The Encapsulation Technique in Electrophotography

Abstract

The encapsulation technique is a function separation technique. In electrophotography, an image is formed by fixing toner on paper. At that time, the toner is required to function as a powder at the stage of storage, transportation, replenishment and development. On the other hand, in the fixing stage, the toner must adhere to paper. Such a conflicting function is required for the toner.

Further, in a dual-component developer, a carrier is used to impart charge to the toner. In the developing section, the carrier is held by magnetic force, and charge is applied to the toner by frictional charging on the surface. Thus, a carrier is required to have a plurality of functions.

As described above, in order to exhibit contradictory functions and a plurality of functions, as a toner, a capsule toner in which functions are separated by a core and a shell is used and as a carrier, a resin-coated carrier in which a core is coated with a resin is used as an encapsulation technique.

In this paper, we will overview the history and explain the technologies.