Eastman-kodak Company

Kodak Alaris Inc.

Gregory James Garbacz

Robert Fredric Mindler

Marcus M Townsend

Gilbert Allan Hawkins

Michael Edgar Long

James Michael Chwalek

Young No

Charles F Faisst

Richard Steven Paoletti

Dennis W Heizyk

Vincent E Hamilton-Winbush

John Sechrist

Ravi Sharma

David Louis Jeanmaire

Charles E Romano, Jr

Thomas L Penner

Ali G Lopez

Chang-Fang Hsu

Joseph R West

Novel methods for calibrating a thermal printer by adjusting a look up table comprising the steps of receiving a test pattern to be printed on a receiver medium, printing the test pattern on the receiver medium, using a sensor to measure a depletion amount of donor material, and using a processor to adjust the lookup table based on the measured depletion amount are disclosed.

High efficiency printing method for improved image quality

The present invention is directed to systems and methods of directly determining the type of receiver media loaded in a thermal printer by measurements taken from the receiver media itself. In one embodiment, a tri-color emitter and detector combination work in conjunction to determine the intensity of light transmitted through the receiver media. The type of receiver media may be determined by the voltage response or transmission profile generated by the receiver in response to being illuminated by the tri-color emitter.

System and method for determining receiver type in a thermal printer

A high efficiency thermal printing system, comprising: a donor ribbon having donor material; a receiver medium; a test pattern to be printed on the receiver medium using the donor ribbon; a print head, a sensor, and a processor is disclosed. The present invention is adapted to print the test pattern on the receiver medium by heating the donor ribbon to cause the donor material to transfer from the donor ribbon onto the receiver medium, thereby depleting donor material on the donor ribbon. Moreover, the sensor is adapted to measure a depletion amount of the donor material on the donor ribbon after printing the test pattern, and the processor is adapted to calibrate the thermal printing system by adjusting a lookup table in response to the measured depletion amount of donor material.

High efficiency printing system for improved image quality

A method of printing feeds a receiver through a print head area using a pair of feed rollers comprising a pinch roller and a capstan roller. A preselected tension is maintained on the receiver that is supplied to the feed rollers by controlling a rotation speed of a supply roll that provides the receiver to the feed rollers. The receiver is printed and reverse fed in an opposite direction while controlling the tension of the receiver in response to a tension of the receiver that exists between the feed rollers and the print head area during the step of reverse feeding. Maintaining the tension includes providing a motor having a torque limiter.

Thermal printing

A printer including a supply roll of receiver media and a plurality of rollers to feed the receiver media through the printer. Means for maintaining a preselected tension of the receiver media between the supply roll and a pair of the plurality of rollers includes a motor with a torque limiter. The motor can be attached to the supply roll or to an optional pair of rollers adjacent the supply roll. A capstan roller having a high traction, non-marking surface is used in conjunction with the tension control.

Thermal printer

A liquid ejection device includes a jetting module including an array of nozzles; a thermal stimulation device associated with each nozzle of the array of nozzles; and a controller in electrical communication with each thermal stimulation device. The controller is configured to provide a first activation waveform to each thermal stimulation device and to provide a second activation waveform to each thermal stimulation device to clean the associated nozzle with liquid emitted from the associated nozzle. The second activation waveform has a higher activation component when compared to the first activation waveform.

Thermal cleaning of individual jetting module nozzles

A method, and apparatus for performing the method, are intended to prevent all of the ink discharged from a defective one of multiple nozzles in a continuous inkjet printhead from being used for printing on a print medium. This can be done by periodically heating the defective nozzle at a frequency that is greater than frequencies other nozzles which are not defective are periodically heated, to cause the defective nozzle to only discharge ink droplets that have a smaller volume than ink droplets discharged from the nozzles that are not defective. Then, the smaller volume droplets discharged from the defective nozzle are prevented from reaching a print medium, but the larger volume ink droplets discharged from the nozzles that are not defective are allowed to reach the print medium.

Preventing defective nozzle ink discharge in continuous inkjet printhead from being used for printing

An apparatus for printing an image is provided. The apparatus includes an ink droplet forming mechanism operable to selectively create a stream of ink droplets having a plurality of volumes traveling along a first path. A droplet deflector is positioned at an angle with respect to the stream of ink droplets. The droplet deflector includes a gas flow operable to interact with the stream of ink droplets such that ink droplets having one of the plurality of volumes begin traveling along a second path and ink droplets having another of the plurality of volumes begin traveling along a third path. At least a portion of a catcher including a porous material is at least partially positioned in one of the first, second, and third paths.

Continuous ink-jet printing apparatus having an improved droplet deflector and catcher

A cleaning system for a continuous inkjet printer comprises a cleaning chamber positioned substantially parallel to an ink supply chamber and nozzle plate, and a gas supply, such as air or nitrogen. The cleaning chamber is formed by a cover and the nozzle plate, wherein the gas is routed between the cover and the nozzle plate so as to remove debris and excess ink from the inkjet nozzles and surrounding area. A fluid may also be applied in addition to the gas, and a deflector may be positioned on the cover to increase the angle of incidence of air and fluid as it contacts the inkjet nozzles and surrounding area.

Start-up and shut down of continuous inkjet print head

Both a cleaning fluid jet apparatus and method for cleaning an array of inkjet nozzles in a printhead is provided. The fluid jet apparatus includes a cleaning head having an array of cleaning nozzles registrable with the array of inkjet nozzles in the printhead, and a mounting assembly that mounts the cleaning head in opposition to the printhead with the cleaning nozzles in substantial alignment with the inkjet nozzles. A supply of pressurized cleaning fluid is connected to the cleaning nozzles such that the cleaning nozzles discharge a stream of high velocity cleaning droplets that impinges the inkjet nozzles. Both a droplet sizing mechanism and a droplet speed controller are provided so that the size, frequency, and velocity of the cleaning droplets may be selected for maximum cleaning efficiency. The apparatus also includes a mechanism for changing a location of cleaning droplet impingement so that both the inkjet nozzles and the areas immediately surrounding the nozzles may be effectively cleaned.

Fluid jet apparatus and method for cleaning inkjet printheads

A method of cleaning a printhead in an inkjet printer by removing organic debris deposits from the printhead, uses anyone of the liquid mixes of NaOCl (sodium hypochlorite) and H O (water), H O (hydrogen peroxide) and H O, Na S O (sodium hydrosulfite) and H O, CaCl O (calcium hypochlorite) and H O, or KMnO (potassium pernanganate) and H O on the debris deposits, to serve as a cleaning agent.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Gregory James Garbacz