Pad Transfer System for Small Color Laser Printer

Canon has newly developed a transfer system that utilizes a pad as a transfer process, and adopted it on a small color laser printer, LBP5050. During transfer process, it is necessary to provide an enough transfer electric field to toner as regulating scattering caused by pre-transfer and discharge marks by separating discharge. This report clarifies that, with the conventional roller transfer system, it is necessary to minimize an upstream tension nip width, and maximize a physical nip width and downstream tension nip width in order to achieve an optimal condition. Also, by comparing the pad transfer system and the roller transfer system in their abilities to transfer, this report estimates problems that could occur in minimizing the size of devices with the roller transfer system and concludes, with the use of pad transfer system, those problems can easily be resolved. Ultimately, the pad transfer system is superior in its compactness and image quality to the roller transfer system.