In copying machines and laser beam printers, toner is fixed to the paper by heat and pressure via the fixing roller. With conventional fixing-roller systems, the roller must be kept hot at all times by a heater located in the center of the roller, even when in standby mode.
Canon’s on-demand SURF (Surface Rapid Fixing) technology employs a linear ceramic heater and fixing-film sleeve with high thermal conductivity
and low thermal capacity. The heater activates only when the fixing-film sleeve rotates, transferring heat via the film to fix the image to
the paper. The technology eliminates warm-up time, resulting in a reduction of standby power consumption to between zero and one-fourth that
of conventional systems.
Canon has also developed on-demand fixing technology for its color printers and copying machines. One system utilizes a double-layer fixing-film sleeve, such as those used in monochrome machines, which includes an intermediate rubber layer. In another, the base layer of the fixing-film sleeve is made from thin metallic film instead of heat-resistant resin and employs a three-layer structure which includes a rubber layer and release layer. The inclusion of the soft rubber layer contributes to improved toner-fixing performance and ensures the uniform application of heat to the toner to produce consistently high-quality color images.
How on-demand toner-fixing works
Color on-demand fixing system
