Seiko Epson Corporation

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Junichi Arai

Kenji Taki

Toshiaki Koike

Tomoyuki Oi

Kazuo Okunishi

Hideki Nishimura

Hironori Akashi

Kenichi Murahashi

Godai Fukunaga

Hiroaki Takatsu

Motohiro Nakamaki

Takao Minato

Susumu Taga

Ichimi Masuda

Michio Takahashi

Ryuichi Nakamura

Yoko Hirai

Isao Kato

Ikuma Nishimura

Katsumi Ohira

Toshiyuki Tokuno

Yasuo Sugishita

Yasumasa Akimoto

Makiko Nitanai

Emi Ando

Eizaburo Watanabe

Naoto Ohno

An image forming device may comprise: an attaching unit to which a removable toner bottle is attached; a toner storage that stores toner supplied from the toner bottle attached to the attaching unit; a detector that detects an empty state of toner in the toner storage; and a hardware processor that: supplies toner to the toner storage from the toner bottle when the toner bottle attached to the attaching unit is new; and switches a state of the toner bottle to an old state from a new state if the empty state detected by the detector is released.

Image forming device and controlling method

An image forming apparatus includes: a photoconductor; a charging roller; an exposure device; a developing device that is provided on a downstream side of the charging roller in a rotation direction of the photoconductor, and forms a toner image by supplying toner to a latent image; a cleaning blade that is provided between a transfer part of a surface of the photoconductor located on a downstream side of the developing device in the rotation direction of the photoconductor and the charging roller, and removes residual toner adhering to a part of the surface of the photoconductor on a downstream side of the transfer part; a lubricant supplier that supplies a lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor; and a voltage controller that controls a charging voltage to be applied to the charging roller.

Image forming apparatus capable of supressing toner remaining in an outer region of a photoconductor

An image forming apparatus includes a fixer that fixes toner adhering to a sheet that passes through a fixing nip, the fixer including: an endless fixing belt that rotates; and a presser that presses the fixing belt to form the fixing nip between the fixing belt and the presser. The image forming apparatus includes a hardware processor that calculates an amount of the toner adhering to the sheet that passes through the fixing nip, and determines a degree of abrasion of the fixing belt, based on the amount of the toner calculated by the hardware processor.

Image forming apparatus capable of evaluating the consumption of a fixing belt, control method and control program thereof

An image forming apparatus includes a time setting unit that sets a print allowable time according to the amount of advance payment, a usage time count unit that counts a usage time and a print allowance determination unit that determines, from the time setting unit and the usage time count unit, whether printing is allowed or prohibited. Before the time counted by the usage time count unit reaches the print allowable time, the print allowance determination unit allows the printing to be performed whereas after the time counted by the usage time count unit reaches the print allowable time, the print allowance determination unit prohibits the printing from being performed.

Image forming apparatus

There is provided a thermal transfer recording medium capable of obtaining high transfer sensitivity during high-speed printing, that is, decreasing the amount of a dye used in a dye layer; and preventing abnormal transfer during printing even after storage in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment. The thermal transfer recording medium () contains: a heat-resistant sliding layer () that is formed on one surface of a substrate (); and an undercoat layer () and a dye layer () that are sequentially laminated on the other surface of the substrate (), in which the undercoat layer () contains, as major components, a polyvinyl pyrrolidone and a polyvinyl alcohol having a crystallinity degree of 15% or higher, and the dye layer () contains an anthraquinone-based thermal transfer dye.

Thermal transfer recording medium

An image forming device switches a system speed when assignment of a license has been accepted, and stores switching information of the system speed. The image forming device performs two-stage image stabilization for determining a setting value of a parameter relating to an image formation process of the image forming device when the switching information of the system speed is stored, and performs single-stage image stabilization for determining a setting value of the parameter relating to the image formation process of the image forming device when the switching information of the system speed is not stored.

System-speed switchable image forming device

An image forming apparatus for fixing a toner image to a recording sheet by transporting the recording sheet through a fixing nip formed by a heating rotating body and a pressing rotating body that press against each other. The image forming apparatus includes an idle rotation unit that causes idle rotation of the heating rotating body and the pressing rotating body during a standby state of the image forming apparatus, a cumulative amount recording unit that measures an amount of the idle rotation and record a cumulative amount of the idle rotation, and a prohibiting unit that prohibits the idle rotation unit from causing the idle rotation when the cumulative amount reaches a predetermined allowable value.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming apparatus having; image supporting members provided for a plurality of colors; chargers to be impressed with charging biases to charge the respective image supporting members; developing devices to be impressed with developing biases to develop latent images formed on the image supporting members; a charging bias power supply, including high-voltage DC power supply circuits and an AC power supply circuit, for applying the charging biases, which are generated by superposition of direct-current voltages and an alternate-current voltage, to the chargers; and a control circuit that performs stop processing to stop applications of the charging biases and the developing biases. The control circuit performs processing to attenuate each of the direct-current voltages and each of the developing biases, and after all the direct-current voltages have become a predetermined stop potential, the control circuit performs processing to stop the outputs of the direct-current voltages and the alternate-current voltage.

