TUNED RESPONSE NON-IMPACT PRINTER

Abstract: A system of tuned response printing in which toners (25) are tuned to match a pre-selected characteristic of electromagnetic energy (45) or other agent produced by a controllable agent source (10). When a toner is exposed to that pre-selected characteristic of the agent, it imparts its toning feature (35) to the substrate. The characteristic of the agent from the controllable source functions in selecting the specific type of toner to be printed.

Description: "TUNED RESPONSE NON-HMPACT PRINTER" BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for non-impact, single-pass printing in which the toner exhibits a selective or "tuned" response to an agent having a preselected characteristic, such as light energy of a particular frequency emitted by a laser, to impart an image to a printing surface or substrate. The invention may be applied in systems using a single toner or in systems using multiple toners, such as those designed to generate multi-colored output. It is equally applicable to monochrome printing, whether of the single or multiple toner variety, and to color printing, i In one particular kind of monochrome printing according to the invention, toners of varying shades, sizes, or both are used to provide an enhanced gray-scale for generating graphics. The invention is well suited for computer printing, color xerography, and facsimile printing, but is not limited to these. Description of the Prior Art There are a variety of known, non-impact printing techniques that use a laser to produce color images, or more generally, to produce images formed from a plurality of toners, on untreated substrates. These techniques can be classified into one of two main groups depending on whether a single or multiple pass is required to create the final image. None of these techniques, however, utilizes the selective or tuned response invention disclosed herein. Patent No. 3,780,214 (Bestenreiner et al.), for example, describes a method and apparatus for making color prints by using laser energy to sequentially heat certain portions of a plurality of webs, each of which has a single color pigment applied to it, and then transferring each of these images to the paper substrate so that the transferred image from each just-heated web overlies the transferred image from tlie ones heated earlier. Patent No» 4,148,057 (Jesse) discloses a technique of direct laser printing capable of printing on large or irregularly shaped surfaces, as well as of producing three dimensional objects; also disclosed is a means for producing multi-colored images. The techniques disclosed in both these patents, however, require multiple passes to create polychromatic prints. Moreover, there is no suggestion in either patent of utilizing selectivity of the toner to achieve single-pass printing. East German Patent No . DL 0155507 (Schlegel), in the abstract the present inventor has seen, describes a telex machine in which a thin layer of ink carrier is applied magnetically or electrostatically to paper, then fused to it at particular points by a laser beam. The disclosure pertains to monochrome printing and does not mention any kind of tuned response to behavior by a toner. — U.S. Patent 4,452,084 ( atanabe) describes a technique of forming images using photoconductive toners possessing different photoconduction wavelengths. That patent, however, relates to a variant form of electro¬ photography and is suspected by the present applicant to contain technical flaws. The process disclosed requires "forming" toners on a substrate, charging the toners with a corona charger, exposing the toners so as to image-wise discharge selected toners, and removing the discharged toners from the substrate prior to printing. Proper function of the technique is believed to be highly sensitive to the substrate upon which the toners are said to be "formed". Prospective substrates may be either photoconductive, conductive, or non-conductive. Yet of these choices, only photoconductive substrates are believed to be suitable (without further discussion) for practice of the technique. Conductive substrates render the mandatory step of charging the toners prior to exposure of dubious practicability, as any charge placed on the toners will be drained away via the underlying subs ' trate by virtue of the fact that " it is conductive. " Non-conductive substrates, on the other hand, may not permit charge to drain away, off of the toners, during the exposure phase; and unless such exposure-induced discharging can be accomplished even a latent image cannot be formed. "Ordinary" paper is for the most part non-conductive. Summary of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for producing printed images from one or more toners, on untreated substrates, in which the various toners may differ with regard to their color, shading, spot size, texture, or another characteristic or combination of characteristics. The present invention relates to what might be described as "tuned response printing", in the sense that the materials which impart features to the printing substrate, referred to often as toners, are tuned to match some preselected characteristic of a form of electromagnetic energy, or other agent, produced by a controllable source of such an agent. When a toner is exposed to that preselected characteristic of the agent with which it was designed to match, it imparts its toning feature to the substrate, either directly, or indirectly through some intermediate physical or chemical reaction. The characteristic of the agent from the controllable source functions in selecting the specific type of toner to be printed, whether or not it actually causes the selected toner to print. Considerable freedom for variation is available for reducing the technique to practice. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The detailed description of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures. Figure 1 illustrates one configuration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates one pixel found on the printing surface shown in Figure 1 , in which there is only one particle of each variety of toner present. Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of a pixel found on the printing surface shown in Figure 1 , in which are found a plurality of particles of each variety of toner. Figure 4 illustrates an idealized absorption pattern of different toners used in a multiple toner embodiment of the invention. „ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following description details the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense; " it is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention. The general form of the invention involves one or more controllable sources capable of generating agents having a particular preselected characteristic; one or more different toners evenly applied to a substrate, each toner having a tendency to react only to that agent having the preselected characteristic, and to impart its printing feature in either direct or indirect response to its exposure to that agent; a source for providing a corresponding number of "electrical" write signals representative of the image to be printed; and means associated with the controllable sourc and the source of the "write" " 'signals for directing the agent haying - the preselected characteristic to selected sites on the " substrate corresponding to the image to be printed, so that the agent only reaches the toner at the selected sites. The controllable sources may produce electro¬ magnetic radiation, electric fields, magnetic fields or other agents which serve either or both of two functions: one function being to select the toner to be printed; another function being to invoke the printing activity of the selected toner, or to bring about its fixation to a substrate, at selected positions, under the control of the means associated with the controllable source and the source of the "write" signals. Where more than one controllable sources are employed, they may produce the same agent or different agents; some controllable sources may function in toner selection, other controllable sources may activate selected toners, or, some or all of the controllable sources may perform both of these functions; these embodiments are all within the scope of the present invention. It is also possible, in another embodiment of the present invention, that one or more of the controllable sources would be directed in diffused fashion at the substrate, for example, to select an area of toner, and would cause a toner reaction in conjunction with another controllable source of another agent, or of the same agent having, or differing in another characteristic. In this last mentioned embodiment, the toner could react only when it receives the two agents simultaneously, or it could react to their sequential receipt. The source of the "write" signals may be a computer, a facsimile machine, or any device capable of reducing an image into electrical signals, or else of generating electrical signals, perhaps with the aid of a computer, that can be translated to render a meaningful image. The various toners may differ in either or- both of two major ways. First, as already mentioned, they may differ in the feature they impart to the substrate, whether that feature is color, shading, texture, or some other attribute or combination of attributes. Second, they may differ in the particular characteristic to which they respond. Each toner exhibits its own unique response to some preselected characteristic of a particular selection agent. Examples of agents are: electromagnetic radiation, electric fields, or magnetic fields. Examples of characteristics of agents are: wavelength, intensity, duration, polarization or field direction. And examples of preselected characteristics of selection agents are: specific wavelengths or wavebands, specific intensities, or specific field- directions. The purpose of the characteristic for selection is to cause the toner to become susceptible to having its printing activity invoked, whether or not the characteristic for selection itself actually invokes such activity. The purpose of the preselected characteristic of the selection agent—for example, the particular wavelength of light—is to provide a means whereby one toner out of a plurality of toners can be selected. In this particular example, the chosen wavelength would select one toner from a group of toners and a separate characteristic or set of characteristics of the agent, for example its intensity and duration, would invoke the printing activity of the selected toner. Selectivity is possible because of the one-to-one correspondence between each preselected characteristic and each toner present. The selection agent may itself invoke the printing activity of the toner, as described in the previous paragraph, or, it may merely select the toner to be printed. In the latter case, it is the role of the preselected characteristic of the selection agent to select the toner to be printed, and it is the role of a separate characteristic of the same or of a different agent, provided by the same or a separate controllable source, that "causes the selected toner to become printed. The toner can be applied directly to the surface on which the image is desired to appear or to an intermediate substrate. In the latter case, the intermediate substrate serves only in the creation of the image, or in the creation of a partial image, and means must be provided for its transfer to the end- substrate. Whether printing occurs by the first or the second mechanism mentioned above, the toners may be presented as a pulverulence " ; as a suspension involving a liquid carrier; as a multi-component liquid in which the toners themselves are in the liquid phase; or bound to a carrier sheet. However, regardless of the actual mechanism of transporting toner to the substrate, and regardless of the sequence in which different toners are