Patent classifications
G03G9/0823
TONER BLENDS COMPRISING OF A CLEAR TONER AND A PIGMENTED TONER
Provided is a toner blend composition comprising a first pigmented toner and a second toner that is devoid of any pigment additive, i.e., a ‘non-pigmented or clear toner’. The non-pigmented or clear toner is about 1% to about 15% by weight of the toner blend composition. The resulting inventive toner blend composition surprisingly exhibits similar print density on a page compared to a fully pigmented toner. Moreover, this toner blend composition exhibits improvement in toner usage per page, thus lowering toner cost compared to a fully pigmented toner. The non-pigmented or clear toner may be used in combination with either a monochrome or conventional toner using a carbon black pigment, or a chemically processed toners (‘CPT′’) toners using a black pigment, magenta pigment, yellow pigment or a cyan pigment.
Electrophotographic apparatus, process cartridge, and cartridge set
An electrophotographic apparatus having an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a charging unit, and a developing unit for forming a toner image on a surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, wherein the charging unit has a conductive member disposed to be contactable with the electrophotographic photosensitive member; a conductive layer at the surface of the conductive member has a matrix and a plurality of domains dispersed in the matrix; at least a portion of the domains is exposed at the outer surface of the conductive member; the outer surface of the conductive member is constituted of at least the matrix and the domains; a volume resistivity R1 of the matrix is greater than 1.00×10.sup.12 Ω.Math.cm; a volume resistivity R2 of the domains is smaller than R1; the developing unit contains the toner; and a dielectric loss tangent of the toner is at least 0.0027.
PROCESS CARTRIDGE
Provided is a process cartridge that is excellent in initial charge rising performance, and in charge uniformity of a halftone image throughout a long period of time from the start of use until after endurance. Specifically, provided is a process cartridge including: an electrophotographic photosensitive member; a toner; and a developing unit, wherein the toner contains toner particles and an external additive A, the external additive A, and wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes an electroconductive support, a photosensitive layer, and a surface protective layer, wherein the surface protective layer contains electroconductive particles.
PROCESS CARTRIDGE AND ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS
Provided are a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each capable of suppressing an image defect (coarseness in a halftone image) caused by toner scattering in association with a charging failure that occurs when the process speed of the electrophotographic apparatus is further increased. The process cartridge includes: an electrophotographic photosensitive member; and a developing unit, which includes a toner storing portion that stores a toner, and which supplies the toner to a surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface protective layer containing an electroconductive particle in an appropriate amount, and the volume resistivity of the surface protective layer is controlled. As the toner, there is used a toner in which an organosilicon polymer is present on the surface of a toner particle, a silanol group is present in part of the organosilicon polymer, and the amount of the silanol group is controlled.
WHITE DRY INK PULVERIZED TONER COMPOSITION AND FORMULATION THEREOF
An apparatus and method of manufacturing a white dry ink pulverized toner including a resin and 15%-45% TiO2 pigment having a mean size of 100-350 nm melt mixed with the resin in a twin screw extruder resulting in an extruded mix. The extruded mix is pulverized in a fluid bed jet mill. Fines of the pulverized extruded mix less than 5 microns may be removed from the pulverized extruded mix by classification leaving pulverized particles having a mean size of 6-12 microns. The pulverized particles are blended in a mixer with surface additives including silica and ZnSt, and the white dry ink pulverized toner has a developer charge between 5 and 50 μC/gram and a Lightness (L*) of at least 75 at a toner mass per unit area (TMA) of at most 1.2 mg/cm.sup.2.
Positive-charging toner
Provided is a positive-charging toner having a toner particle that contains a binder resin, the binder resin contains a polymer A having a first monomer unit derived from a first polymerizable monomer, and a second monomer unit derived from a second polymerizable monomer, the first polymerizable monomer is at least one selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylic acid esters having a C18 to C36 alkyl group, the content of the first monomer unit in the polymer A is 5.0 to 60.0 mol % and the content of the second monomer unit is 20.0 to 95.0 mol %, SP.sub.11 of the first monomer unit and SP.sub.21 of the second monomer unit satisfy 3.00≤(SP.sub.21−SP.sub.11)≤25.00, and the work function of the toner is 5.0 to 5.4 V.
TONER FOR ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE DEVELOPMENT AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD
The present invention relates to a toner for electrostatic charge image development, including: a toner base particle having at least a binder resin, a releasing agent, and a colorant, wherein the following formula (1) is satisfied wherein a maximum value and a minimum value of a dielectric loss tangent tan δ, which are obtained by measuring at a frequency in the range of 1 kHz to 100 kHz under the condition at a temperature of 20° C. and a relative humidity of 50% RH, are defined as tan δ.sub.max and tan δ.sub.min, respectively. According to the present invention, a toner for electrostatic charge image development, with which the rising of the toner charge amount is improved while ensuring the low temperature fixability, and a high quality image having less density unevenness can be obtained even during the image forming at a high speed and a high printing rate, is provided.
Frequency showing tan δ.sub.max<Frequency showing tan δ.sub.min (1)
ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE DEVELOPING TONER SET, ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE DEVELOPER SET, AND TONER CARTRIDGE SET
An electrostatic charge image developing toner set includes a brilliant toner including toner particles that include a brilliant pigment and a first binder resin, a black toner including toner particles that include a second binder resin, and a color toner except a black toner, including toner particles that include a third binder resin, wherein the brilliant toner, the black toner and the color toner satisfy Expression (1): Dielectric loss factor of the brilliant Toner>Dielectric loss factor of the black toner>Dielectric loss factor of the color toner and Expression (2): 25×10.sup.−3≦(Dielectric loss factor of the brilliant toner)−(Dielectric loss factor of the color toner)≦95×10.sup.−3.
ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE DEVELOPER, DEVELOPER CARTRIDGE, AND PROCESS CARTRIDGE
An electrostatic charge image developer includes a toner that includes a toner particle; and a carrier, wherein the toner particle contains a brilliant pigment, an exposed amount of the brilliant pigment contained in the toner particle is from 0.5% to 5%, the carrier has a core particle and a coating layer which covers a surface of the core particle, the coating layer contains a silicone resin and a siloxane oligomer, and a content of the siloxane oligomer is from 0.1 ppm to 500 ppm with respect to a total weight of the coating layer.
IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
An image forming apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image with developer includes a development part, a transfer part, and a fuser. The developer includes first developer with a first coloring agent of yellow and a first external additive, and second developer with a second coloring agent of a color other than yellow and a second external additive. A first peeling rate of the first external additive by a following formula (1) is smaller than a second peeling rate of the second external additive by a following formula (2),
the first peeling rate (%)=[1−(X1/Y1)]×100 (1)
the second peeling rate (%)=[1−(X2/Y2)]×100 (2) X1, Y1 are amounts (weight %) of the first external additive in the first developer after/before the ultrasonic waves are applied, X2, Y2 are amounts (weight %) of the second external additive in the second developer after/before the ultrasonic waves are applied.