An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit including a photosensitive member, a light source, and a developing roller, and a controller configured to control the image forming unit to form a detection image, obtain density data regarding density levels in a plurality of areas in the detection image at a plurality of positions in a scanning direction in which the photosensitive member is scanned with the light from the light source, generate, based on the density data, a first image forming condition for forming a first test image and a second image forming condition for forming a second test image, the second image forming condition being different from the first image forming condition, and control the image forming unit to form the first test image and the second test image, respectively based on the first image forming condition and the second image forming condition.

A method of printing a toner, including: rotating a cylinder having a printing plate with a fixed pattern; transferring a toner from a vessel onto the fixed pattern of the printing plate, in which the toner includes a pigment with a metallic reflective layer; and transferring the toner onto a substrate; in which the fixed pattern defines select portions of an image; and in which the toner correlates to the selected portions of the image is disclosed.

An image forming apparatus includes a conveyor configured to convey a sheet in a first direction, an image forming unit configured to form an image on the sheet conveyed by the conveyor, the image forming unit including a first image forming unit configured to form an image of a first color, and a second image forming unit configured to form an image of a second color different from the first color, a reader configured to read a measurement image formed on a sheet by the image forming unit, the measurement image including a first measurement image and a second measurement image each including a first pattern image of the first color and a second pattern image of the second color.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, an exposure device, an image density sensor, and a control portion. The control portion can, by adjusting the development voltage based on the image density of a reference image and the amount of exposure from the exposure device, perform image density correction to adjust the image density. The control portion predicts the toner charge amount based on a formation condition of the reference image and the image density of the reference image and determines the timing of performing the image density correction next time based on the rate of change of the toner charge amount calculated using a first toner charge amount predicted when the image density correction was performed last time, a second toner charge amount predicted when the image density correction is performed this time, and the interval between the image density correction performed last time and this time.

An image forming system includes an image carrier that rotates, a charging unit that rotates while being in contact with the image carrier and charges a surface of the image carrier by applying a charging bias, a pressing member that presses the charging unit against the image carrier such that a nip width is generated, a developing unit that develops a latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier with toner, and at least one processor, in which the processor is configured to, in a state in which an absolute value of a surface potential of the image carrier charged by the charging unit is lower than an absolute value of a developing potential of the developing unit, increase an absolute value of a potential of the charging unit with a rectangular wave only for a set time during which instantaneous discharge occurs before and after the nip width of the charging unit to the image carrier and no discharge occurs at a center of the nip width such that the absolute value of the surface potential of the image carrier is higher than the absolute value of the developing potential.

An image forming apparatus forms an image on a sheet based on an image forming mode, the image forming mode including a first image forming mode and a second image forming mode for forming an image having a maximum density different from a maximum density of an image in the first image forming mode. The image forming apparatus includes an image processor configured to convert an image signal based on a conversion condition, an image forming unit configured to form an image based on the image signal converted by the image processor, the image forming unit being controlled based on an image forming condition corresponding to the image forming mode, an image bearing member on which a pattern image is to be formed by the image forming unit, and a sensor configured to detect the pattern image formed on the image bearing member.

Provided is an image forming apparatus that forms a toner image by developing an electrostatic latent image which is formed by charging and exposing an image bearing member, and transfers the toner image onto a transferred member. The image forming apparatus can perform developer collection to return a toner image on the image bearing member to developing unit. The image forming apparatus sets a first area in accordance with the toner density and a second area in which density is higher than the first area, along a rotating shaft direction in a collected area which is a target of developer collection, and performs control so that a second back contrast in the second area is higher than a first back contrast in the first area in a case of the developer collection.

An image forming apparatus includes a first optical writer; a second optical writer adjacent to the first optical writer in the scanning direction; an image former; and multiple sensors. Each end of the first scanning region and the second scanning region is overlapped in a first overlapping region of the first image bearer at a center of the first image bearer in the scanning direction. The image former forms a first correction pattern in a first transfer region in the second image bearer corresponding to the first scanning region of the first image bearer; and a second correction pattern in a second transfer region in the second image bearer corresponding to the second scanning region of the first image bearer. The multiple sensors include a common sensor to detect both the first correction pattern and the second correction pattern in a second overlapping region on the second image bearer.

An image forming apparatus includes a density sensing portion, a cleaning portion, and a control portion. The density sensing portion includes a substrate and a sensor package and outputs a sensing value related to a toner density of a toner image formed on an outer circumferential surface of an image carrier. The control portion performs control so that, when the cleaning portion performs cleaning of a sensing surface, a brush is moved to a cleaning position where the brush contacts the sensing surface. The control portion also performs control so that, when the cleaning portion does not perform the cleaning of the sensing surface, the brush is moved to a retracted position where the brush does not contact the sensor package and the substrate.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a charging device, a charging voltage power supply, an exposure device, a development device, a development voltage power supply, an intermediate transfer member, a primary transfer member, a secondary transfer member, a transfer voltage power supply and a control unit. The development device includes a developer carrying member which carries a developer containing a toner. The development voltage power supply applies, to the developer carrying member, a development voltage in which an alternating-current voltage is superimposed on a direct-current voltage. The transfer voltage power supply applies a transfer voltage to the primary transfer member and the secondary transfer member. The control unit performs a first image quality improvement mode in which the frequency of the alternating-current voltage of the development voltage and a primary transfer current flowing between the image carrying member and the primary transfer member are simultaneously changed.