Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a recording head which has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting an ink onto a recording medium; a movement device which causes relative movement between the recording head and the recording medium; an image forming controller which controls the recording head according to image data in such a manner that an image corresponding to the image data is formed on the recording medium; an ejection abnormality detection device which detects ejection abnormality including at least one of non-ejection and ejection direction deviation of the plurality of nozzles; a compensation device which compensates an image defect caused by the ejection abnormality; and a determination device which determines whether or not the head is in a state where the compensation device can compensate the image defect, according to detection result of the ejection abnormality detection device.

Abstract: A liquid coating apparatus has: a coating roller which has a coating surface; a liquid holding unit which abuts against the coating surface of the coating roller so as to form a liquid holding space; a medium support member which faces the coating surface in such a manner that the medium support member and the coating roller nip and support the medium; an abutment pressure-varying device which adjusts at least one of a first abutment pressure between the coating surface of the coating roller and the liquid holding unit and a second abutment pressure between the coating surface of the coating roller and the medium; and a control device which controls the abutment pressure-varying device according to a relative position of the medium with respect to the coating roller, wherein the coating roller rotates while the medium is sandwiched by the medium support member and the coating roller in such a manner that the liquid is fed to the coating surface from the liquid holding unit and the liquid is transferred to the

Abstract: Disclosed are an ink jet recording ink set which is suppressed in bleeding and shot droplet interference and can form a high quality image and an ink jet image recording method. The ink jet recording ink set has plural liquids including at least a first liquid and a second liquid. The second liquid contains a polymerizable compound and the first liquid contains a high-boiling point organic solvent and the high-boiling organic solvent meets any one of the following requirements (A) to (C) and an ink jet image recording method includes supplying a first and a second liquid simultaneously or sequentially to a recording medium such that both liquids are in contact with each other, to form an image: (A) it has a viscosity of 100 mPa·s or less at 25° C. and a viscosity of 30 mPa·s or less at 60° C. and has a boiling point of 100° C.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing a polymer onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation with actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. According to the invention, an image having excellent uniformity between various types of recording mediums can be recorded, irrespective of the type of the recording medium; ink bleeding or unevenness in line width or color due to coalescence of the ink droplets can be effectively suppressed; and an image can be well reproduced to details with high density while maintaining a uniform dot diameter, irrespective of the form of the image, when an image having low dot density is recorded with a small amount of a liquid (e.g., an image having low resolution or density).

Abstract: An image forming method includes the steps of: depositing an aggregating treatment liquid containing 10% or more and 90% or less of a water-soluble high-boiling-point organic solvent having an SP value of 30 or lower onto a recording medium; starting drying of the aggregating treatment liquid deposited on the recording medium within five seconds after the step of depositing the aggregating treatment liquid onto the recording medium; ejecting an ink containing 10% or more and 90% or less of a water-soluble high-boiling-point organic solvent having an SP value of 30 or lower in accordance with an image signal, so as to be superimposed on the aggregating treatment liquid deposited on the recording medium; and removing water contained in a solvent of the ink on the recording medium in such a manner that the water contained in the ink becomes 4 g/m2 or less when converted to a deposition volume.

Abstract: The invention provides an ink-jet recording ink set including at least one first liquid A for at least forming an image and at least one second liquid B having a different composition from the composition of the first liquid A, wherein the first liquid A contains at least a polymer having a heterocyclic residue for forming a colorant, and a pigment, as well as an ink-jet recording method using the ink set.

Abstract: The image forming method is for forming an image on an image formation body by using an ink liquid including a coloring material and an aggregation treatment agent including a component that causes the coloring material to aggregate. The image forming method includes: an aggregation treatment layer formation step of forming, on the image formation body, a semisolid aggregation treatment layer that includes the aggregation treatment agent and has a moisture content ratio not more than 56%; an ink droplet deposition step of ejecting droplets of the ink liquid and depositing the droplets of the ink liquid onto the image formation body where the aggregation treatment layer has been formed; and a solvent removal step of removing a liquid solvent present on the image formation body after the ink droplet deposition step.

Abstract: An active-energy ray curable ink-jet recording apparatus includes: an active-energy ray irradiation source; a plurality of full-line ink-jet heads which eject a liquid functional material that is curable by an active-energy ray, onto a recording medium which is scanned and transported; and a head controller for controlling the heads to form an image on the recording medium, wherein the plurality of full-line ink-jet heads include at least a black head and a yellow head on an extreme downstream side in a direction of transporting the recording medium.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus which forms a primary image on an intermediate transfer body and then transfers the primary image onto a recording medium, has: a movement device which moves the intermediate transfer body in a movement direction; a recess-projection forming device which forms a recess-projection shape in an image forming surface of the intermediate transfer body; a droplet ejection device which is provided on a downstream side of the recess-projection forming device in terms of the movement direction and ejects droplets of ink onto the image forming surface of the intermediate transfer body in which the recess-projection shape has been formed, to form the primary image; and a transfer recording device which is provided on a downstream side of the droplet ejection device in terms of the movement direction and applies pressure to at least one of the intermediate transfer body and the recording medium in a state where the recording medium makes contact with the primary image formed on the image formin

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes: an intermediate transfer body; a liquid adhesion device which provides a first liquid having a viscosity not less than 15 mPa·s and not greater than 300 mPa·s at 25° C, on the intermediate transfer body; a droplet ejection device which ejects a second liquid containing a coloring material onto a region of the intermediate transfer body where the first liquid is provided by the liquid adhesion device, in a state where the first liquid on the intermediate transfer body has a thickness not less than 1.6 ?m; a viscosity raising device which raises a viscosity of the second liquid on the intermediate transfer body; and a transfer device which transfers an image including dots of the second liquid formed on the intermediate transfer body, onto a recording medium.

