JP2001154547A - Recording medium reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact recording medium reproducing device. SOLUTION: This recording medium reproducing device 1 for bringing a paper sheet 3 to which a printing material is stuck into contact with liquid 7 such as water and removing the printing material from the paper sheet 3 is provided with a pre-drying part 200 for drying the paper sheet 3 beforehand so as to reduce a moisture content contained in the paper sheet 3 compared to the paper sheet 3 before a drying processing and a post-drying part 700 for drying and removing the liquid 7 from the paper sheet 3 from which the printing material is removed. The pre-drying part 200 and the post-drying part 700 share a belt 4 for carrying the paper sheet 3 and at least a part of the belt 4 is formed in a curve shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a recording medium reproducing apparatus for removing a printing material printed on a recording material.
Specifically, a recording medium (for example, copy paper, print paper,
The present invention relates to a recording medium reproducing apparatus that removes a printing material (for example, toner and ink) fixed on the recording medium after the OHP sheet is brought into contact with a liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art From the viewpoint of resource reuse, an apparatus for reproducing a recording medium by removing a printing material from a recording material (copied or printed) on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer. Various proposals have been made.

[0003] Among such recording medium reproducing apparatuses, an apparatus using a dedicated sheet having a water-swellable surface layer as a recording material is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-7-140554 (here, "water swelling"). The term "property" means that the substance expands by absorbing water or an aqueous solvent, but does not dissolve in the water or aqueous solvent.) In this case, by supplying a liquid containing water as a main material to the recording material, the liquid penetrates into the surface layer, and the contact force between the printing material and the surface layer is reduced. Subsequently, the printing material is peeled off by a printing material removing means using a mechanical rubbing force such as a brush. Finally, the recording material is dried until the recording material can be reused (post-drying step).

It has also been found that when a recording material having a water-swellable surface layer is not used for a long time, especially when the recording material is left in a high humidity environment, it is difficult to remove the printing material. The present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 10-240059.
In the recording medium reproducing apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-207, a pre-processing unit for drying the surface layer of the recording material is provided before supplying the liquid to the recording material (pre-drying step).

[0005]

However, if the recording material is rapidly heated to a high temperature in order to dry the recording material, the recording material may be deteriorated and cannot be reused. In order to dry the recording material slowly, both the pre-drying step and the post-drying step require a long processing time. As a result, it is necessary to lengthen the path of these steps, and the size of the pre-drying section and the post-drying section increases accordingly.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium reproducing apparatus in which the pre-drying section and the post-drying section are made as small as possible.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording medium reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 supplies an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable to cover a printing material. In a recording medium reproducing apparatus for removing a recording material from a recording material, a guide for guiding the recording material in a predetermined direction, and while being guided by the guide, the amount of water contained in the recording material is more than that of the recording material before the drying process. First drying means for drying the recording material so as to reduce the amount thereof, supply means for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the first drying means, A printing material removing means for removing the printing material from the surface layer of the material; and a second drying means for drying and removing the aqueous solvent from the recording material from which the printing material has been removed by the printing material removing means. Partly curved It is characterized in being formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium reproducing apparatus for supplying an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable and removing a printing material from the recording material. Is guided in a predetermined direction, and at least a part of the recording material is included in the recording material rather than the recording material before the drying process while being guided by the first guide formed in a curved shape. Drying means for drying the recording material so that the water content is reduced; supply means for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the drying means; and A printing material removing means for removing the printing material from the surface layer; and a second guide disposed at a predetermined distance from the first guide and guiding the recording material in a direction substantially opposite to the predetermined direction. The drying means removes the printing material. From the recording material printed material has been removed by means, characterized in that also serves as a drying means for drying and removing the aqueous solvent.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium reproducing apparatus for supplying an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable to remove a printing material from the recording material. Is guided in a predetermined direction, and at least a part of the recording material is included in the recording material rather than the recording material before the drying process while being guided by the first guide formed in a curved shape. First drying means for drying the recording material so as to reduce the water content, supply means for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the first drying means, and swelling by supplying the aqueous solvent A printing material removing means for removing the printing material from the surface layer of the recording material, and a second guide which is disposed at a predetermined distance from the first guide and guides the recording material in a direction substantially opposite to the predetermined direction. Guided by a second guide and a second guide And a second drying unit for drying and removing the aqueous solvent from the recording material from which the printing material has been removed by the printing material removing unit. The first and second guides convey the recording material. And a part of the endless recording material carrier.

