Image formation device

Abstract

To provide an image formation device which can notify erroneous selection of a sheet kind that may occur when using a foil sheet.SOLUTION: An image formation device comprises: image formation means which forms an image on a sheet on the basis of a printing job; detection means which performs detection processing for detecting whether a foil is formed on the sheet; and control means which performs notification processing of a detection result in the detection processing. The control means can control whether the detection processing is performed according to whether an image formation mode for forming an image on the sheet with the foil formed thereon is selected. When the detection processing has been performed, the control means can control whether notification processing of the detection result is performed on the basis of the selected image formation mode and the detection result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus equipped with a foil transfer unit that transfers foil onto a toner image formed with toner by using the toner image as an adhesive. Patent Document 2 discloses a foil transfer device that transfers foil onto a toner image formed on a sheet by an image forming apparatus. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-156723 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-116185 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When it is desired to use letters or designs formed with foil on greeting cards, business cards, labels to be attached to products, etc., an image may be formed on a sheet on which foil has already been formed. In the following description, a sheet on which foil has already been formed will be referred to as a "foil sheet," and a sheet on which foil has not been formed will be referred to as a "regular sheet."

[0005] For users who use both regular sheets and foil sheets, it is possible that a cassette containing foil sheets may be mistakenly selected to form an image on a regular sheet. Because toner is difficult to fix on the foil of a foil sheet, when an image is formed on the foil of an incorrectly selected foil sheet, the toner (developer) adheres to the fixing device. If the toner adheres to the fixing device, the toner adhered to the fixing device will adhere to subsequent sheets during subsequent image formation, causing poor images on the subsequent sheets. Furthermore, for users who use both regular sheets and foil sheets, it is possible that a cassette containing regular sheets may be mistakenly selected to form an image on a foil sheet.

[0006] The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can notify an erroneous selection of a sheet type that may occur when using a foil sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming device includes an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet based on a print job, a detection means for performing a detection process for detecting whether foil is formed on the sheet, and a control means for performing a notification process of the detection results of the detection process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to notify an incorrect selection of the sheet type that may occur when using a foil sheet. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a main control unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which an image is formed on a foil sheet. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a CIS. [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6]1 is a flowchart of an image forming process according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the operation unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a CIS. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart of an image forming process according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the operation unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention claimed. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0011] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. Process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K form yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images, respectively, and transfer them to an intermediate transfer belt 130. Because the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K have similar configurations, the configuration of process unit 21Y will be described below as a representative. During image formation, the photoconductor 3 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing. The charging device 2 charges the surface of the rotationally driven photoconductor 3 to a uniform potential. The exposure device 5 exposes the charged surface of the photoconductor 3 based on image data, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 3.

[0012] The developing device 1 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 3 with yellow toner, thereby forming a yellow image (toner image) on the photoreceptor 3. The primary transfer roller 24 transfers the yellow image formed on the photoreceptor 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 130. The drum cleaning device 4 removes yellow toner that has not been transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 130 and remains on the photoreceptor 3 from the photoreceptor 3. By transferring the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images formed by the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K in an overlapping manner to the intermediate transfer belt 130, colors different from yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are reproduced.

[0013] The intermediate transfer belt 130 is stretched by a plurality of rollers 13, 14, and 15, and is driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing during image formation. Therefore, the image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 130 is transported to a position facing the secondary transfer roller 11 as the intermediate transfer belt 130 rotates.

[0014] Meanwhile, a sheet (recording material) stored in cassette 10 or a sheet placed on manual feed tray 160 is fed into a conveyance path of image forming apparatus 100 and conveyed to nip area T2, which is formed by a secondary transfer roller 11 and intermediate transfer belt 130, by multiple rollers provided along the conveyance path. The image transferred to intermediate transfer belt 130 is transferred to a first side (front side) of the sheet by secondary transfer roller 11 in nip area T2. The sheet with the image transferred to the first side is conveyed to fixing device 8. Fixing device 8 heats the sheet with a heating roller and presses the sheet with a pressure roller, thereby fixing the image to the first side of the sheet. When images are to be formed on both sides of the sheet, that is, on both the first side and the second side (back side) of the sheet, the sheet on which the image has been formed on the first side is conveyed again to nip area T2 via duplex conveyance path 190, where an image is formed on the second side.

