Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing high quality folded greeting cards or the like is described as is a package of receiver sheet stock used for making such cards. A toned image is formed on an image supporting member using preferably an electrostatographic recording apparatus. A discrete receiver sheet is fed into engagement with the image supporting member to transfer the image to the receiver sheet. The receiver sheet is of a card stock of the type having a weight of no less than 28# bond. The grain of the sheet is in the grain short direction and the receiver sheet is fed into transfer relationship with the image supporting member by movement of the sheet in a direction coincident with the direction of the longer edges of the sheet. The receiver sheet is further characterized by one or more scoring lines which extend generally parallel to and intermediate the shorter edges of the sheet to facilitate folding of the receiver sheet after formation of an image thereon.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus which performs image transfer on the rear side of a sheet by retransporting the sheet inverted via inverting section to a transfer drum in duplex copy mode. After an image has been transferred onto a rear surface of the sheet, the transfer drum is separated from an image bearing member, thereby separation agent, which is adhered to the transfer drum due to refeeding of the sheet that has once passed through fixing unit, is removed from the transfer drum without adhering to the image bearing member.

Abstract: A photolithographic projection system for transferring a predetermined pattern from a photomask to a wafer includes a radiation source and a grating mask. The radiation source projects radiation along a path through the photomask toward the wafer. The grating mask is positioned along the radiation path and is separate from the photomask. In a method for transferring a predetermined pattern from a photomask to a wafer, radiation is projected along a path through a grating mask and a photomask toward the wafer, and the grating mask is separate from the photomask.

Abstract: A projection exposure apparatus includes a secondary light source forming device having a light entrance surface and a light exit surface, for receiving light from a light source with the light entrance surface and for forming a secondary light source at the light exit surface side, a light projecting system for projecting light from the secondary light source to an object plane, a pattern projecting system for projecting, onto an image plane, a pattern on the object plane irradiated with the light, a secondary light source adjusting device for changing a light intensity distribution of the secondary light source, and an illuminance correcting device for substantially correcting illuminance non-uniformness, asymmetric with respect to an optical axis, formed or to be formed on the image plane with the change of the light intensity distribution.

Abstract: A system of improved duplex color printing by reducing copy sheet feeding jams due to first side color printing sheet curl by feeding and printing a first plural color image on a first side of a copy sheet with the copy sheet in a first orientation, then automatically rotating the copy sheet by 90 degrees from the first orientation into a second orientation and feeding and printing a second plural color image on the second side of the copy sheet with the copy sheet in the second orientation. Additionally disclosed is, in coordination therewith, automatically rotating the image for the second side of the copy sheet by 90 degrees from the first plural color image for the printing of the second plural color image on the second side of the copy sheet with the copy sheet in the second orientation, so that commonly oriented images are provided on the first and second sides of the copy sheet. The first printing pass orientation of the copy sheet may be long edge first, and the second short edge first.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a movable member: a rotatable member for forming a nip with the movable member; wherein a recording material carrying an unfixed toner image is fed by the nip therethrough, and the unfixed toner image is fixed while it is being fed thereby; wherein the rotatable member comprises an electroconductive core, a low resistance layer electrically connected with the core and provided outside the core, and an insulation layer outside the low resistance layer; means for applying a bias voltage to the core of the rotatable member; an insulation member for covering an end surface of the low resistance layer of the rotatable member.

Abstract: An alignment method in which a reticle and a wafer are aligned with each other by using a heterodyne alignment apparatus. The method makes it possible to minimize the time required for alignment even if a wafer beat signal varies for each shot region on the wafer. In pre-alignment of the wafer, AGC (Automatic Gain Control) of a wafer beat signal (S.sub.W) is initiated when a central control system confirms that the displacement between the center of a wafer mark and the center of an irradiation region of an alignment light beam irradiated to the wafer has reached a value within .+-..DELTA.L.sub.1 in the measuring direction (direction X) and a value within .+-..DELTA.L.sub.2 in the non-measuring direction (direction Y) on the basis of the result of calculation by an overlap calculating system, before the displacement between the reticle and a grating-shaped wafer mark reaches a value within .+-.1/4 of a grating pitch (P.sub.W).

Abstract: A film image pickup device uses a cartridge in which film is fed out of the cartridge by causing a spool around which the film is wound to rotate. The film image pickup device includes a drive roller and a driven roller that are located near the film outlet of the cartridge and that are used for the conveyance of the film. The drive roller and driven roller are constructed such that either roller can come into contact with or retract from the other roller. Either of the drive roller and the driven roller has a barrel-shaped cross-sectional configuration while the other has a bobbin-shaped cross-sectional configuration, to impart a curvature to the film as it is pulled out of the cartridge.

Abstract: To provide a pressing rotor for a heating-fixing apparatus to permanently fix a toner image transferred onto a recording material by passing the image through a nip portion formed by a heating rotator and a pressing rotator, in which the pressing rotator has an elastic layer and a surface layer, and the surface layer is a tube made of a mixture of a fluororesin and a high-friction-factor resin having a friction factor higher than that of the fluororesin, and moreover, provide a heating-fixing apparatus comprising a pressing rotator of the above structure.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus has a color shifter disk which comprises blue, green and red color filters, formed by dividing the disk into three sectors, and a light shielding member arranged for moving into and out from the light path in synchronization with the rotating movement of the color shifter disk. The light shielding member advances into the light path to interrupt the exposure light when a boundary between two adjacent color filters of the color shifter disk moves into the light path, and retracts from the light path to pass the exposure light when the boundary between two adjacent color filters of the color shifter disk departs from the light path.

