An image forming apparatus includes a conveyance unit to convey a sheet toward an image forming position, a torque detection unit to detect a load torque applied to a motor driving the conveyance unit, and a control unit to perform a speed control for changing a rotational speed of the motor such that an interval at which a preceding sheet and a succeeding sheet pass through the image forming position approaches a target interval while the conveyance unit is conveying the succeeding sheet. The control unit executes an interval change processing for changing the target interval in the speed control based on a magnitude of a detected load torque when the conveyance unit is driven by the motor, the control unit controls power input to the motor by transmitting a command signal to a driving circuit of the motor, and the torque detection unit detects the command signal.

An apparatus according to the aspect of the embodiments includes a phase determiner configured to determine a rotational phase of a rotor, a speed determiner configured to determine a rotational speed of the rotor, a controller having a first control mode for controlling the motor by supplying constant currents to windings, and a discriminator configured to discriminate whether a rotation of the motor is abnormal based on the rotational speed when the rotational speed corresponding to a command speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value in a state where the controller is controlling the motor in the first control mode. When a signal output from the discriminator indicates that the rotation of the motor is abnormal, the controller stops the motor. When the signal output from the discriminator indicates that the rotation is not abnormal, the controller continues a drive of the motor.

According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a printer and a controller. The printer performs image formation on a sheet at a first speed relating to a speed of image formation or at a second speed slower than the first speed. The controller acquires information on deterioration of developer contained in an own apparatus, and controls the printer to perform image formation at the first speed when the information does not satisfy a predetermined condition indicating that the developer is deteriorated and to perform image formation at the second speed when the information satisfies the predetermined condition.

An image forming apparatus includes a first image bearing member, a second image bearing member, an intermediate transfer belt, a first primary transfer member, a second primary transfer member, a secondary transfer outer member, a pre-secondary transfer stretch roller, a driving roller, and an execution portion. The execution portion is configured to execute a first monochromatic mode in which a bias smaller than the primary transfer bias applied to the first primary transfer member in a case where a toner image is formed on the first image bearing member is applied to the first primary transfer member, and the primary transfer bias applied to the second primary transfer member in a case where a toner image is formed on the second image bearing member is applied to the second primary transfer member.

An image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic process assembly, a processor, and a memory. The electrophotographic process assembly is configured to transfer a toner image formed on a photoconductive body rotating around an axis extending in a main scanning direction onto a sheet conveyed in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The processor and memory are configured to store a print amount in a plurality of divided sections corresponding to the main scanning direction, acquire the print amount from a monitoring section in one or more monitoring target groupings corresponding to a predetermined section included in the plurality of divided sections, calculate an integrated print amount in the monitoring section, and output information relating to the monitoring target grouping corresponding to the integrated print amount in the monitoring section.

An image forming device is provided. The image forming device includes: a conveyance unit that conveys a continuous paper, an image forming unit that forms an image on a continuous paper conveyed by the conveyance unit, a job selection unit that selects a job to be executed, and a processor that calculates an image forming distance and indicates the calculated image forming distance on a display. The image forming distance is a length in a conveyance direction of the continuous paper needed to execute the selected job.

An image forming apparatus includes: a determination section configured to determine whether there is a possibility of generation of an image defect during a printing job for image formation on a plurality of pages based on image data included in the printing job; and a changing section configured to change an order of the pages to be subjected to image formation such that an image defect is not generated when the determination section determines that there is a possibility of generation of the image defect.

A label forming method includes while transporting a base sheet having a print surface by a first transportation mechanism, forming a first pattern on the print surface and forming a marker at a prescribed position on the print surface; transporting the base sheet to a second transportation mechanism, the base sheet being transported by the first transportation mechanism and with the first pattern and the marker formed thereon; detecting a position of the marker on the base sheet; determining a position of the first pattern based on the prescribed position on the print surface and the detected marker position; deriving a position to form a second pattern according to the determined position of the first pattern; and while transporting the base sheet by the second transportation mechanism, forming a second pattern at the derived position.

A toner container includes a container body, an opening, a cover, a toner discharge port, a shutter, a cylindrical structure, protrusions, and an identifier. The shutter is attached to the cover and includes a main shutter covering the toner discharge port. The main shutter moves between a closed position to close the toner discharge port and an open position to open the toner discharge port. The protrusions are on both sides of the cover and protrude in a direction orthogonal to a toner container mounting direction. The identifier is on the cover to indicate a toner color. The cylindrical structure's leading end is downstream of leading ends of the protrusions in the mounting direction. The main shutter's leading end is downstream of the protrusions' leading ends in the mounting direction when the main shutter is in the closed position. The protrusions are downstream of the identifier in the mounting direction.

A method for correcting tone-level non-uniformities in a digital printing system includes printing a test target having a set of uniform test patches. The printed test target is automatically analyzed to determine tone-level errors as a function of cross-track position for each of the test patches. A tone-level correction function is determined and represented using a set of one-dimensional feature vectors which specifies tone-level corrections as a function of cross-track position, pixel value and time. Corrected image data is determined by using the tone-level correction function to determine a tone-level correction value for each image pixel responsive to the input pixel value, cross-track position and time. The corrected image data is printed using the digital printing system to provide a printed image with reduced tone-level errors.