Xerox Corporation

Palo Alto Research Center Inc.

Gregory Joseph Kovacs

David Kalman Biegelsen

Ashish V Pattekar

Lars Erik Swartz

Steven E Ready

Marcel Philippe Breton

Armin R Volkel

Bryan James Roof

Peter Gordon Odell

Jennifer Lynne Belelie

Michael D Thompson

Lawrence Floyd, Jr

Guerino G Sacripante

Paul J McConville

Vittorio R Castelli

Edward Graham Zwartz

Barkev Keoshkerian

Stephan V Drappel

Kock-Yee Law

Trevor James Snyder

Varun Sambhy

Jurgen Hans Daniel

Gerald A Domoto

T Brian McAneney

Christopher A Wagner

Hong Zhao

Christopher A Paulson

Nicholas P Kladias

Joseph Herman Lang

Lars-Erik Swartz

Edward Blair Caruthers

Jeffrey William Drawe

James Charles Zesch

Shawn R Rowan

Allen W Denham

Peter Gordon O'Dell

Stephen T Knapp

James Fallon, Jr

Michael Thompson

A printer has a print head arranged to jet molten ink onto a surface, a transfix surface arranged to provide the surface for the print head, the transfix surface having a core and an outer shell of a predetermined grade of aluminum arranged on the core, the outer shell forming the surface for the print head. The printer also has a transport subsystem to transport a print substrate past the transfix surface such that the molten ink transfers from the transfix surface to the print substrate.

Method of fabricating low-cost transfix drums for solid ink transfer

Methods of leveling ink on substrates and apparatuses useful in printing are provided. An exemplary embodiment of the methods includes irradiating ink disposed on a surface of a porous substrate with radiation emitted by at least one radiant energy source. The radiation heats the ink to at least a viscosity threshold temperature of the ink to allow the ink to flow laterally on the surface to produce leveling of the ink. The ink is heated sufficiently rapidly that heat transfer from the ink to the substrate is sufficiently small during the leveling that ink at the substrate interface is cooled to a temperature below the viscosity threshold temperature thereby preventing any significant ink permeation into the substrate.

Methods of leveling ink on substrates and apparatuses useful in printing

A system for heated gas fusing of toner on non-porous substrates is provided. The system uses (1) an extended fusing zone held at lower temperatures than needed for a roll nip or radiant fuser, and (2) a very low melt toner which can be fused at greatly reduced temperatures compared to conventional toners. In one form, the system is realized through (a) the use of heated gas as the low temperature extended zone fusing technology, and (b) the use of ultra-low melt (ULM) toner&#x2014;which requires significantly reduced temperature compared to conventional toner. On non-porous packaging substrates the use of heated gas can limit the substrate temperature to 100&#xb0; C.

Extended zone low temperature non-contact heating for distortion free fusing of images on non-porous material

A method of leveling ink that is printed on a substrate includes establishing a thermal gradient across a thickness of the substrate, the thermal gradient characterized in that it is less than a viscosity threshold temperature of the ink across most of the substrate.

Contactless ink leveling method and appartus

A printing apparatus has been developed that prints inkjet images on a continuous web with a configurable number of distinct ink colors. The printing apparatus includes a frame configured to support a plurality of components to form a printing system, the frame including a plurality of mounting locations, a plurality of printing system components including at least one printhead array and at least one first ink composition curing assembly, each printing system component in the plurality of printing system components being configured to mount to a mounting location on the frame, and the printing apparatus being enabled to eject a first ink composition onto an image receiving surface when a first set of printing system components selected from the plurality of printing system components is mounted to the frame and being enabled to eject a second ink composition onto an image receiving surface when a second set of printing system components selected from the plurality of printing system components is mounted to the frame, the second set of printing system components not including a first ink composition curing assembly.

Inkjet printing apparatus

An apparatus fixes ink on a substrate, such as in ink-jet printing. A leveling member is positioned to contact an ink-bearing side of the substrate at a nip. A radiation source is positioned to direct radiation to the ink-bearing side of the substrate at the nip, the radiation suitable for curing the ink on the substrate.

Method for fixing a radiation-curable gel-ink image on a substrate

A method of applying a protective coating over ink printed media in a digital printing engine whereby horizontally discharging ink jet nozzles arranged in a vertical array, discharging a protective coating onto the marked surface of media disposed on a belt in vertical disposition. The coated media is then transported vertically to an adjacent source of ultraviolet radiation for curing the protective coating.

Applying a transparent protective coating to marked media in a print engine

A coating for an ink jet printhead front face, wherein the coating comprises a low adhesion coating, wherein when the low adhesion coating is disposed on an ink jet printhead front face surface, jetted drops of ultra-violet gel ink or jetted drops of solid ink exhibit a low sliding angle with the printhead front face surface, wherein the low sliding angle is less than about 1&#xb0; to less than about 30&#xb0;. In embodiments, the low adhesion coating is an oleophobic coating that exhibits a contact angle of greater than about 35&#xb0; with ultra-violet gel ink or solid ink.

Coating for an ink jet printhead front face

A method of printing an image on a substrate comprises determining a pile height differential for the image. A clear marking material is added to the image printed on the substrate in response to the determined pile height differential. Adding the clear marking material substantially reduces the pile height differential between two areas of the printed image. The clear marking material may be a clear ink or a clear toner material. The substrate on which the image is printed may comprise a plurality of sheets, a roll or other length of print media. The step of adding clear marking material to the image may include substantially leveling the printed image using the clear marking material. In at least one alternative embodiment, the step of adding clear marking material to the image includes adding at least one patch of clear marking material to the printed image.

Clear marking material printing to compensate for pile height differential

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

An apparatus prints and/or fixes ink on a substrate, such as in ink-jet printing with UV-curable inks. A conformable member is positioned to contact an ink-bearing side of the substrate at a nip. The conformable member substantially comprises a silicone-based elastomer having a conformability from about 20 shore A to about 10 shore A. A radiation source directs radiation to the ink-bearing side of the substrate at the nip, the radiation suitable for curing the ink on the substrate. The apparatus is particularly useful for printing onto corrugated cardboard or otherwise non-planar surfaces, since the resulting ink image is impressed uniformly onto the substrate by the conformable member without voids in the ink layer in the recesses of the non-planar surface.

Method and apparatus for fixing a radiation-curable gel-ink image onto a substrate

Methods of leveling ink on substrates and apparatuses useful in printing are provided. An exemplary embodiment of the methods includes irradiating ink disposed on a first surface of a porous substrate with radiation emitted by at least one flash lamp. The radiation flash heats the ink to at least a viscosity threshold temperature of the ink to allow the ink to flow laterally on the first surface to produce leveling of the ink. The ink is heated sufficiently rapidly that heat transfer from the ink to the substrate is sufficiently small during the leveling that ink at the substrate interface is cooled to a temperature below the viscosity threshold temperature thereby preventing any significant ink permeation into the substrate from the first surface.

Methods of leveling ink on substrates using flash heating and apparatuses useful in printing

A system enables ink on an image receiving member to be re-distributed to reduce banding effects in the image. The system includes an ink applicator for applying ink to form an ink image on an image receiving member as it passes by the ink applicator; a plenum chamber for receiving a flow of pressurized fluid from a fluid source, and at least one opening in the plenum chamber to direct the flow of pressurized fluid from the plenum towards the ink image on the image receiving member to re-distribute the ink on the image receiving member.

System and method for leveling applied ink in a printer

Contactless ink leveling method and apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Gregory Joseph Kovacs