A printing apparatus includes: an ejection head that prints an image on a recording medium supported by a support member by ejecting liquid from a nozzle formed in a portion facing the support member; and an irradiation section that includes a housing which is open toward the support member, and a light emitting section housed in the housing and emitting light to cure the liquid, the irradiation section being configured such that light emitted from the light emitting section is irradiated onto the recording medium supported by the support member via the opening, wherein the housing includes an inclined section which extends from the opening toward the ejection head such that a distance from the inclined section to the support member decreases toward the ejection head, and the inclined section is provided so that θ2>θ1 is established.

A light emitting device includes a substrate, a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in three or more rows on the substrate, and a light-transmissive member including a cylindrical lens portion having an array of three or more cylindrical lenses arranged parallel to each other along the rows of the light emitting elements so that each of the cylindrical lenses is on one of the three or more rows of light emitting elements. The rows of the light emitting elements are arranged with substantially uniform intervals. The cylindrical lens portion includes first cylindrical lens portions including at least cylindrical lenses at outermost sides of the array, and a second cylindrical lens portion arranged at an inner side of the first cylindrical lens portions and having a height greatest in the cylindrical lens portion.

A printing device and a printing method, which are by ink-jet technique an overcoat layer using an ink consisting of more suitable ingredients, are provided. The printing device is for performing printing by ink-jet technique, including: a color ink head being an inkjet head that forms a color ink layer on a medium using a color ink; an overcoat head being an inkjet head that forms an overcoat layer that covers the color ink layer; and a curing agent head being an inkjet head that discharges ink droplets of a curing agent, the curing agent being a liquid for curing an ink in the overcoat layer. The overcoat head discharges ink droplets of an ink prepared by dispersing in an organic solvent a curable material that is cured in reaction to the curing agent.

An image forming apparatus includes: an ink-jet head including a storage that stores phase transition ink, the ink jet head forms an image on a recording medium by ejecting the phase transition ink; and one or more hardware processors. The one or more hardware processors change a driving condition of the ink jet head for a case of ejecting the phase transition ink on a basis of a first reading result of a pattern image formed by the ink-jet head; estimate occurrence of a state change of the phase transition ink in the storage when the driving condition that is changed satisfies a predetermined condition; and determine whether a lifetime of the ink jet head is over in accordance with whether the occurrence of the state change is estimated.

The object is to suitably satisfy a condition for preventing smearing of a printed object and a condition for endowing glossiness to the printed object. As a solution therefor, a plurality of inkjet heads (12y, 12m, 12c, 12k), a print heater (104) being a medium heating heater, and a sub-scan driving unit (16) being an opposing position changing unit that sequentially causes each of positions in a medium (50) in a moving direction of the medium (50) to oppose the respective inkjet heads (12y, 12m, 12c, 12k) are provided, where ink is ink containing solvent and is fixed onto the medium (50) by the solvent being dried, and the print heater (104) dries the ink that has been discharged from one of the inkjet heads and struck onto the medium before another inkjet head further discharges an ink droplet onto a struck position of the ink.

An inkjet recording apparatus for curing ink ejected onto a base material and forming recorded matter on the base material is provided. The inkjet recording apparatus includes an ejection unit configured to eject the ink onto a first area of the base material and a second area surrounded by the first area, a curing unit configured to cure the ink ejected onto the base material, and a control unit configured to control the curing unit in such a way that a time from ink ejection onto the first area to ink curing is longer than a time from ink ejection onto the second area to ink curing.

The present invention relates to a radiation curable ink composition comprising a gellant. The present invention further relates to an ink set comprising such ink composition. The present invention further relates to a method for making such ink composition and a printing method using such ink composition.

Provided is a light illuminating apparatus for irradiating light of a line shape extending in a first direction and having a line width in a second direction. The light illuminating apparatus includes light emitting units, each including a substrate, light sources arranged at an interval along the first direction on the substrate and placed such that a direction of an optical axis is matched to a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface, and optical devices placed on optical paths of each light source to shape light from each light source into light with a predetermined divergence angle, wherein the light emitting units are arranged on an arc having its center at the irradiation position when viewed in the first direction, and an irradiation width in the second direction of light from the light emitting units is approximately equal within a preset range in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation surface.

The present invention provides a photocurable ink composition for ink jet recording with excellent curability. The photocurable ink composition for ink jet recording includes polymerizable compounds, a photopolymerization initiator, and a colorant, wherein the polymerizable compounds include a vinyl ether group-containing (meth)acrylate represented by general formula (I):
CH.sub.2═CR.sup.1—COOR.sup.2—O—CH═CH—R.sup.3  (I)
(wherein R.sup.1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R.sup.2 is a divalent organic residue having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and R.sup.3 is a hydrogen atom or a monovalent organic residue having 1 to 11 carbon atoms) and phenoxyethyl (meth)acrylate.

A method of fabricating a thin film structure includes printing, using an electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing apparatus, a first layer comprising a first liquid ink, such that the first layer is supported by a substrate, curing the first layer; printing, using the e-jet printing apparatus, a second layer comprising a second liquid ink, such that the second layer is supported by the first layer, and curing the second layer.