A method of forming a digital print on a surface by applying powder of dry ink including colourants on the surface, bonding a part of the dry ink powder to the surface by a digital heating print head such that the digital print is formed by the bonded dry ink colourants and removing non-bonded dry ink from the surface.

A drying device includes: a supporting section that supports a medium on which printing was performed; a conveying section that conveys, along a conveying region, the medium supported by the supporting section; a heat generating section configured to heat, over a width direction, the medium supported by the supporting section; a fix-supporting section configured to support the heat generating section fixing the heat generating section; and free-supporting section configured to support the heat generating section so that the heat generating section can expand and contract, wherein the fix-supporting section is located in a first lateral region that is a region outside the conveying region in the width direction, and the free-supporting section is located in a second lateral region that is a region outside the conveying region in the width direction and different from the first lateral region.

There is provided an ink discharging apparatus including a controller which controls conveying speed of a recording medium so that a cumulative heating amount received per unit area of the recording medium from a heater is in a range of 0.7 J/cm.sup.2 to 2.9 J/cm.sup.2. A water-based ink included in the ink discharging apparatus contains a first water-soluble organic solvent of which saturated vapor pressure at 20° C. is 0.03 hPa to 2.20 hPa. The first water-soluble organic solvent is contained in a range of 10% by mass to 40% by mass. A content amount of a second water-soluble organic solvent, of which saturated vapor pressure at 20° C. is greater than 2.20 hPa, is less than 3% by mass; and a content amount of a third water-soluble organic solvent, of which saturated vapor pressure at 20° C. is less than 0.03 hPa, is less than 10% by mass.

There is provided an ink discharging apparatus including: a conveyor, a head, a heater, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the conveyor and the heater so as to heat a recording medium or the water-based ink for recording adhered to the recording medium, while conveying the recording medium in a conveying direction. The water-based ink for recording includes: a resin-dispersed pigment, resin fine particles of which glass transition temperature is not less than 33° C., an organic solvent, and water. The ink discharging apparatus satisfies condition (I): 5≤(Tg−Th)≤40. In the condition (I), Tg (° C.) is the glass transition temperature of the resin fine particles, and Th (° C.) is a maximum surface temperature of the recording medium heated by the heater,

There is provided an ink discharging apparatus including: a conveyor, a head, and a heater. The water-based ink for recording includes: a resin-dispersed pigment, resin fine particles of which glass transition temperature is not less than 33° C., water, and an organic solvent including a specific organic solvent of which saturation vapor pressure at 20° C. is not less than 0.03 hPa. The ink discharging apparatus satisfies the following condition (I): 6≤(β/α)×WO 1000≤31. In the condition (I), α(° C.) is the glass transition temperature of the resin fine particles, and β (J/cm.sup.2) is an irradiation energy, radiated from the heater, per unit area of the recording medium.

A medium heating device includes a support portion configured to support a medium being transported, a heating unit configured to heat a medium supported by the support portion, and a detector configured to detect a temperature of the support portion. The support portion includes a metal plate including a first surface as the support face, an end portion of the metal plate is bent toward an opposite side to the first surface, the metal plate is fixed by a fixing portion and a fixing portion next to the fixing portion in a width direction, and a detection position of the detector is set to a position between the mutually adjacent fixing portions in the width direction.

A heating device includes a heat irradiator configured to heat a sheet on which a liquid is applied and is conveyed in a conveyance direction, an ultraviolet irradiator on a downstream of the heat irradiator in the conveyance direction, the ultraviolet irradiator configured to heat a portion of the sheet, and a circuitry configured to control an output of the heat irradiator and an output of the ultraviolet irradiator based on a thickness of the sheet.

A sheet conveyor includes an endless conveyance belt configured to rotate to convey a sheet, a belt heater configured to heat the conveyance belt; and circuitry configured to control the conveyance belt to rotate. The conveyance belt has a belt joint joining both ends of a sheet member to form the conveyance belt, and the circuitry controls the conveyance belt to rotate to receive the sheet in an area of the conveyance belt other than the belt joint of the conveyance belt.

A system (10, 110) includes: (i) a flexible intermediate transfer member (ITM) (44, 500, 600), including: a stack of: In (a) a first layer (602), located at an outer surface of the ITM (44, 500, 600), configured to receive ink droplets to form an ink image thereon, and to transfer the ink image to a target substrate (50, 51), and (b) a second layer (603) including a matrix holding particles (622), configured to receive optical radiation (99) passing through the first layer (602), and to heat the ITM (44, 500, 600) by absorbing the optical radiation (99); (ii) an illumination assembly (113), configured to dry the ink droplets by directing the optical radiation (99) to impinge on the particles (622); and (iii) a temperature control assembly (121), configured to control a temperature of the ITM (44, 500, 600) by directing a gas (101) to the ITM (44, 500, 600).

A digital printing process for inkjet printing on a recording medium using ink including a carrier liquid and a colorant, in particular on a recording medium which is configured not to absorb the carrier liquid or to absorb only a portion of the carrier liquid during the inkjet printing. The process includes the steps of: jetting ink on the recording medium; bringing one or more continuously rotating members in rotational contact with the jetted ink on the recording medium such that a colorant-poor portion of the ink is adsorbed to the one or more rotating members and a colorant-rich portion remains on the recording medium. The colorant-rich portion includes more colorant than said colorant-poor portion. The process further includes continuously removing said colorant-poor portion of the one or more continuously rotating members.