A printing apparatus includes a conveyance unit to convey a print medium, a belt, a tensioner, and a control unit. The belt transmits a driving force of a drive unit to the conveyance unit. The tensioner is displaceable and makes pressure contact with the belt to generate tension. The control unit controls driving of the drive unit in a state where the tensioner is in pressure contact with the belt. The control unit performs first control in which the drive unit is driven with a first control value, which is not based on a driving amount detected by a detection unit. Where the detection unit detects the driving amount, the control unit subsequently performs second control in which the drive unit is driven with a second control value, which is based on the driving amount detected by the detection unit.

A contact-and-separation system includes a first roller, a second roller, and a contact-and-separation device. The first roller contacts a belt. The second roller is opposed to the first roller. The contact-and-separation device contacts or separates the belt to or from the second roller via a sheet conveyed. The contact-and-separation device includes an eccentric cam, a motor, and a circuitry. The eccentric cam is mounted on an end of a rotation shaft of the first roller. The motor rotates the eccentric cam. The circuitry controls the motor to rotate the eccentric cam to contact or separate the belt to or from the second roller via the sheet conveyed. The circuitry controls the motor to decelerate a rotation speed of the motor on contact or separation of the belt to or from the second roller between the first roller and the second roller.

A transport monitoring control device includes a transport unit configured to transport a recording medium while nipping the recording medium, a driving unit configured to drive the transport unit, a detector configured to detect a waveform related to a load of the driving unit when the recording medium enters the transport unit or is discharged from the transport unit, and a determining unit configured to determine whether the recording medium is skewed with respect to the transport unit, based on a waveform width at a height obtained by multiplying a peak value of the waveform by a predetermined coefficient.

A direct thermal printer including a latch assembly, a media storage assembly, a media centering assembly, a print assembly, and a temperature sensing member. The latch assembly includes a single latch lever in mechanical communication with latch tabs disposed in the cover of the printer that are received by openings in the base of the printer to engage and disengage the cover from the base. The media storage assembly includes media guides with removable tabs having more than one available position to provide storage of different size media. The media centering assembly includes pulley assemblies that bias the media guides towards each other to secure media between the media guides. The print assembly includes a platen disposed in the base of the printer having cams on each end that are rotatable and positioned to adjust printing characteristic of a printhead disposed in the cover.

Drive device for unwinding a reel of foil in an unwinding module of a stamping machine, having an inactive position, and an active position in engagement with the reel, and comprising: a belt, having an inactive configuration, and an active configuration for contacting a portion of the reel and driven by a driver of the module so as to unwind the reel, rollers, maintaining the belt in the inactive and the active configuration, a translatable roller, which engages the belt and compensates for variations in length when the belt moves from the inactive to the active configuration, and a biasing arrangement, attached to the roller and thereby keeping the belt tensioned in both the inactive and the active configuration, and the biasing arrangement is actuated and disengaged from the belt, to move the belt from the inactive to the active configuration and vice versa.

A transport device includes a transporting belt having an endless shape and configured to transport a medium, a first roller including a first circumferential surface brought into contact with the transporting belt, the first roller being a roller around which the transporting belt is wound, a second roller including a second circumferential surface brought into contact with the transporting belt, the second roller being a roller around which the transporting belt is wound, a pressing section including a bearing unit including a contact portion brought into contact with the first circumferential surface, the pressing section being configured to press the first circumferential surface on an inner side of the transporting belt, and a support portion disposed on an inner side of the transporting belt and configured to support the pressing section.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a conveying unit, a drive source, a drive transmission unit, a tensioner, and a moving member. The drive source drives the conveying unit to convey a sheet. The drive transmission unit includes a drive transmission belt and a rotatable member to engage with the drive transmission belt. The drive transmission unit transmits a driving force of the drive source to the conveying unit via the drive transmission belt and the rotatable member. The tensioner moves between a pressing position at which the drive transmission belt is pressed and a retracted position retracted from the pressing position. The moving member moves the tensioner from the pressing position toward the retracted position. The magnitude of tension exerted on the drive transmission belt is lower when the tensioner is at the retracted position than when the tensioner is at the pressing position.

An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus, a sheet stacking portion, a sheet feeding unit, and a sheet supporting portion disposed upstream of the sheet stacking portion in a sheet feeding direction and configured to support the sheet. The sheet supporting portion includes a sheet supporting surface disposed adjacent to a sheet stacking surface on which the sheet is stacked in the sheet stacking portion, the sheet supporting surface being configured to support the sheet in conjunction with the sheet stacking surface, and a rotary member disposed such that part of the rotary member projects upward from the sheet supporting surface and comes into contact with a lower surface of the sheet, the rotary member being configured to rotate in accordance with feeding of the sheet.