JP2019130711A - Ink transfer method, ink transfer device and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To increase the transfer property of ink by increasing the curing level inside the ink while leaving the adhesiveness necessary for transfer of an ink surface layer when transferring a transfer object image formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium.SOLUTION: An ink transfer device 10 includes: curing inhibiting component supply means 21 which supplies the component (oxygen and the like) inhibiting the ultraviolet curing reaction to the atmosphere 24 of uncured ultraviolet curable ink on a transfer body (transfer belt 11a); pre-transfer irradiation means 13a which irradiates the ultraviolet curable ink with the ultraviolet ray through the atmosphere, and executes the pre-transfer irradiation process of irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink with the ultraviolet ray in the state of the atmosphere where the component has the higher density than the density in the atmosphere.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink transfer method, an ink transfer apparatus, and an image forming apparatus for transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink such as ink jet or analog printing onto a recording medium.

The inkjet system is effective as a digital printing system suitable for energy saving and upsizing, but because the color material is liquid, when printing on highly permeable substrates such as paper and cloth, depending on the substrate type, There is a problem in that the size of the ink dot changes and the desired image cannot be obtained.
As a means for stabilizing the dot diameter, it is effective to employ an intermediate transfer type ink jet system in which ink is formed into a target shape on a transfer body and then transferred to a substrate (recording medium).
In such an intermediate transfer type inkjet system, an improvement in the transfer rate of ink from a transfer medium to a recording medium is a very important issue.
As described in Patent Document 1, as a means for improving the transfer rate of the ultraviolet curable ink, the ink is irradiated with ultraviolet rays upstream of the transfer portion from the transfer body to the recording medium to temporarily cure the ink. Thus, a technique for increasing the cohesive force of ink and improving transferability has been proposed. When the cohesive force of the ink is low, a part of the ink is transferred, but there is an increased risk of a residual transfer phenomenon that a part of the ink remains on the transfer body.

JP 2011-140132 A

For the purpose of increasing the cohesive force of the ink, the curing rate inside the ink should be as high as possible, and the amount of ultraviolet light to be irradiated should be as large as possible within a range that does not reach the amount of light that completely cures the ink.
However, if the ink cures too much, the ink surface layer will also be sufficiently cured, and the viscosity of the ink surface will decrease, so the adhesion between the ink during transfer and the transfer partner substrate (recording medium) cannot be secured. As a result, the transferability deteriorates.
Therefore, there is a problem that the amount of ultraviolet light during pre-curing cannot be increased beyond a certain level.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems in the prior art described above, and is an adhesive required for transferring an ink surface layer when transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with an ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium. It is an object to improve the transferability of ink by increasing the curing level inside the ink while retaining the properties.

The invention according to claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problems is an ink transfer method for transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium,
Irradiation before transfer for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink with ultraviolet rays, with the atmosphere of the uncured ultraviolet curable ink on the transfer body in a state where the component that inhibits the ultraviolet curable reaction is higher than the concentration in the air An ink transfer method including a process.

The invention according to claim 2 is an ink transfer device for transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium,
A curing-inhibiting component supply means for supplying a component that inhibits an ultraviolet curing reaction to an atmosphere of the uncured ultraviolet-curable ink on the transfer body;
An ink transfer apparatus comprising pre-transfer irradiation means for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink with ultraviolet rays through the atmosphere.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the ink transfer device according to the second aspect, wherein the component is oxygen.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the control unit according to the second or third aspect, further comprising a control unit that controls a supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit according to an image forming / recording condition of the transferred image. Ink transfer device.

The invention according to claim 5 is a concentration measuring means for measuring the concentration of the component in the atmosphere;
5. The ink transfer device according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that controls a supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit based on a measurement result of the density measurement unit.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the ink transfer apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, further comprising a shielding structure that prevents diffusion of the component from the atmosphere.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a control means for controlling the supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply means and the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays by the pre-transfer irradiation means in accordance with the image forming / recording conditions of the transferred image. An ink transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

The invention according to claim 8 is a post-transfer irradiation means for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink forming the transferred image after transfer to the recording medium with ultraviolet rays,
The supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit, the ultraviolet irradiation amount by the pre-transfer irradiation unit, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount by the post-transfer irradiation unit are controlled according to the image forming / recording conditions of the transferred image. The ink transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising: a control unit that performs the control.

