Influence of the Thermal Field on the Fusing Step in Electrophotographic Printing

Fusing consists in the last step of printing in dry toner electrophotography. Several fusing techniques are nowadays available, but the most widespread is hot-roll fusing. The paper carrying the toner is pressed between two rollers including a heated one. The temperature field in the nip is decisive for the future properties of the print. The evaluation of the thermal repartition depends on numerous parameters such as paper or toner properties, and nip geometry. This paper presents a new approach of the nip temperature evaluation based on an analytical model.