Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a printing device which forms an image on a recording medium using ink containing at least pigment, a water-soluble organic solvent, resin particles and water; and a fixing device which makes contact with a surface of the recording medium on which the image is formed and applies heat and pressure to fix the image, wherein a minimum filming temperature (MFT0) of an aqueous dispersion of the resin particles is 60° C.

Abstract: Disclosed is an active energy ray-curable coating composition containing (A) 10 to 70% by mass of a poly(meth)acrylate of a mono- or polypentaerythritol; (B) 5 to 50% by mass of (B-1) a polyester type aliphatic urethanedi(meth)acrylate compound which is obtained by reacting an aliphatic isocyanate compound, a caprolactone-modified polyester diol, and an acrylate having a hydroxyl group, (B-2) a compound represented by formula (2), or (B-3) a polyether type urethane di(meth)acrylate compound having two (meth)acryloyloxy groups in a molecule, wherein, in the case that component (B) is component (B-3), component (A) contains at least one caprolactone-modified (meth)acryloyloxy group; (C) 5 to 70% by mass of a poly[(meth)acryloyloxyalkyl](iso)cyanurate represented by formula (3) or (4); and (D) 0.1 to 10% by mass of a photopolymerization initiator. The active energy ray-curable coating composition can form a cured film excellent in weatherability, mar resistance, and adhesion to a base material.

Abstract: The inkjet recording apparatus includes: an inkjet head which forms an image on a recording surface of a recording medium by ejecting ink to be deposited to the recording surface; a roller member which rotates in contact with the recording surface of the recording medium on which the image has been formed; an oil supply device which supplies oil to the roller member, the oil suppressing adherence of the ink to the roller member; a medium holding device which has a medium holding surface on which the recording medium is held while the roller member on which the oil has been deposited is making contact with the recording surface of the recording medium; and a cleaning sheet supply device which supplies a cleaning sheet to the medium holding device when a size of the recording medium is changed and an image is to be formed on a recording surface of the recording medium of large size compared to a size of the recording medium used before the change of size, the cleaning sheet removing the oil adhering to the medi

Abstract: The ink jet head includes a plate-like substrate having an ejection port bored therethrough and an ejection unit for ejecting ink droplets from the port, wherein at least a part of a periphery of the port convexly projects along an ejection direction of the ink droplets. The head ejects the ink droplets from the port by causing an electrostatic force to act on ink containing charged colorant particles. The head includes an ejection port substrate as the plate-like substrate, a head substrate disposed apart from the port substrate to form an ink flow path, an ink guide that is provided in the head substrate and a tip portion of which penetrates through the port, and an ejection electrode formed in correspondence to the port and causing the electrostatic force to act on the ink. The ink jet recording apparatus records an image on a recording medium using the ink jet head.

Abstract: The liquid application apparatus includes: an application member which has an application surface to apply liquid to a medium; a holding member which holds the liquid in a liquid holding space formed by abutting against the application surface of the application member, the liquid supplied to the application surface by the holding member being applied to the medium by rotating the application surface of the application member; a storage device which stores the liquid, the storage device including a liquid cartridge having a filter to trap foreign matter contained in the liquid, the liquid cartridge being detachable with respect to the storage device; first and second flow channels which connect the storage device and the holding member; and a first liquid movement device which generates a flow of the liquid in a course including the first and second flow channels and the liquid holding space.

Abstract: The liquid application apparatus includes: a drum which holds a sheet-shaped recording medium on a circumferential surface thereof and rotationally conveys the recording medium; a belt which is wrapped about at least a pair of rollers and makes contact with the recording medium held on the circumferential surface of the drum and rotationally conveyed; a belt travel device which causes the belt to travel; and an application liquid supply device which supplies an application liquid to a circumferential surface of the belt. The application liquid supplied to the circumferential surface of the belt is applied to the recording medium through the belt.

Abstract: The ink set for inkjet recording includes: a water-based ink containing pigment particles and 10 to 25 wt % of water-soluble high-boiling-point organic solvent having an SP value of not higher than 30; and a treatment liquid containing a fluidity reducing agent which reduces fluidity of the pigment particles by making contact with the water-based ink, and 10 to 25 wt % of water-soluble high-boiling-point organic solvent having an SP value of not higher than 30.

