An image forming apparatus includes: a holding body configured to hold a formed image; a conveyance unit configured to convey a recording medium with a leading end of the recording medium gripped by a gripping portion; and a transfer body including a recessed portion that accommodates the gripping portion and is provided along a direction substantially orthogonal to a rotational direction, configured to sandwich the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit between the transfer body and the holding body to transfer an image on the holding body to the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit, and including a slope surface provided at a leading end of a portion of an outer circumference not including a portion where the recessed portion is provided, the leading end being on a front end side in the rotational direction, a distance from the slope surface to a rotational center becoming larger toward a downstream side in the rotational direction.

A delivery system is used for delivering printed sheets which can be fed in a region of an inlet side of a delivery device. The delivery device includes at least one first discharge station and one second discharge station which is mounted downstream of the first discharge station, which is upstream in the transport path. The delivery stations are associated respectively with a format or transport-relevant device which can be controlled by a drive including a control element for adapting or correcting the guiding and delivery of the sheets in the relevant discharge station. At a delivery device level upstream of a lateral inlet in a stacking space of the upstream second discharge station, at least one operator interface, with at least one actuating device is provided. The at least one actuating device can be permanently connected to a signal or can be activated by an additional actuating device, with the control element of the at least one format- or transport-relevant device of the first discharge station and which allows or which can allow, during actuation, the control element of the system of the first discharge station which can vary with regard to the format- or transport-relevant size format, to be controlled.

A sheet ejection device includes: a paper ejection chain (22b) for conveying paper (W); a first pile (26) or a second pile (26b) having loading plates (27a or 27b) arranged in a multistage manner and used for loading the paper ejected from the paper ejection chain; a first beam sensor (62a or 62b), a second beam sensor (63a or 63b), and a third beam sensor (64a or 64b) for detecting an intrusion into the first pile or the second pile. The sheet ejection device further comprises: a plate upper-limit position detection sensor (58a or 58b) for detecting that the loading plate has been positioned at a plate upper-limit position (L2); and a control device (50) for, based on the detection signal of the plate upper-limit position detection sensor, neglecting (disabling) a command for stopping a driving device (printing machine), the command is issued by the first to third beam sensors.

A sheet supporting apparatus includes a sheet discharge unit, a conveyance unit, a stacking unit, and a supporting unit. The sheet discharge unit conveys a sheet to discharge the sheet. The conveyance unit including a gripper member engaging with a leading edge of the sheet that has been discharged from the sheet discharge unit. The conveyance unit conveys the sheet engaged with the gripper member by moving the gripper member. The stacking unit is on which the sheet that has been conveyed by the conveyance unit is stacked. The supporting unit supports the sheet conveyed by the sheet discharge unit toward the gripper member by abutting against an undersurface of the sheet. The supporting unit is provided at a position where at least part of the supporting unit overlaps the gripper member in a sheet width direction perpendicular to a sheet discharge direction when viewed in the sheet discharge direction.

A sheet stacking apparatus includes a stacking portion, a conveyance member, an abutment portion, a belt member, a nipping portion configured to nip the belt member, a lifting/lowering unit configured to lift and lower the nipping portion, and a controller configured to control the lifting/lowering unit such that, in a case where the belt member moves a current sheet and then moves a next sheet, (i) the nipping portion is positioned at the first position after the belt member contacts the current sheet and before the leading edge of the current sheet abuts against the abutment portion, and (ii) the nipping portion is positioned at the second position after the leading edge of the current sheet abuts against the abutment portion and before the belt member contacts the next sheet.

There are provided an ink jet printing apparatus and a color conversion processing device that can prevent the generation of offset and blocking and can stably jet ink. A first LUT in which a total amount of ink after conversion is large overall and a second LUT in which a total amount of ink after conversion is small overall are prepared as a look-up table (LUT) that is used in color conversion processing. A LUT to be used is selected according to the number of printed mediums. The first LUT is selected in a case in which the number of printed mediums is smaller than a threshold value, and the second LUT is selected in a case in which the number of printed mediums is equal to or larger than a threshold value.

A sheet stacker includes a tray to store a stack of sheets, a conveyor above the tray, a leading end guide above the tray, and an air exhaust. The conveyor conveys a sheet in a conveyance direction. The leading end guide is downstream from the conveyor in the conveyance direction. The leading end guide guides the sheet from the conveyor to the tray. The air exhaust exhausts air above an upper surface of the stack of sheets on the tray to an upstream from the tray in the conveyance direction. Further, the leading end guide holds a leading end of the sheet conveyed by the conveyor at a holding position and releases the leading end of the sheet at a release position downstream from the holding position in the conveyance direction.

This invention provides a stacker for use in forming stacks of cut sheets received from an upstream utilization device (e.g. a printer, cutter, etc.) that allows for positive driving of sheets into a stack using a stacking unit that includes a series of grippers that are adapted to grip and release a leading edge of each sheet at the appropriate time. In this manner, each sheet is gripped as it arrives from the upstream operation and is passed downstream into the stack, being released so as to properly decelerate at the stack's backstop. The grippers are mounted on a continuous belt between a pair of opposing drive sprockets. An edge sensor located upstream of the stacking unit triggers motion of the belts. The grippers are actuated by a mechanical cam arrangement to selectively grip and release at predetermined positions as the belt is driven.

The ink jet recording apparatus includes: transport means that transports paper having a recording surface, on which an image is formed using an aqueous ink, along a transport path; heating means that is provided along the transport path; guide means that is provided along the transport path and supports the paper using a guide surface having suction holes; and suction means that suctions the paper through the suction holes of the guide surface, a suction region and a non-suction region are set when the paper is transported, the suction region in which the paper is suctioned by the suction means is set upstream of a first position of the transport path, the non-suction region is set downstream of the first position, and the first position is set at a position in which a residual water content in the paper is 1.0 g/m.sup.2 to 3.0 g/m.sup.2.

The ink jet recording apparatus includes: transport means that transports paper having a recording surface, on which an image is formed using an aqueous ink, along a transport path; heating means that is provided along the transport path; guide means that is provided along the transport path and supports the paper using a guide surface having suction holes; and suction means that suctions the paper through the suction holes of the guide surface, a suction region and a non-suction region are set when the paper is transported, the suction region in which the paper is suctioned by the suction means is set upstream of a first position of the transport path, the non-suction region is set downstream of the first position, and the first position is set at a position in which a residual water content in the paper is 1.0 g/m.sup.2 to 3.0 g/m.sup.2.