Abstract: The invention provides a toner for developing electrostatic charged images comprising toner mother particles containing a binder resin and a colorant, and an external additive, wherein: the average of shape factors SF1 of the toner mother particles represented by the following Formula (1) is 140 or less; the external additive contains higher alcohol particles having a volume-average particle diameter of 1 to 12 ?m; and the content of the higher alcohol particles having a diameter equal to or less than the volume-average particle diameter of the toner mother particles is in a range of 0.15 to 2.5 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the toner mother particles. In addition, the invention provides a developer for developing electrostatic charged images comprising the toner. Further, the invention provides an image forming method using the toner.

Abstract: An image-forming process capable of keeping a high transfer efficiency for a long period of time, reducing the amount of the toner to be recovered and wasted and obtaining stabilized images without causing image quality defects such as density lowering, density unevenness, ghosts, fog, etc., wherein inorganic fine particles contained in a toner transfer from the toner to an electrostatic latent image holder surface and attach thereto, the attached amount of the inorganic fine particles to the electrostatic latent image holder surface is from 1 to 20% as the average occupied area ratio (CAV) in the electrostatic latent image holder surface, and the difference (CMAX−CMIN) of the maximum occupied area ratio and the minimum occupied area ratio of the attached inorganic fine particles in the electrostatic latent image holder surface is not larger than about 5%.

Abstract: An image-forming process capable of keeping a high transfer efficiency for a long period of time, reducing the amount of the toner to be recovered and wasted and obtaining stabilized images without causing image quality defects such as density lowering, density unevenness, ghosts, fog, etc., wherein inorganic fine particles contained in a toner transfer from the toner to an electrostatic latent image holder surface and attach thereto, the attached amount of the inorganic fine particles to the electrostatic latent image holder surface is from 1 to 20% as the average occupied area ratio (CAV) in the electrostatic latent image holder surface, and the difference (CMAX−CMIN) of the maximum occupied area ratio and the minimum occupied area ratio of the attached inorganic fine particles in the electrostatic latent image holder surface is not larger than about 5%.

Abstract: The present invention can provide an electrophotographic apparatus and electrophotographic method which are less affected by dot gain, can realize smooth gray scale expression, are high in gray scale reproducibility, and are hard to generate moire. In an embodiment of the present invention, a continuous tone image is binarized by using the frequency modulation screening, to form a latent image free from the generation of moire and high in relative resolution. The latent image thus formed is developed using a liquid developer, to form a thin toner layer, for forming a toner image less in the generation of mechanical and optical dot gain.