A cleaning device includes a housing, a cleaning blade, a toner conveyance path, a conveyance screw, and a first flicker. The conveyance screw includes a rotary shaft and a helical vane. The first flicker includes a first base portion and first contact pieces and uses the first contact pieces to press the conveyance screw in a first direction away from a bottom part of the toner conveyance path. The first base portion includes a secured portion and a blade opposed portion. A reinforcement member is stacked on the blade opposed portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image forming portion configured to form a latent image on an image bearing member; a developing device including a container configured to store toner and a developing member configured to supply the toner to the latent image formed on the image bearing member to form a toner image; an environment sensor configured to detect environmental information related to an environment in which the developing device is placed; and a controller configured to control switching between a first mode and a second mode, in which a number of prints per unit time is less than that in the first mode. The controller is configured to perform switching from the first mode to the second mode based on an update value obtained by adding or subtracting over time an index value weighted in accordance with the environmental information detected by the environment sensor.

In an image forming apparatus, in a case where a power of the apparatus is turned from OFF to ON, a rotation drive unit rotationally drives each of a developing roller, a first conductive roller, and a second conductive roller in a state where a liquid developer supplied to a developer container by a supply device has reached a supply position, and a bias application unit applies a bias to each of the developing roller, the first conductive roller, and the second conductive roller after the developing roller rotates at least once, in the state where the liquid developer supplied to the developer container by the supply device has reached the supply position.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image formed using a liquid developer containing toner particles and a carrier liquid, a transfer member, an input portion into which information on a kind of a recording material is inputted, an adjusting device configured to adjust an amount of the carrier liquid of the toner image, and an executing portion configured to execute an operation of the adjusting device depending on the information when the toner image is in the adjusting position. The executing position executes either of a plurality of operations including a first operation in which the amount of the carrier liquid of the toner image is increased, a second operation in which the amount of the carrier liquid is decreased, and a third operation in which the amount of the carrier liquid is not adjusted.

A method and a developer station are described. The method and developer station being operable to adapt the inking of an image substrate. The method including applying a voltage across a developer layer on the developer element of the developer station. The application of the voltage causing a current to flow through the developer layer, where the current can be measured. The an indicator of a thickness of the developer layer and/or of the toner quantity in the developer layer is generated based on the voltage and/or the current. The indicator can be used to adjust the inking of the image substrate. For example, the current can be compared to a characteristic curve to generate the indicator.

A cleaning device includes a housing, a cleaning blade, a toner conveyance path, a conveyance screw, and a first flicker. The conveyance screw includes a rotary shaft and a helical vane. The first flicker includes a first base portion and first contact pieces and uses the first contact pieces to press the conveyance screw in a first direction away from a bottom part of the toner conveyance path. The first base portion includes a secured portion and a blade opposed portion. A reinforcement member is stacked on the blade opposed portion.

A method of calibrating a developer unit of a liquid electrophotographic printer, the method comprising: setting a developer roller voltage and iteratively printing a patch on a print medium using different electrode voltages until a hue of a patch printed using one of the electrode voltages is within a tolerance of a target hue; and setting an electrode voltage based on said one of the electrode voltages and iteratively printing a patch on a print medium using different developer roller voltages until a hue of a patch printed using one of the developer roller voltages is within the tolerance of the target hue.

It is disclosed a printing fluid dispersing method for a printing system, the method comprising: transferring printing fluid from a supply to an element within the printing system by a pump wherein, between the supply and the element, a nozzle is provided comprising a plurality holes so that the transferring of printing fluid comprises forcing the printing fluid through the plurality of holes of the nozzle

Method and devices for calibrating optical density reflective color fluids to be deposited on substrate are disclosed. Some methods comprise depositing a quantity of a keying color fluid on a first region of the substrate; applying a voltage level to a reflective color fluid application device; depositing, in response to the voltage level applied, a quantity of reflective color fluid on the first region of the substrate and on a second region of the substrate; performing reflectance measurements of the first region and of the second region; performing optical density calculations as a function of the reflectance measurements; varying the voltage level applied to the reflective color fluid application device in response to said optical density calculation until the optical density calculation is within a calibrated range of optical densities.

A developing device includes a storage portion storing a developer, a conveying portion stirring and conveying the developer in the storage portion, a sensor, an acquisition processing portion, and a correction processing portion. The sensor outputs an electrical signal in accordance with magnetic permeability at a predetermined detection position in a conveyance path of the developer. The acquisition processing portion acquires a specific value based on the electrical signal outputted during a rotation period of the conveying portion. The correction processing portion corrects the specific value based on a rotation speed of the conveying portion when a fluctuation width of the electrical signal outputted during the rotation period of the conveying portion is less than a predetermined threshold, and corrects the specific value based on the rotation speed of the conveying portion and the fluctuation width when the fluctuation width is equal to or greater than the threshold.