Patent ID: 7073274

Claim:
A drying device for drying a recording medium comprising: a blower mechanism for generating dry air and sending it out; a duct disposed along a transport path of said recording medium and supplied with the dry air from said blower mechanism, said duct comprising a dry air blowing member on a side facing to said transport path; a plural number of air outlets formed through said dry air blowing member, to blow the dry air to said recording medium through said air outlets, wherein said air outlets are formed at a smaller aperture rate in a zone where pressure of the dry air on inner surface of said dry air blowing member is larger, said aperture rate being an area rate of apertures of said air outlets per unit area of said dry air blowing member; and a conveyer mechanism for conveying said recording medium along said transport path, said conveyer mechanism being placed across said transport path from said dry air blowing member, wherein said recording medium is held on said conveyer mechanism by virtue of the dry air blown from said air outlets to said recording medium.