A sheet transport system comprising an endless carrier belt that has a predetermined stiffness and is arranged to carry the sheets towards an end of a conveyer path where the sheet is separated from the carrier belt by passing this belt around a separating member that has a predetermined curvature, wherein the carrier belt runs in parallel with an endless conveyer that has a larger stiffness than the carrier belt and, at the end of the conveyer path, has a smaller curvature than the separating member.

Printers include (among other components) a sheet path transporting printable media and a printing engine positioned within the sheet path. The printing engine prints markings on the printable media. A first roller is positioned within the sheet path, and the first roller has a harder outer surface. A second roller is positioned parallel to the first roller within the sheet path. The second roller has a softer outer surface relative to the harder outer surface. The first roller and the second roller form a decurling nip decurling sheets that have exited the printing engine. The harder outer surface comprises stainless steel having a metal plasma coating.

A sheet feed roller (1) is provided, which is formed of an elastomer composition containing a thermoplastic elastomer, a spherical filler and a low friction silicone compound, and has a friction coefficient of not greater than 0.5. A production method is also provided, which includes the step of extruding the elastomer composition through a die configured as corresponding to a sectional shape of the sheet feed roller.

A transporting device includes a first belt, a second belt that transports a medium in cooperation with the first belt, a first shifting member that shifts the first belt in a width direction of the first belt, a second shifting member that shifts the second belt in a width direction of the second belt, a rotatable member that is rotatable around its own axis, and a forming member provided across the first belt and the second belt from the rotatable member and that forms a nip between the first and second belts in cooperation with the rotatable member. The rotatable member and the forming member cooperate to form the nip at a pressure ratio lower than about 1. The pressure ratio is obtained by dividing a pressure applied to each of two axial ends of the rotatable member by a pressure applied to an axial center of the rotatable member.

A rubber composition contains a higher ethylene content EPDM and a lower ethylene content EPDM as a rubber component. The proportion of the higher ethylene content EPDM is 30 to 80 mass % based on the overall amount of the rubber component. The rubber composition is less susceptible to reduction in friction coefficient and has a proper hardness, a smaller permanent elongation and an excellent abrasion resistance after crosslinking. Therefore, the rubber composition is suitable for a sheet conveying roller and an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet conveying roller.

A print media discharge unit includes a print media transport path along which in operation a sheet of print media is transported in a transport direction. The print media transport path is defined by a first electrically isolating print media guide and a second electrically isolating print media guide. The print media discharge unit further includes an electrically grounded electrically conductive discharge element extending through an opening in at least one of the first and second electrically isolating print media guides into the print media transport path. At least one of the first and second electrically isolating print media guide includes a plurality of guidance ribs aligned substantially in the transport direction at an angle with respect to the transport direction.

A conveyance device conveys a recording medium with an image fixed by a fixer and includes a first guide disposed on a downstream side of the fixer. The first guide includes a sheet metal, a resin sheet disposed over a conveyance face of the sheet metal, and a high-thermal-conductivity sheet disposed between the sheet metal and the resin sheet and having a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the sheet metal.

A sheet guide device includes a transport guide section that has a guide surface that, by allowing a sheet that is transported to pass, guides the sheet toward a transport destination; and an auxiliary member that is chargeable, that is attached to the guide surface, and that assists in guiding the sheet, in which the auxiliary member includes multiple narrow-width portions existing side by side in a width direction that intersects a transport direction of the sheet and each having a shape whose width becomes narrower in the transport direction.