Patent Publication Number: US-7596333-B2

Title: Optimizing a printing process for subsequent finishing procedure

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to optimizing a printing process for a subsequent finishing procedure. In particular, this invention relates to optimizing an electrophotographic printing process so that a print job printed by the printing process has toner characteristics suitable for a subsequent finishing procedure. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Electrophotographic (“EP”) printing involves transferring toner, or dry ink, to a substrate, such as paper, by means of an electric field and then fusing the toner to the substrate using a combination of heat and pressure. After fusing, the substrate is cooled, and excess charge is removed from the substrate. Conventionally, a release fluid is used during the fusing process to provide release of the substrate from the fusing roller. After fusing, cooling, and removing excess charge, the substrate exits the EP printing device, thereby completing the printing process. The substrate having an image fused thereon by an EP printing process is referred to as a “printed document” and may contain text, one or more images, or both. 
   Commonly, the printed document subsequently is subjected to a finishing procedure. Examples of finishing procedures include glossing, coating using ultraviolet (“UV”) radiation, and lamination. In the case of glossing, the printed document is subjected to a procedure that heats and casts the fused toner on the printed document to give it a glossy appearance. In the case of coating using UV radiation, the printed document is coated with a UV curable fluid and exposed to such UV radiation. In the case of lamination, a coating, such as plastic, is applied to the printed document and is heated under pressure to form a protective coating over the printed document. 
   During each of these finishing procedures, performance and/or quality problems arise if there is a significant amount of release fluid remaining on the printed document when the finishing procedure is performed. These problems will be described in more detail with reference to  FIG. 1 . Illustration  101  shows an arrangement of toner particles  102  on a substrate  103  prior to being fused. Illustration  104  shows toner particles  105  that have been over-fused to the substrate  103 . In particular, the toner particles  105  have been fused to form a mostly continuous layer. In this case, the release fluid  106  cannot migrate into the substrate  103 . Consequently, the release fluid  106  sits on top of the over-fused toner particles  105  and becomes a problem for downstream processes, such as subsequent finishing procedures. 
   For example, if a glossing procedure is applied to the over-fused printed document illustrated at  104 , the release fluid will interact with the polishing device in the glossing apparatus, thereby degrading performance. If a UV coating is applied to the substrate  103  having the over-fused toner  105  and release fluid  106  thereon, as illustrated at  104 , the UV curable material may not adequately coat the image thereby resulting in image quality artifacts and non-uniform image protection. If a laminate coating is applied on top of the over-fused toner  105 , the laminate forms on top of the release fluid  106  causing artifacts, such as rivers or lakes, or poor adhesion of the laminate to the image. 
   Illustration  107  shows properly-fused toner particles  108  that, although adhered to the substrate  103 , have seams  109  between them, that allow release fluid (not shown) to migrate into the substrate  103 . Accordingly, the release fluid (not shown in illustration  107 ) does not sit on top of the properly-fused toner particles  108  and does not become a problem for downstream finishing processes. 
   It has been difficult conventionally to ensure that proper-fusing of toner particles as shown in illustration  107  occurs for subsequent finishing procedures, particularly because proper-fusing is dependent upon many variables. Accordingly, a need in the art exists for an optimized printing process that reliably provides proper-fusing for subsequent finishing procedures. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The above-described problem is addressed and a technical solution is achieved in the art by a system and a method for optimizing a printing process, according to the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, toner adhesion information is acquired that identifies a toner adhesion characteristic of a printed image. The toner adhesion information is used to make one or more fusing adjustments to ensure proper fusing characteristics of a print job to be subjected to a subsequent finishing procedure. 
   According to an embodiment of the present invention, a fuser pressure, a fuser temperature, or both is/are adjusted based at least upon the toner adhesion information. Such adjustment(s) is/are referred to as “a print job adjustment.” The print job adjustment is used for printing a print job prior to performing a finishing procedure on the print job. The print job adjustment improves, among other things, a performance of the subsequent finishing procedure when performed on the print job. Examples of the finishing procedure include, but are not limited to, a glossing procedure, a UV coating procedure, and a lamination procedure. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, the printed image may be a test print produced prior to printing the print job, and the toner adhesion information may identify at least one of (a) a characteristic of toner voids present in the test print, and (b) a relative indication of how easily toner may be removed from the test print. 