Abstract: The present invention provides an inkjet-recording ink set including multiple kinds of liquid including at least first and second liquids, wherein the first liquid contains a metal compound dissolved therein, and at least one of the multiple kinds of liquid contains a polymerizable compound. The invention also provides an inkjet-recording ink including at least a high-boiling-point organic solvent and a metal compound. The multiple kinds of liquid contain substantially no water and no low-boiling-point organic solvent.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing an oligomer onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation of actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. According to the invention, an image having excellent uniformity can be recorded on various types of recording media, irrespective of the type thereof, ink bleeding and unevenness in line width or color due to coalescence of ink droplets can be effectively suppressed, and an image with high density and a uniform dot diameter can be recorded when the image has low dot density such as low image resolution or image density.

Abstract: The invention provides an ink jet recording method that records an image by ejecting, onto a recording medium, an ink that is cured by irradiation of an active energy ray, the method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid onto the recording medium; half-curing the undercoating liquid; and forming an image by ejecting an ink onto the half-cured undercoating liquid, and an ink jet recording device. According to the ink jet recording method in the invention, ink bleeding can be effectively suppressed when using any type of non-absorbing recording media, a high degree of uniformity in an image between various recording media can be obtained, and unevenness in line width or color caused by mixing between the liquid droplets can be suppressed.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid containing a monomer represented by the formulae (I) or (II) onto a recording medium; partially curing the undercoating liquid that has been applied onto the recording medium; and recording an image by ejecting an ink that is curable by irradiation with actinic energy onto the partially cured undercoating liquid. In formulae (I) and (II), R1 represents a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, or alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; X1 represents a divalent linking group; R2 and R3 represent a substituent; n represents an atom group that is necessary for formation of a cyclic hydrocarbon structure that may contain —C(O)— and/or —C(O)O— together with a hydrocarbon linkage; k represents an integer of from 1 to 6; and q and r represent an integer of from 0 to 5, and wherein k, q and/or r are 2 or more, two or more of R1, X1, R2 and/or R3 may be the same as or different from each other.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus comprises: a treatment liquid deposition device which deposits treatment liquid onto a recording medium, the treatment liquid containing a polymerization initiator and particles introducing electrorheological properties; an electric field application device which applies an electric field to the treatment liquid having been deposited on the recording medium; an ink ejection device which ejects ink toward the recording medium on which the treatment liquid has been deposited, the ink containing a coloring material and a radiation-curable polymerizable compound; and a radiation irradiation device which irradiates radiation to cure the ink having been deposited on the recording medium.

Abstract: The present invention provides: an inkjet recording method comprising: applying an undercoating liquid on a recording medium, the undercoating liquid containing at least one surfactant in an amount of from 0.001% to the critical micelle concentration, the surfactant achieving a surface tension of 25 mN/m or smaller when dissolved in 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate at a critical micelle concentration; semi-curing the applied undercoating liquid; and recording an image by ejecting an ink onto the semi-cured undercoating liquid, the ink being curable by irradiation with an actinic ray; and an inkjet recording apparatus.

Abstract: An ink set for ink jet recording, an ink for ink jet recording and an ink jet recording method capable of suppressing bleeding and the interference between discharged droplets to form high-quality images can be achieved by an ink set for ink jet recording, having plurality of liquids containing at least a first liquid and a second liquid, wherein the first liquid has an oil-soluble polymer dissolved therein, and at least one of a plurality of the liquids contains a polymerizable compound, as well as by an ink jet image recording method which uses the ink set and applying the first and second liquids simultaneously onto a recording medium, or first applying one of the liquids and then the other onto a recording medium such that the two liquids contact each other to form an image.

Abstract: The image forming method for forming a desired image on a recording medium, includes the steps of: applying a first liquid on the recording medium, the first liquid containing no coloring material and having a dynamic surface tension at a surface age of 0.1 seconds measured at 25° C. of ?1(0.1 s); and then depositing droplets of a second liquid on a region of the recording medium where the first liquid has a form of a liquid film, the second liquid containing coloring material and having a dynamic surface tension at a surface age of 0.1 seconds measured at 25° C. of ?2(0.1 s) that is greater than ?1(0.1 s).

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes: a liquid ejection head including a plurality of nozzles, the liquid ejection head ejecting a first liquid containing a coloring material through the nozzles onto a recording medium while the liquid ejection head and the recording medium are relatively moved in a first direction; an abnormal nozzle identifying device which identifies, out of the nozzles, an abnormal nozzle for which an error in a landing position of the first liquid on the recording medium with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction is not less than a predetermined amount; and a correcting device which corrects dot data in such a manner that a second dot on the recording medium formed from the first liquid subsequently ejected from the abnormal nozzle makes contact with at least part of a first dot on the recording medium formed from the first liquid previously ejected from the abnormal nozzle.

Abstract: A print unit includes, a first ejection head which ejects a first liquid, a second ejection head which ejects a second liquid and disposed on an upstream side of the first ejection head in terms of a first direction; a conveyance device which conveys a recording medium relatively with respect to the print unit; and a switch-back unit which reverses a conveyance direction of the recording medium, from the first direction, to a second direction opposite to the first direction. Only the first ejection head ejects the first liquid toward the recording medium when the recording medium is conveyed in the first direction; the switch-back unit reverses the direction from the first direction to the second direction; and only the second ejection head ejects the second liquid toward the recording medium when the recording medium is conveyed in the second direction.