[0015] In this way, the process units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K, the intermediate transfer belt 130, and the secondary transfer roller 11 constitute an image forming section that forms an image on a sheet by transferring the image onto the sheet in the nip area T. The nip area T2 is also referred to as a transfer area where an image is transferred onto the sheet. Furthermore, the sheet transport path and the multiple rollers provided along the transport path constitute a transport section that transports the sheet.

[0016] The sheet on which the image formation is completed is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100 via the detection device 300. The detection device 300 is equipped with a contact image sensor (CIS) 310. A main control unit 101 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. An operation unit 700 provides a user interface for the user to operate the image forming apparatus 100, and is equipped with a touch panel 710. The touch panel 710 functions as an input unit for the user to input commands and the like to the image forming apparatus 100, and also functions as a display unit (notification unit) that displays and notifies the user of various information.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the main control unit 101. The CPU 102 controls the image forming apparatus 100 by executing a control program stored in the ROM 103. The ROM 103 stores the control program and control data required for controlling the image forming apparatus 100. The ROM 103 is an example of a non-volatile memory device. A non-volatile memory device that allows electrically erasing data can also be used instead of the ROM 103. The RAM 104 is used to store temporary data when the CPU 102 controls the image forming apparatus 100. The RAM 104 is an example of a volatile memory device.

[0018] FIG. 3A shows a state in which toner T has been transferred onto foil F of a foil-formed sheet S (foil sheet). Because the release agent (wax) of the toner T is held by the metal contained in the foil F, even if the fixing device 8 performs a fixing process on the sheet S on which toner T has been transferred onto the foil F, the toner T on the foil F will not be fixed onto the foil F, and toner offset via the fixing device 8 may occur. In other words, the toner T on the foil F may adhere to the roller of the fixing device 8, and the toner T adhering to the roller of the fixing device 8 may contaminate the subsequent sheet S. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3B, if the surface of the foil sheet to which toner T is to be attached is different from the surface on which the foil F is formed, toner T will be fixed to the sheet S even if toner T is attached to the back side of the area where the foil F is formed, and toner offset will not occur.

[0019] For example, when forming an image on a normal sheet (sheet S on which no foil is formed), if a foil sheet is stored in cassette 10, toner T may be transferred onto the foil F, causing toner offset, as shown in Figure 3(A). If image forming apparatus 100 has multiple cassettes 10, toner offset may also occur if, due to an operational error, a cassette 10 containing a foil sheet is selected instead of a cassette 10 containing a normal sheet.

[0020] For this reason, in this embodiment, two image formation modes are provided: a "normal sheet mode" and a "foil sheet mode." When the "normal sheet mode" is set, the main control unit 101 uses the CIS 310 to execute a detection process to detect whether foil is formed on the sheet S stored in the cassette 10 used for image formation. When foil is detected in the detection process, the main control unit 101 notifies the user that a foil sheet is being used. A method for detecting whether foil is formed on the sheet S stored in the cassette 10 will be described below.

[0021] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the CIS 310. Note that FIG. 4 is a view looking in a direction (hereinafter, referred to as the width direction) perpendicular to both the conveyance direction of the sheet S and the normal direction of the sheet S. The CIS 310 has a light source 30 that irradiates the sheet S with light across the entire width of the sheet S. The light source 30 is, for example, a white LED that emits white light. The CIS 310 also has a light receiving element 32 disposed across the entire width of the sheet S, and a lens 31 that focuses the light irradiated by the light source 30 onto the sheet S and scattered and reflected by the sheet S onto the light receiving element 32. The light irradiated onto the foil surface is totally reflected by being absorbed and re-emitted by the movement of free electrons in the metal contained in the foil. Therefore, the amount of light scattered and reflected by the foil surface is smaller than the amount of light scattered and reflected by the surface of the sheet S (areas without foil).

[0022] For example, assume that a sheet S on which a foil F is formed is detected by the CIS 310 as shown in FIG. 5. The graph at the bottom of FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the position of the sheet S in the conveyance direction and the amount of light received by the light receiving element 32. Note that the CIS 310 detects the amount of light received at multiple positions in the width direction, but the graph at the bottom of FIG. 5 only shows the amount of light received at position W#1 in the width direction shown in the top of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the amount of light received in an area on which the foil F is formed is smaller than the amount of light received in an area on which the foil F is not formed. Therefore, the main control unit 101 can determine that the sheet S is a foil sheet if there is an area on which the amount of light received is smaller than the first threshold, and can determine that the sheet S is a normal sheet if there is no area on which the amount of light received is smaller than the first threshold.