   According to a further embodiment of the present invention, parameter information may be acquired to improve the process of ensuring proper toner fusing of a print job prior to being subjected to a subsequent finishing procedure. In this embodiment, the parameter information identifies at least one of a substrate weight, a substrate type, a substrate surface type, and a type of finishing procedure to be performed as the subsequent finishing procedure. The parameter information may be used to identify an adjustment (“test print adjustment”) to a fuser pressure, a fuser discharge level, or both, to be used for performing the test print. In this embodiment, the print job adjustment made based at least upon the toner adhesion information may further refine the test print adjustment made based at least upon the parameter information. 
   According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a fuser temperature is measured during printing of the test print. The fuser temperature may be monitored or measured at a time or during a period of time when an approximately minimum fuser temperature occurs or is expected to occur. Temperature information is generated by comparing the monitored or measured fuser temperature to a target fuser temperature. According to this embodiment, the print job adjustment is determined based at least upon the toner adhesion information and the temperature information. Also according to this embodiment, the print job adjustment includes an adjustment to a fuser temperature to be used during printing of the print job based at least upon the temperature information. 
   The above described inventive processes may be implemented in various systems, apparatuses, and instructions stored in one or more computer-accessible memories. Such instructions may be embodied as software and/or firmware ultimately executed by one or more computers, or may be embodied as a set of instructions for a user in a computer-readable document, such as, for example, without limitation, an Adobe™ PDF document, a Microsoft Word™ document, a Microsoft Excel™ document, etc. 
   In addition to the embodiments described above, further embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following detailed description. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be more readily understood from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments presented below considered in conjunction with the attached drawings, of which: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates various fusing states of toner particles; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an apparatus for optimizing a printing process, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a system for optimizing a printing process, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a method for optimizing a printing process, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates poor toner adhesion characteristics exhibiting large or many density voids; 
       FIG. 6  illustrates poor toner adhesion characteristics exhibiting small or few density voids; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates poor toner adhesion characteristics exhibiting toner that scratches off easily; and 
       FIG. 8  illustrates press setting adjustments made to provide proper toner adhesion characteristics, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   It is to be understood that the attached drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the invention and may not be to scale. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   It should be noted that the phrase “over-fused,” as used in this description, actually refers to a fully fused state, i.e., a state in which toner particles have been fused to form a mostly continuous layer. However, because this state causes problems when subsequent finishing procedures, such as glossing, UV radiation coating, and lamination, this state is referred to as an “over-fused” state. Further, the phrase, “properly-fused,” as used in this description, refers to a semi-fused state in which toner particles have not been fused to form a mostly continuous layer. Ideally, the properly-fused state, as referred to in reference to the present invention, is a state in which the toner particles adhere to a substrate without any density voids (i.e., areas where toner failed to adhere to the substrate and, consequently, is not present in such areas on the substrate) and are easily scratched off. 
   Embodiments of the present invention ensure proper fusing of toner in a print job, so that when a finishing procedure is performed on the print job, negative effects due to release fluid build-up are eliminated or reduced. According to the various embodiments of the present invention, this result is achieved by making initial press setting adjustments (or “test print adjustment(s)”), including fusing adjustments, based upon at least one of a substrate characteristic and the type of finishing procedure to apply. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate characteristic is a substrate weight, a substrate type, or a substrate surface type. 
   According to various embodiments of the present invention, a test print is printed by an EP printing device using the test print adjustment(s). During the test print, a fuser temperature of the EP printing device is measured. The test print is inspected to determine its toner adhesion characteristics. For example, without limitation, the test print is inspected for toner voids, how easily the toner scratches off, or both. Based upon the inspected toner adhesion characteristic(s) and the measured fuser temperature during the test print, one or more additional adjustments (or “print job adjustment(s)”) are made to the press settings. At least the print job adjustment(s) is/are used to perform printing of an actual print job from the EP printing device, such that the print job, when printed, exhibits appropriately fused toner for the subsequent finishing procedure. Consequently, the various embodiments of the present invention provide a way to easily and consistently produce print jobs with appropriately fused toner for a subsequent finishing procedure. According to an embodiment of the present invention, examples of the subsequent finishing procedure include a glossing procedure, a UV coating procedure, and a lamination procedure. The apparatuses and processes according to the various embodiments of the present invention apply to both color printing and black and white printing. 
