1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an exposure component that is equipped with a plurality of independently drivable light emitting elements arrayed along a first direction and which exposes photoconductors by scanning, in a second direction intersecting the first direction, light that is emitted when the light emitting elements are driven by drive signals based on image data;
an output component that is equipped with output ends corresponding to each of the light emitting elements and which, at normal times, outputs, one line at a time, drive signals of plural lines when exposure is performed in one scan by the exposure component from each of the output ends and which, when correcting an amount of misalignment in the first direction, outputs drive signals of one line corresponding to a line on a most upstream side of drive signals of plural lines from the output ends that have been shifted by a number corresponding to the amount of misalignment in the first direction;
a plurality of connecting wires that interconnect each of the output ends of the output component and each of the light emitting elements of the exposure component;
a selection component that selects at least one of the connecting wires that is connected to output ends, from among the output ends, that output the drive signals corresponding to the line on the most upstream side and a line that is exposed by a same scanning as a scanning by which the line on the most upstream side is exposed, when correcting the amount of misalignment in the first direction; and
a judging component that is connected to each of the connecting wires, and judges whether or not the drive signals are being normally transmitted through the at least one of the connecting wires selected by the selection component.
2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the judging component includes a counting component that counts the drive signals that are transmitted through the at least one of the connecting wires that has been selected, and
when a count value is not to be counted by the counting component, or when a ratio between the number of pixels of the image data and the count value that has been counted by the counting component exceeds a threshold value determined beforehand, the judging component judges that the drive signals are not being normally transmitted through the connecting wires.
3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first direction
is a sub-scanning direction and the second direction is a main scanning direction.
4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first direction is a main scanning direction and the second direction is a sub-scanning direction.
5. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light emitting elements are laser beam emitters.
6. An abnormality judging method comprising:
(a) controlling an output component, which is equipped with output ends corresponding to each of light emitting elements of an exposure component that is equipped with a plurality of independently drivable light emitting elements arrayed along a first direction and which exposure component exposes photoconductors by scanning, in a second direction intersecting the first direction, light that is emitted when the light emitting elements are driven by drive signals based on image data, at normal times outputs, one line at a time, drive signals of plural lines when exposure is performed in one scan by the exposure component from each of the output ends and, when correcting an amount of misalignment in the first direction, outputs drive signals of one line corresponding to a line on a most upstream side of drive signals of plural lines from the output ends that have been shifted by a number corresponding to the amount of misalignment in the first direction;
(b) selecting, from a plurality of connecting wires that interconnect each of the output ends of the output component and each of the light emitting elements of the exposure component, at least one of the connecting wires that is connected to output ends, from among the output ends, that output the drive signals corresponding to the line on the most upstream side and a line that is exposed by a same scanning as a scanning by which the line on the most upstream side is exposed, when correcting the amount of misalignment in the first direction; and
(c) judging, using a processor, whether or not the drive signals are being normally transmitted through the selected at least one of the connecting wires.
7. The abnormality judging method of claim 6, wherein in (c), the drive signals that are transmitted through the at least one of the connecting wires that has been selected are counted by a counting component, and when a count value is not to be counted by the counting component, or when a ratio between the number of pixels of the image data and the count value that has been counted by the counting component exceeds a threshold value determined beforehand, the method judges that the drive signals are not being normally transmitted through the connecting wires.
8. The abnormality judging method of claim 6, wherein the first direction is a sub-scanning direction and the second direction is a main scanning direction.
9. The abnormality judging method of claim 6, wherein the first direction is a main scanning direction and the second direction is a sub-scanning direction.
