Patent ID: 8280287

Claim:
A multi-stage fixing system for fixing toner to a substrate, comprising: a softening device for softening toner applied to a substrate by a marking device; and a fixing device for fixing the softened toner to the substrate, the fixing device comprising: a first fixing member including a first surface; a first thermal energy source for actively heating the first surface to a temperature of about 50° C. to a value less than 110° C.; and a second fixing member including a second surface, the first surface and the second surface form a fixing nip at which the substrate with softened toner is received, wherein the first fixing member and the second fixing member are operable to apply heat and pressure to the substrate and softened toner received at the fixing nip to fix the toner to the substrate the softening device exposes the toner on the substrate to a chemical effective to soften the toner, and the softening device comprises a second thermal energy source for heating the toner on the substrate to a temperature effective to soften the toner.