A post-processing apparatus includes a conveyance unit, a discharge port, a tray, an elevation unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit conveys a print medium supplied from an image forming apparatus. The discharge port discharges the print medium conveyed by the conveyance unit. The tray is stacked with the print medium discharged from the discharge port and can be raised and lowered in a vertical direction. The elevation unit raises and lower the tray in the vertical direction. The detection unit detects a top surface of an uppermost print medium of one or more sheets of print media stacked on the tray. The control unit controls the conveyance unit and the elevation unit and hold a relative position of the top surface with respect to the discharge port if the print medium is discharged from the discharge port at a first position. The control unit causes the conveyance unit to convey the print medium at a first speed if a discharge time from a first timing indicating the timing relating to discharge of the print medium from the discharge port to a second timing indicating the timing when the print medium is detected by the detection unit is a first time and causes the conveyance unit to convey the print medium at a second speed different from the first speed if the discharge time is a second time.

An apparatus for diverting and/or folding articles includes an infeed conveyor, an outfeed conveyor, and a diverter. The diverter is a non-contact, fluid emitting diverter, configured to emit a fluid jet to exhibit the diverting force on the impact zone of the article at a side of the article facing away from the outfeed entry. An angle of the average direction of the diverting force of the fluid jet with the outfeed path at the outfeed entry is in the range of 5° to 85°.

An apparatus for diverting and/or folding articles includes an infeed conveyor, an outfeed conveyor, and a diverter. The diverter is a non-contact, fluid emitting diverter, configured to emit a fluid jet to exhibit the diverting force on the impact zone of the article at a side of the article facing away from the outfeed entry. An angle of the average direction of the diverting force of the fluid jet with the outfeed path at the outfeed entry is in the range of 5° to 85°.

An image forming apparatus includes a paper feeding cassette, a first conveying unit, a lift mechanism, a motor, a second conveying unit, and a control unit. The controller drives the motor and, if a value indicating a movement amount of the tray moving from when the lift mechanism starts the lifting of the tray until when a position of the top part reaches a first position is a first value, matches a position of the first conveying unit, which comes into contact with the top part to thereby rise together with the tray, with a second position and, if the value indicating the movement amount is a second value larger than the first value, matches the position of the first conveying unit, which comes into contact with the top part to thereby rise together with the tray, with a third position lower than the second position.

A medium-suction apparatus includes a conveyer to convey a medium in a conveyance direction, a first suction unit to perform suction operation on the medium to attract the medium to the conveyer, and a second suction unit to perform the suction operation on the medium to attract the medium to the conveyer. The second suction unit being disposed next to the first suction unit in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The second suction unit starts the suction operation after the first suction unit stalls the suction operation.

A medium-suction apparatus includes a conveyer to convey a medium in a conveyance direction, a first suction unit to perform suction operation on the medium to attract the medium to the conveyer, and a second suction unit to perform the suction operation on the medium to attract the medium to the conveyer. The second suction unit being disposed next to the first suction unit in a width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The second suction unit starts the suction operation after the first suction unit stalls the suction operation.

An image forming apparatus includes a cassette that has a placement plate on which a sheet is set, a paper feed roller, a raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the placement plate, a print unit, a sheet sensor, an upper limit sensor and a control unit. The control unit recognizes, based on an output of the sheet sensor, that the sheet supplied from a paper feed device reaches an installation position of the sheet sensor. The control unit detects, based on an output of the upper limit sensor, that the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined upper limit position or that the raising/lowering mechanism raises the placement plate such that the sheet reaches a feed position and uses the sheet sensor and the upper limit sensor so as to detect that the paper feed device encounters overload.

An image forming apparatus includes a cassette that has a placement plate on which a sheet is set, a paper feed roller, a raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the placement plate, a print unit, a sheet sensor, an upper limit sensor and a control unit. The control unit recognizes, based on an output of the sheet sensor, that the sheet supplied from a paper feed device reaches an installation position of the sheet sensor. The control unit detects, based on an output of the upper limit sensor, that the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined upper limit position or that the raising/lowering mechanism raises the placement plate such that the sheet reaches a feed position and uses the sheet sensor and the upper limit sensor so as to detect that the paper feed device encounters overload.

An image forming apparatus comprises an accommodating unit that accommodates recording materials and a feeding unit that feeds an accommodated recording material, detects a fed recording material, and measures time from a predetermined timing until a recording material is detected. An information processing apparatus receives measured time data from the image forming apparatus, classifies the received plurality of time data into a first group and a second group in accordance with a length of time, selects a group for predicting a remaining life time of the feeding unit from the classified first group and second group, and predicts a remaining life time of the feeding unit using time data included in the selected group.

Examples of the present disclosure relate generally to a printing apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatuses, systems, and methods for printing utilizing laser print head and reactive media.