   The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , which illustrates an EP printing apparatus  200 . An example of the EP printing apparatus  200  is the NexPress 2100™. The apparatus  200  includes a paper path  202  upon which a substrate  204  is propagated through the apparatus  200 . The substrate  204  has toner (not shown) at least on its face-up side and enters the apparatus  200  from the left-hand side of  FIG. 2 . The substrate  204  passes through and is subjected to pressure by a fuser roller  206  and a pressure roller  208 . The fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208  each typically have an aluminum core  210  and  212 , respectively, and a rubber exterior  214  and  216 , respectively. The aluminum core  210  of the fuser roller  206  typically is heated by an internal lamp  218  so that the surface of the rubber exterior  214  is at a temperature of about 170° C. The aluminum core  212  of the pressure roller  208  typically is heated by an internal lamp  220  so that the surface of the rubber exterior  216  is at a temperature of about 90° C. 
   The fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208  press against each other through the paper path  202 . The amount of pressure produced by the contacting of the fuser roller  208  and the pressure roller  208  is indicated by the nipwidth  222 , which is the length of a contacting portion of the rubber exteriors  214 ,  216  of the fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 , respectively. The nipwidth  222  also indicates how long the substrate  204  is subjected to the pressure caused by the contacting fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 . When the substrate  204  enters the region between the contacted fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 , the toner on the substrate  204  is fused due to pressure and heat from the fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 . A silicone fuser fluid is generally applied to the surface of the fuser roller  206  to allow release of the toner from the surface of the fuser roller  206 . The amount of time the toner is fused is dependent upon the nipwidth  222  and the speed of the substrate  204 . As discussed above, it is critical that the toner be properly fused for subsequent finishing procedures, and, therefore, the present invention controls one or more of the factors described above which affect fusing of the toner. 
   After the substrate  204  has been subjected to fusing, it enters a cooling device  224  that blows air onto the substrate  204  to cool it. After cooling, the substrate  204  enters a discharging device  226  that removes static charge from the substrate  204  having fused toner thereon. The less fused the toner is, the more charge is on it, and the more charge must be removed from it by the discharging device  226 . Conversely, the more fused the toner is, the less charge is on it, and the less charge must be removed from it by the discharging device  226 . Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention controls settings used for the discharging device  226  to ensure that it removes a proper amount of charge for adequate paper handling and/or for proper performance of the subsequent finishing procedure. 
   In the case of duplex printing, the substrate  204 , after it exits the discharging device  226 , is flipped over (not shown) by a region of the paper path  202  (not shown) and returns to the original position shown in  FIG. 2  with its opposite side facing up. This opposite side then passes through the apparatus  200  so that the toner on such opposite side is fused. 
   Most or all of the devices in the apparatus  200 , even those not shown in  FIG. 2 , but which are well known in the art, are communicatively connected to a processing system  228 , which monitors and controls such devices. The processing system  228  is communicatively connected to a user interface  230  to interact with a user, as necessary. Further, the processing system  228  is communicatively connected to a data storage system  232 , which the processing system  228  accesses to retrieve and store needed information. 
   The processing system  228  may include one or more processing devices and/or one or more computers. The phrase “processing device” and the term “computer” each is intended to include any device for processing data, and/or managing data, and/or handling data, whether implemented with electrical and/or magnetic and/or optical and/or biological components, and/or otherwise. The processing system  228  executes software and/or firmware instructions stored in the data storage system  232  to implement the processes described with respect to  FIG. 4 , below. 
   The data storage system  232  may include one or more computer-accessible memories. The data storage system  232  may be a distributed data-storage system including multiple computer-accessible memories communicatively connected via a plurality of computers and/or devices. On the other hand, the data storage system  232  need not be a distributed data-storage system and, consequently, may include one or more computer-accessible memories located within a single computer or device. 
