A brilliant developer contains a metallic pigment containing pigment particles, a binder resin, and an external additive. A percentage of the pigment particles not less than 2 μm and not more than 4 μm in a volume particle size distribution of a residue separated from a mixture obtained by dissolving the brilliant developer in tetrahydrofuran after removing the external additive from the brilliant developer is not less than 21.5% and not more than 25.3%.

A powder supplying device includes: a storage section including a storage container that includes an interior space in which a powder is stored and a discharge port through which the powder is discharged from the interior space to the exterior; a roller an outer peripheral surface of which is rough and which is provided across the interior space and the exterior and configured to rotate in the discharge port; and a powder-discharging-amount adjusting section that includes a pressing member which is formed of an elastic porous body and which is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the roller.

A powder leveler includes: a structure having an internal space in which powder moves; a sheet-shaped leveling member that rotates while having a first end thereof attached to a rotation shaft disposed inside the structure, and that comes into contact with part of the powder accumulating at a portion inside the structure close to a free end thereof located away from the rotation shaft to level out the powder; and an obstacle located inside the structure at a position on a rotation path of the leveling member to obstruct the rotation path, the obstacle allowing the leveling member to pass thereby while the leveling member is rotating and being bent as a result of partially coming into contact with the obstacle. The leveling member includes multiple first discontinuous portions in at least a range in which the rotation path is obstructed by the obstacle while the leveling member is rotating, the multiple first discontinuous portions extend inward from an end closer to the free end in a direction obliquely crossing an axis of the rotation shaft, and the first discontinuous portions have terminal ends located within the range.

A toner includes: a crystalline polyester, an amorphous polyester, and a release agent. In measurement through DSC of the toner before a predetermined storage treatment, one or more peaks as an endothermic component are present in a temperature region lower than a peak derived from the crystalline polyester. The toner satisfies expression (1) below.

[00001]$1.5\le \text{H}1-\text{H}2\le 4.5\left[\text{J}/\text{g}\right]$

In the expression (1), H1 is a total endothermic amount of an endothermic amount of the peak derived from the crystalline polyester and the one or more peaks present in the lower temperature region in the measurement through DSC of the toner before the storage treatment. H2 is an endothermic amount of a peak derived from the crystalline polyester in measurement through DSC of the toner after the storage treatment.

An image forming apparatus includes: a toner supplying portion including a first attachment portion; and a waste toner collecting portion including a second attachment portion. The toner container includes a positioning member and a compatible key. The first attachment portion includes a first engaging portion configured to position the toner container to the first attachment position. The second attachment portion includes a second engaging portion configured to position the toner container to the second attachment position. The first engaging portion and the positioning member are formed in a shape that allows the toner container of the type corresponding to the first attachment portion to be selectively attached to the first attachment portion. The second engaging portion is formed in a shape that allows the positioning member to be engaged with a toner container of any one of a plurality of types.

The image forming apparatus includes a drum cartridge having a photosensitive drum and a drum drive input member; a developing cartridge configured to be movably mounted to the drum cartridge, the developing cartridge comprising a developing roller disposed so as to face the photosensitive drum and a developing drive input member; a drum drive transmission member configured to engage with the drum drive input member and configured to transmit drum driving force to the drum drive input member while permitting a positional gap of the drum drive input member within a predetermined range; and a developing drive transmission member configured to engage with the developing drive input member and configured to transmit developing driving force to the developing drive input member while permitting a positional gap of the developing drive input member within a predetermined range.

An image forming apparatus includes: a first gear train including a first clutch; a second gear train including a second clutch; a third gear train including a third clutch; a fourth gear train including a fourth clutch; a motor including an output shaft; an output gear rotatable with the output shaft; a fifth gear train connected to the first and second clutches; and a sixth gear train connected to the third and fourth clutches. The first clutch engages transmission of a driving force to a first developing unit, the second clutch engages transmission of a driving force to a second developing unit, the third clutch engages transmission of a driving force to a third developing unit, and the fourth clutch engages transmission of a driving force to a fourth developing unit. The fifth and sixth gear trains are connected to the output gear independently from each other.

An accommodating container includes a flexible pouch including a bottom portion and a side portion extending from the bottom portion so as to form an opening and a communicating member disposed inside the side portion on a side of the opening and provided with a communicating portion communicating between inside and outside of the pouch. The communicating member includes an opposite surface opposing the bottom portion, and the side portion includes a fold forming portion forming a folding shape along an edge portion of the opposite surface of the communicating member.

Printed matter is provided which includes a recording medium, a colored layer overlying the recording medium, and an infrared-absorbing-pigment-containing layer overlying the recording medium and underlying the colored layer. The colored layer contains a colorant. The infrared-absorbing-pigment-containing layer contains an infrared absorbing pigment having an average diameter of from 120 to 250 nm in the infrared-absorbing-pigment-containing layer.

Provided is a method of operating an image forming apparatus. The method includes: calculating a remaining lifespan of at least one component consumed through an image forming job in the image forming apparatus; determining whether to proceed with a refill operation to refill a toner in a cartridge of the image forming apparatus, based on the remaining lifespan of the at least one component; and displaying guide information to guide the refill operation based on a result of the determining.