Environmental control subsystem for a variable data lithographic apparatus

A system for selectively controlling environmental conditions in an area of a surface of a dampening fluid layer disposed on an imaging member in a variable data lithographic image forming apparatus, comprising:

• an enclosure disposed over a surface of a dampening fluid layer disposed on an imaging member, the enclosure substantially enclosing an area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer at which a radiation-based patterning subsystem selectively vaporizes portions of the dampening fluid layer;
• a gas-flow control subsystem coupled to the enclosure that controllably generates a gas flow within the enclosure and across the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer at which the radiation-based patterning subsystem selectively vaporizes the portions of the dampening fluid layer, comprising:
• a humidity control subsystem that controls a humidity of a gas forming the gas flow through the enclosure;
• a temperature control subsystem that controls the temperature across the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer;
• an evacuation mechanism communicatively coupled to the enclosure that substantially evacuates the gas flow and vaporized dampening fluid from the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer at which the radiation-based patterning subsystem selectively vaporizes the portions of the dampening fluid layer.

A variable data lithographic image forming system, comprising:

• an imaging member having an arbitrarily reimageable surface;
• a dampening fluid subsystem that applies a layer of dampening fluid to the arbitrarily reimageable surface;
• a patterning subsystem that selectively removes portions of the dampening fluid layer to produce a latent image in the dampening fluid layer;
• an environmental control subsystem, comprising:
• an enclosure disposed over an area of the reimageable surface, the enclosure having a window structure disposed in the enclosure and the enclosure being configured to permit an output of the patterning subsystem to pass through the enclosure and to impinge on the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer for the selective removal of portions of the dampening fluid layer to produce the latent image in the dampening fluid layer;
• a gas-flow control subsystem coupled to the enclosure to controllably generate a gas flow within the enclosure and in the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer at which the radiation-based patterning subsystem selectively vaporizes the portions of the dampening fluid layer to evacuate vaporized dampening fluid from the area of the surface of the dampening fluid layer;
• and
• a humidity control subsystem that controls a humidity of a gas forming the gas flow through the enclosure;
• and
• an inking subsystem for applying ink over the arbitrarily reimageable surface layer such that the ink selectively occupies regions of the reimageable surface layer where dampening fluid is removed by the patterning subsystem to produce an inked latent image;
• and
• an image transfer subsystem for transferring the inked latent image to an image receiving media substrate.