   The phrase “computer-accessible memory” is intended to include any computer-accessible data storage device, whether volatile or nonvolatile, electronic, magnetic, optical, or otherwise, including but not limited to, floppy disks, hard disks, Compact Discs, DVDs, flash memories, ROMs, and RAMs. 
   The phrase “communicatively connected” is intended to include any type of connection, whether wired, wireless, or both, between devices, and/or computers, and/or programs in which data may be communicated. Further, the phrase “communicatively connected” is intended to include a connection between devices and/or programs within a single apparatus, and a connection between devices and/or programs located in different apparatuses. In this regard, although the data storage system  232  is shown separately from the processing system  228 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the data storage system  232  may be stored completely or partially within the processing system  228 . 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a system  300  for optimizing a printing process, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system  300  includes the EP printing apparatus  200  described with reference to  FIG. 2 , above. The EP printing apparatus  200  is communicatively connected to a toner adhesion inspection system  302  and a finishing apparatus  304 . The toner adhesion inspection system  302  may or may not be communicatively connected to the finishing apparatus  304 . 
   As described in more detail below with reference to  FIGS. 4 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8 , the toner adhesion inspection system  302  inspects one or more toner adhesion characteristics of a print (“test print”), from the EP printing apparatus  200 . The toner adhesion inspection system  302  then provides feedback to the EP printing apparatus  200  used to adjust press parameters to improve the toner adhesion characteristics in a subsequent print (“print job”) to be subjected to finishing by the finishing apparatus  304 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  includes a user that physically inspects the toner adhesion characteristics of the test print. In another embodiment, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  includes one or more processing devices and accompanying tools and sensors that automatically inspect the toner adhesion characteristics of the test print. In this embodiment the toner adhesion inspection system  302  may include a device, such as the balanced beam scrape adhesion and mar tester, models pa-2197a &amp; pa-2197b, by the Paul N. Gardner Co., Incorporated. 
   In the case where the toner adhesion inspection system  302  automatically inspects the toner adhesion characteristics of the test print, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  may be placed “in-line” with the EP printing apparatus  200 , so that a test print from the EP printing apparatus  200  automatically is fed into the toner adhesion inspection system  302 . According to this embodiment, a print job having many pages may be divided into two parts, a test print part and a final print part. The test print part may be the first “X” number of pages of the print job, and the final print part may be the remaining pages of the print job. After the test print part prints and at least a page of which is analyzed by the toner adhesion inspection system  302 , the toner adhesion inspection system  302  may contemporaneously send its feedback to the EP apparatus  200 , so that the press settings properly are adjusted prior to printing the final print part. It is preferable that the EP printing apparatus  200  print both the test print part and the final print part without interruption. 
   The finishing apparatus  304  forms a finish on a substrate printed by the EP apparatus  200 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the finishing apparatus  304  is a glossing apparatus, such as, for example, the Eastman Kodak Company NexGlosser™. The finishing apparatus  304  may also be a UV coating apparatus or a lamination apparatus, or any other similar finishing apparatuses known in the art. The finishing apparatus  304  may be placed “in-line” with the EP apparatus  200 , so that a document printed by the EP apparatus  200  automatically is fed into the finishing apparatus  304  for finishing. Optionally, the EP apparatus  200 , the toner adhesion inspection system  302 , and the finishing apparatus  304  are all placed “in-line” adjacent to one another. If the toner adhesion inspection system  302  is located in between the EP apparatus  200  and the finishing apparatus  304 , pages that are not inspected by the toner adhesion inspection system  302  may pass through the toner adhesion inspection system  302  unprocessed and into the finishing apparatus  304  for finishing. Pages that are inspected by the inspection system  302  may be discharged into an exit tray for destruction if they do not have proper toner adhesion characteristics or may be passed onto the finishing apparatus  304  for finishing if they do have proper toner adhesion characteristics. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates a process  400  for optimizing a printing process implemented by the EP apparatus  200  and the toner adhesion inspection system  302  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. Inputs into the process  400  may include at least one of a finishing type  402  to be applied to a print job  438  by the finishing apparatus  304 , a substrate weight  404 , a substrate type  406 , and a substrate surface type  407  to be used for printing a test print  420  and the print job  438 . Examples of a finishing type  402 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, include a gloss finish, a UV coating, and a laminate coating. Examples of the substrate weight  404 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, include weights between approximately 118 grams per square meter to 352 grams per square meter. Examples of a substrate type  406 , according to an embodiment of the present invention are paper, transparency, foil, self-adhesive, etc. Examples of a substrate surface type  407 , according to an embodiment of the present invention are matte, uncoated, glossy coated, castcoated, etc. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the invention is not limited to these substrate weights, types, and surface types, and that other substrate weights, types, and surface types may be used. 
