Abstract: An ejection adjustment pattern forming method of forming an ejection adjustment pattern on a print medium with an inkjet head, which has a plurality of nozzles, with moving the inkjet head in a predetermined scanning direction. The method forms a plurality of thickness measurement patterns respectively on a plurality of pattern forming areas defined on the print medium by causing the plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head to eject ink drops, and forms a plurality of judging patterns respectively on the plurality of pattern forming areas. The ejection conditions of the plurality of nozzles, when the plurality of thickness measurement patterns are formed, are the same among the plurality of pattern forming areas. Further, the ejection conditions of the plurality of nozzles when the first judging pattern is formed and when the second judging pattern is formed are the same among the plurality of pattern forming areas.

Abstract: A liquid discharge device includes a media reel-out unit for reeling media out, a reel-out volume adjustment unit for adjusting the reel-out volume of the media from the media reel-out unit based on change in the slack volume of the media at a position downstream from the media reel-out unit, a first sensor arranged at a position facing at least one edge part in the media width direction, and a second sensor spaced apart from the first sensor in the media width direction. Both the media slack volume and the presence or absence of meandering of the media can be ascertained using sensing information of the first sensor and the second sensor.

Abstract: A recording device includes a head unit that ejects ink onto a target recording medium, and transport units that transport the target recording medium. The transport units are provided with driving rollers that are provided so as to come into contact with a first surface of the target recording medium, and that generate a delivery power in the target recording medium, and air delivery units that push the target recording medium against the driving rollers by applying air pressure to the driving rollers from a side of a second surface of the target recording medium.

Abstract: Provided are: an ink composition for ink-jet printing use, which has good re-dispersibility after being dried and does not undergo the change in properties of the ink even when stored for a long period; and an ink-jet printing method and a dyeing method each using the ink composition. The ink composition according to the present invention comprises: a pigment; water; a polymer (D) composed of at least two monomers independently selected from the group consisting of a monomer (A), a monomer (B) and a monomer (C) respectively represented by specific formulae; a styrene-butadiene resin; a water-soluble organic solvent; and a nonionic surfactant.

Abstract: An image recording method includes an intermediate image-forming step of forming an intermediate image by applying an ink to an intermediate transfer body, a temperature adjusting step, and a transfer step of transferring the intermediate image onto a recording medium, in this order. The ink includes polymer particles and a surfactant which is at least one selected from a compound represented by general formula (1) and a compound represented by general formula (2). In the temperature adjusting step, a temperature of the intermediate image is adjusted to a temperature higher than or equal to a cloud point of the surfactant.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a carriage configured to perform a reciprocating movement while facing a sheet, the carriage being equipped with an inkjet head, and a drying unit configured to apply energy from above the carriage to the sheet so as to dry ink, wherein, when the carriage performs the reciprocating movement, the carriage is reversed at a reversing position where the application of the energy to an end of the sheet or an end of an image formed on the sheet is not blocked by the carriage.

Abstract: An apparatus detects inoperative inkjets during printing of three-dimensional objects. The apparatus includes a supply of substrate that is pulled to a position opposite a printhead to enable a test pattern of material to be formed on a portion of the substrate. That portion is then pulled past a laser sensor, which generates measurement data of the material on the portion of the substrate bearing the test pattern. These measurement data are analyzed to detect inoperative inkjets.