Image forming apparatus reducing toner fogging on photosensitive drum

A printer and reprinting control method do not reprint when an error accompanied by no damage to the actual printing area or print image on paper occurs so that consumables are not wasted. The printer reprints the label on which the print image was being formed when a specific error occurs if the error occurred while the inkjet head was forming the print image in the actual printing area of the label. When the non-printing area of the label is passing the printing position of the inkjet head, the print image in the actual printing area that was printed immediately before an error occurs is reprinted only if a specific error is detected, such as a paper jam error or mechanical error with the possibility of damage to the paper or label.

Printing control method and printer for printing on a label

When a unit containing a fuse is mounted, in response to detection of a potential indicating that the fuse has not been blown by a detection circuit, a current for blowing the fuse is supplied from a blowing circuit to the mounted unit containing the fuse, and operation of the blowing circuit is checked based on potentials detected by the detection circuit before current supply and after current supply, respectively. When a unit containing a non-blown component instead of a fuse is mounted, a current is supplied from the blowing circuit to the mounted unit containing the non-blown component, and operation of the blowing circuit is checked based on potentials detected by the detection circuit before current supply and during current supply, respectively, or potentials detected by the detection circuit before current supply and after current supply, respectively.

Image forming device with mounted replaceable unit, method of checking operation in that image forming device, and storage medium storing operation checking program directed to that image forming device

Printer control method for error-detection-based reprinting

A label paper indexing control method for a label printer is provided that in one embodiment includes conveying label paper having labels affixed with a specific gap there between to a continuous liner through a path passed a printing position of a print head, detecting a reference position of the label paper at a detection position upstream from the print head, determining the position of a downstream label end of a label on the path as a first distance from the detection position based on when the reference position is detected, updating the first distance each time the label paper is conveyed, executing a power shutdown operation that writes the first distance to memory and turns the power off when a command instructing turning the power off is asserted, and reading the first distance from memory when the power turns on without the label paper having been replaced.

Label paper indexing control method and label printer

An inkjet printer prevents the paper from lifting away from the platen when the suction action of the platen is stopped, and thereby prevents paper jams and other printing problems. The printerconveys the printing paperwhile holding the paperto the surface of the platenby a suction mechanism. After the automatic paper cutting operation is completed, the leading end partof the printing paperis retracted from the cutting position B to the printing start position A on the platen, and the printerwaits for the next print job with the printing paperheld against the platen. When a power conservation mode or power off mode is entered, the control unitof the printeradvances the leading end partof the printing paperfrom the printing start position A to the cutting position B so that the paper is held by the downstream-side paper feed rollerand pressure roller, and then stops the power supply to the suction mechanismof the platen. The printing papercan thus be prevented from rising away from the platenwhile the vacuum action of the suction mechanismis stopped.

Inkjet printer and a paper transportation method

A cleaning mechanism for cleaning a print head in an inkjet printer with the print head having ink nozzles for discharging ink including a drive control unit which operates the cleaning mechanism at a first process level or a second process level that consumes less ink than the first process level; a timer which counts the elapsed time passed in which the print head is in a no-printing state; and a process selection unit responsive to a predetermined input cleaning command for selecting the first process level when the no-printing state has continued for less than a predetermined time or the second process level when the no-printing state has continued for greater than the predetermined time, based on the value of the timer when the predetermined input cleaning command is received. The predetermined input cleaning command can be received from a cleaning button or from a host computer. The drive control unit operates the cleaning mechanism at the process level selected by the process selection unit according to the predetermined input cleaning command.

Cleaning device, inkjet printer, and an inkjet printer cleaning method

The roll paper printer of the subject invention has a control to detect failure of a paper detector in accordance with a method for detecting such failure. The printeris constructed so that the paper transportation path is open when the coverto the roll paper compartmentis open and includes a paper detectorand a control unitto determine if the paper detectoris faulty. A failure warning is provided by a warning indicator(S) to indicate failure of the paper detectorwhen the coverhas been open continuously for at least a first set time (S) and the output state of the paper detectorhas not changed even once to a no-paper state within the first set time. Preferably, the printing operation of the printeris disabled upon determining that the paper detectoris faulty to permit replacement of the paper detector. Problems attributable to paper detector failure, such as soiling the platen with ink can thus be prevented.

Method for detecting failure of a paper detector in a roll paper printer, and roll paper printer having control for detecting failure of a paper detector

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Chiryu, Japan

Junichi Arai