  A ninth aspect of the invention is an image forming apparatus comprising the ink transfer device according to any one of the second to eighth aspects and an image forming unit that forms the transferred image.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the image forming means is an ink jet type.

According to the present invention, when an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with an ultraviolet curable ink is transferred to a recording medium, the atmosphere of the uncured ultraviolet curable ink on the transfer body inhibits the ultraviolet curable reaction. The ultraviolet curable ink is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in a state where the components are at a higher concentration than the atmospheric concentration.
Thereby, the curing reaction of the ink surface layer when irradiated with ultraviolet rays is delayed, and the difference between the curing speed inside the ink and the curing speed of the ink surface layer is increased. For this reason, the upper limit of the amount of ultraviolet light that can be irradiated as long as the adhesiveness necessary for the transfer of the ink surface layer can be left is increased, and the curing level inside the ink, and hence the cohesive force inside the ink, can be increased.
As described above, it is possible to increase the curing level inside the ink and improve the ink transferability while leaving the adhesiveness necessary for the transfer of the ink surface layer.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shape of ink on the transfer belt. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the adhesive force (A) of the ink surface layer with respect to the ultraviolet irradiation intensity before transfer, and the cohesive force (C) inside the ink. It is a flowchart which shows the example of control in embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows the image quality evaluation result of the printed matter which concerns on a comparative example and an Example.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following is one embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention.

(Outline of device configuration)
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes inkjet heads 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, and an ink transfer device 10 as inkjet image forming means. The ink transfer device 10 includes a transfer belt 11a as a transfer body, a pressure roller 11b, a transport drum 12, a first ultraviolet lamp 13a as a pre-transfer irradiation means, and a second ultraviolet lamp 13b as a post-transfer irradiation means. With.
The transfer belt 11a is wound and held around three rollers 11b, 11c, and 11d including a pressure roller 11b. For example, the roller 11c is a drive roller, the roller 11d is a driven roller, and the transfer belt 11a is in the direction of the arrow. Rotate to. The roller 11c and the roller 11d are disposed at a horizontal position, and the pressure roller 11b is disposed below the roller 11c and the roller 11d. The pressure roller 11b presses the transfer belt 11a against the peripheral surface of the transport drum 12 that transports the recording medium M while holding the recording medium M on the peripheral surface. The conveyance drum 12 is in pressure contact with the transfer belt 11a at a position passing through the pressure roller 11b, and the conveyance drum 12 and the transfer belt 11a rotate synchronously. A cleaning member 11e is provided downstream of the pressure roller 11b along the transfer belt 11a.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 20 that controls a printing operation, a curing inhibition component supply unit 21, a density measurement unit 22, and a shielding box 23. The control means 20 is constituted by a computer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes a control operation described below by executing a computer program on the CPU.
In this embodiment, oxygen is applied as the “component that inhibits the ultraviolet curing reaction”, the curing inhibiting component supply means 21 includes an oxygen supply pump and the like, and the concentration measurement means 22 includes an oxygen concentration meter.
The shielding box 23 is a box with an open bottom surface, and is arranged so that the first ultraviolet lamp 13a is housed therein. The shielding box 23 is a structure surrounding the ink atmosphere 24 on the transfer belt 11 a where the ultraviolet curing reaction proceeds by the first ultraviolet lamp 13 a, and is a shielding structure that prevents diffusion of oxygen from the atmosphere 24.

(Basic contents of control of ink transfer method and image forming apparatus)
The following basic printing operation is executed by the control based on the print / job data of the control means 20.
First, an image forming process on the transfer belt 11a is executed. That is, during the rotation of the transfer belt 11a and the transport drum 12, ultraviolet curable ink is ejected from the inkjet heads 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, and an image to be transferred is formed on the transfer belt 11a.

