Patent ID: 7481526
Filing Date: 2009-01-27
Classification: B41J,B41M

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: at least one ejection head which forcefully ejects liquid containing image forming material through holes provided in the at least one ejection head onto a recording medium to form a desired image on the recording medium; a conveyance device which moves at least one of the recording medium and the ejection head so as to move the recording medium in a conveyance direction relatively to the ejection head; and a contact device which makes contact with the liquid to remove the liquid on the recording medium without removing more than a tolerable amount of the image forming material and is arranged on a downstream side of the ejection head in the conveyance direction, the contact device having a contact surface that contacts with the liquid and satisfies at least one of the following conditions: that a surface roughness of the contact surface is greater than a surface roughness of the recording medium; that a surface free energy of the contact surface is smaller than a surface free energy of the recording medium; and that a contact angle of the liquid on the contact surface is smaller than a contact angle of the liquid on the recording medium.