   These inputs  402 ,  404 ,  406 , and  407  may be provided to the processing system  228  via the user interface  230  or via data stored in the data storage system  232 . Step S 408  receives these inputs and accesses a parameter database  410  to determine one or more initial press adjustments (“test print adjustments”) to be used for performing a test print. The parameter database  410  may be stored within the data storage system  232  in  FIG. 2 . Based upon at least one of the input finishing type  402 , the substrate weight  404 , and the substrate type  406 , and the substrate surface type  407 , the parameter database  410  returns the test print adjustments. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the test print adjustments include an adjusted fuser discharge level  412 , an adjusted fuser nipwidth  414 , and a target fuser temperature  416 . The adjusted fuser discharge level  412  indicates a deviation from a normal fuser discharge level to be used during printing of a test print. The adjusted fuser nipwidth  414  is a deviation from a normal amount of pressure applied to a test print between the fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 . The target fuser temperature  416  is a temperature of the fuser roller  206  that is predicted to achieve proper fusing for the finishing performed by the finishing apparatus  304 . 
   In order to determine the values of the adjusted fuser discharge level  412 , the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414 , and the target fuser temperature  416 , the contents of the parameter database  410  may be in the form of a substrate catalog. The substrate catalog indicates fuser nipwidth, fuser discharge levels, and fuser temperatures for each type, surface type, and weight of substrate, as well as the finishing type to be applied to the substrate. 
   For example, for an uncoated substrate surface type  407  to be subjected to a glossing finishing procedure type  402 , it has been determined that the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414  should be about −2,000 μm from a standard nipwidth. The standard nipwidth, which, depending upon the design hardness of the fuser roller  206  and the pressure roller  208 , could be approximately 18 mm and provide for an over-fused condition. For a paper substrate type  406  and a matte substrate surface type  407  to be subjected to a glossing finishing procedure type  402 , it has been determined that the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414  should be about −3,000 μm from a standard nipwidth. And, for a paper substrate type  406  and a glossy substrate surface type  407  to be subjected to a glossing finishing procedure type  402 , it has been determined that the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414  should be about −5,000 μm from a standard nipwidth. Further, for a paper substrate type  406  and a glossing finishing type  402  and a paper substrate type  407 , regardless of the substrate surface type  407  and the substrate weight  404 , it has been determined that discharger settings  412  should be increased when an image is on both sides of the substrate. In the case of a single sided image, it has been determined that the discharger settings need not be changed. It should be noted that the examples in this paragraph are adjustments that may be applied for one particular set of conditions/mechanical arrangement. One skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the invention is not limited to these particular adjustments and that other settings may be used for other conditions or mechanical arrangements. 
   Although only adjustments to the fuser discharge level  412  and the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414  are shown as being output from step S 408 , other adjustments may be made, such as an initial adjustment to fuser energy flow to the lamp  218 , which adjusts the temperature of the fuser roller  206 . 
   The adjustments output from step S 408  provide an approximation of the optimal press settings needed to produce proper fusing of a print job to be subjected to a subsequent finishing procedure. According to an embodiment of the present invention, one or more of these adjustments are further refined by performing and analyzing a test print printed using the adjustments from step S 408 . In particular, at step S 418 , a test print  420  is printed by the EP apparatus  200  using the test print adjustments (e.g., adjustments  412  and  414 ). Advantageously, the test print  420  is printed using the same substrate type, surface type, and weight that will be used for printing the print job  438 . 