  Next, a pre-transfer irradiation process is performed. That is, the transferred image formed on the transfer belt 11a moves below the shielding box 23, and ultraviolet rays are applied from the first ultraviolet lamp 13a to the uncured ultraviolet curable ink forming the transferred image through the atmosphere 24. Irradiated in a range that is less than complete cure. At this time, the control unit 20 causes oxygen to be supplied from the curing inhibition component supply unit 21 into the shielding box 23, and based on the measurement value of the concentration measurement unit 22, the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere 24 is at least higher than the atmospheric oxygen concentration. The target density is controlled.

In the ink 30 having a shape as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the ink surface layer portion 31 is hardened by the polymerization reaction being inhibited by oxygen (O ₂ ) as compared with the ink inside 32 by such a pre-transfer irradiation step. The rate is lowered. Moreover, since the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere 24 is higher than the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, the difference between the curing rate of the ink interior 32 and the curing rate of the ink surface layer portion 31 can be increased even when the reaction is performed in the air. it can.
Therefore, the pre-transfer irradiation process as described above increases the curing level of the ink interior 32 and hence the cohesive force of the ink interior 32 while leaving the ink surface layer portion 31 necessary for transfer.

This will be further described with reference to FIGS. In the graph of FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents the ultraviolet irradiation intensity before transfer. A solid line graph indicates a change in cohesion force inside the ink, a two-dot chain line graph indicates a change in adhesion force of the ink surface layer of the comparative example, and a broken line graph indicates a change in adhesion force of the ink surface layer of the example of the present invention. In the comparative example, the atmosphere 24 of ultraviolet irradiation is the air.
UV curable ink starts to undergo a polymerization reaction upon receiving ultraviolet light, and then cures and fixes. However, if a polymerization inhibitor component such as oxygen is present in the vicinity, the curing reaction is interrupted and the reaction does not proceed sufficiently. There is a nature. Due to this influence, the ink curing reaction in the air causes a difference in reaction speed between the ink surface layer and the inside.
The following two points are necessary elements for ensuring the transferability of the ink.
First, the cohesive force inside the ink is high (it does not break in the ink layer). Therefore, it is better that the curing reaction proceeds as much as possible.
Second, the viscosity of the ink surface layer is low (adhesion between the ink and the recording medium can be ensured). Therefore, it is better that the curing reaction does not proceed as much as possible.
In order to achieve both of the above two factors, there is an optimum value for the amount of ultraviolet irradiation light in the first ultraviolet irradiation unit (13a). However, in the conventional transfer apparatus, it is often impossible to achieve both of the above, and the transfer efficiency is often used with low transfer efficiency without sufficiently increasing the transfer efficiency.
In the present invention, during the pre-transfer ultraviolet irradiation, oxygen is supplied into the irradiation chamber in the shielding box 23 and the oxygen concentration in the indoor atmosphere 24 is increased, so that the curing reaction rate of the ink surface layer becomes slower than before. As a result, since the irradiation intensity that can maintain the low viscosity of the ink surface layer is increased, the cured state inside the ink can be advanced as compared with the conventional case, and the transferability is improved.
As shown in FIG. 3, assuming that the adhesive strength of the ink surface layer is A, the range where the adhesive strength A in the comparative example is good is, for example, the range A2, and the equivalent range of the adhesive strength A in the present invention example is the range A1. Thus, the range of irradiation intensity is widened by the amount of slow curing.
On the other hand, if the cohesive force inside the ink is C, neither the comparative example nor the example of the present invention is exposed to the outside air, so there is no influence of oxygen, and the range in which the cohesive force C is good is, for example, the range C1. Therefore, in comparison with the comparative example, the present invention example can surely easily obtain the range AC1 in which both good adhesive force and good cohesive force are compatible, and the adhesive force and cohesive force can be easily obtained at a high level at the same time. I understand that.

