Infoprintsolutions Company, LLC

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Other

International Business Machines Corporation

Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC

Timothy Graham Bradley

Carl Robert Bildstein

Joan LaVerne Mitchell

Larry Mason Ernst

Casey Ethan Walker

Jennifer Quirin Trelewicz

Dilan Nirushan Fernando

Christopher Michael Bradley

David M Price

Bradford O Brooks

Carlton E Begeal

Arthur Kenneth Ford

Thomas Dee Knightlinger

William Ashmead Courtenay Bateman, Iii

William George Jackson

Ronald Frederick Korsch

Ryan Warren Ransburg

Robert J Firmature

Paul Douglas Fisher

Embodiments described herein provide ink recirculation capabilities for Drop-On-Demand (DOD) printing systems. One embodiment comprises a system that includes a controller, a DOD print head, an ink tank, an ink pump, and a recirculation cap. The ink pump transports ink from the ink tank to the DOD print head, and the recirculation cap captures ink ejected by the DOD print head. The recirculation cap also transports the capture ink to the ink tank. In response to detecting a start of an ink recirculation cycle, the controller collocates the recirculation cap proximate to nozzles of the DOD print head, and directs the DOD print head to begin ejecting ink through the nozzles into the recirculation cap for transport of the captured ink to the ink tank. The controller detects an end to the ink recirculation cycle, and directs the DOD print head to stop ejecting ink into the recirculation cap.

Ink recirculation for Drop-On-Demand ink jet systems

Fluid container

Methods and systems disclosed herein provide for drying of wet colorants applied to a print media utilizing a substantially optically transparent drum that includes a radiant energy source. In one embodiment, a printer includes a hollow drum and a radiating energy source inside of the hollow drum. The energy source radiates energy for drying a wet colorant applied to a print media. The hollow drum surrounds the energy source and is substantially transparent to the radiated energy of the energy source. The drum includes a peripheral surface that contacts the print media as the print media transits along a print path. The drum conductively heats the print media for drying the wet colorant, and permits the radiated energy of the energy source to dry the wet colorant.

Radiant drum drier for print media in a printing system

A method is disclosed. The method includes receiving print data at an electrophotographic printer; examining the print data to determine if an image within the print data may be used to perform one or more process control measurements and performing the process control measurement if it is determined that the image may be used.

Opportunistic process control for printers

A method, system, and manufacture for adjusting electrostatic charges in a laser printer. A charge is applied to a photoconductor drum surface to create a dark voltage. An image area of the photoconductor drum is exposed with a printhead using a defined energy level to discharge the charge from the image area. An exposure voltage of the photoconductor drum is measured after the image area has been exposed. A first optimization is performed to determine an adjusted dark voltage and an adjusted energy level based on the measured exposure voltage and the dark voltage and the energy levels applied to the photoconductor drum. An applicator voltage is applied to an applicator that applies toner to the exposed image area of the photoconductor drum. Toner density applied to the photoconductor drum is measured and a second optimization is performed to adjust the applicator voltage to produce a target toner density.

Adjusting electrostatic charges used in a laser printer

An printer, such as a state of the art a high performance, electro-photographic printer. The printer includes at least one smart material sensor enclosed in the printer enclosure that monitors for the presence of a contaminant (e.g., toner or developer) above a selected threshold. Each smart material sensor is coupled to a control unit by a sensor driver coupling. When a smart material sensor finds that a contaminant is present the control unit may indicate the finding on a printer display and/or change operating mode.

Printer dynamically monitoring printer environment contamination

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for electrorheological printing. The apparatus includes a pressurized ink chamber, a stimulator, and an electrode arrangement. The pressurized ink chamber is configured to retain an electrorheological ink and, under certain circumstances, discharge the electrorheological ink through one or more nozzles in a nozzle array. The stimulator is configured to generate a synchronization signal to increase the pressure of the electrorheological ink in the pressurized ink chamber. The electrode assembly is configured to create an electric field at each of the nozzles in the nozzle array. The electric field within the volume of a single nozzle acts as an electrorheological valve to change the viscosity and control the flow of the electrorheological ink within the nozzle. The absence of an electric field allows the electrorheological ink to fully discharge. A strong electric field stops the flow of the electrorheological ink. An intermediate electric field slows the flow of the electrorheological ink.

Apparatus, system, and method for electrorheological printing

An apparatus, system and method of print registration are provided. The invention includes first and second optical channel modules configured to communicate light from a page to a sensor module. The sensor module sums the light from the first and second optical channel modules and detects one or more light transitions as a first registration mark of a first image of the page moves past the first optical sensor module and as a second registration mark of a second image of the page moves past the second optical channel module. The invention determines that the first image and the second image are registered if the sensor module detects a single light transition as the first registration mark and the second registration mark pass the first and the second optical channel modules. In addition, the invention determines that the first image and the second image are mis-registered if the sensor module detects a plurality of light transitions as the first registration mark and the second registration mark pass the first and the second optical channel modules.

Apparatus, system, and method for image registration

A cleaning station for removing residual toner from a moving toner transfer surface includes a rotating brush and a scraper blade that is held away from the toner transfer surface when toner images are being transferred to recording media, such as sheets of paper. On a periodic basis, when toner images are not being transferred to the recording media, the scraper blade is moved into contact with the toner transfer surface to remove agglomerated toner therefrom, with continued operation of the rotating brush.

Apparatus and method for cleaning residual toner with a scraper blade periodically held in contact with a toner transfer surface

A method and system for a printing device is disclosed. The method and system comprise printing a test pattern on a print medium and generating a digital image of the printed test pattern by an imaging device. The method and system include analyzing an interference pattern to measure for distortion of the print medium and calibrating the printing device based upon the measured distortion. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes the reticle patterns, which are printed in the margins of the paper, which are measured real-time during printing. The interference or Moir&#xe9; patterns created by superimposed reticles may be used to measure image distortion, process direction misalignment, and misregistration caused by web distortion. The advantage of this invention is that image distortion compensation, RIP (Raster Image Processor) parameters, timing, or other printer characteristics may be adjusted on-the-fly in a closed feedback system, for high-speed textile or paper color printing, utilizing on-the-fly distortion or stretch measurement for accurate color and/or duplex images registration. In a duplex printer, automatic images alignment front-to-back is obtained by combining optically or logically the two images for the evaluation of interference patterns and amount of distortion in the process and scan direction.

Method and system for minimizing the appearance of image distortion in a high speed inkjet paper printing system

A holder for golf tees that has a housing with an open interior. The interior has two curved ends and a thin middle section that forms a &ldquo;dumb bell&rdquo; shape. A plate that has a matching dumb bell is fitted into the open interior. Two springs are mounted inside of the housing and are attached to the bottom of the housing and to the bottom of the plate. A retainer pin is placed orthogonally across the top opening of the housing. The pin retains the plate in the housing and secures any tees that are installed as well. Tees are placed into the housing by sliding the pointed end under the retainer pin and pushing down on the plate. To dispense a tee, a user pushes down slightly on the pointed end of the top tee, which raises the other end of that it can be pulled from the holder.

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Longmont, CO, United States of America

Timothy Graham Bradley