An imaging system includes: a conveyor belt that conveys a medium having a toner image fixed thereto, along a conveying route; a heating element to heat the conveyor belt; and a pressing roller to press the conveyor belt against the heating element. The heating element may have a planar surface adjacent to an inner peripheral surface of the conveyor belt.

Disclosed is a layer transfer device for transferring a transfer layer onto a toner image formed on a sheet, in which a replacement of a film cartridge is easy for a user. The layer transfer device includes a housing, a film cartridge, and a holder. The film cartridge includes a supply reel including a supply shaft on which a multilayer film including a supported layer including a transfer layer, and a supporting layer supporting the supported layer is wound, and a take-up reel including a take-up shaft on which to take up the multilayer film. The holder supports the film cartridge, and is installable into and removable from the housing while supporting the film cartridge.

A recording material cooling device includes a belt, a plurality of rollers, a belt cooling member, a recording material feeding member, a deposited matter removing member, a deposited matter receiving container, a roller holding member, and a supporting member for supporting the roller holding member so as to be swingable between a first position where the belt and the recording material feeding member contact each other and a second position where the belt is spaced from the recording material feeding member. The supporting member supports the roller holding member so that a swing center is positioned on one end side with respect to a rotational axis direction of the rollers. The receiving container includes a wall surface portion for preventing overflow of the deposited matter received through an opening of the receiving container when the roller holding member is positioned in the second position.

An image formation apparatus includes: a transferrer that forms a toner image on an image formation surface of paper; a fixer that fixes the toner image on the paper; a paper conveyor that conveys the paper between an upstream side of the transferrer and a downstream side of the fixer in a paper conveyance direction; and a paper pre-heater that heats, on the upstream side of the transferrer in the paper conveyance direction, the image formation surface of the paper.

An image forming apparatus including a print engine, a gloss treatment device, a medium conveying device, and a processor. The print engine is to form an image on a print medium. The gloss treatment device is to perform a gloss treatment on the print medium on which an image is formed. The medium conveying device to provide the print medium to the print engine and selectively provide the print medium on which an image is formed to the gloss treatment device. The processor is to control the print engine to form an image based on print data and control the medium conveying device to selectively provide the print medium to the gloss treatment device depending on whether a gloss treatment option is set in the print data.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device and a cooling device provided on a side downstream of the fixing device with respect to a sheet feeding direction. The cooling device includes a first unit including a first belt and a first roller, a second unit including a second belt for forming a nip in cooperation with the first belt, a heat sink and a second roller, and a driving motor for rotating the first roller and the second roller. The second unit is movable between a contact position where the first belt and the second belt are in contact with each other so as to form the nip and a separated position where the first belt and the second belt are in separation from each other so as to release the nip.

A cooling device includes a cooling member to absorb heat from a conveyed sheet and a plurality of cooling units to cool the cooling member. Each of the cooling units includes a coolant channel through which a coolant flows and a liquid-cooling device configured to cool the coolant that flows in the coolant channel. The coolant channels are disposed on or inside the cooling member and arranged side by side in a sheet conveyance direction. The coolant channels includes a downstream coolant channel being downstream from at least one of the plurality of coolant channels in the sheet conveyance direction, and an upstream coolant channel being upstream from the downstream coolant channel in the sheet conveyance direction. One of the liquid-cooling devices coupled to the downstream coolant channel has a cooling capacity higher than a cooling capacity of another of the liquid-cooling devices coupled to the upstream coolant channel.

A transport device includes: a first transport body; a second transport body that is movable between a contact position and a separate position with respect to the first transport body and that nips a transported material with the first transport body at the contact position; and a transport section that includes a holder to hold a leading end portion of the transported material and that transports the transported material toward a nip region where the first transport body and the second transport body nip the transported material in a state in which the second transport body is located at the separate position. After holding of the leading end portion by the holder for the transported material transported by the transport section has been released, the second transport body nips the transported material with the first transport body and transports the transported material.

An image forming apparatus includes: an apparatus body; an image forming unit that forms a toner image on a recording medium; a first transport part that transports the recording medium to the image forming unit along a feed path extending from one side toward the other side in the horizontal direction, the feed path being a path along which the recording medium transported by the first transport part passes, and that includes a portion extending toward the one side beyond the image forming unit; and a second transport part that transports the recording medium from the image forming unit to the outside of the apparatus body along a discharge path extending from the other side toward one side in the horizontal direction and that includes a portion extending toward the one side beyond the image forming unit, the discharge path and the feed path at least partially overlapping each other in the vertical direction.

Embodiments herein relate to 3D printing. In an embodiment, a method for printing an article using a selective toner electrophotographic process (“STEP”) includes successively depositing multiple layers of part material and support material, the layers deposited substantially parallel to a first plane; wherein: a) the multiple layers of part material and support material extend in a perpendicular to the first plane; and b) at least some of the layers of part material and support material are separated from each other to form a gap between the layers of part material and layers of support material; application of heat and pressure to the part material and support material such that a portion of the part material and support material flows into and at least partially fills the gap between the part material and support material.