transported if they are not all transported simultaneously, it is preferred that all of the different toners be present on, or in close proximity to, the substrate before the commencement of any printing. While the above description is applicable to a variety of embodiments of the invention, the text which follows will be directed toward a description of particular embodiments of the invention. In one such embodiment, a multi-component mixture of toners is applied to a substrate; preferably the substrate on which the image is to reside. The preferred form of the toner is a dry, pulverized emulsion composed of a uniform mixture of all the different toners. The controllable source is one or more lasers, the number to be equal to the number of different toners in the emulsion. Each laser is matched with a specific type of toner, and will only invoke the color imparting activity, or more generally, t e feature-imparting activity, of tha . toner. . . Coupling between laser and toner in this embodiment is accomplished through the use of coherent light as the agent, with a preselected wavelength, a particular characteristic of this agent, serving to select the toner. Each laser is tuned to emit light at the wavelength of maximum absorption of its matching toner. Each toner must exhibit a tendency to absorb light of at least one unique wavelength, or light confined to one unique waveband, relative to the other toners present. Figure 1 illustrates one configuration of one embodiment of the process. A number of lasers or other coherent light sources are employed, the number being equal to the number of different toners involved. In the present embodiment, there are four different coherent light sources, lasers 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. As indicated in the legend 45, each coherent source emits light of a different wavelength lambda: 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d. The means for providing the electrical "write" signals representative of the image to be printed, shown as 5, can be a charge coupled device (CCD) imaging assembly with polychromatic capability, a computer, or any kind of device capable of furnishing electrical signals representative of an image. Apparatus 15 is a device, well known to those skilled in the art, for controlling the intensity and diameter of the light emanating from the lasers 1Oa-d and for focussing and deflecting it, in conjunction with the signals from element 5, so that it impinges only on selected sites on the target substrate 30. A representative region 35 of the substrate, large enough to contain several pixels, is shown enlarged at 40, to illustrate the fact that the toner is present in this configuration as a uniformly distributed mixture of pulverulent material. Figure 2 shows a small region 50 of the printing surface enlarged to reveal that it contains but one pixel, 25. Within that one pixel are a collection of ton r. particles 55a-d, each particle being of a . different toner. Optionally present in the pixel are neutral particles 60. The shading pattern within each particle indicates the correlation between each toner and its matching coherent light source. It should be noted that, in Fig. 2, the enlargement suggests that each pixel 25 contains only one toner particle of each type plus the optional neutral particle. While this may be the case (especially if a carrier sheet is used to transport the toner) , the situation depicted in Fig. 3 is more readily put into practice. In Fig. 3 one pixel 250 contains a large number of toner particles. As in Fig. 2 there are four different toner particles present— ith each one denoted by a different shading pattern (the same shading convention is used in all figures); also shown are neutral particles. However, the difference is that in Fig. 3 the pixel 250 contains more than just one particle of each type of toner or neutral particle. The graph in Figure 4 shows an idealization of the absorption patterns of the different toners. There are four peaks, corresponding to the four different toners present. For the first peak, maximum absorption occurs at a wavelength equal to lambda-1 , which by design also corresponds to the wavelength of light emitted by laser 10a. Similarly, the second, third, and fourth peaks attain maximum absorption at wavelengths lambda-2, lambda-3, and lambda-4 respectively; corresponding to lasers 10b, 10c, and 1Od respectively. While in Fig. 4 there is a small amount of overlap between the absorption curves of some of the toners, labelled 70a, 70b, 70c, in the most desirable situation there is no overlap between any two curves. As will be apparent from Fig. 4, the important aspect is that each toner have a tendency to absorb light having a preselected wavelength and to impart its printing feature in response to that absorption. whose activation is required in order to bestow the pixel with its intended qualities have been activated, the steps repeat for the next pixel. The choice of which way to effect printing would depend on numerous factors within the skill of persons skilled in the art to determine. The choice would affect the particular arrangement between the controllable source, the means for providing electrical signals representative of the image, and the means associated with both of these means for directing the agent from the controllable source, in ways well known to those skilled in the art. In some instances it may be desirable to reduce the number of coherent light sources so that there are fewer of them then there are different toners. Single-pass printing of the sequential type will be more suitable in such instances, although multi-pass printing can always be resorted to. To use fewer coherent light sources than toners, some means must be provided for shifting the wavelength of some or all of the coherent sources present. This could be the case either where the IZ NOT TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF INTERNATIONAL PROCESSING (See Section 