Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming device to form a toner image on the image bearer with toner, a power source to output a bias to transfer the toner image onto a recording medium, and control circuitry. The circuitry controls the power source to decrease a peak-to-peak voltage of the bias in response to increase in at least one of temperature and humidity, when a time-averaged voltage of the bias is on a transfer side of transferring the toner to the recording medium, from a median value of maximum and minimum voltages of the bias. The circuitry controls the power source to increase the peak-to-peak voltage of the bias in response to increase in at least one of temperature and humidity, when the time-averaged voltage of the bias is on a return side of returning the toner to the image bearer, from the median value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an intermediate transferor, a secondary transferor, a plurality of rotators including a secondary driving rotator, and a detector. The image bearer bears a detection image. The detection image is transferred from the image bearer to the intermediate transferor at a primary transfer position. The secondary transferor is looped around the plurality of rotators and disposed in contact with the intermediate transferor at a secondary transfer position where the detection image is transferred from the intermediate transferor to the secondary transferor. The secondary driving rotator drives the secondary transferor. The detector detects the detection image on the secondary transferor at a detection position. With this configuration, a distance from the secondary transfer position to the detection position on the secondary transferor is an integral multiple of a circumference of the secondary driving rotator.

Abstract: A belt unit is detachably attachable to a body of an image forming apparatus. The belt unit includes a belt, a pressing member, and a frame. The belt is wound around a plurality of supports to travel in a belt travel direction. The belt includes a base layer and an elastic layer. The pressing member presses warping on an edge of the belt. The frame supports the plurality of supports. The pressing member is positioned on the frame.

Abstract: A belt device includes a belt unit including a plurality of rotators and a belt looped around the plurality of rotators. The belt device further includes a frame including a plurality of support portions to support the belt unit, a biasing member to bias the belt unit supported by the frame in a predetermined direction, and an adjuster to adjust a position of at least one of the plurality of support portions.

Abstract: An image forming device includes a plurality of image formation units each configured to form an image of one of a plurality of colors, and a patch image transfer unit configured to control transfer conditions during transferring a patch group that is a pattern for detecting a position shift and formed on an intermediate transfer belt onto a secondary transfer belt. The patch image transfer unit is configured to transfer patches of at least single color for which a band of transfer efficiency is narrowest, of the patch group, onto the secondary transfer belt under transfer conditions for the color, and during transition to the transfer conditions for the color from other transfer conditions or during transition from the transfer conditions for the color to the other transfer conditions, patches of a color other than the color, of the patch group is transferred onto the secondary transfer belt.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a solid freeform fabrication object includes forming a layer by solidifying a curable liquid composition by a solidifying device to form a solidified layer, repeating the forming to laminate the solidified layer to form a model portion and a support to support the model portion, and removing the support, wherein the support includes a water decaying area and the area other than the water decaying area, the water decaying area forming a continuous area including the surface of the support in contact with the model portion and at least a part of the surface of the support not in contact with the model portion.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a toner image forming device; an intermediate transferor; a primary transfer power source; a secondary transfer nip forming device; and a secondary transfer power source to output a secondary transfer bias. One of two peak values of the secondary transfer bias is a transfer peak value to provide a greater transfer-directional force to move toner from the intermediate transferor toward the recording medium in the secondary transfer nip. An absolute value of the transfer peak value is greater than an absolute value of the primary transfer bias.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer including a first image portion to bear a first toner image, a second image portion to bear a second toner image, and a non-image portion to bear an adjustment pattern. A transferor forms a transfer nip with the image bearer. A controller controls the power source to output an image bias as a transfer bias to transfer the first toner image and the second toner image onto a first recording medium and a second recording medium, respectively, in the transfer nip when the first image portion and the second image portion pass through the transfer nip and output a non-image bias as the transfer bias when the non-image portion passes through the transfer nip. The controller performs a constant current control on the image bias and performs a constant voltage control when the image bias switches to the non-image bias.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearers, a transfer bias member, and a power source. When the transfer bias member transfers a color toner image onto a recording sheet, a second peak value of a peak-to-peak of a transfer bias, which is smaller than a first peak value of the peak-to-peak in an electrostatic force to move toner from the image bearers or an intermediate transfer body to the recording sheet, is zero or has a first polarity to generate the electrostatic force in a transfer direction to move toner from the image bearers or the intermediate transfer body to the recording sheet. When the transfer bias member transfers a monochromatic toner image including only black toner onto the recording sheet, the second peak value is zero or has a second polarity to generate an electrostatic force in an opposite direction to the transfer direction.

