Xerox Corporation

Jonathan Ross Ireland

Michael Nicholas Soures

Bruce H Smith

Donald E Thresh

James D Vanbortel

Edward Neil Chapman

James D Van Bortel

Conner Nicholas Smith

Chu-Heng Liu

Paul J McConville

Douglas K Herrmann

Reiner Eschbach

Jason Mathew LeFevre

Linn C Hoover

Paul Michael Fromm

Seemit Praharaj

Erwin Ruiz

William A Fuss

Martin Edward Hoover

David A VanKouwenberg

Jeffrey John Bradway

Marc Dennis Daniels

Husein Naser Rashed

A substrate includes a mark that exhibits an enhanced moiré effect. In some embodiments, the mark includes multiple sets of parallel lines printed at various angles and in certain color combinations that yield the mark that causes the substrate to exhibit the enhanced moiré effect when viewed. In some embodiments, various components of a mark are printed with inks having different fluorescent properties. In some embodiments, the mark is a pattern mark that includes a checkered pattern comprising cells of multiple colors, along with broken parallel lines along edges of some or all of the cells and frame elements within some or all of the cells.

Methods of printing document markings with enhanced moiré effects, and documents that exhibit such effects

A printing system comprises one or more printheads arranged to eject ink to a deposition region. Print media are held by vacuum suction against a movable support surface, which transports the print media though the deposition region. The vacuum suction is communicated from a vacuum source to the movable support surface via a vacuum plenum. An airflow control system comprises one or more dampers arranged in the vacuum plenum to control airflow between the vacuum source and the movable support surface. The dampers have an adjustable impedance to airflow through the damper. The airflow control system is configured to adjust the impedance of the damper based on a detected condition of the printing system. A detected condition of the printing system may include, for example, a sensed pressure in the vacuum plenum.

Printing system with dampers to vary vacuum suction through a vacuum plenum and related a devices, systems, and methods

An optical light reflectance measurement system above an imaging member surface measures fountain solution surface light reflectance interference on reflective substrate portions of the imaging member surface in real-time during a printing operation. The measured light reflectance interference corresponds to a thickness of the fountain solution layer and may be used in a feedback loop to actively control fountain solution layer thickness by adjusting the volumetric feed rate of fountain solution added onto the imaging member surface during a printing operation to reach a desired uniform thickness for the printing. This fountain solution monitoring system may be fully automated.

Fountain solution thickness measurement system and method using ellipsometry

Methods and systems for rendering a transparent pantograph pattern. A background path and a foreground path for a pantograph pattern can be determined. An intersection internal to the background path and external to foreground path that is to be marked can be defined. Areas to be masked can be defined with respect to the pantograph pattern. The pantograph pattern can be then rendered as a transparent vector pattern pantograph by writing a background based on the background path and a foreground based on the foreground path and the areas defined as masked.

Transparent pantograph pattern

A method is disclosed. For example, the method includes receiving, by a processor of a multi-function device (MFD), a scanned image of a print job with a finish option applied to the print job, determining, by the processor, that the finish option requires an adjustment based on an analysis of the scanned image, determining, by the processor, an amount of adjustment to the finish option to apply to subsequent copies of the print job, and performing, by the processor, an adjustment to the MFD to apply the amount of adjustment to the finish option for subsequent copies of the print job.

Method and apparatus to automatically adjust finish options for print jobs

An object printer is configured to generate a three-dimensional map of a surface of an object to be printed and determine which areas in the three-dimensional map can be printed by a printhead movable in three-dimensional space. Areas can be printed when the printhead is positioned opposite an area where no inkjet in the printhead is closer than a minimum distance for accurate ink drop placement and all of the features in the area are within a maximum distance for accurate ink drop placement from the printhead. The areas that cannot be printed are deleted from the map and the map is displayed so a user can select where an ink image is to be formed on the object. The printer then operates an articulated arm to move the printhead opposite the surface at positions corresponding the selected area and operates the printhead to form the ink image.

System and method for analyzing the surface of a three-dimensional object to be printed by a printhead mounted to an articulating arm

A method for rendering a correlation mark on a recording medium can involve encoding a pattern based on a correlation effect color based on a color recipe that includes a high density of one primary color and a mid-to-low density of at least one other primary color, and adjusting the pattern to ensure that the encoding is lost in a resulting rendering of a correlation mark embedded with the pattern. The pattern imposed on the correlation mark is not readily visible in an original without a decoding key. The correlation mark can include a frequency that is sufficiently high so that a copy of the correlation mark may not reproduce with the pattern.