309(c) (ii) OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTIONS) wavelength of that source was adjustable, or where, as in many cases of monochromatic printing, only one toner was being used. Neutral particles, that is, particles devoid of the capacity to impart any kind of feature to the substrate, may also be included in the toner emulsion, whether apart from, or as a part of, the toner. Neutral particles may serve a role as a spacer between toner particles, and help to control spacing between printed spots on the surface. In certain embodiments, neutral particles may also serve to lessen interparticulate heat transfer that might otherwise cause unintentional toner activation. An enhanced form of monochrome printing is also afforded by the process. In this application the different.toners differ not in their ability to impart different colors to a substrate, but rather, in their ability to impart different shades of a particular color- The technique is in other respects the same. Yet another variation on the central theme involves creating different textural qualities on the printing surface, whether in addition to, or apart from, other features such as color or shading. Textural quality can be controlled, for example, by the use of toners with varying degrees of viscosity at the time they tack on to the substrate. Still another possibility is to employ toners which when caused to print, print spots of different sizes or shapes. These last mentioned features may be desirable in graphics applications. Another embodiment of the present invention involves a multi-component mixture of toners which are transported in a fluid vehicle to close proximity of a substrate. This method also enables direct, agent- induced transmission of toner features to a substrate; with each different component toner being uniquely associated with a different preselected characteristic, such as wavelength, of an agent such as electromagnetic radiation. As before, whether or not any component toner receives exposure to agents other than the one it is designed to respond to, it will only impart its printing feature if exposed to the particular preselected characteristics of the agent that matches that particular component toner. Thus, all of the different toners may be co-resident and uniformly disposed on the same substrate, and may be simultan¬ eously exposed to a plurality of agents in such manner that any toner may intercept emissions from a multiplicity of agents; while reacting only to the predetermined ones. The term "Fluid" as used herein should be interpreted in the hydrodynamic sense, and is thereby intended to embrace more than just liquids. Each component toner in the multi-component mixture is uniquely matched with some preselected characteristic of a specific agent. An example of an agent is electro¬ magnetic radiation; and-an example of a preselected • characteristic is a specific wavelength " or waveband of the said radiation. Due to the uniqueness of response of each of the toners to their respective preselected characteristics, all of the different toners in the mixture may be uniformly applied over a substrate in such fashion that all component toners are substantially simultaneously present over all portions of any surface on the substrate. Furthermore, any component toner may be subjected to simultaneous exposure to a plurality of agents in such manner that it intercepts emissions from a multiplicity of agents, while reacting only to the predetermined ones. Exposure of a particular component toner to its associated preselected characteristic results in the eventual induction of a toner state characterized by a diminished tendency for that toner to remain in the fluid vehicle. Such a diminishedJendency for a toner to remain in a fluid vehicle shall henceforth be referred to as a "Toner Instability". Toner instabilities may be induced by agents: either single agents or multiple agents. Or, toner instabilities may be induced by a combination of both agents and controlled alterations in "Ambient Conditions" such as altered temperatures, electric or magnetic fields, pH, substrate conditions, etc. The fluid vehicle or materials contained therein may assist in the departure of the toners from the fluid. The end result of an induced toner instability is the migration of a selected toner out of the multi-component toner mixture toward a substrate. The net result of inducing instabilities for each of the different toners present in the multi- component mixture, over an entire surface of a substrate, in accordance with an image to be printed, is the direct formation of printed patterns on the substrate comprised of many different types of toners. Only a single pass is required for a full-color image to be formed, and no latent images are involved. ' A sample embodiment of the. technique describe above, follows. In this embodiment, a substantially non-polar fluid vehicle is employed to transport the multi-component toner mixture to the vicinity of a substrate. The toners may be in the form of suspended ' particles, fluids themselves, or possibly even mere colorant molecules. The agent is electromagnetic radiation emanating from controllable sources of such radiation. Each toner will react only to a unique wavelength of radiation differing from the wavelength associated with any other toner. The wavelength that any component toner reacts to need not necessarily be the one responsible for the color of the particular toner. Exposure of a toner to its respective wavelength of radiation results in the eventual induction of an electrical charge in the exposed toner. Such charge generation may be by radiation invoked ejection of valence electrons in the toner. Equally, it may be the result of interactions in concert with the fluid vehicle surrounding the toner, or with particles co-transported with the toner in the fluid vehicle. The stability of l i the toner decreases as a consequence of its becoming charged, since its propensity to remain in the non-polar fluid