Next, a transfer process is performed. That is, the image to be transferred on the transfer belt 11a that has undergone the pre-transfer irradiation step enters the transfer nip portion between the pressure roller 11b and the transport drum 12, and at the same time, the recording medium M enters the transfer nip portion. Thus, the transferred image is transferred to the recording medium M. At this time, since the adhesiveness of the ink surface layer portion 31 remains at a relatively high level as described above, a high adhesion force of the ink surface layer portion 31 to the recording medium M can be obtained. At the same time, since the cohesive force inside the ink 32 is at a relatively high level, the ink 30 can be moved to the recording medium M as a whole without being broken.
As a result, the ink transferability is improved.

  Next, a post-transfer irradiation process is performed. In other words, since the recording medium M onto which the image to be transferred by the ultraviolet curable ink is transferred reaches the irradiation range of the second ultraviolet lamp 13b downstream of the transfer nip portion, the amount of ultraviolet irradiation of the second ultraviolet lamp 13b by the control means 20 is reached. Is controlled to the target value, and the ultraviolet curable ink is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the second ultraviolet lamp 13b.

(Other control examples)
Next, a control example for controlling the oxygen supply amount and the ultraviolet irradiation amount before and after transfer according to the image forming and recording conditions of the transferred image will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When detecting the print job (S1), the control means 20 determines the target oxygen concentration, the ultraviolet irradiation intensity by the first ultraviolet lamp 13a, and the ultraviolet irradiation intensity by the second ultraviolet lamp 13b according to the image forming / recording conditions ( S2).
Here, the image forming / recording conditions correspond to characteristics of the image to be formed, environmental conditions such as temperature, recording medium type, and the like. As the characteristics of the image to be formed, the volume of ink after landing that depends on whether there are many isolated dots as shown in FIG. 2 or there are many layered portions with continuous ink droplets such as a solid print portion. The ratio of surface area to is taken into account. It is considered that the higher the ratio, the lower the oxygen concentration, and the lower the ratio, the higher the oxygen concentration. As the recording medium type, high transferability is considered. It is considered that the recording medium with lower transferability should have higher oxygen concentration and higher ultraviolet irradiation intensity before transfer. In addition, in an environmental condition where the transferability of the ink is deteriorated such as a low temperature environment, it is considered that the oxygen concentration should be high and the ultraviolet irradiation intensity before transfer should be high. In addition, considering that the UV irradiation intensity before transfer becomes higher as the UV irradiation intensity before transfer becomes smaller, the UV irradiation intensity after transfer should be set low to reduce power consumption. To do.

Further description will be repeated. Since the optimum inhibitory component concentration varies depending on the image forming / recording conditions, it is possible to realize high transferability regardless of the conditions by changing according to the conditions.
Since the ratio of the area of the ink surface layer and the internal volume varies depending on the image, the effect can be enhanced by adjusting the image.
Since the optimum ratio of the curing rate of the ink surface layer and the curing rate inside the ink differs depending on the type of the recording medium, it needs to be adjusted according to the type of the recording medium.
For example, since the ink combined with oxygen remains uncured after UV irradiation after transfer, the concentration of reaction-inhibiting components on smooth and low-permeation substrates (resin substrates such as EX.PET sheets) Pre-transfer curing in a high state causes a decrease in fixability. Since these base materials are generally smooth and have good transferability in the natural atmosphere, the necessity for supplying an inhibitory component is low. On the other hand, for substrates with large irregularities such as rough paper or cloth, it is necessary to transfer the ink to the substrate while the contact area with the transfer body is small, so increasing the adhesive strength of the ink is important. In this substrate, since the uncured component of the ink surface layer penetrates and fixes on the substrate, it is effective to increase the concentration of the reaction-inhibiting component and cure it before transfer.

