Charged particle generation, filtration, and delivery for digital offset printing applications

A charged fountain solution aerosol development device useful for printing with an ink-based image forming apparatus having a rotatable imaging member with a charge-retentive surface bearing an electrostatic charged pattern and a rotatable inkable blanket downstream the imaging member and having a surface in rolling communication with the charge-retentive surface, the rotatable inkable blanket configured to accept a patterned fountain solution latent image and transfer an ink image based on the patterned fountain solution latent image, the charged fountain solution aerosol development device comprising:

• a manifold in fluid communication with a fountain solution reservoir through which fountain solution aerosol particles from the fountain solution reservoir traverse;
• a particle charger adjacent the manifold that forms a fog of charged fountain solution aerosol particles, the charged fountain solution aerosol particles including undesirably charged particles and sufficiently charged particles;
• and
• a particle sorter that receives the fog of charged fountain solution aerosol particles and separates the undesirably charged particles from the charged fountain solution aerosol particles within the manifold resulting in filtered charged fountain solution aerosol particles that are sufficiently attracted to the electrostatic charged pattern to attach to the rotatable imaging member charge-retentive surface and form the patterned fountain solution latent image based on the electrostatically patterned target.