Patent ID: 7934824
Filing Date: 2011-05-03
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an ejection head which ejects droplets of liquid toward a recording medium in accordance with image data; a hold device which holds the recording medium; a conveyance device which conveys the recording medium relatively to the ejection head while the recording medium is held by the hold device; a heating device which is provided with the hold device and is capable of heating a part of the recording medium selectively; and a control device which controls the heating device in accordance with the image data so that, before the droplets of the liquid are ejected by the ejection head, the recording medium is heated by the heating device in accordance with a heating pattern in which a first temperature not greater than an allowable temperature of the recording medium is set for a first region of the recording medium where a liquid ejection rate is not less than a first threshold value while a second temperature less than the first temperature is set for a second region of the recording medium where the liquid ejection rate is not greater than a second threshold value not greater than the first threshold value, wherein: the ejection head is an ink ejection head which ejects inks of four colors; and the recording medium is heated by the heating device before ink ejection until after the ink ejection in accordance with the heating pattern in which the first temperature is set for the first region of the recording medium where a sum of ejection rates for the inks of the four colors is not less than 200% and the second temperature less than the first temperature is set for the second region of the recording medium where the sum of the ejection rates for the inks of the four colors is not greater than 50%.