Next, control is performed so that the oxygen concentration measured by the concentration measuring means 22 becomes the target oxygen concentration (S3-S5), printing is started, and the first ultraviolet lamp 13a controlled to the irradiation intensity determined in step S2 is used. Pre-transfer UV irradiation is performed (S6), and then the transferred image is transferred to the recording medium M (S7), and post-transfer UV irradiation is performed by the second UV lamp 13b controlled to the irradiation intensity determined in step S2 (S7). S8).
The above steps S3 to S8 are repeated until the end of the print job. When the print job is ended (YES in step S9), the oxygen concentration control is ended and the ultraviolet irradiation is stopped.

(Example)
Next, examples of the present invention will be disclosed.
The image forming apparatus follows the above embodiment. However, priority is given to the conditions described below. In the above embodiment, the ink jet method is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this method, and other printing methods such as analog printing may be applied.
The ink-jet heads 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K are UV curable ink-jet systems that support four colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black).
The transport drum 12 was a metal drum (a triple cylinder for a printing press), and the holding mechanism for the recording medium M was an air suction chuck.
The cleaning member 11e was a dry web type.
The transfer belt 11a has a surface layer made of a high release material (EX: PFA), a base material made of resin (EX: PI), and an elastic layer (EX: silicon rubber).
As described above, the transfer belt 11a includes the pressure roller 11b and is configured to be cross-linked by the three rollers 11b, 11c, and 11d.
The pressure roller 11b had a diameter of 100 mm and the thickness of the outer rubber layer was 10 mm.
The 1st ultraviolet lamp 13a was made into the specification of UVLED light source, wavelength: 395nm, irradiation intensity: 0.5-1.5mW / cm < ² >.
The shielding box 23 surrounding the atmosphere 24 in the irradiation range of the first ultraviolet lamp 13a is made of resin, and the gap between the lower end of the shielding box 23 and the transfer belt 11a is 2 mm. Except for the gap, the atmosphere 24 is shielded from the outside by the transfer belt 11 a and the shielding box 23.
The second ultraviolet lamp 13b was a UVLED light source, wavelength: 395 nm, irradiation intensity: 5 mW / cm ² , and no variable control.
The axial length of the belts, rollers, and drums (11a-11e, 12) was 800 mm.
The printing speed was 600 mm / s.
The transfer portion load was 80N.

The flow of the image forming process is as follows.
(1) Image capture, job start (transfer body drive start)
(2) Ink is ejected from the inkjet head
(3) Pre-curing ink on transfer belt by UV irradiation before transfer
(4) Transfer ink from the transfer medium to the recording medium at the transfer section
(5) After curing, the ink on the recording medium is fully cured by ultraviolet irradiation.
(6) Cleaning the transfer belt with the cleaning member 11e Other than that, as described in the above embodiment.

The configuration of the pre-transfer ultraviolet irradiation section is as follows.
Constituent elements include a transfer belt 11a, a first ultraviolet lamp 13a, an oxygen supply device (curing inhibition component supply means 21), a shielding box 23 (component is an ultraviolet cut resin), an oxygen concentration measurement device (concentration measurement means 22), An oxygen supply amount adjusting mechanism (depending on the opening amount of the control valve included in the curing inhibiting component supply means 21), a means for controlling the amount of ultraviolet irradiation light (by input power), and the like. 0 to 30%.

The pre-transfer ultraviolet irradiation process is as follows.
(1) Image forming / recording conditions (paper type, image pattern) and oxygen concentration in the atmosphere 24 were confirmed, and a target oxygen concentration, oxygen supply amount, and ultraviolet irradiation intensity were set.
(2) Start supplying oxygen, monitor the oxygen concentration, and after confirming that the target concentration has been reached, start a print job (continuous adjustment of oxygen concentration).
(3) The first ultraviolet lamp 13a was turned on at a predetermined irradiation intensity (turned off except when ink was passed).