Abstract: The improved method of determining the proper amount of exposure comprises the steps of reading the entire portion of an original image, calculating the characteristic quantities of a principal image in the original image, determining a particular density range from the calculated characteristic quantities of the principal image, extracting only the pixels in said particular density range from the entire portion of the original image to determine the characteristic quantities of the original image, and determining the proper amount of exposure from said characteristic quantities of the original image. When applied to various types of optical image forming apparatus such as copiers, printers and pictographic devices, the method can determine the proper amount of exposure by a simple scanning procedure even if the original to be duplicated is a negative film or other medium having density failure and it hence ensures the formation of the proper and high-quality image in a consistent manner.

Abstract: In an image reproducing apparatus, an image recorded on a negative film is subjected to optical measurement by an optical measuring device. The data obtained by the optical measurement is stored in a photometric data memory for each type of film which is judged by a DX code reader and a film type detecting device. In the apparatus, a difference in characteristics between a reference film and the negative film is calculated by a film characteristic difference calculating device, and the image characteristic amount of the image is calculated by an image characteristic amount calculating device. In a film type correction amount calculating device, a correction value is calculated based on the calculated difference in the film characteristics and the image characteristic amount to compensate for a decrease in the quality of the printed image due to the difference in the film characteristics.

Abstract: A fixing roller and a fixing device including the fixing roller are disclosed. The fixing roller is provided with a base member and an offset prevention layer containing a hollow double shell conductive substance including a hollow inner shell and an outer shell. The offset prevention layer is subject to burning treatment after the surface is smoothed.

Abstract: An electrostatographic printing machine having an imaging member with a surface voltage potential and a control system having changeable set point parameters to provide a dual level of control of the voltage potential. A compensator responsive to a reference signal and the surface voltage potential provides one input signal and one level of control to a summing nod and a look up table responsive to the changing of the set point pa provides a second input signal and a second level of control to the summing node to adjust the surface voltage potential. Two levels of table look up feed forward adjustment are also provided for developer control. Within one use of some form of look up tables to move one operating point by varying nominal values a state space control model of one electrostatic printing machine is developed. Control model is used to design good process loop compensators.

Abstract: The present invention provides a scanning exposure apparatus for projecting an image of a pattern area of a mask having a first alignment mark onto a photosensitive substrate disposed on a substrate stage. A second alignment mark is provided on at least one of the photosensitive substrate and the substrate stage. The scanning exposure apparatus includes a plurality of projection optical systems disposed along a predetermined direction and adapted to receive the luminous fluxes passed through the mask and to project elected images of unchanged dimension of the plurality of illuminated regions of the mask onto the substrate. There is provided a mark detection system for detecting the first alignment mark on the mask and the second alignment mark, and at least one of the projection optical systems constitutes a part of the mark detection system.

Abstract: In a service system, a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a control unit for remote-controlling them are connected by a communication line. A plurality of terminal units are located at respective service stations and also connected to the control unit. The image forming apparatuses each sends, when an event indicative of or predictive of an error occurs therein, information representative of the event to the control unit. The control unit received the information analyzes it and then selectively sends information relating to maintenance or repair to the image forming apparatuses to the terminal units.

Abstract: An index print preparation and feeding apparatus comprising: a means for preparing index prints for a film; an order identifying means for identifying order information of the film; a means for storing a multiplicity of the index prints; a collating means which has a first identifying mechanism for recognizing the order information of the index print and a second identifying mechanism for recognizing the order information on a DP bag or film placed, and which collates the order information recognized by the first and the second mechanisms; and a means for feeding the index print to the feeding position.

Abstract: In exposing and projecting a mask onto a substrate using projection optics, a first grating is provided between the substrate and the projection optics and a second grating is provided between the projection optics and the mask so that the image of the mask pattern is formed near the substrate surface by the interference of beams diffracted by the first grating. This arrangement produces the effect of virtually increasing the NA of the optical system by up to a factor of two, making it possible to manufacture LSIs with fine patterns.

Abstract: In a photolithography system, an illumination assembly to provide intensified uniform illumination includes an illumination source reflector and a plate having an aperture opening therethrough and a mirrored surface thereon, the mirrored surface of the plate confronting the illumination source reflector. The illumination assembly further includes an illumination source for generating illumination disposed between the illumination source reflector and the plate.

Abstract: An image-transfer device for transferring an image from an image-bearing member to a sheet-like material by an electrostatic force, having a charging member for charging the sheet-like material so that the image on the image-bearing member is transferred onto the sheet-like material. A transporting mechanism is also provided for transporting the sheet-like material through a transfer region between the charging member and the image-bearing member, the transporting mechanism including a guide member for guiding the sheet-like material, the guide member having a first edge portion arranged at an upstream side of the transfer region and a second edge portion arranged at a downstream side of the transfer region so as to form an opening at the transfer region. A first voltage source applies a first transfer voltage and a second transfer voltage to the charging member wherein the second transfer voltage is a lower voltage than the first transfer voltage.