An organic photoconductor includes a cylindrical body having a surface on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed, and an optical tag provided on an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body. The organic photoconductor may be included in a development cartridge for an image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus includes a cartridge replaceable by detachably mounting to the image forming apparatus, a door that takes a closed state or an open state, a locking pin that switches a state of the regulation unit between a regulating state in which the replacement unit is prevented to be detached from the image forming apparatus and a release state in which the replacement unit is to be detachable from the image forming apparatus, and a lock control unit (a control unit) that makes a determination as to whether or not the state of the regulation unit is to be switched from the release state to the regulating state, at a predetermined timing when initial processing is completed after a power source is turned on or a state of the door becomes the closed state from the open state.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposing unit to expose a surface of the photosensitive member, and a developing member to supply toner with normal polarity at a developing portion. A controller, during a non-image formation when a toner image is not formed on a surface of the photosensitive member, controls such that a developing voltage is changed in a predetermined voltage width by applying a first developing voltage while the area of the photosensitive member on which a first surface potential is formed passes through the developing portion and by applying a second developing potential of an opposite polarity side rather than the first developing voltage while the area of the photosensitive member on which a second surface potential is formed passes through the developing portion, and the controller controls such that the surface potential becomes a side of the normal polarity rather than the first developing voltage.

A control device includes circuitry. The circuitry detects density unevenness of a toner image occurring according to a rotation cycle of a plurality of image bearers based on rotation phases and toner image density of the plurality of image bearers, controls rotation phases and rotation speeds of the plurality of image bearers, corrects the rotation phases and the rotation speeds of the plurality of image bearers, controls the rotation speeds of at least two of the plurality of image bearers to be a specified rotation speed, and starts a detection operation of the rotation phases of the plurality of image bearers after a difference between each of the rotation speeds of the at least two of the plurality of image bearers and the specified rotation speed falls within a specified range.

The image forming apparatus includes a cartridge replaceable by detachably mounting to the image forming apparatus, a door that takes a closed state or an open state, a locking pin that switches a state of the regulation unit between a regulating state in which the replacement unit is prevented to be detached from the image forming apparatus and a release state in which the replacement unit is to be detachable from the image forming apparatus, and a lock control unit (a control unit) that makes a determination as to whether or not the state of the regulation unit is to be switched from the release state to the regulating state, at a predetermined timing when initial processing is completed after a power source is turned on or a state of the door becomes the closed state from the open state.

An image forming apparatus includes an operation panel including a display, a belt through which an image formed thereon is transferred to a sheet, a head configured to form an image on the belt, and a controller configured to control the head to form an image on the belt according to operation settings. The controller is configured to, upon receipt of an instruction to execute a first job, determine whether the job includes forming an image, upon determining that the first job includes forming an image, determine whether a first condition for executing an adjustment operation to adjust the settings is satisfied, upon determining that the first condition is satisfied, control the display to display a screen through which execution of the adjustment operation and a timing thereof can be selected, and execute the first job and/or the adjustment operation based on a selection made through the screen.

A printed circuit board has a first mounting surface and a second mounting surface. A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are mounted on the first mounting surface. An electronic component for driving the light-emitting element is mounted on the second mounting surface. A supporting member supports the printed circuit board. The supporting member has a through-hole in which the electronic component is inserted when the printed circuit board is supported by the supporting member.

An image forming apparatus includes: a photoconductor; an optical scanner configured to cause a plurality of light beams to scan simultaneously on a surface of the photoconductor; a pixel size calculator configured to calculate a pixel size corresponding to a scanning position of each of the light beams; a light-quantity value quantization converter configured to quantize a light-quantity value corresponding to the scanning position of each of the light beams; a storage configured to store conversion data for conversion from image density data into a light beam driving signal; a signal converter configured to perform, with the conversion data, conversion from the image density data into the light beam driving signal; a selector configured to select the conversion data, according to the pixel size calculator and the light-quantity value quantization converter; and a light source configured to emit the plurality of light beams, based on driving data obtained through conversion by a driving data converter with the conversion data selected by the selector, in which a number of pieces of the conversion data correspond to a number resulting from a number of obtainable pixel size values×a number of obtainable light-quantity quantized values×a number of light beams.

An example image forming apparatus includes a charger, a developing device, a sensor, and a controller. The charger may apply a plurality of charging voltages to a photoconductor, the plurality of charging voltages having different magnitudes and respectively corresponding to a plurality of area sections constituting a test pattern and the developing device may supply a developer to the photoconductor. The sensor may sense an image formed by the supplied developer and corresponding to the test pattern. The controller may determine a remaining lifetime of the photoconductor based on the image corresponding to the test pattern.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier; a lubricant applicator that applies a lubricant to the image carrier; a hardware processor; and a density unevenness measurer that is provided in the image forming apparatus or outside the image forming apparatus, and measures a first density unevenness for at least one of the density unevenness measurement image formed by the image former in the application unevenness detection mode or a density unevenness measurement image obtained by primary or subsequent transfer of the density unevenness measurement image, wherein the hardware processor detects the application unevenness of the lubricant applied by the lubricant applicator based on the first density unevenness measured by the density unevenness measurer.