A sheet feeding device includes a stacking unit for stacking a sheet; a feeding member for feeding the sheet stack on the stacking unit; a holding member holding the feeding member; a holder supporting portion, provided above the stacking unit, for detachably supporting the holding member; a raising and lowering unit for raising and lowering the holding member; a detection unit for detecting a topmost surface of the sheet stacked on the stacking unit, by detecting the holding member; a control unit for effecting raising and lowering operation of the holding member using the raising and lowering unit before a feeding operation of the feeding member and detect presence or absence of the holding member on the basis of a signal from the detection unit produced with the raising and lowering operation.

A printer includes: a first conveyor configured to convey a recording medium during image formation by an image former at a first conveyance speed based on a print condition of the image formation by the image former; a second conveyor configured to convey the recording medium at a second conveyance speed higher than the first conveyance speed; and a third conveyor arranged between the first conveyor and the second conveyor on a conveyance route. The third conveyor is configured to start acceleration of the recording medium after a recording region trailing end of the recording medium passes the image former and accelerate the recording medium such that a speed of the recording medium increases to the second conveyance speed not later than a time point when a leading edge of the recording medium reaches the second conveyor.

Regarding a restricting member that includes a contact face configured to be brought into contact with at least one portion of edges of a bundle of media mounted on a medium mounting section, and that is configured to be switched to either a blocking attitude for blocking advancement of the edges of the bundle of media into a nip portion between a feeding roller and a separating roller or an opening attitude for permitting the advancement of the edges of the bundle of media into the nip portion, the restricting member allows, in the blocking attitude, an edge shape of the bundle of media in contact with the contact face to be formed into a shape that fills in a tapered space tapering toward the nip portion.

A reciprocating mechanism reciprocates by drive force from a drive source and to press a chute to move from a first position to a second position. In response to determining that a parameter is greater than a threshold for the parameter, a controller executes a first mode of actuating the drive source when conveying one sheet. The parameter decreases as a conveyance speed of the sheet at the fixing nip increases. The threshold is such a value that, when the parameter is greater than the threshold, a difference between a conveyance speed of the sheet at a transfer nip and the conveyance speed of the sheet at the fixing nip is greater than a particular level. In response to determining that the parameter is smaller than or equal to the threshold, the controller executes a second mode of not actuating the drive source when conveying one sheet.

An image formation apparatus includes a conveyor configured to convey a moving element on which an image is formed, a generator configured to generate a first image and a second image by shooting the conveyed moving element at different timing, a detector configured to sense a first distance between the generator and the moving element at the time of shooting of the first image and sense a second distance between the generator and the moving element at the time of shooting of the second image, and a hardware processor configured to calculate a speed of conveyance of the moving element based on the first image, the second image, the first distance, and the second distance, and output the speed of conveyance.

Disclosed is a tape printer including a feed portion, a feed path, a print portion, and a cut portion. The feed portion performs pre-print feed to feed a tape before a print process and post-print feed to feed the tape after the print process. In addition, the feed portion feeds the tape forward as the post-print feed such that the upstream-side end of an image printed on the tape is positioned on the downstream side of a cut position and the tape backward as the pre-print feed when the cut portion has not performed a cut operation after the post-print feed at the time of starting the following print process.

A recording-medium container device includes: a container that contains a recording-medium bundle in which multiple recording media are stacked; a blower that blows air onto the recording-medium bundle contained in the container; multiple light sources that radiate light beams having different wavelengths simultaneously onto at least one of the recording media separated from the recording-medium bundle by the air blown by the blower; and an image capturing unit that performs image-capturing of the at least one recording medium irradiated with the light beams from the multiple light sources, so as to acquire multiple captured images corresponding to the wavelengths of the light beams radiated from the light sources.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer roller, a fuser, a chute, a drive source, a reciprocating mechanism, and a controller. The transfer roller transfers toner to a sheet. The fuser fixes toner on the sheet. The chute is located upstream from the fuser in a sheet conveying direction. The chute is configured to convey the sheet toward the fuser. The chute is movable between a first position and a second position. The reciprocating mechanism reciprocates by drive force from the drive source and moves the chute between the first position and the second position. The controller executes: a first mode of actuating the drive source when conveying one sheet; and a second mode of not actuating the drive source when conveying one sheet. The controller switches between the first mode and the second mode in a middle of a print job.

A printing system includes a printing device configured to print an image on a first side of a sheet conveyed, a static elimination device configured to perform a static elimination process on the first side of the sheet on which the image has been printed, a reversal path configured to reverse the sheet on which the static elimination process has been performed, and a control unit configured to, in a case where a face-up ejection of the sheet to eject with the first side facing upward is specified, perform control to not reverse the sheet on which the static elimination process has been performed, in a case where a face-down ejection of the sheet to eject with the first side facing downward is specified, control the reversal path to reverse the sheet on which the static elimination process has been performed, and perform control to eject the sheet.

A sheet characteristic detection device includes: a detector that is disposed on a sheet ejection path through which a sheet is ejected and that detects an electrical resistance value of the sheet; and a charge neutralizer that is disposed on a downstream side of the detector on the sheet ejection path and that neutralizes electric charge on the sheet.