Ricoh Company, Ltd.

International Business Machines Corporation

Infoprintsolutions Company, LLC

Carl Robert Bildstein

Casey Ethan Walker

Scott Richard Johnson

Stuart James Boland

Joan LaVerne Mitchell

Jennifer Quirin Trelewicz

Timothy Graham Bradley

Ruthie D Lyle

Kartheek Chandu

Carlton E Begeal

Arthur Kenneth Ford

Larry Mason Ernst

Michael T Brady

Dilan Nirushan Fernando

Andrew David Norte

Bradford O Brooks

Harry P Heibein

Ronald Frederick Korsch

John R O'Toole

Richard Bell

Harlan P Mathews

William Hauptman

Michael Miller

Jennifer Q Q Trelewicz

A method is disclosed. The method includes analyzing an image of a first flushing pattern applied on a medium during production of a print job to detect presence of one or more defective ink jet nozzles and adjusting to a second flushing pattern during the production of the print job upon detecting the presence of one or more defective print head nozzles.

Dynamic inkjet nozzle flushing mechanism

Fire control and containment for a production printing system that includes a dryer unit, an air intake fan, and an exhaust fan. A fire control and containment system includes an enclosure surrounding the dryer unit. The enclosure includes controllable doors, a temperature sensor, and an air pressure sensor in the enclosure. The fire containment and control system also includes a controller operable to detect a fire event based on changes in air pressure and air temperature in the enclosure detected by the air pressure and air temperature sensors. In response to detecting the fire event, the controller closes the doors of the enclosure to prevent the print medium from entering, controls the air intake fan and the exhaust fan to reduce the air pressure in the enclosure, and controls the dryer unit to reduce temperature in the enclosure to suppress fire.

Fire control and containment in production printing systems with radiant dryers

Embodiments described herein provide ink recirculation capabilities for Drop-On-Demand (DOD) printing systems. One embodiment comprises a system that includes a controller, a DOD print head, an ink tank, an ink pump, and a recirculation cap. The ink pump transports ink from the ink tank to the DOD print head, and the recirculation cap captures ink ejected by the DOD print head. The recirculation cap also transports the capture ink to the ink tank. In response to detecting a start of an ink recirculation cycle, the controller collocates the recirculation cap proximate to nozzles of the DOD print head, and directs the DOD print head to begin ejecting ink through the nozzles into the recirculation cap for transport of the captured ink to the ink tank. The controller detects an end to the ink recirculation cycle, and directs the DOD print head to stop ejecting ink into the recirculation cap.

Ink recirculation for Drop-On-Demand ink jet systems

Fire enclosure and safety system for an inkjet printer using a radiant dryer unit

Systems and methods are provided for predictively compensating for frequency-based shifts of the position of a web of print media in a continuous-forms printer. The system comprises a sensor and a controller. The sensor is able to detect lateral shifts of the web of print media traveling through the continuous-forms printer. The controller is able to identify a frequency of the lateral shifts of the web, and to steer the web based on the frequency.

Frequency-based web steering in printing systems

Systems and methods are provided for aligning printheads of a printing system. The system comprises a sensor and a controller. The sensor is able to detect changes in a lateral position of a web of print media traveling through a continuous-forms printing system, and the controller is able to adjust a lateral position of a printhead while the printing system is operating to compensate for the detected changes in web position.

Alignment of printheads in printing systems

Systems and methods are provided for aligning an edge of a web of continuous-forms print media in a printer using a crowned roller. The system comprises an edge-justified printer, a crowned roller, and an adjustment mechanism. The edge-justified printer is configured to print to a continuous-forms web of print media that uses a margin as a target alignment point for an edge of the web. The crowned roller includes an apex that is a point where the diameter of the crowned roller is largest. The adjustment mechanism is configured to adjust a lateral position of the apex to align the edge of the web with the margin.

Edge-justified printing with a crowned roller

A printer is disclosed. The printer includes an ink jet print head having a plurality of nozzles to mark a printable recording medium with ink and an ink system to provide ink to the nozzles. The ink system includes a print head capping system to cap the nozzles whenever the nozzles are not in use and a hydration system to supply a hydration fluid to the print head capping system to provide moisture to the ink at the nozzles while the nozzles are capped.

Print head hydration system

An printer, such as a state of the art a high performance, electro-photographic printer. The printer includes at least one smart material sensor enclosed in the printer enclosure that monitors for the presence of a contaminant (e.g., toner or developer) above a selected threshold. Each smart material sensor is coupled to a control unit by a sensor driver coupling. When a smart material sensor finds that a contaminant is present the control unit may indicate the finding on a printer display and/or change operating mode.

Printer dynamically monitoring printer environment contamination

A method and system for a printing device is disclosed. The method and system comprise printing a test pattern on a print medium and generating a digital image of the printed test pattern by an imaging device. The method and system include analyzing an interference pattern to measure for distortion of the print medium and calibrating the printing device based upon the measured distortion. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes the reticle patterns, which are printed in the margins of the paper, which are measured real-time during printing. The interference or Moir&#xe9; patterns created by superimposed reticles may be used to measure image distortion, process direction misalignment, and misregistration caused by web distortion. The advantage of this invention is that image distortion compensation, RIP (Raster Image Processor) parameters, timing, or other printer characteristics may be adjusted on-the-fly in a closed feedback system, for high-speed textile or paper color printing, utilizing on-the-fly distortion or stretch measurement for accurate color and/or duplex images registration. In a duplex printer, automatic images alignment front-to-back is obtained by combining optically or logically the two images for the evaluation of interference patterns and amount of distortion in the process and scan direction.

Method and system for minimizing the appearance of image distortion in a high speed inkjet paper printing system

A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for providing electromagnetic drying of printed media. A resonant cavity allows support of standing waves along many radial axes throughout the resonant cavity. The electromagnetic drying unit allows forced air to be introduced into the resonant cavity, thereby reducing moisture within the resonant cavity and extending the life of the resonant cavity. Input and output openings may be arranged longitudinally along the resonant cavity and may be designed to substantially reduce the amount of electromagnetic radiation emanating from them during operation. A honeycomb feature at the end of the resonant cavity may allow egress of the forced air, while substantially reducing the amount of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the end of the resonant cavity.

Method and apparatus for electromagnetic drying of printed media

Provided are a method, system, and an article of manufacture for registration calibration of a printer. An application prints reticle patterns on a printed page. An imaging device creates a digital image of the printed reticle patterns. If color registration on the printer is improper, the digital image exhibits interference patterns. The application compares the interference patterns to the reticle patterns, and based on the results of the comparison adjusts the color registration of the printer.

Method, system, and article of manufacture for performing registration calibration for printing devices

An ink jet pump is switched from a mechanically off or idle state to a mechanically on or active state with no drift in pressure output by maintaining the pump at the same point in its force-temperature characteristic when it is on and off. This is accomplished by driving the pump in both the active and idle states with signals that dissipate the same amount of power in the pump. The frequency of the idle state signal is high enough that the pump can not mechanically respond. The power dissipations in the active and idle states are matched by adjusting the current build-up and current decay through the coil of the pump during the idle state. When the RMS current through the coil in the active state equals the RMS current in the idle state, the power dissipations are matched.

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Superior, CO, United States of America

Carl Robert Bildstein