Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer; a charging device charging the image bearer; a light irradiating device irradiating the charged image bearer with light to form an electrostatic image; a developing device developing the electrostatic image with a developer including a toner to form a toner image on the image bearer; a transfer device transferring the toner image; and a cleaning device cleaning the image bearer, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner is greater than 5.0 ?m and less than 5.5 ?m, the content of toner particles having a particle diameter of not greater than 4.0 ?m is not higher than 20% by number, the ratio of the first shape factor SF-1 to the second shape factor SF-2 is from 1.00 to 1.15, and the content of toner particles having a SF-2 of not less than 115 is not less than 67.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer; a charging device charging the image bearer; a light irradiating device irradiating the charged image bearer with light to form an electrostatic image; a developing device developing the electrostatic image with a developer including a toner to form a toner image on the image bearer; a transfer device transferring the toner image; and a cleaning device cleaning the image bearer, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner is greater than 5.0 ?m and less than 5.5 ?m, the content of toner particles having a particle diameter of not greater than 4.0 ?m is not higher than 20% by number, the ratio of the first shape factor SF-1 to the second shape factor SF-2 is from 1.00 to 1.15, and the content of toner particles having a SF-2 of not less than 115 is not less than 67.8% by number.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer that carries a toner image and a lubricant supplying device that supplies lubricant to the surface of the image bearer. The lubricant supplying device is provided in the image forming apparatus and includes a lubricant block and a brush roller. The brush roller shaves and supplies the lubricant from the lubricant block to the image bearer via the brush roller. The lubricant only includes a mixture of boron nitride and fatty acid metallic salt. The lubricant includes from 10 to 80 percent volume of the boron nitride.

Abstract: A first carrying member supplies a developer to a developer carrier at the position of a developer attracting magnetic pole H4 while longitudinally carrying the developer, and a second carrying member carries the developer released from the developer carrier at the position of a developer releasing magnetic pole H3. The developer carrier 13a has two magnetic poles H2 and H4 of the same polarity sandwiching the developer releasing magnetic pole H3. Moreover, the developer releasing magnetic pole H3 is formed by the two magnetic poles H2 and H4 so that the polarity of the developer releasing magnetic pole H3 differs from the polarity of the two magnetic poles H2 and H4.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, a charging device, a transfer device, a lubricant supplying device, a developing device to develop the latent image with a developer, a discharging device, a cleaning device, and a controlling device configured to control an lubricant supplying mode and a lubricant removing mode in which at least a portion of the lubricant is removed from the surface of the image bearing member, a method of using the image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge used with the image forming apparatus.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer that carries a toner image, and a lubricant supplying device that supplies lubricant to the surface of the image bearer. A lubricant supplying device is provided in the image forming apparatus and includes a lubricant block and a brush roller. The brush roller shaves and supplies the lubricant from the lubricant block to the image bearer via the brush roller. The lubricant is made by molding under pressure.

Abstract: A toner including a binder resin and a colorant which produces a torque of from 1.4 to 2.0 mNm, when a cone rotor having a vertical angle of 60° and grooves on a surface thereof intrudes into a bulk of the toner at an intrusion speed of 5 mm/min for a depth of 20 mm while rotating at a rotation speed of 1 rpm. The bulk of the toner is formed by consolidating 30 g of the toner in a cylindrical container having an internal diameter of 60 mm for 60 seconds with a consolidation load of 585 g.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member to bear a latent electrostatic image, a charging device to charge the image bearing member, an irradiating device to irradiate the image bearing member with light to form the latent electrostatic image, a developing device to develop the latent electrostatic image with toner to form a visualized image, a transfer device to transfer the visualized image to a recording medium, a lubricant application device to apply a lubricant to the surface of the image bearing member, a cleaning device to clean the surface of the image bearing member, wherein the toner has a ratio A of from 0.3 to 1.7 obtained by the following Relationship (1), particulates P comprising resin particulates and inorganic particulates are added to the toner and the resin particulates P1 have an average primary particle diameter of from 60 to 600 nm, ratio A=Mother toner BET specific surface area/Mother toner volume average particle diameter Relationship (1).

Abstract: A lubricant applying unit includes a lubricant composed of metal salt of fatty acid; an applying member that applies the lubricant on a subject under lubricant application; and a spreading member that forms a thin layer of the lubricant applied on the subject. The spreading member spreads the lubricant in such a manner that a thickness of the thin layer is in a range of 8 nanometers to 12 nanometers.

Abstract: An image forming method, including charging the surface of an image bearer with a charger; irradiating the charged surface of the image bearer to form a latent image; developing the latent image with a toner to form a visible toner image; transferring the toner image onto a transfer medium directly or through an intermediate transferer; removing the toner remaining on the surface of the image bearer with a cleaning blade; applying a lubricant to the surface of the image bearer; and fixing the toner image on the transfer medium, wherein the toner is a water-granulated toner having the following properties (1) to (4): (1) a volume-average particle diameter of from 3.0 to 7.0 ?m; (2) an average shape factor SF-1 of from 120 to 160; (3) an average shape factor SF-2 of from 100 to 140; and (4) a BET specific surface area of from 2.5 to 7.0 m2/g.