[0023] 4 is not limited to a white LED that emits white light. For example, a light source that emits light in a wavelength band in which the amount of light scattered and reflected by the foil F is smaller than the amount of light scattered and reflected by the surface of the sheet S, for example, a light source that emits light in a wavelength band that is part of the wavelength band included in white light, can be used as the light source 30.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the image forming process when the normal sheet mode is selected. The process of FIG. 6 starts when a print job for forming images on two or more sheets S is submitted via the operation unit 700 or from an external computer via a network while the normal sheet mode is selected. When the print job starts, the main control unit 101 forms an image on the first sheet S in S10 and transports the sheet S to the detection device 300. In S11, the main control unit 101 causes the CIS 310 of the detection device 300 to perform a detection process to detect the presence or absence of foil F, and acquires the detection result in S12. If foil is not detected, the main control unit 101 forms images on the second and subsequent sheets S in S16 and terminates the process of FIG. 6. If foil is detected in S12, the main control unit 101 ejects the first sheet S on which the image has been formed to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100, stops image formation in S13, and performs a notification process to notify the user that a foil sheet is being used in S14.

[0025] FIG. 7 shows an example of a notification screen displayed on the operation unit 700 or an external computer that submitted a print job during the notification process. According to FIG. 7, the user is notified that a foil sheet is being used, and the user is prompted to select whether to continue or stop image formation. In S15, the main control unit 101 acquires a user input indicating whether to continue image formation. If the user selects to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 forms images on the second and subsequent sheets S in S16, and ends the process of FIG. 6. If the user does not select to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 ends the process of FIG. 6.

[0026] The CIS 310 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 and can also be configured as shown in FIG. 8, for example. According to FIG. 8, the CIS 310 has a light source 33 that irradiates the sheet S with light across the entire width of the sheet S. The light source 33 irradiates the sheet S with near-infrared light having a wavelength ranging from 1.3 to 4.6 nm. The near-infrared light has a wavelength that is easily transmitted through the sheet S and absorbed by the sheet S. The CIS 310 also has a plurality of light-receiving elements 34 arranged across the entire width of the sheet S. The plurality of light-receiving elements 34 are arranged to receive specularly reflected light from the sheet S of the near-infrared light irradiated by the light source 33. The near-infrared light irradiated onto the surface of the foil is totally reflected by being absorbed and re-emitted by the movement of free electrons in the metal contained in the foil. On the other hand, the near-infrared light irradiated onto the surface of the sheet S is transmitted through or absorbed by the sheet S. Therefore, the amount of light specularly reflected from the foil surface is greater than the amount of light specularly reflected from the surface of the sheet S (area where there is no foil).

[0027] For example, assume that a sheet S on which a foil F is formed is detected by the CIS 310 as shown in FIG. 9. The graph at the bottom of FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the position of the sheet S in the conveyance direction and the amount of light received by the light receiving element 34. Note that the CIS 310 detects the amount of light received at multiple positions in the width direction, but the graph at the bottom of FIG. 9 only shows the amount of light received at position W#1 in the width direction shown in the top of FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the amount of light received in the area on which the foil F is formed is greater than the amount of light received in the area on which the foil F is not formed. Therefore, the main control unit 101 can determine that the sheet S is a foil sheet if there is an area where the amount of light received is greater than the second threshold, and can determine that the sheet S is a normal sheet if there is no area where the amount of light received is greater than the second threshold.

[0028] 8 is not limited to one that emits near-infrared light, and any light source that emits light in a wavelength band that is easily transmitted through the sheet S or easily absorbed by the surface of the sheet S can be used as the light source 33. Furthermore, to detect the presence of the foil F, a one-dimensional sensor of a reduction optical system (CCD system) or a two-dimensional area camera can be used instead of the CIS 310.

