Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Oki Data Corporation

Pentax Corporation

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tadashi Kasai

Jiro Tanuma

Masakazu Terao

Shinya Kobayashi

Makoto Yasuda

Hitoshi Yamamoto

Mutsuki Morinaga

Emiko Shiraishi

Mitsuo Aoki

Yutaka Takahashi

Kunio Hasegawa

Yasushi Koichi

Takamasa Ozeki

Hideaki Ishimizu

Yoshihiro Sonohara

Jun Hitosugi

Wakana Itoh

Koji Suzuki

Masato Iio

Bing Shu

Chihiro Komori

Yoichi Sakurai

Takatsugu Komori

Naoji Akutsu

Akio Tsujita

Yuichi Aizawa

Setsuo Soga

Kikuo Iwasaka

Kentarou Matsumoto

Hiroshi Sakaino

Katsuhiro Shinohara

Akira Sugiyama

Hideo Nanba

Masayuki Ishikawa

Shinya Tanaka

Shinji Aoki

Hiroshi Kikuchi

Keigo Nakamura

Naomi Sugimoto

Haruo Iimura

Yasuhiko Ogino

Toshiaki Higaya

Tsuyoshi Asami

Kumi Hasegawa

Kenichi Ohara

Masanao Abe

Shinji Hayakawa

Minoru Matsushita

Masaru Takeshige

Shigeru Watanabe

Hideki Kimura

Hideo Yoshizawa

Hiroaki Matsuda

Hiroshi Nakai

Shinya Nakayama

Hiroshi Okada

Hiroaki Suzuki

Hiroto Higuchi

Akira Hagiwara

Akihiro Itoh

Toshihiro Sugiyama

Masahiko Shakuto

Naohito Shimota

Kazumi Kobayashi

Takehide Mizutani

Hiroyuki Kunii

Takashi Bisaiji

Maiko Kondo

Kazuaki Kamihara

Mitsuru Kishimoto

Masayoshi Nakayama

Jun Shiori

Takao Uchida

Kohei Matsumoto

Tetsuya Muto

Masaki Sukesako

Noboru Ooishi

Takayuki Koike

Katsumi Masuda

Nobuo Wakasugi

Tomoya Ohsugi

Takuma Higa

Atsushi Tano

Kenji Komito

Hiromichi Shibuya

Kiyotaka Sakai

Kazuyuki Yazaki

Masahiro Katoh

Naoya Ouchi

Keiko Kajimura

Tomoko Iwasaki

Keiji Kunii

Hitoshi Hirose

Yoshinori Shibata

Mituo Aoki

Tsuyoshi Imanura

Tatsuo Kubota

Masaya Sato

An output device communicably connected with a post-processing apparatus for executing post-processing on an output product output from the output device, the output device includes circuitry to receive a processing setting pattern that is determined in accordance with an output condition of the output product and corresponding to an operation to be performed by the post-processing apparatus, the output condition, and image data of an image to be formed on the output product and control output of the image data using the post-processing apparatus based on the processing setting pattern and the output condition.

Output device, output system, and output method

An image forming apparatus includes a nip forming member and a transfer bias output device that outputs a transfer bias to form a transfer electric field in a transfer nip between the nip forming member and an intermediate transfer member. Upon transfer of a composite toner image including a particular toner image onto a recording medium in the transfer nip, the transfer bias output device outputs the transfer bias including a first superimposed bias in which a direct current (DC) component is superimposed on an alternating current (AC) component. Upon transfer of the composite toner image without the particular toner image onto the recording medium in the transfer nip, the transfer bias output device outputs one of the transfer bias including a second superimposed bias having a peak-to-peak value of the AC component smaller than that of the first superimposed bias and the transfer bias including only the DC component.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a toner pattern bearer to bear a first toner pattern having a first image area and a second toner pattern having a second image area different from the first image area. A toner adhesion amount detector detects a toner adhesion amount of toner of each of the first toner pattern and the second toner pattern. A toner degradation rate calculator calculates a first deviation in the toner adhesion amount of the first toner pattern and a second deviation in the toner adhesion amount of the second toner pattern based on the toner adhesion amount detected by the toner adhesion amount detector. The toner degradation rate calculator compares the first deviation with the second deviation and calculates a toner degradation rate based on a comparison result.

Image forming apparatus and method for calculating a toner degradation rate

An image forming apparatus includes an image formation processor to perform image formation to a recording medium with a primary color toner and a secondary color toner that is different from the primary color toner, a database to store multiple setting values, each of which corresponding a combination of a mode type depending on the primary color toner and the secondary color toner and a media type of the recording medium and being applied to a process of the image formation performed by the image forming processor, a database retriever to retrieve an optimum setting value from the multiple setting values stored in the database according to a specified combination of the mode type and the media type, and an operation setting arranger to perform the image formation based on the optimum setting value acquired from the database retriever.