[0010]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, “downstream side” and “upstream side” respectively mean “downstream side in the paper transport direction” and “upstream side in the paper transport direction”. In addition, when “right”, “left”, “upper”, and “lower” are used for movement, conveyance, deflection, and the like, these are respectively shown in FIG.
It means “to the right in the horizontal direction”, “to the left in the horizontal direction”, “to the upper side in the vertical direction”, and “to the lower side in the vertical direction”.

I. 1. First Embodiment (1) Recording Medium Reproducing Apparatus FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a recording medium reproducing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “reproducing apparatus”) 1. The reproducing apparatus 1 reproduces the paper in a reusable state by removing the toner from a copy or printed matter having a toner image formed on the surface of a special paper using an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Things.

The reproducing apparatus 1 has a housing 2 that forms the external appearance of the reproducing apparatus 1. Inside the housing 2, a paper feeding unit 100 and a pre-drying apparatus that pre-drys the paper before supplying liquid to the paper. Unit 200, an immersion unit 300 for immersing the paper in the liquid, a printing material removing unit 400 for removing the toner from the paper immersed in the liquid, and the paper from which the toner has been removed is washed and remains on the paper. Cleaning unit 50 for washing away foreign substances
0, a liquid removing unit 600 for removing the liquid from the paper supplied with the liquid again in the cleaning unit 500, and a liquid material removing unit 60
A post-drying unit 700 for drying the paper from which the toner has been removed by 0 again and a discharge unit 800 are sequentially provided along the paper transport direction. From another viewpoint, inside the housing, the paper feed unit 100 and the discharge unit 800 are disposed close to each other on the left side, the front drying unit 200 and the rear drying unit 700 are disposed close to each other, and the dipping unit 300 is disposed below. Are arranged at the center, and a printing material removing section 400, a washing section 500 (excluding a washing liquid tank), and a liquid removing section 600 are arranged.

(2) Paper This special paper is composed of a base material layer, an intermediate adhesive layer, and a surface layer.
It has a five-layer structure in which an intermediate adhesive layer and a surface layer are provided on both surfaces of a layer or a base material layer, respectively. As the base material layer, a plastic film, paper, or the like is used. The intermediate adhesive is for bonding the surface layer to the base material layer, and for example, a urethane resin, an acrylic resin, a styrene resin, or the like is used. If the adhesiveness is good, this intermediate adhesive layer can be omitted.
The surface layer is made of a water-swellable resin obtained by crosslinking a water-soluble resin. The paper and the composition of each layer constituting the paper are described in JP-A-11-2189 by the present applicant.
No. 55 describes this in detail.

(3) Paper Feeding Unit Next, each component of the reproducing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, near the left side wall of the housing 2, there is provided a paper feeding unit 100 that stores and feeds the paper before the regeneration processing.
The paper feed unit 100 is provided with a tray 10 that supports the stacked paper 3 in the same manner as a paper feed unit attached to a copying machine or a printer.
1 or the cassette and the uppermost sheet 3
And a paper feeding mechanism 102 for transferring the image data to a printer. The paper feed mechanism 102 includes a first paper feed roller 103 arranged so as to contact the upper surface of the uppermost sheet 3,
3 is provided with a motor (not shown) for rotating the motor 3. The paper feed mechanism 102 also has a second paper feed roller 103 disposed downstream of the first paper feed roller 103, and a paper guide 105 disposed between these supply rollers 103 and 104. The paper 3 conveyed to the right from the tray 101 is deflected upward by about 90 degrees and delivered to the predrying unit 200.

(4) Pre-drying unit and post-drying unit As shown in FIG.
Share an endless U-shaped paper transport belt 4 suspended and supported by a plurality of rollers. Also, the post-drying unit 700
Is formed so as to surround the transport path of the pre-drying step is longer than the transport path of the post-drying step.

