Xerox Corporation

Christopher M Mieney

Stuart Alan Schweid

Martin L Frachioni

David Alan Vankouwenberg

David M Gurak

Santokh Singh Badesha

Linn C Hoover

David A VanKouwenberg

David S Derleth

Chu-Heng Liu

Paul J McConville

Douglas K Herrmann

Jason Mathew LeFevre

Seemit Praharaj

Paul Michael Fromm

Michael Jon Levy

Jason M LeFEVRE

An MFD is disclosed. For example, the MFD includes a color printhead to dispense color printing fluid, an enhancement printhead to dispense a three-dimensional (3D) print material, a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions. The instructions when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations that include printing a two-dimensional (2D) image on a substrate and printing a 3D object on the 2D image printed on the substrate such that colors of the 2D image provide a desired color for a desired portion of the 3D object.

Three dimensional enhancement of two dimensional printed images

An apparatus is disclosed that automatically generates a set of recommended printer settingsfor a print jobsubmitted to a printer. The apparatus comprises at least one processor which executes computer program code from at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to: receive a submitted print job for a printer, the submitted print job including content to be printed by the printer and a set of user input printer settings for the printer; analyze the content to be printed by the printer; designate a classification for the submitted print job based on said analysis; obtain historical data from a knowledge database, the historical data being related to prior print jobs run on the printer and indicating printer settings used when running the prior print jobs on the printer; and output a set of recommended printer settings based at least in part on one or more of the received print job, the designated classification and the obtained historical data.

System and method for optimizing a printer setup

A method is disclosed. For example, the method executed by a processor of a multi-function device (MFD) includes tracking a machine state of the MFD, predicting a potential defect based on a determination that the machine state is associated with a defect class of a plurality of different defect classes, determining a maintenance routine associated with the defect class, and executing the maintenance routine to prevent the potential defect.

Machine state and defect detection meta data to execute maintenance routines on a multi-function device

A printer is configured to apply marking material to print media to create a printed item, and a transport belt is positioned to receive the printed item from the printer and is configured to dry the marking material on the printed item. The transport belt has a middle layer attached between outer and inner layers, and the printed item contacts the outer layer. The outer and inner layers are non-perforated entangled fiber materials that are porous and that are more flexible than the middle layer.

Composite dryer transport belt

Examples of the preferred embodiments use an ink quantity metric (e.g., lightness L*, darkness, image density, line width) of printed content to determine thickness of fountain solution applied by a fountain solution applicator on an imaging member surface and/or determine image forming device real-time image forming modifications for subsequent printings. For example, in real-time during the printing of a print job, a sensor (e.g., spectrometer) may measure the ink quantity metric of the current printing on print substrate. Based on this measurement of printed content output from the image forming device, the image forming device may adjust image forming (e.g., fountain solution deposition flow rate) to reach or maintain a preferred fountain solution thickness on the imaging member surface for subsequent (e.g., next) printings of the print job.

Method for monitoring a fountain solution layer in an image forming device

According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided a method of measuring the amount of fountain solution using a hot wire anemometer. Fountain solution thickness is measured using the flow rate of vaporized fountain solution and comparing to baseline air only flow rate. The vaporized measurement is correlated with the baseline utilizing specific heat, density and enthalpy values and keeping velocity of fluid constant. Changes in the measurement will then be related to the specific heat, density and enthalpy. Density can be back calculated to yield volume and knowing the area of the image being printed give a real time thickness value.

Fountain solution thickness measurement using a hot wire anemometer in a lithography printing system

An inkjet printer includes a dryer configured to attenuate the effects of temperature differentials arising in substrates that are caused by holes in a media transport belt and a platen covering a vacuum plenum. The dryer includes a heater, a media transport belt cooler, and a media transport belt. The media transport belt is configured to move substrates past the heater after ink images have been formed on the substrates and the media transport belt cooler is positioned to remove heat energy from the media transport belt after the media transport belt has passed the heater and the substrates have separated from the media transport belt. The substrate cooler is configured to reduce a temperature of the media transport belt to a temperature that attenuates image defects arising from temperature differentials in the media transport belt when the media transport belt is opposite the heater.

Media transport belt that attenuates thermal artifacts in images on substrates printed by aqueous ink printers

A printer includes a drying unit that has a vacuum plenum and a drying belt with an exterior surface along which the media is transported through the drying unit. The drying belt has a plurality of holes extending through the drying belt, each hole in the plurality of holes having a diameter that is less than 300 microns. The drying unit further includes a heater configured to heat the media transported through the drying unit and a vacuum blower operably connected to the vacuum plenum. The vacuum blower is configured to generate a negative pressure in the vacuum plenum that holds the media on the exterior surface of the drying belt by the negative pressure acting through the plurality of holes without producing temperature differentials in the media on the belt that result in noticeable image quality defects.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Christopher M Mieney