An image recording apparatus includes a feed tray, a feed mechanism feeding a sheet-shaped medium accommodated in the feed tray, and a recording device recording an image on the sheet-shaped medium fed by the feed mechanism. The feed tray includes a first accommodation portion accommodating a roll, in which the sheet-shaped medium is rolled, a pair of side walls interposing the sheet-shaped medium unrolled from the roll in a first direction parallel to an axis of the roll, and a side guide disposed inside the pair of side walls and having an inner-side surface contactable with an edge in the first direction of the first sheet-shaped medium unrolled from the roll. The side guide has a metal portion made of metal, the metal portion forming at least part of the inner-side surface.

A business method includes imaging documents with an imaging device placed at a location. Media usage is monitored over a cellular network. Upon the media reaching a predetermined level, workers provide additional media. Workers exist in the gig economy and have preplaced media. No longer do users change or swap media in media trays. Packaging materials bundle the media. For use, only a portion of the packaging materials is opened thereby revealing an end of the media. Both the packaging materials and the exposed media are inserted into a reusable media shell in a manner making the media available for picking by the imaging device. Other embodiments are envisioned.

A business method includes imaging documents with an imaging device placed at a location. Media usage is monitored over a cellular network. Upon the media reaching a predetermined level, workers provide additional media. Workers exist in the gig economy and have preplaced media. No longer do users change or swap media in media trays. Packaging materials bundle the media. For use, only a portion of the packaging materials is opened thereby revealing an end of the media. Both the packaging materials and the exposed media are inserted into a reusable media shell in a manner making the media available for picking by the imaging device. Other embodiments are envisioned.

According to examples, multi-color printing may include generating, based on an analysis of a print job image, a plurality of contone planes that represent the print job image. Multi-color printing may further include generating, based on an analysis of two or more sets of the contone planes determined from the plurality of contone planes, two or more corresponding sets of halftone planes and a fixer plane for each set of the halftone planes. Multi-color printing may further include generating, based on an analysis of the fixer plane for each set of the halftone planes, a combined fixer plane, and generating, based on an analysis of the two or more corresponding sets of halftone planes and the combined fixer plane, print data to print the print job image.

An image processing method for generating printing data includes correcting, in accordance with a degree of reduction in a dot coverage below a predetermined dot coverage in a region that undergoes printing in an overlapped manner by a first nozzle group and a second nozzle group, at least either of a first sharing ratio for the first nozzle group sharing positions of dots to be formed in an overlapping image region and a second sharing ratio for the second nozzle group sharing positions of dots to be formed to allow a total ratio of the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio to exceed 100%, and correcting a color conversion table based on the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio, after the correcting of at least either of the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio.

A reflected light amount from a patch under a first light source is acquired, and a reflected light amount from the patch under a second light source whose wavelength band is different from the first light source is acquired. The type of a printing medium on which the patch is printed is determined based on the ratio of the two acquired reflected light amounts.

A reflected light amount from a patch under a first light source is acquired, and a reflected light amount from the patch under a second light source whose wavelength band is different from the first light source is acquired. The type of a printing medium on which the patch is printed is determined based on the ratio of the two acquired reflected light amounts.

In one example, an apparatus includes a plate configured to pivot about a pivot point, a pulley coupled to a first planar side of the plate and configured to rotate a belt, a motor coupled to the first planar side of the plate and configured to drive the pulley, and a torsion spring coupled to a second planar side of the plate that is opposite the first planar side and configured to apply tension to the belt.

An object is to reduce coloring of specular reflection while improving gloss uniformity (particularly, gloss clarity). Recording is performed at least part of a surface of a recording medium by using a first color material with relatively high transmittance. In this case, control is performed such that thickness variation in the applied first color material is set to have an amplitude that generates interference fringes and to have a desired cycle within a range of 40 m or more and 320 m or less.

An image capturing unit includes a sensor unit that image-captures a predetermined area including a subject; and a reference chart unit that is arranged in the predetermined area and captured with the subject by the sensor unit.