[0029] In this embodiment, the process of FIG. 6 is initiated when the normal sheet mode is selected and a print job for forming images on two or more sheets S is submitted. However, when the normal sheet mode is selected, the process of FIG. 6 can be executed regardless of the number of sheets S on which images are to be formed. In this case, if the number of sheets S on which images are to be formed is one and a normal sheet is detected in S12, the process of S16 is skipped. Also, if the number of sheets S on which images are to be formed is one and a foil sheet is detected in S12, the process of S14 is executed, but the processes of S13, S15, and S16 are skipped. Furthermore, in S14, it is not necessary to notify the user that a foil sheet has been used even though the normal sheet mode was selected, and to prompt the user for an input indicating whether to continue or stop image formation.

[0030] Second Embodiment Next, the second embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. Figure 10 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that, whereas in the first embodiment, the CIS 310 was provided downstream of the nip area T2 in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, in this embodiment, the CIS 310 is provided upstream of the nip area T2. In other words, in the first embodiment, whether or not the sheet is a foil sheet was detected downstream of the transfer area in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, but in this embodiment, whether or not the sheet is a foil sheet is detected upstream of the transfer area.

[0031] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the image formation process when the normal sheet mode is selected. The process of FIG. 11 starts when a print job is submitted via the operation unit 700 or from an external computer via a network while the normal sheet mode is selected. Upon starting the print job, the main control unit 101 feeds the first sheet S and transports it toward the detection position of the CIS 310 in S20. The main control unit 101 then causes the CIS 310 to perform a detection process to detect the presence or absence of foil F in S21 and acquires the detection result in S22. If foil is not detected, the main control unit 101 performs image formation based on the print job in S26 and ends the process of FIG. 11. If foil is detected in S22, the main control unit 101 stops the transport of the sheet S in S23 and performs a notification process to notify the user that a foil sheet is being used in S24.

[0032] FIG. 12 shows an example of a notification screen displayed on the operation unit 700 or an external computer that submitted the print job during the notification process. According to FIG. 12, the user is notified that a foil sheet is being used, and the user is prompted to select whether to continue or stop image formation. In S25, the main control unit 101 acquires a user input indicating whether to continue image formation. If the user selects to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 performs image formation based on the print job in S26, and ends the process of FIG. 11. If the user does not select to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 ends the process of FIG. 11.

[0033] If the user does not select to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 ejects the sheet S near the CIS 310 to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100. Alternatively, if the user does not select to continue image formation, the main control unit 101 determines that the sheet S near the CIS 310 is a jammed sheet S and displays a jam clearance procedure on the operation unit 700. At this time, the main control unit 101 can transport the sheet S to a position where it is easy to remove the sheet S in the jam clearance procedure.

[0034] As described above, when the normal sheet mode for forming an image on a normal sheet is selected, the main control unit 101 detects whether or not foil is formed on the sheet fed to the image forming apparatus 100. This makes it possible to detect an erroneous selection of the sheet type, which may occur when both foil sheets and normal sheets are used. Furthermore, if the main control unit 101 detects that a foil sheet is being fed to the image forming apparatus 100 even though the normal sheet mode is selected, it performs a notification process to notify the user that a foil sheet is being used. This configuration makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of toner offset.

[0035] [Other embodiments] In the above embodiments, the detection process for detecting whether foil is formed on the sheet S is performed only when the normal sheet mode is selected as the image formation mode. In other words, when the foil sheet mode is selected, the main control unit 101 does not perform the detection process. However, it is also possible to perform the detection process when the foil sheet mode is selected and not perform the detection process when the normal sheet mode is selected. In this case, when a foil sheet is detected in the foil sheet mode, the main control unit 101 performs image formation according to the print job and does not perform the notification process. On the other hand, when a normal sheet is detected in the foil sheet mode, the main control unit 101 notifies the user that a normal sheet is being used and allows the user to select whether to stop image formation.

[0036] Furthermore, the detection process can be executed regardless of the image formation mode, and whether or not to execute the notification process can be controlled based on the selected image formation mode and the detection results of the detection process. Specifically, when the normal sheet mode is selected, the notification process can be executed when a foil sheet is detected, and the notification process can be not executed when a normal sheet is detected. Also, when the foil sheet mode is selected, the notification process can be executed when a normal sheet is detected, and the notification process can be not executed when a foil sheet is detected.

[0037] Although the above embodiments have been described using a color image forming apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to a monochrome image forming apparatus. Furthermore, although the above embodiments have been described using an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to any type of image forming apparatus that uses a color material that is difficult to fix onto the foil F.