The image quality evaluation results of the printed materials executed as the recording medium types as uncoated paper (Npi fine paper 128gsm), coated paper (OK topcoat paper 128gsm), and PET film are summarized in the table shown in FIG.
As for the oxygen concentration, the comparative example in which the atmospheric oxygen concentration (21%) was used, the present invention example having an oxygen concentration of 24% increased by 15% with respect to the comparative example, and the oxygen concentration of 27% increased with respect to the comparative example. % Of the inventive examples.
For all types of recording media, conditions were found that improved transfer efficiency over the comparative example, which is representative of the prior art.
The condition specified by the cells B1, B2, and B3 is a combination of an optimal oxygen concentration and an ultraviolet irradiation light amount in the present embodiment. Supplying oxygen above the condition that achieves a transfer rate of 100% has no effect on transferability, but if the oxygen inhibition at the pre-transfer UV irradiation section is too great, the post-transfer UV irradiation section after UV irradiation by the UV irradiation section Since the ink fixing property to the recording medium M is lowered, supply of oxygen more than necessary should be avoided.

Based on the above, the comparative example and the embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.
In the comparative example, the cohesive force inside the ink was not sufficient up to the ultraviolet irradiation amount of 10% before transfer, so that the ink was separated in the ink layer and the transfer efficiency was lowered. At 20% or more, the ink surface layer was hardened and the adhesiveness was lowered, so that the transferability was lowered.
In contrast, in the examples of the present invention, uncoated paper tends to have lower transferability than coated paper and resin film, so it is confirmed that an oxygen concentration of 27% and an ultraviolet irradiation amount before transfer of 30% are necessary. did it. For coated paper and resin film, a transfer efficiency of 100% can be realized at an oxygen concentration of 24%. Therefore, it is preferable to use an oxygen concentration of 24% from the viewpoint of securing fixability. In addition, as for the resin film, sufficient transferability is realized with both the ultraviolet irradiation amount before transfer of 10% and 20%, but it is preferable to select 10% from the viewpoint of the power consumption of the light source.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K Inkjet head 10 Ink transfer apparatus 11a Transfer belt 11b Pressure roller 11c Roller 11d Roller 11e Cleaning member 12 Conveying drum 13a First ultraviolet lamp 13b Second ultraviolet lamp 20 Control means 21 Curing inhibition Component supply means 22 Concentration measuring means 23 Shielding box 24 Ink atmosphere 30 that receives ultraviolet irradiation before transfer 30 Ink 30 Pre-transfer ultraviolet irradiation amount 31 Ink surface layer portion 32 Ink inside M Recording medium

Claims (10)

An ink transfer method for transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium,
Irradiation before transfer for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink with ultraviolet rays, with the atmosphere of the uncured ultraviolet curable ink on the transfer body in a state where the component that inhibits the ultraviolet curable reaction is higher than the concentration in the air An ink transfer method. An ink transfer device for transferring an image to be transferred formed on a transfer body with ultraviolet curable ink to a recording medium,
A curing-inhibiting component supply means for supplying a component that inhibits an ultraviolet curing reaction to an atmosphere of the uncured ultraviolet-curable ink on the transfer body;
An ink transfer apparatus comprising pre-transfer irradiation means for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink with ultraviolet rays through the atmosphere. The ink transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the component is oxygen. The ink transfer apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that controls an amount of the component supplied by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit according to an image forming / recording condition of the transferred image. A concentration measuring means for measuring the concentration of the component in the atmosphere;
5. The ink transfer device according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit configured to control a supply amount of the component by the curing inhibition component supply unit based on a measurement result of the density measurement unit. The ink transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising a shielding structure that prevents diffusion of the component from the atmosphere. The control unit that controls the supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit and the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays by the pre-transfer irradiation unit according to image forming / recording conditions of the transferred image. The ink transfer device according to any one of 6. A post-transfer irradiation means for irradiating the ultraviolet curable ink forming an image to be transferred after transfer to the recording medium with ultraviolet rays;
The supply amount of the component by the curing-inhibiting component supply unit, the ultraviolet irradiation amount by the pre-transfer irradiation unit, and the ultraviolet irradiation amount by the post-transfer irradiation unit are controlled according to the image forming / recording conditions of the transferred image. The ink transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising a control unit that performs the control. An image forming apparatus comprising: the ink transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 8; and an image forming unit that forms the transferred image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image forming unit is an inkjet system.

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