   The test print may contain the most stressful toner laydown, as this situation will be the most likely to result in cold offset, i.e., toner that does not adhere to the substrate leading to density voids. The most stressful toner laydown may include between about 280% and 320% coverage in a four or five color process, where 100% of the color black is laid down and about 60% of each of the colors yellow, cyan, and magenta are laid down. If a fifth color is used, none of it need be laid down, so long as about 280% coverage is met. 
   During printing of the test print  420 , the temperature of the fuser roller  206  is monitored by the processing system  228 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the lowest fuser roller temperature  422  is recorded during printing of the test print  420 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, fuser temperature is measured during a period of time when the lowest fuser temperature is expected to occur. Generally, the lowest fuser roller temperature  422  occurs during the early stages of the print run. When the lowest temperature occurs will be dependant upon the fusing system design. Therefore, the test print run length (step S 418 ) should be adjusted based on the fusing system&#39;s temperature control performance. However, the lowest fuser temperature  422  may occur at any time during the many pages printed at step S 418 . Therefore, the temperature may be monitored during the entire run. 
   Output from step S 418  is the test print  420 , which may be one of many pages printed at step S 418 . Also output from step S 418  is the measured lowest fuser temperature  422  during the test print  420 . The test print  420  is passed on to the toner adhesion inspection system  302  at step S 424  to determine one or more characteristics of toner adhesion in the test print. A goal of step S 424  is to determine one or more characteristics of the adhesiveness of the toner to the substrate of the test print  420 . In the case of gloss finishing, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  determines, at step S 424  whether there is offset, also known as toner density voids, in the test print  420 , and if no offset exists, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  determines how easily toner scratches off of the test print  420  at step S 424 . 
   To elaborate,  FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate large/many density voids and small/few density voids, respectively.  FIG. 7  illustrates toner that scratches off easily.  FIG. 7  also illustrates that testing for how easily toner scratches off may be performed by a user using a scratching device, such as a coin, a fingernail, or a paper clip. Alternatively, the toner adhesion inspection system  302  may include a mechanical apparatus that includes a device that performs scratching, such as the balanced beam scrape adhesion and mar tester, models pa-2197a &amp; pa-2197b, by the Paul N. Gardner Co., Incorporated. Density voids, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate under-fused toner. On the other hand, toner that does not scratch off easily indicates over-fused toner. What is desired is toner that adheres without density voids and scratches off easily. 
   Step S 424  outputs inspected void characteristics  426  and the scratch test results  428  to step S 430 . Also input to step S 430  is the target fuser temperature  416 , the adjusted fuser nipwidth  414 , and the lowest measured fuser temperature  422 . Based upon this information, step S 430  outputs a re-adjusted fuser nipwidth  432  and an adjusted fuser energy flow  434 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the outputs of step S 430  are determined by the processing system  228  using a table, which may be stored in the data storage system  302 , shown, for example, in  FIG. 8 . It is to be noted, however, that the values shown in  FIG. 8  are for example only, and that the invention is not limited to these particular adjustments. 
     FIG. 8  illustrates that, in the case of a glossing finishing procedure, (a) if the void characteristics  426  indicate that no voids are present in the test print  420 , i.e., that no offset exists in the test print  420 , (b) if the scratch test results  428  indicate that the dry ink on the test print  420  scratches off easily, as shown in  FIG. 7 , and (c) if the lowest fuser temperature  422  is within 3° C. of the target fuser temperature  416 , then ideal fusing conditions were present during printing of the test print  420  and no additional press setting adjustments are needed. 
     FIG. 8  also illustrates that, in the case of a glossing finishing procedure, if the void characteristics  426  indicate that voids are present in the test print  420 , i.e., that offset is present, then insufficient fusing occurred during printing of the test print  420 . Accordingly, more fusing needs to occur when printing the print job  438  and fuser nipwidth and fuser energy flow generally are increased, i.e., readjusted fuser nipwidth  432  and adjusted fuser energy flow  434  are positive). The exception, in the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , is when lowest fuser temperature  422  is above the target fuser temperature  416  by more than 3° C. and small or few density voids exist. In this case, the energy flow to the lamp  218  in the fuser roller  206  is decreased, i.e., adjusted fuser energy flow  434  is negative. Large or many density voids indicates less fusing than small or few density voids. Consequently, larger (more positive) adjustments to the fuser nipwidth and the fuser energy flow occur when large or many density voids exist in the test print (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) than occur when small or few density voids exist in the test print  420  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ). 