More specifically, the belt 4 is moved along the rotation direction 5 of the belt 4 so that
, A roller 201A for deflecting the belt 4 moving rightward to the right, a roller 201B for deflecting the belt 4 moving rightward to the lower side, the immersion unit 300 and the liquid removing unit 600. A roller 6B disposed in the vicinity and for reversing the belt 4 moving downward and upward, and a roller 701B for deflecting the belt 4 moving upward and leftward
And a roller 7 for deflecting the belt 4 moving to the left side downward.
01A. In addition, another support roller may be further provided as necessary. At least one of the rollers 6A and 6B among these rollers is connected to a motor (not shown) so as to rotate in the direction shown in the figure.

In order to deflect and guide the paper 3 moving upward along the belt 4 to the right, a guide roller 2 is provided on the opposite side (outside the belt 4) of the roller 201A across the belt 4.
02A is provided. In order to deflect and guide the sheet 3 moving rightward along the belt 4 downward, the belt 4
Guide roller 202 on the opposite side of roller 201B
B is provided. If necessary, another guide roller (for example, the guide rollers 203 and 20 of the pre-drying unit 200) may be used.
4, 205, 206, guide roller 7 of post-drying section 700
02, 703, and 704) may be provided as appropriate.

Sheet 3 moving down the pre-drying section 200
Is a post-drying unit 70 with the belt 4 on the roller 6B.
A guide member 207 is provided between the position where the pre-drying step is completed and the immersion unit 300 so that the immersion unit 300 is transferred to the immersion unit 300 without being transported to zero. On the other hand, in order to transfer the paper 3 from the liquid removing unit 600 to the post-drying unit 700,
Another guide member 707 is provided between the liquid removing unit 600 and the position where the post-drying process starts.

Inside the endless belt 4, a pre-drying section 20 is provided.
0, in order to dry the paper 3 in the post-drying unit 700,
One or more blowers 208, 708 are provided. The blowers 208 and 708 may be simply blowers that blow normal-temperature air to the paper 3 or may be blowers with a built-in heater that can blow out warm air. If necessary, a heat roller, a heater, a dehumidifier, or the like (not shown) may be used instead of or together with the blower. If the pre-drying temperature is too high, the toner melts, so it is preferable to set the temperature lower.

(5) Immersion Unit The immersion unit 300 has a container 301 of a predetermined shape and size, and the container 301 contains the liquid 7. Liquid 7
Usually consists of water and a surfactant that enhances the penetration of water into the surface layer of the paper 3. However, the surfactant is not an essential material, and the liquid 7 may include only water. Further, another material may be added to the liquid 7 as needed.

A first paper transport mechanism 302 composed of a pair of drive rollers and an endless belt suspended by the pair of drive rollers is provided in a vertical direction from near the guide member 207 of the pre-drying unit 200 to near the liquid level in the container 301. Are provided in parallel with each other. Also, if necessary, the first paper transport mechanism 30
One or more guide rollers (e.g., guide rollers 3) to guide paper 4 near the liquid level in cooperation with
03, 304) may be provided.

In the container 301, there are provided three paper transport mechanisms comprising a pair of drive rollers and an endless belt suspended by these drive roller pairs, that is, second, third and fourth paper transport mechanisms 305A and 305B. , 305C are provided in parallel with the vertical direction.
A, 305B, and at least a part of 305C are located above the liquid level. More specifically, the second and third paper transport mechanisms 305A and 305B
02 supplied from the second paper transport mechanism 30
5A and a third paper transport mechanism 305B
Is conveyed downward through the space between the right belt portions (first gap). Further, the third and fourth sheet transport mechanisms 305B and 305C are configured such that the sheet 3 is placed between the left belt portion of the third sheet transport mechanism 305B and the right belt portion of the fourth sheet transport mechanism 305C (second belt). The paper guide 9 is conveyed upward through the gap (gap) and guided toward the paper guide 9 extending in the vertical direction. From the first gap to the second
In order to transfer the paper 4 to the gap, a guide member 306 formed at a fixed distance from the outer surface of the lower drive roller is provided below the third paper transport mechanism 305B.

In the present embodiment, only one container 301 is provided in the immersion section 300. However, in order to always keep a constant amount of the liquid 7 in the container 301, this container 301 is used.
In addition, a liquid replenisher may be provided, and these containers 301 and the liquid replenisher may be appropriately connected by a liquid supply pipe.

In order to collect foreign matter (for example, printing material separated from paper) in the liquid 7, a foreign matter collecting filter, a pipe connecting the foreign matter collecting filter and the container 301, and a pipe in the middle of the pipe are provided. It is also possible to provide a liquid circulating unit having a pump provided and collect foreign matter with a foreign matter collecting filter while circulating the liquid along the pipe.

