A fixing device for fixing an image comprising a liquid developer on a recording material includes a feeding belt for feeding the recording material; a plurality of air vents, provided in a region of the feeding belt on which the recording material is fed, for sucking the recording material onto the feeding belt; a fan for sucking the recording material toward the feeding belt; and a heating source for heating the image on the recording material fed by the feeding belt, by radiant heat, and satisfies the following equation:
db.Math.Φb.Math.K<44.9, wherein K: ρb.Math.cb/λp.Math.ρp.Math.dp.Math.cp cp: specific heat of developer and recording material (J/g.Math.K) ρp: density of developer and recording material (g/cm3) dp: thickness of developer and recording material (mm) λp: thermal conductivity of developer and recording material (W/(m.Math.K)) cb: specific heat of belt (J/g.Math.K) ρb: density of belt (g/cm3) db: thickness of belt (mm) Φb: diameter of air vent of belt (mm).

A heating device includes a heating unit that heats in a non-contact manner an upper surface of a transport material that is transported; and a blowing unit that blows air against a lower surface of the transport material via multiple blowing holes that open with respect to the lower surface, the multiple blowing holes being disposed so that blowing holes that are closest and adjacent to each other in a transport direction of the transport material are shifted from each other in an intersection direction that intersects the transport direction.

A photocuring printing system. A developing drum is rotatable and is light-transmissive; the developing drum and a carrier are oppositely arranged and movable with respect to each other; the developing drum has a developing surface on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by the developing engine; a feeder and the developing surface are oppositely arranged; during a rotation of the developing drum, a photocurable material provided by the feeder is selectively attracted by the electrostatic latent image to form a material layer on the developing surface; the material layer is applied, by the developing drum, on a forming surface of the carrier or a cured model on the carrier; and a curing light beam emitted by a curing light source passes through a material-laying side of the developing drum to irradiate the material layer between the developing drum and the carrier to form a cured layer.

A fixing device includes an endless belt and a pressure rotator disposed opposite an outer circumferential surface of the endless belt. The pressure rotator has a first span in an axial direction of the endless belt. A nip formation pad, which is disposed opposite an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt, forms a fixing nip between the endless belt and the pressure rotator. The nip formation pad includes a belt-side thee disposed opposite the endless belt A radiant heater, which is disposed opposite the inner circumferential surface of the endless belt, heats the endless belt. A thermal conduction aid, which contacts the belt-side face of the nip formation pad, conducts heat in the axial direction of the endless belt. The thermal conduction aid has a second span within which the first span of the pressure rotator is provided at the fixing nip.

A fixing device includes: a non-contact heating unit configured to heat a recording medium in a non-contact manner; and a contact heating unit configured to press and heat the recording medium on a downstream side of the non-contact heating unit in a conveyance direction of the recording medium, in which the non-contact heating unit controls an amount of heat applied to the recording medium according to information on whether the recording medium is black or not, and a thickness of the recording medium, and the contact heating unit controls the pressure applied to the recording medium according to the thickness regardless of whether the recording medium is black or not.

A fixing device includes: a heating unit configured to heat a medium to be conveyed along a conveyance path by radiation; and a shielding unit made of non-metallic material, the shielding unit being configured to form a shielding state in which radiation from the heating unit is shielded and a non-shielding state in which radiation from the heating unit is not shielded, in which the shielding unit being expanded in a direction intersecting the radiation in the shielding state and is stored in the non-shielding state.

A transport device includes a rotating body including a recessed portion on an outer surface, a rotatable heat unit that is in contact with the outer surface of the rotating body and forms an interposition region in which a recording medium is interposed between the heat unit and the rotating body, a transport unit that: (i) includes a hold member capable of holding a portion of the recording medium near a leading edge, (ii) transports the recording medium by moving the hold member in a rotational direction of the rotating body with the hold member contained in the recessed portion, and (iii) causes the hold member to pass through the interposition region, and a controller that controls rotation of the rotating body such that the recessed portion stops at a position upstream or downstream of the interposition region in the rotational direction when an anomaly is detected.

A photoresponsive polymer includes a structural unit represented by the following general formula (1), the photoresponsive polymer being fluidized by light irradiation, and reversibly non-fluidized:

[Chemical formula 1]

R.sub.1—Z.sub.1═Z.sub.2—R.sub.2  General formula (1) in the formula, Z.sub.1 and Z.sub.2 each represent CH or N, and Z.sub.1≠Z.sub.2, R.sub.1 represents an aromatic hydrocarbon group having a substituent R.sub.a selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, and a halogen atom at each of two ortho positions with respect to Z.sub.1, R.sub.2 represents an aromatic heterocyclic group with or without a substituent, and at least one of the R.sub.1 and the R.sub.2 is bonded to a group containing a structure derived from a polymerizable group.

A fixing device includes: a heating section that heats in a non-contact manner a front surface of a recording medium; a feeding section that feeds the recording medium while causing the front surface to be opposed to the heating section; and a maintaining section that, in order to enable the recording medium to be fed by the feeding section while a rear surface that is opposite to the front surface, and that is in an image region where an unfixed-image is formed on the front surface is in a non-contact state, maintains the non-contact state.

A fixing device includes: a heating section that heats in a non-contact manner a front surface of a recording medium; a feeding section that feeds the recording medium while causing the front surface to be opposed to the heating section; and a maintaining section that, in order to enable the recording medium to be fed by the feeding section while a rear surface that is opposite to the front surface, and that is in an image region where an unfixed-image is formed on the front surface is in a non-contact state, maintains the non-contact state.