Non-copy correlation mark

What is disclosed is an object holder for securely retaining an object while it is being printed in a direct-to-object print system and a direct-to-object print system configured to use various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention. In one embodiment, the object holder comprises a metallic shuttle mount configured to slideably traverse a support member positioned parallel to a plane formed by at least one printhead configured to eject marking material on to a surface of an object. A plurality of magnetic retainers are each shaped to physically secure the object to the metallic shuttle mount while the object is being moved.

Object holder for a direct-to-object printer

What is disclosed is an object holder for retaining an object in a direct-to-object print system and a direct-to-object print system configured to use various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention. In one embodiment, the object holder comprises a shuttle mount configured to slideably traverse a support member positioned parallel to a plane formed by at least one printhead configured to eject marking material on to a surface of an object. A plurality of threads, at least partially comprising a flexible synthetic elastomer, are connected to the shuttle mount. The threads are joined together to form an elastic netting which can be manually expanded around the object to retain the object to the shuttle mount while the object is being printed in the direct-to-object print system.

Printing devices include a media supply storing print media, a luminescent belt positioned adjacent the media supply in a location to move sheets of the print media from the media supply, a print engine positioned adjacent the luminescent belt in a location to receive the sheets from the luminescent belt, an optical sensor positioned adjacent the belt in a location to receive belt-emitted light from the luminescent belt, and a processor electrically connected to the optical sensor. The processor receives the image from the optical sensor and identifies locations of the sheets on the belt based on where the sheets block the belt-emitted light from the luminescent belt.

Leading/trailing edge detection system having phosphorescent belt

What is disclosed is an object holder for securely retaining an object while it is being printed in a direct-to-object print system and a direct-to-object print system configured to use various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention. In one embodiment, the object holder comprises a shuttle mount configured to slideably traverse a support member positioned parallel to a plane formed by at least one printhead configured to eject in onto a surface of an object. The mount has a plurality of receptacles, each has a shape for receiving a retainer in one of a plurality of orientations. A head of each retainer is shaped to retain an edge of the object on the mount. A base of each retainer is shaped such that, when the base is pressed into a receptacle, the head assumes a desired orientation. The removable retainers retain the object on the shuttle mount.

An apparatus enables the effect of distance changes between ejectors in printheads of a printing system and the surface receiving ejected drops to be evaluated. The apparatus includes a housing with a cavity having a sloping floor to which a substrate is mounted to receive drops ejected by printheads in the printing system. The floor of the cavity can slope in either the process or cross-process direction. The substrate can include fiducial marks and target lines to enhance the analysis of the effect of changing distance on the ejected drops.

System and apparatus for evaluating inkjet performance and alignment in a direct-to-object printer

3-D printing system include development stations positioned to electrostatically transfer build and support materials to an intermediate transfer surface, a transfer station adjacent the intermediate transfer surface, guides adjacent the transfer station, and platens moving on the guides. The guides are shaped to direct the platens to repeatedly pass the transfer station and come in contact with the intermediate transfer surface at the transfer station. The intermediate transfer surface transfers a layer of the build and support materials to the platens each time the platens contact the intermediate transfer surface at the transfer station to successively form layers of the build and support materials on the platens. The platens and the intermediate transfer surface include alignment features. The alignment features temporarily join at the transfer station, as the platens pass the transfer station, to align the platens with the intermediate transfer surface as the platens contact the intermediate transfer surface.

3-D electrostatic printer using track bound platens and registration system

What is disclosed is an object holder for retaining an object while it is being printed in a direct-to-object print system and a direct-to-object print system configured to use various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention. In one embodiment, the object holder comprises a base plate configured to slideably traverse a support member positioned parallel to a plane formed by at least one printhead configured to eject marking material on to a surface of an object. A shaft passes through the base plate. A back support is fixed to an end of the base plate. A side plate is slideably attached to the base plate. The back support and side plate collectively provide support to the shaft. A suction cup is connected to one end of the shaft for holding an object to the shaft while the object is being moved.

A printing system includes a first member and a second member. The second member is positioned parallel to the first member. The system further includes a first extensible member and a second extensible member. The system further includes a first gripper and a second gripper. One end of the first extensible member is mounted to the first member and the other end of the first extensible member is mounted to the first gripper. One end of the second extensible member is mounted to the second member and the other end is mounted to the second gripper. A controller operates a first actuator operatively connected to the first and second extensible members.

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Lancaster, PA, United States of America

Jonathan Ross Ireland