Abstract: An ink jet printer includes: an image forming section for forming an image by ejecting a pigment ink toward a recording medium in which a surficial layer includes thermoplastic fine particles, in a case; a fixing member for fixing the image by heating and pressurizing the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image forming section; a drying member for drying the ink used for forming the image before the image is fixed to the recording medium by the fixing member; a temperature detecting member for detecting a temperature in the case; a humidity detecting member for detecting a humidity in the case; and a drying member control section for controlling an operation of the drying member in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detecting member and the humidity detected by the humidity detecting member.

Abstract: An air flow restriction device relates to an ink jet printhead enclosure with body, a load supportable moveable lid with an opening disposed on the body, and a chamber within the body. Continuous web media is disposed in the chamber with at least one ink jet printhead located above the continuous web media within the chamber. A high efficiency air filter with a fan is located within the opening of the moveable lid and the filter with fan flows continuous clean filtered air into the enclosure, bathing the ink jet printhead and the continuous web media in clean filtered air. An air flow restriction device is placed in the side of the chamber below the continuous web media creating positive pressure in the chamber when the fan and filter floods the chamber with the clean filtered air, thereby reducing particle contamination in the chamber by a factor of at least ten.

Abstract: An integrated circuit for an ink jet printer includes a state machine with numerous sequenced logic circuits to generate buffered control signals from the tachometer input. A counter counts one of the buffered control signals from the state machine forming a write address. A synchronous up-down counter receives a cue delay value when the up-down counter receives a buffered control signal thereby forming a delayed count. An adder receives the write address and the delayed count and generates a read address. A comparator compares the delayed count to the cue delay value and sets a comparator output depending upon whether the delayed count is greater than or less than the cue delay value. A multiplexer receives the read and write addresses and the buffered control signals and sends a single to RAM. A logic circuit receives the buffered control signals and outputs a delayed cue signal to the printing system.

Abstract: A method and system for selectively controlling supplied power to an ink melt heater for maintaining a desired ink melt rate despite a varying ambient parameter affecting an actual melt rate. A predetermined amount of power is supplied to the ink melt heater intended to cause the desired ink melt rate. The ambient parameter is detected by the ink melt heater. A determination is made if the detected ambient parameter will cause a variance in the actual ink melt rate from the desired ink melt rate. If a variance is so determined, the supplied power is adjusted from the predetermined amount to an adjusted amount for realizing desired ink melt rate. The ambient parameter preferably comprises sensing a factor representative of at least one of local environmental air temperature to the printing system or adjacent ink temperature to the heat plate.

Abstract: To provide a print system which can cope with both of the specification of the conventional PDL and the specification of the new PDL, in which print mode the printing is executed is selected between a first print mode for drawing by setting a position that is away from a sheet edge by a specified offset to an origin and a second print mode for drawing by setting the sheet edge to the origin, and processes are executed in the selected print mode.

Abstract: A reservoir for an ink supply for an ink-jet printer is provided with a refill port through which it can be refilled. The reservoir may be coupled to a variable volume chamber via a check valve which allows the flow of ink from the reservoir to the chamber and limits the flow of ink from the chamber to the reservoir. The chamber is coupled to a fluid outlet which is normally closed to prevent the flow of ink. However, when the ink supply is installed in a printer, the fluid outlet establishes a fluid connection between the chamber and the printer. The chamber is part of a pump provided with the ink supply that can be actuated to supply ink from the reservoir to the printer. Alternatively, the reservoir may be coupled directly to the fluid outlet and an alternative method of transferring the ink to the printer provided.

Abstract: This invention relates to an ink jet printer including a printing-head which discharges photo-curing ink toward a printing sheet, and a light irradiation unit which irradiates the ink landing surface of the printing sheet with light, wherein the light irradiation unit irradiates the ink landing surface by optical scanning via a reflecting member with rays having a wavelength range in which ink is cured, and an image printing apparatus having the ink jet printer.

Abstract: A heat fixing apparatus has a heating unit for heating a recording medium having a substrate, a fixing layer and a surface layer so as to sublimate sublimating ink applied in advance to the surface layer for transferring the sublimated ink to the fixing layer. The heating unit includes a heating transporting mechanism for transporting the recording medium within a heating space, a heater body for heating air, and a blower mechanism for supplying hot air heated by the heater body to the recording medium being transported by the heating transporting mechanism. The apparatus further includes a flat guide member for coming into contact with the surface of the recording medium being transported by the heating transporting mechanism and a heater for heating the guide member.

Abstract: A printer for a modular image capture and printing system has an elongate body with connectors formed at opposing ends to engage other modules of the system. A data bus runs along the body and interconnects the end connectors. Slots along opposing sides of the elongate body define a print media path across which a printhead is located. The printhead is controlled by a printhead controller that, in use, responds to data placed on the bus from other modules of the system.