(6) Printing Material Removal Portion The paper guide 9 extends from the vicinity of the paper outlet in the second gap to the vicinity of the upstream side of the contact portion of the squeezing roller pair (described later) of the liquid removal portion 600. The paper 3 is transported along a paper guide 9 by a transport unit (not shown).

In order to remove the toner from the paper 3 immersed in the liquid 7, a printing material removing section 400 is arranged in the middle of the paper guide 9. In the present embodiment, the printing material removing unit 400 includes a pair of brush rolls 401 arranged on the left and right sides of the paper conveyance path along the paper guide 9. Each of these brush rolls 401 includes a central shaft connected to a motor (not shown), and a number of brushes implanted around the central shaft. The brush tips of the brushes 401 are conveyed along the paper guide 9. To be in contact with the opposite surface.

The printing material removing means may use a mechanical rubbing force such as a cloth or a blade other than a brush, or may use heat or pressure.
It is not limited to these.

(7) Washing Unit In order to wash the paper 3 from which the toner has been removed by the printing material removing unit 400 and wash away foreign substances remaining on the paper 3,
The cleaning unit 500 is disposed downstream of the printing material removing unit 400. The cleaning section 500 has a tank 501 disposed on the left side of the container 301, and the cleaning liquid 8 is stored in the tank 501. A liquid supply pipe 502 arranged such that one end is located below the liquid level of the cleaning liquid 8,
The other end is located downstream of the print material removing unit 400 and at the watering position 503 on the left side of the paper guide 9. As a result, the cleaning liquid 8 pumped by the pump 504 provided in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 502 is removed. The water is sprayed on the surface of the paper 3 passing through the printing material removing unit 400 at the water spray position 503.

As the cleaning liquid 8, it is preferable to use the same liquid as the liquid 7 contained in the container 301. In the drawing, the cleaning liquid 8 is poured into the container 301. However, when the components of the cleaning liquid 8 and the liquid 7 in the container 301 are different, the cleaning liquid 8 is configured not to be mixed into the container 301. Is also good. Further, a pipe connecting the tank 501 and the container 301, and the tank 301 is connected to the tank 50 through the pipe.
A pump for sending the liquid 7 (cleaning liquid 8) to the container 1 or from the tank 501 to the container 301, a detector for measuring the liquid level of the container 301, etc., and the pump is driven according to the output of this detector. Thus, the liquid level of the container 301 can be maintained constant.

In consideration of regenerating the above-described five-layer paper 3, a device for spraying the cleaning liquid 8 on the back surface of the paper 3 may be further provided.

(8) Liquid Removal Unit In order to remove the liquid 7 from the paper 3 on which the liquid 7 has been sprayed again by the washing unit 500, a liquid removal unit 600 is provided downstream of the water spray position 503. In the present embodiment, the liquid removing section 600 employs a method of compressing the paper 3 by sandwiching the paper 3 from the front and back surfaces, thereby squeezing out moisture, and moving the paper 3 right and left across the paper transport path along the paper guide 9. A pair of squeezing rollers 601 are provided. These squeezing rollers 601 are arranged in parallel with each other and with one outer peripheral surface pressed against the other outer peripheral surface. Further, in order to squeeze out the liquid 7 contained in the paper 3 as much as possible, the pressing force between the squeezing rollers is made larger than when the roller pair simply conveys the paper 3.

(9) Discharge Unit The paper 3 from which the liquid 7 has been squeezed out is dried in a post-drying unit 700 until it can be reused by a copying machine or the like, and then conveyed to a discharge unit 800. The discharge unit 800 includes, on the left side wall of the housing 2, a tray 801 that receives the paper 3 and a discharge mechanism 802 that conveys the paper 3 from the position where the post-drying unit 700 ends to the tray 801. Ejection mechanism 802
A paper guide 803 curved to a predetermined curvature in order to deflect and guide the paper 3 moving downward from the post-drying unit 700 toward the tray 801 disposed horizontally, to the left.
The paper guide 80 is disposed adjacent to the paper guide 803.
And one or more transport rollers (for example, a pair of transport rollers 804 and 805) that transport the paper 3 in cooperation with the transport roller 3.