Abstract: An endless rotatable belt device including an endless rotatable belt, a scale tape bonded on the belt, at least one optical sensor to detect a scale pattern, and auxiliary tape to cover at least one of the first end and the second end of the scale tape of the belt. The scale tape has a first end and a second end and includes at least one scale pattern. The auxiliary tape has a lower surface friction coefficient than the surface friction coefficient of the scale tape.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer; a nip forming member, a nip width changing device, a power source; and a controller. The controller switches between a first mode and a second mode according to a predetermined condition. In the first mode, a duty of the transfer bias is a first duty and a width of a transfer nip is a first width. In the second mode, the duty of the transfer bias is a second duty lower than the first duty and the width of the transfer nip is a second width greater than the first width. The duty is (T?Tt)/T×100% where T denotes one cycle of the transfer bias, and Tt denotes a time period, in which the transfer bias is on a transfer-directional side relative to a time-averaged value of the transfer bias, in the one cycle.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming device to form a toner image on the image bearer with toner, a power source to output a bias to transfer the toner image onto a recording medium, and control circuitry. The circuitry controls the power source to decrease a peak-to-peak voltage of the bias in response to increase in at least one of temperature and humidity, when a time-averaged voltage of the bias is on a transfer side of transferring the toner to the recording medium, from a median value of maximum and minimum voltages of the bias. The circuitry controls the power source to increase the peak-to-peak voltage of the bias in response to increase in at least one of temperature and humidity, when the time-averaged voltage of the bias is on a return side of returning the toner to the image bearer, from the median value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer, a transfer-bias power source, an environment sensor, and a controller. The controller controls the transfer-bias power source to change the DC component and the AC component, according to the at least one of temperature and humidity detected by the environment sensor and a duty of the transfer bias. The duty is A/(A+B)×100[%] where A denotes an area on a return-directional side to move toner from the recording sheet back to the image bearer, relative to a center value (Voff) of a maximum value and a minimum value of the transfer bias in one cycle of a waveform of the transfer bias, and B denotes an area on a transfer-directional side to move the toner from the image bearer to the recording sheet, relative to the center value (Voff) in the one cycle.

Abstract: An image forming device includes a plurality of image formation units each configured to form an image of one of a plurality of colors, and a patch image transfer unit configured to control transfer conditions during transferring a patch group that is a pattern for detecting a position shift and formed on an intermediate transfer belt onto a secondary transfer belt. The patch image transfer unit is configured to transfer patches of at least single color for which a band of transfer efficiency is narrowest, of the patch group, onto the secondary transfer belt under transfer conditions for the color, and during transition to the transfer conditions for the color from other transfer conditions or during transition from the transfer conditions for the color to the other transfer conditions, patches of a color other than the color, of the patch group is transferred onto the secondary transfer belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including an image bearer configured to bear a toner image; a transfer device disposed opposing to the image bearer; and a transfer bias power source. The transfer bias power source is configured to output a transfer bias to transfer the toner image onto a recording medium. The transfer bias is a superimposed bias that cyclically alternates between a transfer-directional bias to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto the recording medium and an opposite-directional bias in an opposite direction of the transfer direction. A ratio of a time period of application of the opposite-directional bias to a total time period of one cycle of the output transfer bias is greater than 50%. The transfer bias power source changes a value of a direct current voltage in the superimposed bias according to a linear velocity of the image bearer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a belt-shaped image bearer, a transferer, a guide, two rotators, and a support. The image bearer has an image bearing surface to bear an image thereon. The transferer forms a transfer section between the transferer and the image hearer, to transfer the image onto a recording medium. The guide is disposed upstream from the transfer section in a delivery direction of the recording medium, to guide the recording medium toward the transfer section. The two rotators are disposed upstream from the transfer section in a moving direction of the image bearer and in contact with a non-image bearing surface of the image bearer opposite to the image bearing surface, a first rotator being closer to the transfer section than a second rotator. The support supports the first rotator and the guide and adjusts a position of the first rotator and a position of the guide.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a toner image forming unit, a nip formation member, a transfer power source, an information acquisition device, and a controller. The information acquisition device acquires specific information that specifies whether a recording sheet as a transfer target of a toner image is an uneven surface sheet having an uneven surface. The controller outputs a bias including a superimposed voltage, in which an alternating current (AC) voltage is superimposed on a direct current (DC) voltage, as a transfer bias from the transfer power source when the specific information acquired by the information acquisition device is not information corresponding to the uneven surface sheet and to output a bias including only the DC voltage as the transfer bias from the transfer power source when the specific information is the information corresponding to the uneven surface sheet.

Abstract: An improved image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a nip forming member, a transfer power source, and a controller. The controller switches a transfer mode between a first mode to transfer the toner image onto a first type sheet having a surface smoothness higher than a surface smoothness of a second type sheet and a second mode to transfer the toner image onto the second type sheet. The controller controls the transfer power source to output the transfer bias having an opposite-peak duty of greater than or equal to 50% that is a duty on the side of the opposite-peak value in the first mode. The controller controls the transfer power source to output the transfer bias having an opposite-peak duty of less than 50%, which is different from the opposite-peak duty of the first mode, in the second mode.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer to bear a toner image, a nip forming member contacting the image bearer to form a transfer nip, and a transfer power source. The transfer bias has a transfer peak value to electrostatically move toner from the image bearer to the recording sheet and an opposite-peak value to electrostatically move less toner from the image bearer to the recording sheet than the transfer peak value. An opposite-peak duty of the transfer bias is less than 50%. The opposite-peak duty is tr/T×100% where T is one cycle of the transfer bias and tr is a time period during which the transfer bias is on a side of the opposite-peak value relative to an offset voltage of the transfer bias in the one cycle T.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a transfer member, and a power source. The image bearer includes a plurality of layers. The transfer member forms a transfer nip between the image bearer and the transfer member. The power source outputs a transfer bias to transfer a toner image from the image bearer onto a recording sheet in the transfer nip. The transfer bias alternates between a transfer-side bias that causes the toner image to move from the image bearer to the recording sheet, and an opposite-side bias different from the transfer-side bias. A duty ratio of a time period, during which the opposite-side bias is output, relative to one cycle of a waveform, is greater than 50%.