Abstract: A printer head using a radio frequency micro-electromechanical system (RF MEMS) sprayer includes an inner pressure chamber having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet; a cavity resonator surrounding the inner pressure chamber, wherein the cavity resonator inputs a predetermined cavity resonance frequency signal to increase an inner pressure of the inner pressure chamber; a signal transmitting unit for generating the predetermined cavity resonance frequency signal and for inputting the generated cavity resonance frequency signal into the inner pressure chamber through the cavity resonator in response to an external input control signal; and a liquid chamber for supplying a liquid, wherein the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet each extend through the inner pressure chamber and the cavity resonator so that when an inner pressure of the inner pressure chamber is increased by the cavity resonator, a liquid from within the inner pressure chamber is ejected.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a printhead assembly. The printhead assembly comprises an elongate body aligned with a body axis which, in use, is located transverse to the feed direction of paper. There is also provided a plurality of elongate print chips arranged along the body axis and each aligned with a print chip axis. Each print chip comprises a row of nozzles along its length. An acute angle is formed between the body axis and the print chip axis so that the separation between adjacent nozzles along the body axis is less than the separation between nozzles along the print chip axis.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method, including the steps of: A) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals; B) loading said printer with an ink jet recording element, having a non-absorbing substrate; C) loading said printer with an ink jet ink composition having an aqueous ink jet ink composition comprising: a pigment; a heat sensitive ionomer; at least one surfactant; and a humectant; wherein the ionomer is a charged polymer having at least 5 mol % of the recurring units negatively or positively charged, and D) printing on said ink jet recording element accompanied by a heating step using said ink jet ink composition in response to said digital data signals.

Abstract: A chamber support plate of an inkjet head is formed as a member different from a housing. The chamber support plate is formed with a plurality of grooves at high density by a dicing saw or the like. Piezoelectric elements are inserted into the grooves and adhered to a chamber plate. The plurality of grooves define comb teeth portions, which support the chamber plate at positions between adjacent piezoelectric elements.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing head comprising a flow-passage unit and an actuator unit laminated on each other, wherein the flow-passage unit has nozzles and pressure chambers communicating with the respective nozzles, and the actuator unit is operable to apply pressure to ink in each pressure chamber, and wherein each pressure chamber communicates at one of its opposite longitudinal ends with the corresponding nozzle, and at the other longitudinal end with an ink supply source, and is formed so as to be open in one of the opposite surfaces of the flow-passage unit, such that each pressure chamber is partially defined by the actuator unit, and wherein each pressure chamber has a depth of 35 ?m–45 ?m in a direction perpendicular to the opposite surfaces of the flow-passage unit.

Abstract: A monolithic ink-jet printhead includes a substrate having an ink chamber to be supplied with ink to be ejected on a front surface thereof, a manifold for supplying ink to the ink chamber on a rear surface thereof, and an ink channel in communication with the ink chamber and the manifold, a nozzle plate including a plurality of passivation layers stacked on the substrate and a heat dissipating layer overlying the passivation layers, the nozzle plate having a nozzle penetrating the nozzle plate, a heater formed between adjacent passivation layers and located above the ink chamber for heating the ink to be supplied within the ink chamber, and a conductor provided between adjacent passivation layers, the conductor being electrically connected to the heater for applying current across the heater, wherein the heat dissipating layer is made of a thermally conductive metal for dissipating heat from the heater.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method including a step of: jetting a dye ink onto a surface of a recording medium, wherein said dye ink includes a latex capable of absorbing ultraviolet light, and said recording medium includes a substrate having thereon at least one ink absorbing layer, the outermost ink absorbing layer being a porous layer.

Abstract: An ink jet head having: a nozzle tip having a front end surface in which a nozzle for jetting ink is provided, and four side surfaces adjacent to a back end surface which is opposite to the nozzle; and a frame shape member on which the nozzle tip is mounted, the frame shape member having a first protrusion pair each of which abuts on one pair of facing sides of the four side surfaces to sandwich the nozzle tip, and a second protrusion pair which abuts on the other pair of facing sides of the four side surfaces to sandwich the nozzle tip.

Abstract: A printhead chip includes a substrate that defines ink supply conduits. Drive circuitry is positioned on the substrate. Nozzle chamber assemblies are positioned on the substrate. Each nozzle chamber assembly defines a nozzle chamber in fluid communication with a respective ink supply conduit and has an upper portion that defines an ink ejection port in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber and a lower portion that extends from the substrate. The upper portion is reciprocally displaceable with respect to the lower portion so that ink is ejected from the ink ejection port. Actuators are connected to the drive circuitry and to respective said upper portions to displace said upper portions to eject ink. Nozzle-clearing structures are mounted on the substrate in respective nozzle chambers. The nozzle-clearing structures are dimensioned to project through respective ink ejection ports at some stage during displacement of respective upper portions to clear any blockages in the ink ejection ports.

Abstract: An ink-jet printhead according to an aspect of the invention includes a cavity unit and a plate type piezoelectric actuator. The cavity unit has two rows of staggered nozzle orifices and two rows of staggered pressure chambers being in fluid communication with respective ones of the nozzle orifices. The piezoelectric actuator is a laminate of a plurality of piezoelectric sheets obtained by sintering green sheets of ferroelectric material having obtuse or rounded corners. The piezoelectric actuator is fixed onto the cavity unit to seal the pressure chambers. The piezoelectric actuator having obtuse or rounded corners are securely bonded to the cavity unit.

Abstract: The liquid jetting apparatus includes a head member having a nozzle, a supporting member that that can support a medium, a scanning mechanism that can cause the head member to relatively move with respect to the medium, and a liquid jetting unit that can jet liquid from the nozzle. An area storing unit stores a relative area to which liquid can be jetted from the nozzle while the head member is caused to relatively move by the scanning mechanism. An out-of-jetting micro-vibrating-area setting unit can set out-of-jetting micro-vibrating areas before and after the relative area. A micro-vibrating unit causes liquid, in the nozzle to minutely vibrate. An out-of-jetting micro-vibrating controlling unit causes the micro-vibrating unit to operate when the head member is located in the out-of-jetting micro-vibrating areas, while the head member is caused to relatively move by the scanning mechanism, based on the out-of-jetting micro-vibrating areas and head-position information.