   When the void characteristics  426  indicate that no density voids are present, i.e., there is no offset, and when the scratch test results  428  indicate that the dry ink on the test print  420  does not or is difficult to scratch off, then a state of over-fusing of the test print  420  has occurred. Accordingly, adjustments are made to reduce the amount of fusing that occurs during printing of the print job  438 . For example, fuser nipwidth  414  is decreased, i.e., readjusted fuser nipwidth  432  is negative, and fuser energy flow generally is decreased, i.e., adjusted fuser energy flow  434  is negative. The exception is when the lowest fuser temperature  422  is below the target fuser temperature  416  by more than 3° C. In this case, the fuser energy flow is increased, i.e., adjusted fuser energy flow  434  is positive. The more difficult it is to scratch the dry ink off of the test print  420 , the more over-fusing has occurred during printing of the test print  420 . Consequently, larger (more negative) adjustments to the fuser nipwidth and the fuser energy flow occur when the dry ink does not scratch off of the test print  420  than occur when the dry ink scratches off with some difficulty. 
   Step S 436  receives as input print job adjustments, which may include one or more refined adjustments to the test print adjustments input into step S 418 . According to an embodiment of the invention, the print job adjustments input into step S 436  include the readjusted fuser nipwidth  432  and the adjusted fuser energy flow  434  from step S 430 , as well as the adjusted fuser discharge level  412  from step S 408 . These inputs are used as press settings when printing the print job  438  with the EP Apparatus  200  to obtain optimal fusing characteristics for the subsequent finishing procedure performed at step S 440  by the finishing apparatus  304 . Output from step S 440  is the coated print job  442 . 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, duplex printing is performed. In this embodiment, the side of the print job  442  to be finished is printed last by the EP Apparatus  200 , so that optimal fusing of that side is ensured by the process  400  described above. 
   It is to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention and that many variations of the above-described embodiments can be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although portions of the process  400  are described as being performed by the processing system  228 , many of the functions performed by the processing system  228  may be performed by one or more users instead. For instance, a user may manually reference a substrate catalog and manually calculate the test print adjustments used to perform the test print  420  at step S 418 . Further, a user may manually perform the toner adhesion inspection, review a table such as that shown in  FIG. 8 , and arrive at the print job adjustments used at step S 430  to print the print job  438 . In this situation, the operator may be instructed on how to perform the processes described herein by instructions embodied in a computer-accessible data file stored in a computer-accessible memory, such as an Adobe PDF document, a Microsoft Word document, or a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Further, although some of the specific examples provided herein apply to the context of performing gloss finishing, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention applies to other finishing processes, such as, UV coating, lamination, and other similar finishing processes. It is therefore intended that any and all such variations be included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. 
   PARTS LIST 
   
       
         101  illustration 
         102  toner particles 
         103  image substrate 
         104  illustration 
         105  toner particles 
         106  release fluid 
         107  illustration 
         108  toner particles 
         109  seams 
         200  EP printing apparatus 
         202  paper path 
         204  substrate 
         206  fuser roller 
         208  pressure roller 
         210  aluminum core 
         212  aluminum core 
         214  rubber exterior 
         216  rubber exterior 
         218  internal lamp 
         220  internal lamp 
         222  nipwidth 
         224  cooling device 
         226  discharging device 
         228  processing system 
         230  user interface 
         232  data storage system 
         300  system 
         302  inspection system 
         304  finishing apparatus 
         400  process 
         402  finishing type 
         404  substrate weight 
         406  substrate type 
         407  substrate surface type 
         410  parameter database 
         412  adjusted fuser discharge level 
         414  adjusted fuser nipwidth 
         416  target fuser temperature 
         420  test print 
         422  lowest fuser roller temperature 
         426  void characteristics 
         428  scratch test results 
         432  re-adjusted fuser nipwidth 
         434  adjusted fuser energy flow 
         38  print job 
         442  coated print job 
       S 408  step 
       S 418  step 
       S 424  step 
       S 430  step 
       S 436  step 
       S 440  step