[0038] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0039] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration. (Configuration 1) an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet based on a print job; a detection means for performing a detection process to detect whether or not a foil is formed on the sheet; a control unit that performs a notification process of the detection result in the detection process; An image forming apparatus comprising: (Configuration 2) The image forming apparatus according to configuration 1, wherein the control means controls whether or not to perform the detection process depending on whether or not an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which the foil is formed is selected. (Configuration 3) The image forming apparatus according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein the control means controls whether or not to perform the notification process based on whether an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which the foil is formed is selected and the detection result of the detection process. (Configuration 4) 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein the control means does not perform the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected. (Configuration 5) The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is not selected, and when the control means detects that foil has been formed on the sheet in the detection process, performs the notification process for notifying that foil has been formed on the sheet. (Configuration 6) The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is not selected, and does not perform the notification process when the control means detects in the detection process that foil has not been formed on the sheet. (Configuration 7) 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein the control means does not perform the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is not selected. (Configuration 8) The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 3 and 7, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected, and when the detection process detects that foil has not been formed on the sheet, performs the notification process for notifying that foil has not been formed on the sheet. (Configuration 9) The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, 7 and 8, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected, and does not perform the notification process when it detects that foil has been formed on the sheet in the detection process. (Configuration 10) 10. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 9, wherein the control unit is configured to accept an input as to whether or not to continue image formation based on the print job when the notification process is performed. (Configuration 11) The detection means a light source that irradiates the sheet with light; a light receiving element disposed to receive scattered reflected light of light irradiated onto the sheet by the light source; Equipped with 11. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 10, wherein the image forming apparatus detects that foil is formed on the sheet in response to detecting that the amount of light received by the light receiving element is less than a first threshold value. (Configuration 12) The detection means a light source that irradiates the sheet with near-infrared light; a light receiving element disposed to receive specularly reflected light of near-infrared light irradiated onto the sheet by the light source; Equipped with 11. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 10, wherein the image forming apparatus detects that foil is formed on the sheet in response to detecting an amount of light received by the light receiving element that is greater than a second threshold value. (Configuration 13) 13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 12, wherein the detection means detects whether foil is formed on the sheet upstream of a position where the image forming means transfers an image onto the sheet. (Configuration 14) 13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 12, wherein the detection means detects whether foil is formed on the sheet downstream of a position where the image forming means transfers an image onto the sheet.

[0040] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 310: CIS, 101: Main control unit

Claims

1. an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet based on a print job; a detection means for performing a detection process to detect whether or not a foil is formed on the sheet; a control unit that performs a notification process of the detection result in the detection process; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls whether or not to perform the detection process depending on whether or not an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which a foil is formed is selected.

3. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls whether or not to perform the notification process based on whether an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected and the detection result of the detection process.

4. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit does not perform the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which a foil is formed is selected.

5. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is not selected, and when the detection process detects that foil has been formed on the sheet, the control means performs the notification process for notifying that foil has been formed on the sheet.

6. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is not selected, and does not perform the notification process when the control means detects in the detection process that foil has not been formed on the sheet.

7. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit does not perform the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which a foil is formed is not selected.

8. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected, and when the control means detects that foil has not been formed on the sheet in the detection process, performs the notification process for notifying that foil has not been formed on the sheet.

9. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs the detection process when an image forming mode for forming an image on the sheet on which foil has been formed is selected, and does not perform the notification process when the detection process detects that foil has been formed on the sheet.

10. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to accept an input as to whether or not to continue image formation based on the print job when the notification process is performed.

11. The detection means a light source that irradiates the sheet with light; a light receiving element disposed to receive scattered reflected light of light irradiated onto the sheet by the light source; Equipped with 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence of foil on the sheet is detected in response to detecting an amount of light received by the light receiving element that is smaller than a first threshold value.

12. The detection means a light source that irradiates the sheet with near-infrared light; a light receiving element disposed to receive specularly reflected light of near-infrared light irradiated onto the sheet by the light source; Equipped with 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence of foil on the sheet is detected in response to detecting an amount of light received by the light receiving element that is greater than a second threshold value.

13. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means detects whether or not foil is formed on said sheet upstream of a position where said image forming means transfers an image onto said sheet.

14. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means detects whether or not foil is formed on the sheet downstream of a position where the image forming means transfers the image onto the sheet.

Images