An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a charging unit; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit that includes an electrostatic image developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the image holding member with the electrostatic image developer to form a toner image; a transfer unit; and a cleaning unit that removes toner particles present on the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade arranged to contact with the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade A containing a contacting portion having a JIS-A hardness of 90 or more, or the cleaning unit includes a control unit B that controls a load with which the cleaning blade contacts with the image holding member, the control unit B controlling the load in a constant load mode. The toner includes toner particles; and silica particles having a number average particle size of 110 nm to 130 nm, a large-diameter-side number particle size distribution index (upper GSDp) of less than 1.080, and an average circularity of 0.94 to 0.98, wherein 80 number % or more of the silica particles have a circularity of 0.92 or more.

In an example, charged particles suspended in a non-conductive fluid are fed to a transfer device. A width of a charged particles layer of uniform density on a surface of the transfer device is controlled. Charged particles are transferred from the charged particles layer to a photo imaging plate of a liquid electro-photographic printing system.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, a driving unit and an operation unit. The image forming section includes one or more image forming units. The driving unit generates driving force. The operation unit selectively performs a first operation and a second operation. The first operation is an operation to change over from a coupled state of the one or more image forming units and the driving unit, which the driving force is transmitted to the one or more image forming units, to a released state of the one or more image forming unit and the driving unit, which the driving force from the driving unit is not transmitted to the one or more image forming units. When the second operation is performed, the released state is maintained.

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a charging unit; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit that includes an electrostatic image developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the image holding member with the electrostatic image developer to form a toner image; a transfer unit; and a cleaning unit that removes toner particles present on the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade arranged to contact with the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade A containing a contacting portion having a JIS-A hardness of 90 or more, or the cleaning unit includes a control unit B that controls a load with which the cleaning blade contacts with the image holding member, the control unit B controlling the load in a constant load mode. The toner includes toner particles; and silica particles having a number average particle size of 110 nm to 130 nm, a large-diameter-side number particle size distribution index (upper GSDp) of less than 1.080, and an average circularity of 0.94 to 0.98, wherein 80 number % or more of the silica particles have a circularity of 0.92 or more.

A conductive structure of a process cartridge that includes a cartridge body and a charging roller, includes: a first support member and a second support member arranged at opposite ends of the charging roller along an axial direction of the charging roller; a metal conductive member connected to the first support member, the conductive member including a first end penetrating the first support member and directly contacting the charging roller, and a second end located outside the first support member; a conductive spring connected to the second end of the conductive member, the conductive spring including a first end connected to the first support member, and a second end abutting against the cartridge body; and a conductive wire having one end connected to the conductive spring, wherein the conductive wire, the conductive spring, and the conductive member constitute a conductor for stable current delivery.

An image forming apparatus has a bias controller. The bias controller varies both a charging alternating-current frequency, which is the frequency of a charging alternating-current voltage, and a developing alternating-current frequency, which is the frequency of the developing alternating-current voltage. When the region of the charging and developing alternating-current frequencies in which interference fringes appear in a developed image due to interference between the charging and developing alternating-current frequencies is taken as a variation region and the variation speeds of the charging and developing alternating-current frequencies in the variation region are taken as a first and a second variation speed respectively, the bias controller varies the charging and developing alternating-current frequencies such that one of the first and second variation speeds is a positive-number multiple of the other.

In an image forming apparatus, a first photosensitive drum is disposed upstream of a second photosensitive drum in a conveyance direction. Each of first and second developing rollers is movable between a contact position contacting a corresponding photosensitive drum and a separated position separated from the corresponding photosensitive drum. In a first case where a color print process is executed, a first moving mechanism starts moving the first developing roller toward the contact position, a manual feed roller starts picking up the sheet on a manual feed tray, and a second moving mechanism starts moving the second developing roller toward the contact position. In a second case where the monochrome print process is executed, the manual feed roller starts picking up the sheet on the manual feed tray, and the second moving mechanism starts moving the second developing roller toward the contact position.

Provided is an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of reducing the rotational torque of the photoreceptor and also reducing the increase in the rotational torque during long-term use when a cured layer obtained by curing a charge transporting compound having a radically polymerizable group is used as a protective layer. In the electrophotographic photoreceptor, a conductive support, a photosensitive layer, and a protective layer are laminated in this order. The protective layer is formed of a cured product of a composition containing the following: a charge transporting compound having a radically polymerizable functional group; and metal oxide particles surface-treated with a surface treating agent having a silicone chain in a side chain thereof.

A developing device includes a bottom cover part that covers a bottom surface of a developing container and forms an air passage extending in a front and rear direction between the bottom surface and the bottom cover part, an air blowing fan that supplies air into the air passage, and an air receiving port that is provided at a front end part of the air passage and receives the air supplied from the outside of the air passage by the air supply unit. Air discharge ports are provided on wall parts on both right and left sides forming the air passage and discharge the air flowing into the air passage to the outside of the air passage.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that carries an image to be transferred onto a recording medium, a charging member in contact with the image carrier, the charging member that charges the image carrier, an erase unit that erases charge on the image carrier, a current detector that detects a current flowing to the charging member; a forming unit that forms a charged region on a surface of the image carrier, and forms an erased region on the surface of the image carrier using the erase unit, and a state acquisition unit that acquires a deterioration state of the charging member based on (i) a first current flowing in response to applying a voltage from the charging member to the erased region and (ii) a second current flowing in response to applying a voltage from the charging member to the charged region.