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, a developing device, a supplier, and a controller. The controller controls the supplier according to a detection result of a toner density by the toner density sensor and a toner density target value to adjust the toner density of developer in the developing device. The controller is configured to correct the toner density target value and an imaging condition affecting a toner adhesion amount of an output image separately from the toner density, according to a component adhesion deterioration degree being a deterioration degree of carrier due to adhesion of a toner component, obtained based on at least an average image area ratio of the output image, and a coating abrasion deterioration degree being a progression degree of deterioration due to coating abrasion of the carrier, obtained based on at least the average image area ratio of the output image.

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, a developing device, a toner container, a toner feed connector, a processor, and a notifier. The developing device develops, with toner, a latent image on the latent image bearer. The toner container contains the toner. The toner container is detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus. The toner feed connector guides the toner of the toner container to the developing device. The information detector detects identification information including toner type information and maintenance contract information stored in the toner container. The processor determines whether the toner type information of the toner container coincides before and after replacement and whether the maintenance contract information of the toner container is matched with maintenance contract information of the image forming apparatus. The notifier indicates a determination made by the processor.

A protective layer forming device, including: a powdery image bearer protecting agent formed of a granulated product containing a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant; and a roller-shaped protecting agent supplying member configured to supply the powdery image bearer protecting agent to a surface of an image bearer.

Protective layer forming device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer; a developing device containing two-component developer and including a developer bearer, a development voltage source, and a toner concentration detector; a toner supply device to supply toner to the developing device; a transfer device; and a controller to keep a toner concentration in the developer in the developing device at a target toner concentration during image formation. The controller executes forced toner consumption in which the developing device supplies the toner to the latent image bearer the toner at a predetermined forced toner consumption timing, while inhibiting the toner supply device from supplying toner. When the toner concentration falls to a prescribed toner density lower than the target toner concentration, the controller completes the forced toner consumption and executes a post-consumption toner supply operation.

An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image, a special color developing device to develop the latent image with a special color toner other than standard color toners to form a special color toner image, an adhesion amount adjuster to adjust a special color toner adhesion amount by changing an application bias between the photoconductor and a developing sleeve of the special color developing device, a setting unit to set brightness of the special color toner, and a developing-performance adjuster to adjust a developing performance of the special color developing device according to a setting value of the brightness set by the setting unit. The developing-performance adjuster adjusts the developing performance of the special color developing device to a developing performance different from a developing performance set to each of standard color developing devices in adjustment of densities of the standard color toners.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearing members, replaceable development units, replaceable toner replenishing members, toner supply units, and a control unit. The development units are each provided for a corresponding one of the plurality of image bearing members. The toner replenishing members are each provided for a corresponding one of the development units. The toner supply units are arranged between the respective toner replenishing members and the development units. The control unit causes the image forming apparatus to execute a toner supply unit cleaning mode to convey a last-used toner inside the toner supply unit into the development unit which is last used and to be replaced to empty the toner supply unit, when replacement of the development unit and the corresponding toner replenishing member is designated to use a toner of a type different from the last-used toner.

Image forming apparatus and cleaning of image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a first image bearer, a lubricant dispenser to apply lubricant to the first image bearer, and a controller to adjust a spatial interval during image formation between successive recording media on each of which an image is formed, according to a total amount of toner attached to the first image bearer for each of the successive recording media, to apply the lubricant to the first image bearer.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming stations, each including a developing device, a toner container containing a colored or special toner, and a replaceable supply-toner conduit extending from the toner container to the developing device; and a toner type identifier to identify a type of toner used in the supply-toner conduit of each of the plurality of image forming stations.

In an image forming apparatus, multiple toners are superimposed, formed and layered, on a recording medium and a toner image is made. The toner that superimposed lastly on the recording medium, that is, a top layer of toner, has a toner fixing characteristic value that causes the top layer of toner to be fixed on the recording medium by lower temperature than one or all of the other multiple toners. This provides for a better fixing quality.

Image forming apparatus and method capable of improving fixing quality

An image forming apparatus includes a color toner image forming device, a fixing device, a cooling device, a colorless toner image forming device, and a control device. The color toner image forming device forms a toner image on a recording medium with a color toner. The fixing device heats the toner image on the recording medium to fix the toner image on the recording medium. The cooling device cools the fixed toner image. The colorless toner image forming device forms a toner image on the recording medium with a colorless toner having a storage elastic modulus of 100 or less and a loss tangent of 10 or greater at a heating temperature of the fixing device. The control device controls cooling power of the cooling device based on whether or not the colorless toner image forming device forms the toner image.

Image forming apparatus which includes a colorless toner image forming device

A toner including a petroleum wax, wherein the petroleum wax comprises a paraffin wax having a polarity.

Toner, printed material, method of preparing printed material and image forming apparatus having varnish application means

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Kanagawa, Japan

Tadashi Kasai