A system and a method for cleaning a printing cylinder or other printing equipment such as printing plates, ink pans or floors of printing units, the method comprising applying a detergent to the surface to be cleaned, after a period to allow action of the detergent, removing the detergent by rinsing, using a vapor and high velocity air stream, i.e. atomized water fog; or steam; or a combination of steam and air, which allows dislodging particles encrusted within cells of the surface of the piece of equipment to be cleaned.

An ink jet recording device includes a record head, a waste ink container, and a suction mechanism that sucks gas from the waste ink container. The waste ink container includes a suction port connected to the suction mechanism, a first receiving port that receives ink, a porous absorbing member, and a first air duct formed as a space without the absorbing member, so as to connect the first receiving port and the suction port. The waste ink container further includes a blocking member having a lower gas permeability than the absorbing member, and the blocking member is disposed on a path from the first receiving port to the suction port via inside the absorbing member without passing through the first air duct.

A recording apparatus includes a liquid container configured to contain, outside a recording area of the recording apparatus, liquid to be supplied to a recording head configured to perform recording by discharging the liquid to a recording medium in the recording area, a maintenance unit disposed outside the recording area, including a suction unit configured to suck the liquid from the recording head, and configured to carry out maintenance of the recording head, and a liquid reservoir portion below the liquid container and the maintenance unit.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head having an ejection surface; a cap for covering the ejection surface; a suction pump; a cleaning liquid tank; and a switching valve having a fixed member, a rotation member, and a channel member. The fixed member has: a main body supporting the channel member; a cleaning liquid upstream port connected to the cleaning liquid tank; a cleaning liquid downstream port and a waste liquid port each connected to the cap; and an intake port connected to a tube in which the suction pump is disposed. The rotation member rotates with respect to the fixed member, and has a first cleaning liquid path. The channel member is attached to the rotation member and configured to rotate together with the rotation member with respect to the fixed member, and has: a second cleaning liquid path; and a waste liquid path.

The maintenance member has the discharge plane, which is adjacent to the cleaning plane in the cleaning direction and recessed downward from the cleaning plane. This discharge plane is provided between the two extended surfaces, which are extended in the cleaning direction respectively from the two contact planes, in the X direction. In such a configuration, a flow of the cleaning liquid falling down from the cleaning plane to the discharge plane in the cleaning direction is formed. Thus, the amount of the cleaning liquid flowing in the X direction from the cleaning plane can be suppressed.

An inkjet recording apparatus includes an ink container, one or more recording heads, an ink flow path, a negative pressure regulation valve, a cap, a suction pump, and a waste ink discharge path. The negative pressure regulation valve includes an inflow-side pressure chamber, an outflow-side pressure chamber, a communication hole, a first outflow hole and a second outflow hole respectively formed in the outflow-side pressure chamber so as to be below and above the communication hole, and respectively communicating with the first outflow path and the second outflow path, and a valve member that opens and closes the communication hole. The first outflow path communicates with the recording heads. The second outflow path communicates with an inside of the cap or a waste ink discharge path, and is provided with an opening/closing valve.

A cap device includes a contact assembly surrounding an absorber and movable into contact with an ejection portion. When the contact assembly is separated from the ejection portion, a gap is provided between an absorber corner surface and a contact corner surface.

A technique capable of increasing cleanability. Included are a printing unit configured to eject a printing liquid from a nozzle to perform printing and a maintenance unit configured to wipe a nozzle surface on which the nozzle is formed in the printing unit to remove a deposit deposited on the nozzle surface. The maintenance unit includes a first wiping portion configured to give a first wipe with a first blade made of an elastic material and a second wiping portion configured to give a second wipe with a second blade made of an elastic material different from that of the first blade, and the second blade has a hardness lower than that of the first blade and is formed thicker than the first blade.

An aqueous ink contains water, a solvent group A having a weight change amount of more than 0.01 g when 1.5 g0.1 g of the solvent group A is placed in an upwardly opened aluminum foil box of 40 mm40 mm10 mm and heated at a temperature of 100 C.5 C. for 30 minutes indoors at a room temperature of 25 C. and a humidity of 65%, a thickener, and a binder polymer. A weight percent of the solvent group A in the total amount of the aqueous ink is 25.0 wt % to 30.0 wt %. A weight percent of the thickener in the total amount of the aqueous ink is 10.1% or more. A viscosity of the aqueous ink is 10 mPa.Math.s to 14 mPa.Math.s.

A printing apparatus includes a cap configured to cap a printhead that ejects a liquid, a supplying mechanism configured to supply the cap with a cleaning liquid for rinsing out the liquid inside the cap, and a controlling unit configured to control an amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the cap by the supplying mechanism in accordance with an amount of the liquid discharged from the printhead to the cap.