Abstract: A carrier for electrophotographic developer, including a core material; and a layer comprising a binder resin, located overlying the core material, wherein the binder resin includes a segment including one or more polymerizable vinyl monomers as a structural unit; and another segment including a partial cleavage structure of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and/or another partial cleavage structure of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane as a structural unit.

Abstract: A carrier comprising a magnetic core particle having a shape factor SF-2 of 130 to 160 and a resin layer covering a surface of the magnetic core particle. The resin layer comprises a conductive particle and a resin obtained by heating a copolymer comprising a silicon-containing A unit and another silicon-containing B unit having.

Abstract: A contact developing method including supplying a two-component developer to an electrostatic latent image on a rotating image bearing member by rotating a developing sleeve and a rotatable magnet having multiple magnetic poles provided inside the developing sleeve, to develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The developing sleeve and the image bearing member rotate in the same direction while facing each other. The two-component developer comprises a non-magnetic toner and a carrier. The carrier comprises a magnetic core particle and a resin layer covering the magnetic core particle. The resin layer comprises a conductive particle and a resin. The conductive particle comprises an alumina-based material and a conductive layer covering the alumina-based material. The resin is obtained by heating a copolymer comprising a monomer A unit and a monomer B unit.

Abstract: A carrier including a magnetic core particle and a resin layer covering a surface of the magnetic core particle. The magnetic core particle is a ferrite particle including strontium in an amount of 0.005 to 3% by mass, measured by fluorescent X-ray spectroscopy. The resin layer comprises a resin obtained by heating a copolymer comprising a silicon-containing unit A and another silicon-containing specific unit B.

Abstract: A toner for use in developing an electrostatic latent image is provided. The toner includes a colored particulate material including at least a binder resin and a colorant; and an external additive present on a surface of the colored particulate material and including a particulate crystalline hydroxyapatite. The particulate crystalline hydroxyapatite has an average aspect ratio of not less than 3 and less than 30.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming toner including at least a linear polyester resin (b1) as a binder resin, wherein the linear polyester resin (b1) is obtained by reacting a polyester diol (b11) having a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid skeleton, with a polyester diol (b12) other than the polyester diol (b11) in the presence of a chain extending agent.

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)?¾wherein Dv? and Dn? respectively represent the volume and number average particle diameters of the classified toner.

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: A toner including a colorant, a thermoplastic resin (a) comprising an amorphous polyester resin having a main chain having a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid skeleton, and a thermoplastic resin (b) is provided. The toner is manufactured by a method including mixing the colorant with the thermoplastic resin (a) to prepare a preliminary mixture, and mixing the preliminary mixture with the thermoplastic resin (b).

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: The toner includes a binder resin; a release agent; a colorant; and a dispersing resin configured to disperse the release agent. The dispersing resin includes a polyhydroxycarboxylic acid unit obtained from an optically active monomer. The polyhydroxycarboxylic acid unit has an optical purity of not greater than 80%, wherein the optical purity is defined as the absolute value of difference between the mole percentage of a L-monomer in the optically active monomer and the mole percentage of a D-monomer in the optically active monomer.

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: A carrier for electrophotographic developer, including a core material; and a layer comprising a binder resin, located overlying the core material, wherein the binder resin includes a segment including one or more polymerizable vinyl monomers as a structural unit; and another segment including a partial cleavage structure of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and/or another partial cleavage structure of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquloxane as a structural unit.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a toner characterized in that the toner comprises a first binder resin and a second binder resin, the first binder resin is an amorphous resin and the second binder resin is a crystalline resin, and the glass-transition temperature of the toner (TgA) is lower than the glass-transition temperature expressed by the following equation (1) (TgC). TgC = ? i = 1 n ? ? b i / ? i = 1 n ? ? ( b i TgB i ) Equation ? ? ( 1 ) In the above equation (1), “TgBi” represents the glass-transition temperature of the amorphous resin, “n” represents the number of amorphous resins, and “b” represents the content of the amorphous resin (part by mass). Examples of the preferred aspect of the present invention includes the one that at least a part of the amorphous resin and a part of the crystalline resin are compatible each other, and the one that the glass-transition temperature of the toner (TgA) is 10° C.

Abstract: An image forming toner, including a mother particle including a paraffin wax having a melting point of from 60 to 90° C. and a binder resin, wherein the mother particle has an endothermic peak of the paraffin wax of from 2.0 J/g to 5.5 J/g when measured by a DSC and an aspect ratio of from 0.8 to 0.90.

Abstract: To provide an image forming method including conveying a toner by means of a toner supply device that supplies the toner from inside a toner housing container into a developer housing section of a developing device with the use of a screw pump, and forming an image on a recording medium by developing a latent image on a latent image bearing member to form a toner image with the use of a developer and by transferring the toner image to the recording medium by means of a transfer device, wherein the toner is formed by adding small particle size silica to toner base particles, and wherein when A represents the average degree of circularity of the toner, and B, expressed as percent by mass, represents the amount of the small particle size silica relative to the mass of the toner base particles, the expression ?18A+17.92?B??34A+33.96 is satisfied.

Abstract: An image forming method including charging an image bearing member by applying combination of DC voltage and AC voltage with frequency of 6.5 to 8.5 cycle/mm; irradiating the image bearing member with light to form an electrostatic image; developing the electrostatic image with a developer including toner to form a toner image; transferring the toner image onto a receiving material; fixing the toner image; cleaning the image bearing member with a blade; then applying a lubricant to the image bearing member; and then spreading the lubricant with a spreading member countering the image bearing member. The toner includes toner particles granulated in an aqueous medium; and at least three kinds of external additives including a first particulate hydrophobic silica, a particulate hydrophobic titanium oxide and a second particulate hydrophobic silica respectively having BET specific surface areas of 20 to 40 m2/g, 40 to 80 m2/g, and 130 to 300 m2/g.

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 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: 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.