Abstract: An inkjet recording liquid includes: water; at least one colorant; and a water-soluble organic solvent having an SP (solubility parameter) value of 27.5 or less at a content of 70 mass % or more with respect to the total amount of water-soluble organic solvent, wherein the water-soluble organic solvent having an SP value of 27.5 or less includes at least one water-soluble organic solvent having a molecular weight of from 240 to 1400 and represented by the following Formula (1) at a content of 70 mass % or more with respect to the amount of the water-soluble organic solvent having an SP value of 27.5 or less. R-An-OH ??Formula (1) In Formula (1), R represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a group derived from a sugar alcohol having 3 to 12 carbon atoms; each A independently represents an ethyleneoxy group or a propyleneoxy group; and n represents an integer of from 3 to 24.

Abstract: The liquid application apparatus applies liquid to media of a plurality of types having different widths in a widthwise direction that is perpendicular to a direction of conveyance of the media. The liquid application apparatus includes: a liquid application member which has an application surface applying the liquid to the media; and a liquid holding member which has a plurality of recesses arranged in the widthwise direction, a plurality of liquid supply ports arranged respectively in the recesses, and a plurality of liquid discharge ports arranged respectively in the recesses, the liquid holding member forming a plurality of liquid chambers with the recesses by abutting against the application surface of the liquid application member.

Abstract: An ink composition, including: a water-soluble solvent A; a pigment; and water. The water-soluble solvent A contains at least a water-soluble solvent having an SP value of 27.5 or less at an amount of 90 mass % or more and a compound represented by the following Formula (1), wherein the compound represented by Formula (1) is the same as or different from the water-soluble solvent having an SP value of 27.5 or less: wherein, in Formula (1), l, m and n each independently represent an integer of 1 or more, the total of l, m and n is from 3 to 15, and AOs each independently represents an ethyleneoxy group or propyleneoxy group.

Abstract: An inkjet recording liquid includes: water; a colorant; a first water-soluble organic solvent having a structure represented by the following Formula (1), an SP value of 27.5 or less, and a molecular weight of 100 to 210; and a second water-soluble organic solvent having a structure represented by the following Formula (2), an SP value of 27.5 or less, and a molecular weight of 240 to 2000, wherein the mass ratio of the content of the first water-soluble organic solvent to the content of the second water-soluble organic solvent is from 1:3 to 3:1: R1-(A1)n-OH Formula (1) R2-(A2)m-OH??Formula (2) In Formulae (1) and (2), R1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, R2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or a group derived from a sugar alcohol, each A1 independently represents an ethyleneoxy group or a propyleneoxy group, each A2 independently represents an ethyleneoxy group or a propyleneoxy group, n represents an integer from 1 to 3 and m represents an integer from 3 to 40.

Abstract: The ink jet head ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium and includes an ejection port substrate having ejection ports for ejecting the ink droplets and a control device that controls ejection of the ink droplets from the ejection ports. Each of the ejection ports has an outer opening formed on a side facing the recording medium and an inner opening formed on a side opposite to the side facing the recording medium. At least the inner opening has a shape anisotropy. A first opening area of the outer opening is larger than a second opening area of the inner opening. The ink jet recording apparatus includes the above ink jet head and a supporting device that supports the recording medium and the ink jet head is used to record an image corresponding to image data on the recording medium supported by the supporting device.

Abstract: Disclosed is an active energy ray-curable coating composition containing (A) 10 to 70% by mass of a poly(meth)acrylate of a mono- or polypentaerythritol; (B) 5 to 50% by mass of (B-1) a polyester type aliphatic urethanedi(meth)acrylate compound which is obtained by reacting an aliphatic isocyanate compound, a caprolactone-modified polyester diol, and an acrylate having a hydroxyl group, (B-2) a compound represented by formula (2), or (B-3) a polyether type urethane di(meth)acrylate compound having two (meth)acryloyloxy groups in a molecule, wherein, in the case that component (B) is component (B-3), component (A) contains at least one caprolactone-modified (meth)acryloyloxy group; (C) 5 to 70% by mass of a poly[(meth)acryloyloxyalkyl](iso)cyanurate represented by formula (3) or (4); and (D) 0.1 to 10% by mass of a photopolymerization initiator. The active energy ray-curable coating composition can form a cured film excellent in weatherability, mar resistance, and adhesion to a base material.

Abstract: The coater includes a liquid holding vessel holding a functional liquid, a coating roll having a surface, a part of which is immersed in the functional liquid in the liquid holding vessel, the coating roll having recesses for retaining the functional liquid, a coating roll rotating device rotating the coating roll, a liquid flow generator which flows a region of the functional liquid held in the liquid holding vessel where the functional liquid contacts the coating roll, in a direction opposite to a rotational direction of a portion of the coating roll which is immersed in the functional liquid within the liquid holding vessel, and a transport device transporting an object coated with the functional liquid upon contact with the coating roll. The coater is capable of uniformly coating a highly viscous functional liquid at a high speed.

Abstract: The ink-jet recording method and device record an image by ejecting onto a recording medium an ink which cures upon exposure to active energy rays. The method and device apply an undercoat liquid to the recording medium so as to form thereon an undercoat layer of the undercoat liquid having a surface state, improve the surface state of the applied undercoat layer, semi-cure the undercoat liquid of the undercoat layer having the improved surface state, and form the image by ejecting the ink onto a semi-cured surface of the undercoat liquid of the undercoat layer. The method and device further curing completely the undercoat liquid of the undercoat layer and the ink of the image after forming the image.

Abstract: An ink jet head ejects ink by utilizing an electrostatic force to fly the ejected ink towards a recording medium. The ink jet head includes an ejection port substrate having ejection ports bored therethrough, a head substrate disposed at a predetermined distance from the ejection port substrate so as to define an ink flow path between the ejection port substrate and the head substrate, channel separation walls disposed on the head substrate, and ejection electrodes for controlling the ejection of the ink. In this ink jet head, each of the channel separation walls and each of the ejection electrodes are arranged in a position corresponding to each of the ejection ports.

Abstract: The ink-jet recording device includes a transport unit for transporting a recording medium, an undercoating liquid applying unit for applying an undercoating liquid to the transported recording medium and an image forming unit that is disposed downstream of the undercoating liquid applying unit in a direction of travel by the recording medium, and has an ink-jet head which ejects an ink containing at least a colorant to form an image on the recording medium to which the undercoating liquid has been applied. The undercoating liquid applying unit has a coating roll for applying the undercoating liquid to the recording medium, and a drive unit which rotates the coating roll in a direction opposite to the transporting direction of the recording medium.

Abstract: The image forming device includes an image forming unit that forms images on a surface of a web-type recording medium, a printing defect detecting unit that detects a defective image with a printing defect from among the images formed by the image forming unit and a printing defect marking unit that places a mark on the defective image with the printing defect having been detected. The label printer includes the image forming device described above, wherein the images formed on the surface of the web-type recording medium by the image forming unit of the image forming device are label images and the specific image is a specific label image and a post-treatment unit that post-treats the surface of the web-type recording medium having the label images formed thereon by the image forming unit.

Abstract: The ink jet recording apparatus serves to record an image corresponding to image data on a recording medium using an ink jet head which ejects ink in the form of an ink droplet. The ink jet head includes an ejection orifice substrate in which an ejection orifice is bored, a head substrate disposed at a predetermined distance from the ejection orifice substrate to define an ink passage between the ejection orifice substrate and the head substrate, ejection control device which controls the ejection of the ink from the ejection orifice. The ink guide dike is provided on a surface of the head substrate on a side of the ink passage to form an ink flow directed from an upstream side of the ejection orifice in the ink passage to the ejection orifice.

Abstract: The present invention provides a control method for controlling an ink jet head. The inkjet head includes an ejection port substrate having ejection ports for ejection of the droplets, ejection electrodes respectively being located in a position corresponding to each of the ejection ports, and a guard electrode formed in the ejection port substrate. The control method includes the steps of: applying a drive voltage to each of the ejection electrodes in accordance with a drawing signal; and applying an AC bias voltage to the guard electrode, the AC bias voltage having the same frequency as the drive voltage applied to each of the ejection electrodes and alternately repeating a first voltage and a second voltage being lower than the first voltage.