vehicle is diminished. The substrate may be imparted with a charge opposite to that of the charged- toners so as to enhance the tendency of the exposed toner to depart from the fluid vehicle. The fluid vehicle itself may possess electron accepting or donating capabilities, or additional materials may be incorporated into it, and thus be transported along with the toners, to serve this function. In alternate embodiments of the invention, charge induction need not be the method of achieving toner instability within the fluid. Instead, shifts in polarity internal to a toner, or molecular conformational changes, or still other mechanisms may be exploited so as to impart to the toner the property of diminished stability within the fluid vehicle. The present invention is distinguished from electro-photography, in which patterns ' of charge are generated on photoconductive materials to create latent images. In one form of that technique, utilizing special purpose photoconductive elements such as drums or belts, the photoconductive element is first charged, and then the step of exposure causes specific portions of the element to become discharged so that electrical patterns, comprised of those sites that retained their charge, are created on the photoconductive substrate. A toner is typically uniformly and non-selectively charged, then applied to the above-mentioned electrical patterns to develop the latent image into a visible one in printable form. In another version of the technique utilizing photoconductive toners, the toners are again typically uniformly and non-selectively charged; however, image-wise exposure of the toners generates patterns of uncharged (or discharged) toners against a background of charged toners. Regardless of whether the charge-bearing or non-charge-bearing toners comprise the desired image, at least one additional step is required in order to develop the electrical latent image into a printable toner pattern, and involves the separation of charged and uncharged toners from each other. The present invention is also distinguished from techniques employing an electron beam, or other source of directed energy, aimed at a stream of toner particles to impart charge to a toner in accordance with a pattern. Such systems do not make use of the present technique of induced toner instability in a fluid vehicle. Furthermore, they do not employ a multi- component mixture of toners with each component toner exhibiting a unique, one-to-one correspondence with a specific energy source; and consequently they do not enable simultaneous exposure of any component toner to all energy sources, nor permit formation of printable patterns from multiple toners in a single pass. The present invention' is still further distinguished from techniques ' involving the deposition of patterns of charge on a' substrate, with subsequent development of such patterns by the dusting or other application of oppositely charged toners to those electrical patterns. Such techniques are not utilized by the present invention. Also, such techniques inherently require multiple passes and suffer from the many shortcomings associated therewith. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims: IS WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A printing system comprising: a substrate;, a fluid in substantial proximity to said substrate, said fluid having at least one toner therein capable of migrating from said fluid to said substrate; source means for generating at least one agent having at least one pre-selected characteristic, the capability of said toner to migrate from said fluid to said substrate being enhanced by exposure of said toner to said agent having said pre-selected characteristic; exposure means for selectively exposing said fluid to said agent, whereby a pattern of said toner is formed on said - substrate in correspondence to said selective exposure of said fluid to said agent. 2. A " system as in claim 1 wherein said fluid is a nonpolar fluid, said toner is a colorant molecule, said agent is electromagnetic radiation and said pre¬ selected characteristic is a defined waveband of said electromagnetic radiation. 3. A system as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of said toners are substantially uniformly distributed throughout said fluid. 4. A system as in claim 3 wherein said agent has a plurality of said pre-selected characteristics, each one of said plurality of toners being uniquely responsive to a corresponding one of said plurality of pre-selected characteristics of said agent. 5. A system as in claim_4 wherein said fluid is substantially simultaneously exposed tp said plurality of pre-selected characteristics of said agent. 6. A system as in claim 1 wherein the capability of said toner to migrate from said fluid to said substrate is further enhanced by the ambient environment of said fluid. 7. A printing system comprising: an untreated substrate; a fluid in substantial proximity to said substrate, said fluid having at least one toner contained therein capable of migrating from said fluid to said substrate; source means for generating at least one agent having at least one preselected characteristic, the tendency of the toner to migrate from the fluid to the substrate being induced by exposure of the toner to the agent having the said preselected characteristic, due to diminished propensity of said fluid to retain said toner following exposure; exposure means for exposing said fluid -to said agent, whereby a pattern of said toner is formed on said substrate in correspondence to said selective exposure of said fluid to said agent. 8. A system as in claim 3 wherein a plurality of preselected characteristics are employed, each one of said plurality of toners being uniquely responsive to a corresponding one of said plurality of preselected characteristics. 9. A system as in claim 8 wherein said fluid is substantially simultaneously exposed to said plurality of preselected characteristics. 