10. The abnormality judging method of claim 6, wherein the light emitting elements are laser beam emitters.
11. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a function for judging abnormality, the function comprising:
(a) controlling an output component, which is equipped with output ends corresponding to each of light emitting elements of an exposure component that is equipped with a plurality of independently drivable light emitting elements arrayed along a first direction and which exposure component exposes photoconductors by scanning, in a second direction intersecting the first direction, light that is emitted when the light emitting elements are driven by drive signals based on image data, at normal times outputs, one line at a time, drive signals of plural lines when exposure is performed in one scan by the exposure component from each of the output ends and, when correcting an amount of misalignment in the first direction, outputs drive signals of one line corresponding to a line on a most upstream side of drive signals of plural lines from the output ends that have been shifted by a number corresponding to the amount of misalignment in the first direction;
(b) selecting, from a plurality of connecting wires that interconnect each of the output ends of the output component and each of the light emitting elements of the exposure component, at least one of the connecting wires that is connected to output ends, from among the output ends, that output the drive signals corresponding to the line on the most upstream side and a line that is exposed by a same scanning as a scanning by which the line on the most upstream side is exposed, when correcting the amount of misalignment in the first direction; and
(c) judging whether or not the drive signals are being normally transmitted through the selected at least one of the connecting wires.
12. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein in (c), the drive signals that are transmitted through the at least one of the connecting wires that has been selected are counted by a counting component, and when a count value is not to be counted by the counting component, or when a ratio between the number of pixels of the image data and the count value that has been counted by the counting component exceeds a threshold value determined beforehand, the function judges that the drive signals are not being normally transmitted through the connecting wires.
13. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the first direction is a sub-scanning direction and the second direction is a main scanning direction.
14. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the first direction is a main scanning direction and the second direction is a sub-scanning direction.
15. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the light emitting elements are laser beam emitters.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. Particles of a polymer for ink-jet printing which contain a colorant,
wherein the polymer is in the form of a mixture, said polymer mixture comprising (A) a rosin ester in the form of an esterified product of a polyhydric alcohol with a polymeric rosin andor a crosslinked product thereof (B) and a vinyl polymer,
wherein the polyhydric alcohol is glycerol or pentaerythritol,
wherein the polymeric rosin is a dimer or a trimer of a natural rosin or modified rosin, and
wherein a weight ratio of the rosin esterified or crosslinked product (A) to the vinyl polymer (B) rosin (A)vinyl polymer (B) is from 0.02 to 10.
2. The particles according to claim 1, wherein the polymer mixture contains the rosin ester in the form of an esterified product (A).
3. The particles according to claim 1, wherein the rosin ester (A) has a softening point of from 300 to 600 K as measured according to JIS K-5902-1969.
4. The particles according to claim 1, wherein the rosin ester (A) has a weight-average molecular weight of from 500 to 20,000.
5. The particles according to claim 1, wherein the colorant is a pigment.
6. The particles according to claim 1, wherein the vinyl polymer (B) is a graft polymer containing a constitutional unit derived from (a) a salt-forming group-containing monomer and a constitutional unit derived from (c) a hydrophobic monomer in a main chain thereof, and a constitutional unit derived from (b) a macromer in a side chain thereof.
7. A water dispersion for ink jet printing comprising the particles of the polymer as defined in claim 1.
8. A water-based ink for ink-jet printing comprising the water dispersion as defined in claim 7.
9. A process for producing the water dispersion for ink-jet printing as defined in claim 7, comprising the following steps I-V:
Step I: dissolving the rosin ester (A) and vinyl polymer (B) in an organic solvent wherein a weight ratio of dissolving the rosin ester (A) to the vinyl polymer (B) rosin (A)vinyl polymer (B) is from 0.02 to 10;
Step II: mixing the thus obtained organic solvent solution with a colorant;
Step III: adding a neutralizing agent and water to the resultant mixture, thereby obtaining a further mixture;
Step IV: dispersing the further mixture containing the rosin ester (A), the vinyl polymer (B), the colorant, the organic solvent and water obtained in Step III to obtain a dispersion of colorant-containing polymer particles; and
Step V: removing the organic solvent from the dispersion obtained in the step I,
wherein the rosin ester (A) is the esterified product of a polyhydric alcohol with a polymeric rosin andor a crosslinked product thereof ,
wherein the polyhydric alcohol is glycerol or pentaerythritol, and
wherein the polymeric rosin is the dimer or the trimer of a natural rosin or modified rosin.