The printing by controlling conductive cloud has a possibility of realizing simple printing mechanism. Electric field activated jumping toner is confined by using dented electrode and the confined toner generates toner cloud. In the experiment, 4 electrodes of pulling electrode, a pair of control electrode and dented base electrode are arranged. When the control electric field between the pair of control electrodes is forward to toner motion to the pulling electrode, toner can pass the control electrodes to the pulling electrode and form a toner dot. The dependence of the toner dot size on the electric field is measured. The toner dot size starts to increase from the certain electric field. It is obtained that the dot size depends also on the electric field outside of the aperture electrodes.
Ye Zhou, Yasushi Hoshino, "Dot Formation Condition from the Conductive Toner Cloud by Aperture Electrodes" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP21), 2005, pp 610 - 613, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2005.21.1.art00070_2