An image forming apparatus includes a transfer section, a guide section, and a plate material. The transfer section transfers an image to a recording material. The guide section guides the recording material toward the transfer section. The plate material is provided on the guide section, and is more easily elastically deformable than the guide section. The plate material guides the recording material, which is transported to the plate material, along a plate surface of the plate material. The plate material is thinner on a downstream side in a transport direction than on an upstream side.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer unit, a contact unit, and a constant-current controller. The transfer unit nips a recording medium using an image retaining unit and a transfer member and generates a transfer electric field in a transfer region therebetween so as to electrostatically transfer the image onto the recording medium. The contact unit is provided upstream and downstream of the transfer region in a recording-medium transport direction and comes into contact with the recording medium while the recording medium passes through the transfer region, so as to function as an electrode leading to a ground. The constant-current controller performs constant-current control on a transfer current to be fed to the transfer region by using a transfer voltage when the recording medium is a low-resistance recording medium having a predetermined resistance value or lower or having an electrically-conductive layer along a medium base surface.

Provided is an image forming apparatus including a transfer unit and a development unit. The transfer unit includes a first guide member being a conveyance guide that guides a paper sheet to a transfer nip portion. The first guide member is formed of a conductive metal or the like, and is electrically connected to a grounding current path. The development unit includes a second guide member being a conveyance guide that guides the paper sheet to the transfer nip portion. The second guide member is formed of a conductive metal or the like. The second guide member has an elastic portion that abuts against the first guide member. The elastic portion is elastically deformable in an attaching and detaching direction of the development unit and in an attaching and detaching direction of the transfer unit.

An image forming apparatus fixes a toner image on a transfer material at a fixing portion by applying an AC voltage from an AC power source to a fixing unit and includes a conductive pre-transfer guide on a position at which the transfer material nipped by a transfer portion and the fixing portion is in contact therewith. A capacitor and a Zener diode which is connected to the capacitor in parallel and maintains the pre-transfer guide at a predetermined voltage in a state in which a toner image is transferred to the transfer material nipped by the fixing portion and the transfer portion are arranged between the pre-transfer guide and the ground.

A heating apparatus includes a body and a holder removably placed inside the body. The holder removably holds a heating object. A receiver removably holds the holder. A heater heats the heating object held by the holder held by the receiver. A mover moves one of the receiver and the heater vertically relative to another one of the receiver and the heater to a non-contact heating position where the heating object is isolated from the heater.

A transfer device includes a transfer unit that transfers an image on an image carrier carrying the image onto a first surface of a recording material by applying a voltage containing an alternating-current component to the recording material; and a humidifying unit that humidifies the recording material transported toward the transfer unit from a second surface of the recording material that is opposite to the first surface.

In a method and device for drying a printed recording medium, a printed recording medium is introduced into a heated first chamber in which a temperature suitable for drying the recording medium and a first pressure are set. The printed recording medium is also introduced into a second chamber in which a second temperature that is suitable for cooling the recording medium for a further processing and a second pressure are set. The first pressure can be provided to be lower than the second pressure.

The invention achieves uniform image quality for every transfer regardless of a moisture content on a surface of a paper sheet when a plurality of transfer processes is to be made on a single paper. A copier (1A) is provided with a optical sensor (20) which includes at least one light source, illuminates a paper sheet (P) with light, receives the light reflected from the paper sheet (P), and measures the received light intensity. Before each of a plurality of transfer processes, the copier (1A) calculates a moisture content on a surface of the paper sheet (P) from the light intensity measured by the optical sensor (20), and sets a transfer condition of a transfer device (15) based on the calculated moisture content on the surface of the paper sheet (P).

A transfer device includes a transfer unit that transfers an image on an image carrier carrying the image onto a first surface of a recording material by applying a voltage containing an alternating-current component to the recording material; and a humidifying unit that humidifies the recording material transported toward the transfer unit from a second surface of the recording material that is opposite to the first surface.

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding unit that holds a toner image, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image held by the image holding unit onto a medium in a transfer region, a reduction unit that is positioned further upstream than the transfer region and that reduces an electrical resistance of a first surface of the medium, the first surface being opposite to a second surface of the medium onto which an image is to be transferred, and a control unit that controls the reduction unit in accordance with a type of a medium to be used in such a manner that the electrical resistance of the first surface does not exceed a predetermined range.