Thermal printing systems are described. The thermal printing systems and methods described provide efficient, compact, and fast thermal printing by providing preheating components that generate a priming thermal energy which preheats thermal paper in the printing system. The priming thermal energy decreases the amount of energy needed to activate the thermal paper during printing. The system and methods also include an optical print head which activates thermal paper using optical energy, which provides for multiple different types of efficient component configuration and increased speed of printing.

Optical scanner and electrophotographic image forming device are provided. The optical scanner includes a light source; and a first optical unit, a deflection apparatus, and an f-θ lens, which are sequentially arranged along a primary optical axis direction of a light beam emitted from the light source. The light beam emitted from the light source is focused onto a scanning target surface after sequentially passing through the first optical unit, the deflection apparatus, and the f-θ lens. Optical scanning directions of the light beam emitted from the light source include a primary scanning direction and a secondary scanning direction which are perpendicular to each other, and along the primary scanning direction, the f-θ lens satisfies following expressions: SAG1>0, SAG2>0, and 0<(SAG1+SAG2)/d<0.8.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member and a scanning unit including a light source, a rotatable polygonal mirror, and a sensor. The image forming apparatus includes setting of an operation in a first mode and setting of an operation in a second mode. The image forming apparatus further comprises, a surface identifying portion and a correction data storing portion configured to prestore correction data including first correction data for a first rotational speed and second correction data for a second rotational speed. Positional deviation in a main scan direction of laser light is corrected on the basis of the first correction data or the second correction data.

A laser imager for a printing system, comprising a plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers arranged in a linear array on a common substrate chip and including a common cathode and a dedicated control channel associated with an address trace line for each laser of the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers, and optical elements arranged in a linear lens array configured to capture and focus light from the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers onto a imaging member, wherein the plurality of independently addressable surface emitting lasers arranged in a linear array and the optical elements arranged in a linear lens array operate together to image the imaging member.

A device for printing two-dimensional code identifiers in an intelligent manufacturing system is composed of a clamping and positioning part and a two-dimensional code printing part. The invention can meet the demand for printing two-dimensional code identifiers in an intelligent manufacturing system, and has ideal effects and high efficiency. The operation is safe and reliable, with high degree of automation, and is especially suitable for mass production on the production line.

An image forming apparatus includes a unit configured to perform image forming operation, a unit board in the unit, a wiring configured to be connected to the unit board, and a control board configured to be connected to the unit board with the wiring and control the unit. The unit board includes a connector to which the wiring is to be connected. A length of the connector in a longitudinal direction of the connector is longer than a length of the unit board in a widthwise direction of the unit board, and the longitudinal direction of the connector intersects the widthwise direction of the unit board.

Thermal printing systems are described. The thermal printing systems and methods described provide efficient, compact, and fast thermal printing by providing preheating components that generate a priming thermal energy which preheats thermal paper in the printing system. The priming thermal energy decreases the amount of energy needed to activate the thermal paper during printing. The system and methods also include an optical print head which activates thermal paper using optical energy, which provides for multiple different types of efficient component configuration and increased speed of printing.

A method for marking at least one portion of a surface of an object, said surface being made of a material that is paper, cardboard or fabric, the method comprising the following steps: heating the surface of the material by means of a heat source to a temperature lower than a temperature at which the visual appearance of the material changes; marking the heated surface by means of a marking laser, so that the light beam of the laser raises the temperature on the surface of the material enough to change the visual appearance of said surface;

in which the marking laser is a laser with a light beam that belongs to the visible or ultraviolet spectrum.

A marking system (1) for marking a marking object (2) comprises a marking device (13) for attaching a marking (20) on a marking object (2), a detection device (15, 16) for detecting identification information (300) associated with the marking object (2), and a control device (10) for controlling the marking device (13), the control device (10) being designed to authenticate identification information (300) detected by the detection device (15, 16) and to control the marking device (13) on the basis of the authentication. In this way, a marking system for marking a marking object is provided, which makes reliable marking of permitted marking objects possible.

A drawing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes, when performing drawing on a thermal recording medium that includes a light-transmitting member above a recording layer, obtaining information regarding the light-transmitting member, predicting an optical axis deviation of a laser beam in the recording layer from the information regarding the light-transmitting member, and calculating a correction amount from a result of the prediction of the optical axis deviation.