(10) Reproduction Operation The operation of the reproduction apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. The paper 3 to be reproduced by the reproducing device 1 is stacked on the tray 101 of the paper feeding unit 100. The stacked sheets 3 are fed from the top sheet contacting the first sheet feeding roller 103 to the sheet guide 105.
It is sent out and supplied to the pre-drying unit 200. In the pre-drying section 200, the paper 3 is pre-dried to increase the liquid penetration into the surface layer. The preheated paper 3 is then sent into the container 301 of the immersion section 300 and immersed in the liquid 7. If necessary, the paper 3 waits in the liquid 7 until the liquid 7 has completely penetrated the entire surface of the paper 3. In a state where the liquid 7 has completely penetrated the surface layer of the paper 3,
The surface layer swells, the adhesive force between the toner fixed on the surface and the surface layer is lost, and the toner becomes separable by applying a slight mechanical force.

The paper 3 in which a sufficient liquid 7 has penetrated into the surface layer is
The paper is sent out onto the paper guide 9. Next, the paper 3 is rotated by the rotating brush roller 40 in the printing material removing unit 400.
The front and back surfaces of the hair contact the first hair, and the printing material, that is, the toner adhered to the front surface and / or back surface is scraped off. Subsequently, the cleaning liquid 8 is sprayed on the paper 3 at the water spraying position 503 of the cleaning unit 500, foreign substances remaining on the front surface (and the back surface) are removed, the liquid is squeezed out by the liquid removing unit 600, and the post-drying unit 700 is further removed. And is discharged to the tray 801 of the discharge unit 800.

II. Second Embodiment FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the pre-drying section and the post-drying section. In the present embodiment, the pre-drying unit 200 'and the post-drying unit 70
The belt 4 'commonly used by 0' is a mesh belt or a belt provided with a number of holes, and has a W shape. In order to form a W shape, in addition to the rollers for suspending and supporting the belt 4 of FIG.
Is used. Further, if necessary, another support roller or another guide roller (for example, the guide roller 211 of the pre-drying unit 200 ′ and the guide rollers 711 and 712 of the post-drying unit 700 ′) may be appropriately provided. In the drawing, the guide member 713 prevents the paper 3 moving in the post-drying section 700 'from being conveyed to the pre-drying section 200' together with the belt 4 'by the roller 6A.

Further, in the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the blowers 208 and 708 are provided outside the endless belt 4 ', whereby the drying air from the blowers 208 and 708 is blown by the pre-drying unit 200'. And the post-drying unit 700 '.

Further, in order to sufficiently perform the post-drying, the sheet guide 71 from the position where the post-drying step is completed to the sheet discharge section is performed.
A heat roller 715 (in this embodiment, two rollers arranged on the front and back sides of the sheet 3 guided by the sheet guide 714 in order to heat the sheet 3 from both sides) is provided in the middle of the step 4. The paper 3 may be heated by the heat roller 715. In this case, the temperature of the heat roller 715 is set to be higher than the drying temperature on the belt 4 '. If the heat roller 715 is provided at the beginning of the post-drying process, the life of the paper 3 is significantly reduced because the paper 3 rapidly rises to a high temperature state. Therefore, it is preferable that the paper 3 is dried by the heat roller 715 after the belt 3 is slowly dried.

III. Preferable conditions The pre-drying step is a step provided to solve a phenomenon in which the ratio of removal of the printing material (the deinking property) is significantly reduced when the printed paper is stored in a high humidity environment. By dehumidifying the moisture in the surface layer of the paper, deinking can be performed in the dipping step at the same level as in a low humidity environment.

FIG. 3A shows the amount of water contained in a sheet placed in a high humidity environment (for example, an environment temperature of 25 ° C. and a humidity of 85%) and the amount of moisture contained in the sheet after the immersion step. The amount of water contained in the paper after the immersion step is overwhelmingly large. On the other hand, FIG. 3B shows the time T required for drying (post-drying) until the paper can be printed again after the dipping step.
_1, the post-drying time T indicating the ₂ (before drying and necessary to pre-dry until deinking is possible in a high humidity environment for storage, low humidity environment at the same level the paper equivalent temperature ( For example, 7
(About 0 ° C.). ). As shown in the figure, the post-drying requires only a relatively short time because it is sufficient to dry the next good print.However, in the pre-drying, the water content is reduced to a level at which deinking can be performed as in a low humidity environment. Requires a relatively large amount of time. Therefore, when performing pre-drying and post-drying at the same temperature, it is preferable to make the path of the pre-drying step longer than that of the post-drying step, for example, as shown in FIG.

