A carrier for developing electrostatic latent images is provided. The carrier includes a magnetic core particle and a resin layer coating a surface of the magnetic core particle. The resin layer includes a particulate material A having a volume average particle diameter (a) and a particulate material B having a volume average particle diameter (b). The volume average particle diameter (a) of the particulate material A is the largest among volume average particle diameters of all particulate materials included in the resin layer, and an inequation 100≧(a)/(b)≧5 is satisfied. The particulate material A is barium sulfate.

A toner including base particles and external additives on the base particles, the toner satisfying Conditions 1 and 2 defined in the specification, when a number distribution D of particle diameters of powder particles B generated from one base particle A is calculated from a density a of the base particles A and a density b of the powder particles B, where the base particles A and the powder particles B are deposited on an adhesive area and mica respectively by feeding the toner into a vacuumed space from an inlet, and allowing the toner to crush against a surface of a substrate having the adhesive area composed of a carbon tape, and the mica disposed in a manner that the surface is orthogonal to a direction connecting between center of the vacuumed space and center of the inlet, Powder particles B: particles detached from the base particles.

An electrostatic charge image developing toner includes toner mother particles that contain a polyester resin which is a polycondensate of a polycarboxylic acid compound and a polyol compound; a graft polymer which includes a polyolefin chain and a vinyl resin chain; a coloring agent; and polyethylene wax, provided that the polyol compound includes a polyol compound having a bisphenol structure in an amount of 0 mol % to 5 mol %, wherein a normal temperature and normal humidity aggregation degree of the toner mother particles is from 70% to 97%.

An image forming method includes developing an electrostatic charge image on the surface of an image holding member by a developer including toner particles which contain a binder resin, a flake shape brilliant pigment, and a layered inorganic material, transferring the developed toner image onto a surface of a recording medium, and fixing the toner image, which is a brilliant image, by passing the recording medium through a contact region between a fixing member and a pressing member pressed to the fixing member, the brilliant image satisfying (1) at a depth of 200 nm, A<10, 10≦B≦50, and 20≦C≦70 and (2) at a depth of 1,000 nm, 10≦A≦40, 20≦B≦60, and 20≦C≦50, wherein A, B and C are element amounts (atomic %) of aluminium, silicon, and carbon, respectively.

Provided is a toner having high coloring power and being excellent in light fastness. Specifically, provided is a yellow toner, including at least: a binder resin; a wax; and a colorant, in which the colorant contains a compound represented by the general formula (1). ##STR00001##

A developer includes a toner including toner particles and a carrier including carrier particles. The carrier particles each include a carrier core and a carrier coating layer covering the carrier core. The carrier coating layer contains a fluorine-containing resin. The toner particles each include a toner mother particle and resin particles located on a surface of the toner mother particle. The resin particles have a number average primary particle diameter of at least 70 nm and no greater than 200 nm. A dispersion obtained by dispersing 0.1 g of the resin particles in 100 mL of distilled water has an electrical conductivity of at least 2.5 μS/m and no greater than 6.0 μS/m. A degree of aggregation Y.sub.160 of the resin particles represented by expression (1) “Y.sub.160=100×M.sub.160A/M.sub.160B” is at least 15% by mass and no greater than 40% by mass.

An ester wax is provided. The ester wax includes a long-chain aliphatic ester represented by the following formula:

R—COO—R′

wherein R represents an alky group having 13 to 23 carbon atoms and R′ represents an alkyl group having 18 to 22 carbon atoms. The ester wax further includes an aliphatic alcohol having 18 to 22 carbon atoms in an amount less than 3% by mass based on a total mass of the ester wax.

An electrostatic charge image developing toner includes a carbodiimide compound and a polyester resin prepared by subjecting an alcohol component and a carboxylic acid component to condensation polymerization, wherein the alcohol component includes an aliphatic polyol in an amount of 60 mol % to 100 mol %.

There is provided a resin composition containing an infrared absorber as an inner salt, at least either a carboxylic acid ester or a phosphoric acid ester, and a resin; and an image forming material containing an infrared absorber as an inner salt, at least either a carboxylic acid ester or a phosphoric acid ester, and a thermoplastic resin.

A brilliant toner includes toner particles that contain a binder resin and a brilliant pigment which has a flake shape, wherein an average thickness of the brilliant pigment is greater than 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm.