# US 12,600,156 B2 · Image forming apparatus and method of manufacturing printed material > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,600,156 B2 - Document ID: US12600156B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/313,359 - Filed: 2023-05-07 - Published: 2023-08-31 - Granted: 2026-04-14 - Earliest claimed: 2020-11-20 - Applicants: FUJIFILM Corporation - Inventors: Yoshiyuki Okayama - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12600156B2 ## CPC - B41M 5/0017: {Application of ink-fixing material, e.g. mordant, precipitating agent, on the substrate prior to printing, e.g. by ink-jet printing, coating or spraying} - B41J 2/155: for line printing - B41J 2/161: {of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm} - B41J 11/0015: {for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing (selective coating B41J2/2114)} - B41J 11/002: {Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating} - B41J 13/0018: {in the sheet input section of automatic paper handling systems} - B41J 2202/12: with ink circulating through the whole print head - B41J 2202/20: Modules - B41M: PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING, (correction of typographical errors B41J; processes for applying transfer pictures or the like B44C1/16; fluid media for correction of typographical errors by coating C09D10/00; printing textiles D06P) - B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ## Abstract The image forming apparatus 1 includes: a transport mechanism 11 that transports a recording medium P; a coating device 24 that coats the recording medium P with a pretreatment liquid; an ink jet head 46; and a processor 300, in which the processor 300 is configured to, in a case where the recording medium P is transported at a first transportation speed and an ink is jetted from the ink jet head 46 to form an image on the recording medium P, perform control to cause the coating device 24 to perform coating with the pretreatment liquid, and in a case where the recording medium P is transported at a second transportation speed faster than the first transportation speed to form the image on the recording medium P, perform control to cause the coating device 24 not to perform coating with the pretreatment liquid. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image forming apparatus comprising: a transport mechanism that transports a recording medium; a coating device that coats the recording medium with a pretreatment liquid; an ink jet head that jets an ink; and a processor that controls a transportation speed of the recording medium and a coating operation by the coating device in a case where an image is formed on the recording medium by jetting the ink from the ink jet head, wherein the processor is configured to: in a case where the recording medium is transported at a first transportation speed to form the image on the recording medium, perform control to cause the coating device to perform coating with the pretreatment liquid, in a case where the recording medium, which is the same type of recording medium as that transported at the first transportation speed, is transported at a second transportation speed faster than the first transportation speed to form the image on the recording medium, perform control to cause the coating device not to perform coating with the pretreatment liquid, and form, on the recording medium transported at the second transportation speed, an image lower in print image quality than the image to be formed on the recording medium transported at the first transportation speed. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: receive an input of an instruction to switch between a first mode in which the recording medium is transported at the first transportation speed and a second mode in which the recording medium is transported at the second transportation speed; and perform control such that coating with the pretreatment liquid is performed in a case where the first mode is designated and perform control such that coating with the pretreatment liquid is not performed in a case where the second mode is designated. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a drying device that dries the ink adhered to the recording medium, wherein the processor is configured to control the drying device to a first drying intensity in the case where the recording medium is transported at the first transportation speed, and control the drying device to a second drying intensity higher than the first drying intensity in the case where the recording medium is transported at the second transportation speed. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to set a drying intensity of the drying device according to a thickness of the recording medium. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to set the drying device to a higher temperature as the thickness of the recording medium increases. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to set a drying intensity of the drying device according to a type of the recording medium. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to set a drying intensity of the drying device based on a content of the image formed on the recording medium. ### Claim 8 (depends on 3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: an input device via which a drying condition of the drying device is designated, wherein the processor is configured to control the drying device according to the drying condition input via the input device. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: in the case where the recording medium is transported at the first transportation speed, cause the ink jet head to form the image on the recording medium at a first printing resolution; and in the case where the recording medium is transported at the second transportation speed, cause the ink jet head to form the image on the recording medium at a second printing resolution lower than the first printing resolution. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: in the case where the recording medium is transported at the first transportation speed to form the image, set a maximum jetted ink droplet volume per dot of the ink jetted from a nozzle of the ink jet head to a first droplet volume; and in the case where the recording medium is transported at the second transportation speed to form the image, set the maximum jetted ink droplet volume to a second droplet volume smaller than the first droplet volume. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating device includes a coating roller that transfers the pretreatment liquid onto the recording medium, and the coating roller is brought into a state of being separated from the recording medium so that coating with the pretreatment liquid is not performed. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pretreatment liquid contains an acid. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pretreatment liquid contains at least one of a polyvalent metal salt or a cationic polymer. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet head is a line head. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the same ink is used in the case where the recording medium is transported at the first transportation speed to form the image on the recording medium and in the case where the recording medium is transported at the second transportation speed to form the image on the recording medium. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second transportation speed is 1.5 times or more the first transportation speed. ### Claim 17 A method of manufacturing a printed material using an image forming apparatus including a transport mechanism that transports a recording medium, a coating device that coats the recording medium with a pretreatment liquid, an ink jet head that jets an ink, and a processor that controls a transportation speed of the recording medium and a coating operation by the coating device in a case where an image is formed on the recording medium by jetting the ink from the ink jet head, the method comprising: receiving an input of an instruction to change the transportation speed by the processor; in a case in which a first transportation speed is designated as the transportation speed, transporting the recording medium at the first transportation speed by the transport mechanism, coating the recording medium with the pretreatment liquid by the coating device, and allowing the ink jetted from the ink jet head to adhere to the recording medium coated with the pretreatment liquid to form the image on the recording medium; in a case where a second transportation speed higher than the first transportation speed is designated as the transportation speed, transporting the recording medium, which is the same type of recording medium as that transported at the first transportation speed, at the second transportation speed by the transport mechanism, not coating the recording medium with the pretreatment liquid by the coating device, and allowing the ink jetted from the ink jet head to adhere to the recording medium not coated with the pretreatment liquid to form the image on the recording medium; and forming, on the recording medium transported at the second transportation speed, an image lower in print image quality than the image to be formed on the recording medium transported at the first transportation speed. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of manufacturing the printed material according to claim 17, wherein the recording medium is a woodfree paper, an art paper, or a coated paper. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating device is included in a treatment liquid applying unit, and the treatment liquid applying unit further includes a treatment liquid coating drum for receiving the recording medium to be coated by the coating device.