A thermosetting unit, in particular for a textile printer, includes a pair of stationary supports, a thermosetting roller extending between said stationary supports and rotatably carried by said stationary supports around a longitudinal axis thereof, a stationary infrared lamp extending inside said thermosetting roller and having opposite ends supported by said stationary supports, and a temperature-uniforming device housed inside the thermosetting roller.

A drying system and method of operating the drying system to dry a printed shrinkable web are disclosed. A web transport is adapted to convey the printed web between a heating apparatus and a cooling apparatus. The heating apparatus directs heat toward the web and the cooling apparatus concurrently chills the web. A temperature sensing device is adapted to develop an indication of a temperature of the web and the controller is adapted to adjust a temperature of at least one of the heating apparatus and the cooling apparatus in accordance with such indication.

A dryer unit (26), especially an intracolor dryer unit, for a printing machine is presented. It comprises a web inlet edge (34) and a web outlet edge (36) being substantially parallel to one another and defining a drying area (28) therebetween. Additionally, an air inlet and a first air outlet (38) being connected to the air inlet in an air-ducting manner are provided. The first air outlet (38) is positioned adjacent to one of the web inlet edge (34) and the web outlet edge (36) and a middle axis of the first air outlet (38) is inclined towards the respective other of the web inlet edge (34) and the web outlet edge (36) with respect to the drying area (28). Furthermore, a printing machine is described, comprising an impression drum, at least two ink application units and at least one dryer unit (26) as described above.

A dryer unit (26), especially an intracolor dryer unit, for a printing machine is presented. It comprises a web inlet edge (34) and a web outlet edge (36) being substantially parallel to one another and defining a drying area (28) therebetween. Additionally, an air inlet and a first air outlet (38) being connected to the air inlet in an air-ducting manner are provided. The first air outlet (38) is positioned adjacent to one of the web inlet edge (34) and the web outlet edge (36) and a middle axis of the first air outlet (38) is inclined towards the respective other of the web inlet edge (34) and the web outlet edge (36) with respect to the drying area (28). Furthermore, a printing machine is described, comprising an impression drum, at least two ink application units and at least one dryer unit (26) as described above.

A printing apparatus is provided that has: a printing part that performs printing by depositing a recording composition on the surface of a printing medium; a plasma generation part that is constituted by a plasma generation chamber having an introduction port for introducing a gaseous flow of plasma material gas to the interior, wherein the plasma material gas is converted to a plasma in the interior to form a gaseous flow of plasma-modified gas, as well as a plasma release port for releasing the gaseous flow to the exterior; and a plasma irradiation part that brings a gaseous flow released from the plasma release port, which contains the plasma-modified gas and/or plasma-quenched gas formed therefrom, in contact with the surface of the printing medium that has been printed at the printing part. The printing apparatus can fully dry/cure a printed recording composition.

A dryer for conveying and drying an object to be dried, the dryer includes a conveyor including a first path and a second path along which the object to be dried is conveyed, a conveyance direction of the second path being different from a conveyance direction of the first path, and a blower to blow air onto the object to be dried. The blower includes a first air outlet that faces the first path and blows the air onto the object to be dried conveyed along the first path, and a second air outlet that faces the second path and blows the air onto the object to be dried conveyed along the second path.

A pre-dryer for continuous feed or cut sheet systems is described. Such a module can be used in various applications, for example, prior to printing where the time constant for fusing and glossing is long enough that the substrate temperature essentially equilibrates with that of the marking material on the surface of the sheet. The pre-dryer may be part of an image forming device. Substrates, including paper, typically have high moisture content in normal atmospheric conditions. Such substrates may have a moisture content of about 10% water by weight, which is considered high for printing. Such high moisture content in image receiving substrates leads to various artifacts and extends heating times to take the substrate to its glossing temperature that are about four times longer than for dry media. This longer heating time translates to undesirably longer paper paths or nip lengths.

The wind velocity of the air injected by the air-blow dryers 7a, 7b is lower than that of the air injected by the air-blow dryers 7c, 7d. That is, since a large amount of moisture remains on the front surface M1 of the printing medium M passing through the air-blow dryers 7a, 7b, the printing medium M is dried while the flow of the aqueous inks is suppressed by injecting the air at a lower wind velocity. On the other hand, the moisture decreases on the front surface M1 of the printing medium M dried by the air-blow dryers 7a, 7b and the fluidity of the aqueous inks is reduced. Accordingly, the drying of the printing medium M is promoted by injecting the air at a high wind velocity to the printing medium M passing through the air-blow dryers 7c, 7d.

Methods and apparatuses for drying web substrates are described. In one embodiment, a method of drying a web substrate may comprise supplying air to a first dryer head located proximate a web conveyer, the air within the first dryer head having a temperature of less than 176 degrees C., directing air from the first dryer head toward the web conveyer at a velocity greater than 1000 m/min and forming a first drying region, and advancing the web substrate in a first direction on the web conveyer and through the first drying region.

A pre-dryer for continuous feed or cut sheet systems is described. Such a module can be used in various applications, for example, prior to printing where the time constant for fusing and glossing is long enough that the substrate temperature essentially equilibrates with that of the marking material on the surface of the sheet. The pre-dryer may be part of an image forming device. Substrates, including paper, typically have high moisture content in normal atmospheric conditions. Such substrates may have a moisture content of about 10% water by weight, which is considered high for printing. Such high moisture content in image receiving substrates leads to various artifacts and extends heating times to take the substrate to its glossing temperature that are about four times longer than for dry media. This longer heating time translates to undesirably longer paper paths or nip lengths.