10. A system as in claim 8 wherein said fluid is sequentially exposed to each of said plurality of preselected characteristics. to 11. Apparatus for non-impact printing by an agent induced direct impart ent of toner features to a substrate comprising: (a) first means for providing electrical signals representative of the image to be printed; (b) at least one controllable source of an agent having at least one preselected characteristic; (c) a substrate having a toner applied substantially uniformly thereon, the toner having a tendency to impart its printing feature only in response to exposure to the agent having the preselected characteristic; and (d) means associated with the first means and the controllable source means for directing an agent having the preselected characteristic from the controllable source means to selected sites on the substrate corresponding to the image to be printed, so that the toner is only exposed to the agent at the selected sites. • • " 12. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein at least one controllable source is a laser, the agent is light and the preselected characteristic is its wavelengt . 13. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein the controllable source consists of a frequency- adjustable laser. 14. Apparatus as described in claim 12 wherein the toner absorbs at least a significant portion of the light. 15. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature directly in response to the exposure. 7t\ 16. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature indirectly in response to the exposure. 17. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein a first agent having a first preselected characteristic causes the toner to be selected and a second agent having a second preselected characteristic causes the toner to impart its printing feature. 18. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein each image pixel on the substrate contains a plurality of toner particles. 19. Apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein each image pixel on the substrate contains a plurality of toner particles. 20. Apparatus non-impact printing by an agent induced direct impartment of toner features to a substrate comprising: (a) first means for providing electrical signals representative of the image to be printed; (b) at least two controllable sources of agents, each agent having at least one different preselected characteristic; (c) a substrate having at least one toner applied substantially uniformly thereon, the toner having a tendency to impart its printing feature only in response to exposure to agents having all of the different preselected characteristics; and (d) means associated with the first means and the controllable source means for directing the agents to selected sites on the substrate corresponding to the image to be printed, so that the toner is only exposed to each agent at selected sites. 21. Apparatus as described in claim 20 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature in response to sequential exposure to each of the agents. 22. Apparatus as described in claim 20 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature only in response to simultaneous exposure to all of the agents. 23. Apparatus as described in claim 20 wherein each image pixel on the substrate contains a plurality of toner particles. 24. Apparatus as described in claim 20 wherein each controllable source is a laser, the agent is light, and each different preselected characteristic is a * wavelength. 25. Apparatus for non-impact printing by an agent induced direct impartment of toner features to a substrate comprising: (a) first means for providing electrical signals representative of the image to be printed; (b) at least two controllable sources of agents, each agent having at least one different preselected characteristic; (c) a substrate having a toner applied substantially uniformly thereon, the toner having a tendency to impart its printing feature only in response to exposure to agents having all of the different preselected characteristics; and (d) means associated with the first means and the controllable source means for directing a first of the agents having a first different preselected characteristic in diffused fashion to the substrate and for directing a second of the agents having a second different preselected characteristic to selected sites on the substrate corresponding to the image to be printed. 2j 26. Apparatus as defined in claim 25 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature in response to simultaneous exposure to all of the agents. 27. Apparatus as defined in claim 25 wherein the toner imparts its printing feature in response to sequential exposure to each of the agents. 28. Apparatus as defined in claim 25 wherein at least one controllable source is a laser, the agent produced by that source is light, and the preselected characteristic is wavelength. 29. A method of non-impact printing on a substrate having a toner applied substantially uniformly thereon, the toner having a tendency to impart its printing feature only in response to exposure to an* agent having a preselected characteristic, comprising: (a) providing at least.one controllable source of the agent having the preselected characteristic; (b) providing a first means for providing electrical signals representative of the image to be printed; (c) controlling the controllable source means in accordance with electrical signals form the first means to direct the agent having the preselected characteristic to selected sites on the substrate corresponding to the image to be printed, so that the toner is only exposed to the agent at the selected sites. 30. Apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein the printing feature imparted by the toner is a textural quality.

Inventors: TSAI IRVING, TSAI, IRVING
Applicants: TSAI IRVING, TSAI, IRVING
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G01D15
IPC codes: B41J2, B41M5, G01D15, G03G15, G06K15, H04N1