Xerox Corporation

Dximaging

Edward Blair Caruthers

George Amos Gibson

James R Larson

R Enrique Viturro

Bryan James Roof

Michael D Thompson

Raymond W Stover

Anthony Salvatore Condello

John W Spiewak

Lingappa K Mestha

Henry R Till

Constance J Thornton

Sohail A Dianat

Paul Windsor Morehouse, Jr

Gregory Joseph Kovacs

Lawrence Floyd, Jr

Nancy Beth Goodman

Scott D Chamberlain

Catharine E Looney

Inan Chen

Fong-Jen J Wang

Steven P Schmidt

Michael J Rice

Shawn R Rowan

Michael L Levin

Dana S Smith

Eric Berg

A radiation curable ink initial line width control system includes a print head that deposits radiation curable ink to form as-deposited ink lines on a substrate. A substrate heating system heats the substrate to heat the ink and spread the ink to increase a line width of the ink. The line width of the ink is increased before the ink is contact-leveled at a contact-leveling nip. The substrate is heated to a temperature that minimizes or avoids showthrough and/or coalescence in a printed image.

Methods, apparatus, and systems for controlling an initial line width of radiation curable gel ink

Methods of treating ink on a porous substrate and methods of printing onto porous substrates are provided. An exemplary embodiment of the methods of treating ink on a porous substrate includes applying a layer of ink onto a first surface of a porous substrate; irradiating the layer of ink with first radiation having a first spectrum effective to partially cure the ink layer and reduce penetration of the ink into pores of the substrate; leveling the partially-cured ink layer; and irradiating the as-leveled ink layer with second radiation to further cure the ink layer, the second radiation having a second spectrum different from the first spectrum of the first radiation.

Methods of treating ink on porous substrates using partial curing and apparatuses useful in treating ink on porous substrates

An inkjet printer has been developed that reduces the effects of show-through by depositing ink onto a cooled print medium. The inkjet printer includes a printhead and a cooler. The printhead is configured to eject ink onto an ink receiving member as the ink receiving member is transported along a portion of a media path through the inkjet printer. The cooler is positioned proximate the media path to cool the ink receiving member prior to the printhead ejecting ink onto the ink receiving member.

Cooler for a printer

A method for adjusting fractional amounts of primary colors to be combined to substantially match a user selected color and substrate characteristics in a device adapted to color printing on a substrate. The method corrects for both the color and the reflectivity of the substrate on which the user selected color is to be printed. The method adjusts the target mixed ink transmission spectrum to compensate for the substrate characteristics. The method also identifies cases in which the target mixed ink transmission spectrum may not be compensated due to the paper's color. The method may be used to control mixing of inks in a custom color module of a marking engine; or mixing of dry toner primaries in a dry xerographic engine; or mixing of printing inks in a stand-alone ink mixing station.

Method and system for adjusting color mixing due to substrate characteristics

A system and method of applying a controlled amount of fluid to a moveable image carrying member of an electrographic printing system using a liquid toner before an image is transferred to a substrate. The amount of fluid applied may be controlled by a re-wet roller, located between the toner station and the transfer station, whose distance from the moveable image carrying member is varied along with the rotational speed and direction of the re-wet roller, according to either the roughness and porosity of the substrate or the print quality of the substrate. Alternatively, the fluid may be directly applied just to image areas of the moveable image carrying member to improve print quality.

Image preparation system for transfer to substrates

Computer controller mixing of customer-selected colorants, including inks, for printing machines includes an ink supply station with a color matching control computer program, an ink mixing station, cleaning and waste disposal stations, for automatically emptying and cleaning ink mixing station components, which are integrally connected to a print engine, and scheduling of colorant changes to maximize use of a particular colorant and minimize colorant changes.

Computer controlled mixing of customer-selected color inks for printing machines

A toner developability sensor and method sense toner developability of liquid ink in an ink reservoir of a liquid ink image forming system. The toner developability sensor includes a power supply, a first electrode having at least one surface in contact with the liquid ink and connected to the power supply, and a second electrode spaced from the first electrode. When a potential difference is applied between the first and second electrodes, a developed toner layer is formed on the first electrode. A sensor senses at least one characteristic of the developed toner layer formed on the first electrode. The sensor detects characteristics of the developed toner layer that are directly related to the developability of the toner.

Liquid xerographic developability sensor

A method of mixing colorants to achieve a target color includes combining individual colorants, detecting an output color of the combined colorants with a color sensing device and automatically adjusting the output color based on comparison between the detected output color and the target color. An apparatus for mixing colorants according to this method is also disclosed.