In the post-drying step, since the printing material does not adhere to the paper unlike the pre-drying step, the post-drying step can be performed at a higher temperature than the pre-drying step. Therefore, a configuration is conceivable in which higher-temperature air is blown from the blower through the rear drying section to the front drying section. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to provide a heater in each of the pre-drying section and the post-drying section, and set the heater in the post-drying section to a higher temperature than the heater in the pre-drying section.

In order to speed up the drying process and to simultaneously dry a plurality of sheets, the routes of the pre-drying process and the post-drying process are as follows.
The longer is more advantageous. In addition, it is preferable that the length of the path is long so that the sheet is not rapidly dried at a high temperature. However, if such a path is formed linearly, it is inevitable that the apparatus becomes large. Therefore, in the present invention, the apparatus is made compact by making at least a part of the path of the drying step curved. This curved shape is not limited to the shape of the drying path in the above embodiment.

[0042]

The regenerating apparatus according to the present invention uses both the pre-drying step and the post-drying step, and at least a part of the path of these steps is formed in a curved line, so that the apparatus can be downsized. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of a recording medium reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of a pre-drying section and a post-drying section.

FIG. 3A shows the amount of moisture contained in a sheet placed in a high humidity environment and the amount of moisture contained in the sheet after the immersion step.
(B) A graph showing the relationship between the amount of moisture contained in the paper and the drying time when the paper placed in a high humidity environment and the paper after the immersion step are pre-dried and post-dried, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: reproduction apparatus, 3: paper, 4: belt, 7: liquid, 20
0: front drying section, 208: blower, 700: rear drying section, 7
08: blower.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 AS13 GG03 GG06 GG07 GG15 GG37 GG40 2H034 FA00 3F049 DA12 LA02 LB03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium reproducing apparatus for supplying an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable to remove a printing material from the recording material, comprising: a guide for guiding the recording material in a predetermined direction; A first drying unit for drying the recording material so that the amount of water contained in the recording material is smaller than that of the recording material before the drying process while being guided by the guide; Supply means for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the drying means, printing material removing means for removing a printing material from the surface layer of the recording material to which the aqueous solvent has been supplied and swollen, and the printing material removing means A second drying unit configured to dry and remove the aqueous solvent from the recording material from which the printing material has been removed, wherein at least a part of the guide is formed in a curved shape. 2. A recording medium reproducing apparatus for supplying an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable and removing a printing material from the recording material, wherein the recording material is guided in a predetermined direction. A first guide partly formed in a curved shape; and a guide that is guided by the first guide so that the amount of water contained in the recording material is smaller than that of the recording material before the drying process. Drying means for drying the recording material, supply means for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the drying means, and printing for removing the printing material from the surface layer of the recording material swollen by the supply of the aqueous solvent A material removing unit, a second guide disposed at a predetermined distance from the first guide, and guiding the recording material in a direction substantially opposite to the predetermined direction; Printing material by the above printing material removing means A recording medium reproducing apparatus, which also serves as a drying means for drying and removing an aqueous solvent from a recording material from which a recording material has been removed. 3. A recording medium reproducing apparatus for supplying an aqueous solvent to a recording material having at least a surface layer which is water-swellable and removing a printing material from the recording material, wherein the recording material is guided in a predetermined direction. A first guide partly formed in a curved shape; and a guide that is guided by the first guide so that the amount of water contained in the recording material is smaller than that of the recording material before the drying process. A first drying unit for drying the recording material, a supply unit for supplying an aqueous solvent to the surface layer of the recording material dried by the first drying unit, and a supply unit for supplying the aqueous solvent and swelling the recording material. A printing material removing means for removing a printing material; a second guide arranged at a predetermined distance from the first guide, for guiding a recording material in a direction substantially opposite to the predetermined direction; While being guided by the second guide, Second drying means for drying and removing the aqueous solvent from the recording material from which the printing material has been removed by the printing material removing means, wherein the first and second guides are endless for conveying the recording material. A recording medium reproducing apparatus, which constitutes a part of the recording material supporting member.