Abstract: A lubricant applying unit includes a lubricant applying member, and a leveling member for use in an image forming apparatus having a photosensitive member. The lubricant applying member applies lubricant on a surface of the photosensitive member, and the leveling member levels off the lubricant on the surface of the photosensitive member. The lubricant applying unit applies the lubricant with a predetermined amount on the surface of the photosensitive member. The photosensitive member includes polyarylate resin in a surface layer of the photosensitive member.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of stably producing high quality images with time, without causing missing a central part of a thin line, however, with keeping an appropriate flowability of a toner. The toner used in the image forming apparatus is a toner which contains a binder resin, a colorant, and a laminar inorganic mineral in which at least part of an ion in layers is modified with an organic ion, the toner is granulated in an aqueous system, the volume average particle diameter Dv of the toner is in the range of 3.0 ?m<Dv<6.5 ?m, the aspect ratio of the toner is 0.81 to 0.89, and the surface of the toner is externally added with a plurality of types of fine particles.

Abstract: To provide a method for producing a carrier including treating a coating layer on a surface of a core material with a polymer precursor in a supercritical fluid and/or a subcritical fluid so as to add the polymer precursor to the coating layer, and subjecting the coating layer to oxidation treatment so as to form a polymer from the polymer precursor in the coating layer, and a carrier produced by the method.

Abstract: A toner, including at least a binder resin; a colorant; and a modified layered inorganic mineral in which at least a part of ions between the layers are modified with an organic material ion, wherein the toner includes at least one external additive having an average primary particle diameter of from 80 to 180 nm and an aspect ratio of from 0.7 to 0.95.

Abstract: To provide a developer that includes a carrier and a toner having base particles each containing a binder resin and a paraffin wax, wherein the base particle has a paraffin wax-originated endotherm from 2.0 J/g to 5.5 J/g at an endothermic peak as measured by DSC, an average circularity from 0.94 to 1.00, and a contact area-to-whole projected area ratio from 15% to 40%.

Abstract: A toner including a binder resin; a colorant; a release agent; and a modified layered inorganic material in which at least part of interlayer ions is modified with an organic ion, wherein the toner has a volume average particle diameter (Dv) of 3 to 7 ?m and a ratio (Dv/Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to a number average particle diameter (Dn) of the toner of 1.00 to 1.30, and wherein the release agent is included in the toner in an amount (A) of 1 to 10% by weight, and the ratio (B/A) of the amount (A) to the amount (B) of the release agent included in a classified toner in units of percent by weight is 0.7 to 1.3, wherein the classified toner satisfies the relationship (Dv?/Dn??1)/(Dv/Dn?1)?3/4 wherein Dv? and Dn? respectively represent the volume and number average particle diameters of the classified toner.

Abstract: A toner is provided including a binder resin and a colorant, wherein the toner has an average shape factor SF-1 of from 130 to 160, and includes toner particles having a shape factor SF-1 of from 100 to 115 in an amount of not greater than 2% by number, and wherein the toner is prepared by a wet granulation method, along with an image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the toner.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer; a charging device charging the image bearer; a light irradiating device irradiating the charged image bearer with light to form an electrostatic image; a developing device developing the electrostatic image with a developer including a toner to form a toner image on the image bearer; a transfer device transferring the toner image; and a cleaning device cleaning the image bearer, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner is greater than 5.0 ?m and less than 5.5 ?m, the content of toner particles having a particle diameter of not greater than 4.0 ?m is not higher than 20% by number, the ratio of the first shape factor SF-1 to the second shape factor SF-2 is from 1.00 to 1.15, and the content of toner particles having a SF-2 of not less than 115 is not less than 67.8% by number.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image carrier, a charger, an electrostatic latent image forming member, a developing member, a transferor, and a cleaning device. The electrostatic latent image forming member forms an electrostatic latent image on a surface of the image carrier charged by the charger. The developing member develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier with toner particles to form a toner image. The transferor transfers the toner image formed on the surface of the image carrier onto a recording medium. The cleaning device includes a fine particle supplier and an electrostatic cleaning mechanism. The fine particle supplier supplies fine particles onto the surface of the image carrier while an image forming operation is not performed. The electrostatic cleaning mechanism electrostatically removes a foreign substance adhered to the supplied fine particles from the surface of the image carrier.

Abstract: A lubricant applying unit includes a lubricant composed of metal salt of fatty acid; an applying member that applies the lubricant on a subject under lubricant application; and a spreading member that forms a thin layer of the lubricant applied on the subject. The spreading member spreads the lubricant in such a manner that a thickness of the thin layer is in a range of 8 nanometers to 12 nanometers.