Automatic colorant mixing method and apparatus

An image data adjustment system is described which adjusts image data to be printed based upon the level of contaminants detected in the toner reservoirs. The system detects the level of contamination of a toner to be printed and adjusts the image data so that a compensating toner is also printed with the desired toner so that an intended print color is achieved despite contaminants in the toner.

Systems and method for adjusting image data to compensate for

Changes in toner developability of toners in a liquid toner system are determined and compensated for by sensing the toner concentration and liquid toner volume in a tank, based on changes in the toner concentration and toner mass in the tank. Based on the foreground areas for a color separation layer corresponding to a particular toner, the developed area for that toner for one or more printed pages can be determined. From the developed area and the consumed mass of toner, a developed mass per unit area (DMA) can be determined. Based on the determined DMA, the sensed toner concentration and a voltage differential, the developability of the toner can be determined. Based on a target DMA, the sensed toner concentration and the determined developability of the toner, a new voltage differential can be determined. If the new voltage differential is within a determined range, a target toner concentration is updated based on the target DMA, the determined developability and a target voltage differential for that toner. Based on the updated target toner concentration, toner and/or liquid carrier material can be added to the tank for that toner to change the sensed toner concentration to the updated target toner concentration. In multi-component toners, this method is used to determine the developability of each component. Based on the developability and target DMA of each component of a multi-component toner, new target concentrations of each toner component are determined. Accordingly, the developability of single- and multi-component toner can be corrected for.

System and method for detecting and compensating for changes in liquid

Custom color control techniques are extended by using a high and a low pigment loaded toner for each color of the primary colors in the printing system. In one application, a large gamut of colors and fine control of color is accomplished by using a minimum number of colored pigments with each color incorporated into both high and low pigment loaded toners. Another application of the high/low pigment loaded toners is the ability to increase the developed mass per unit area (DMA) for rough papers without increasing pigment mass per unit area (PMA) by either mixing high and low pigment-loaded toners or by mixing a high pigment-loaded toner with an unpigmented toner to obtain the desired custom color. A novel sensor which senses fluorescent molecules in toner particles provides a color independent measure of total toner solids.

High and low pigment loadings for custom colors

A system for determining, in real time, the precise color measurements of a colorant being applied in a printing apparatus, the colorant being a combination of two or more primary colorants. Light from a light source is transmitted through or reflected from the colorant mixture, and received by a sensor having a relatively small number of photodetectors, each photodetector having a different translucent primary-color filter thereon. Various special algorithms can be used to approach the accuracy of a spectrophotometer using a relatively simple light sensor.

Color mixing and color system for use in a printing machine

A system and method for color mixing control in a developing material-based electrostatographic printing system. A developing reservoir containing an operative solution of customer selectable colored developing material is continuously replenished with selectively variable amounts of basic color components making up the operative solution by controlling the rate of replenishment of various color components added to the supply reservoir. An optical sensor is used to measure the optical spectrum of the developed image so that the actual optical spectrum thereof can be brought into agreement with a target optical spectrum associated with a customer selectable color. The present invention may be used to mix a customer selectable color in situ, whereby approximate amounts of primary color components are initially deposited and mixed in the developing material reservoir and the resultant developed image is monitored and adjusted until the mixture reaches a target optical spectrum. An additional optical sensor may be used to control and maintain the color of the developing material in the reservoir through continuous monitoring and correction in order to maintain a particular ratio of color components in the reservoir over extended periods associated with very long print runs.

Photometric color correction and control system for custom colors

A system and method for color mixing management in an electrostatographic printing system, wherein a developing material reservoir containing an operative solution of colored developing material including a mixture of selected color components is continuously replenished with selected differently colored developing material concentrates in a predetermined ratio so as to be capable of producing a customer selectable color image area on an output substrate. The present invention may also be utilized to mix a customer selectable color in situ, either from stored proportions known to compensate for developability differences or from approximate amounts of primary color components initially deposited and mixed in the developing material reservoir with the resultant operative developing material mixture continually developed and replenished with a predetermined ratio of color components until the developing material mixture reaches a steady state color.

Liquid color mixing and replenishment system for an electrostatographic

A liquid developing material replenishment system wherein an apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image with a liquid developing material includes a liquid developing reservoir for providing a supply of operative liquid developing material to the developing apparatus, and a liquid developing material supply is coupled to the liquid developing material reservoir for providing a supply of liquid developing concentrate to the liquid developing material reservoir for replenishing the supply of operative liquid developing material in the liquid developing reservoir. A predetermined amount of operative liquid developing material is periodically and/or systematically discharged from the liquid developing material reservoir to remove contaminated liquid developing material from the reservoir. In addition, a predetermined amount of liquid developing material concentrate is systematically dispensed from the liquid developing material supply to the liquid developing material reservoir so as to extend the useful life of the operative liquid developing material therein.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Edward Blair Caruthers