An image forming apparatus includes an image holding unit that holds an image that is formed of a developer, the image being intended to be transferred onto a medium, and an image that is not intended to be transferred onto a medium, a transfer unit that transfers the image that is intended to be transferred onto a medium onto a medium, a removing unit that removes the image that is not intended to be transferred onto a medium from the image holding unit, and a forming unit that forms the image that is not intended to be transferred onto a medium onto the image holding unit by using a developer and that has a first forming mode for a first medium and a second forming mode for a second medium that has a transfer sensitivity lower than a transfer sensitivity of the first medium, the forming unit being configured to use a larger amount of the developer in formation of the image that is not intended to be transferred onto a medium in the first forming mode than in the second forming mode.

A sheet conveyance device includes a conveyance unit, a skew conveyance unit, and an abutment unit. The conveyance unit conveys a sheet in a conveyance direction. The skew conveyance unit conveys the sheet in a first direction inclined to the conveyance direction. The skew conveyance unit is rotatable about an axial line orthogonal to the first direction. The abutment unit on which a side end portion of the sheet in a width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed by the skew conveyance unit abuts. The abutment unit includes an abutment member extending in the conveyance direction and having a first surface, and a sheet member in a sheet form, wherein the sheet member is detachably attached to the first surface. The conveyed sheet is conveyed by the skew conveyance unit with the side end portion of the sheet abutting on the sheet member.

In an image forming apparatus, a detecting unit is configured to detect a characteristic value indicating a characteristic of a recording material fed from a sheet feeding unit. A determination unit is configured to determine a type of the recording material, based on the detected characteristic value and a determination rule for determining a type of a recording material. A control unit is configured to control an image forming condition for performing image formation onto the recording material in accordance with the determined type of the recording material. A collection unit is configured to collect an operation history of the image forming apparatus. An adjustment unit is configured to adjust the determination rule used by the determination unit based on the collected operation history.

A method for producing a printed material includes providing pressure-induced phase transition particles on a recording medium having an arithmetic average roughness Ra of 0.07 μm or more and 3.80 μm or less to form a pressure-induced phase transition particle layer having a coverage C within a range of 30% to 90%; bonding the pressure-induced phase transition particles onto the recording medium; and folding the recording medium having the pressure-induced phase transition particles bonded thereon and pressure-bonding the folded recording medium, or pressure-bonding the recording medium having the pressure-induced phase transition particles bonded thereon and another recording medium placed on top of each other. The pressure-induced phase transition particles contain a styrene resin containing styrene and a vinyl monomer other than styrene as polymerization components, and a (meth)acrylic acid ester resin that contains at least two(meth)acrylic acid esters as polymerization components, and a mass ratio of the (meth)acrylic acid esters relative to a total of polymerization components of the (meth)acrylic acid ester resin is 90 mass % or more. The pressure-induced phase transition particles have at least two glass transition temperatures, and the difference between the lowest glass transition temperature and the highest glass transition temperature among the glass transition temperatures exhibited by the pressure-induced phase transition particles is 30° C. or more.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier unit, an image display control unit, and a forming unit. The image carrier unit holds images formed from a developer. The images include an image intended to be transferred to a medium and an image unintended to be transferred to the medium. The image display control unit causes a display unit to display an image asking whether the image unintended to be transferred is to be formed when a predetermined condition for forming the image unintended to be transferred is satisfied. The forming unit forms the image unintended to be transferred to the medium when a command of forming the image unintended to be transferred to the medium is input to a display on the display unit.

An image forming method for an image forming apparatus having a fixing rotator and a pressure rotator opposite the fixing rotator includes transferring white toner and color toner onto a surface of a metallic sheet. The metallic sheet has a thermal conductivity of 0.34 W/m.Math.K or less as measured by hot-wire method. The transferring process forms an unfixed color toner layer layered on an unfixed white toner layer on the metallic sheet. Further, the method includes conveying the metallic sheet, with the surface on which the white toner layer and the color toner layer being transferred facing the fixing rotator, between the fixing rotator heated and the pressure rotator to fix the white toner layer and the color toner layer onto the metallic sheet.

A printing system includes a printing apparatus that prints an image on a sheet, a sheet processer that executes sheet processing, and a sheet detection sensor that detects a sheet on which the sheet processing is performed not in association with the printing of an image, where the printing of an image is restricted in response to detection of a sheet by the sheet detection sensor.

A printable media, including a carrier layer including a first surface including a first area, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a first rigidity, a fabric layer including a third surface, a fourth surface opposite the third surface and including a second area, and a second rigidity less than the first rigidity, and a first adhesive, wherein the fabric layer is secured to the carrier layer by the first adhesive bonding a first portion of the fourth surface to the first surface.

A method of forming an image on a print media including releasably securing a fabric layer to a carrier layer, the carrier layer including a first surface including a first area, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a first rigidity, the fabric layer including a third surface, a fourth surface opposite the third surface and including a second area, and a second rigidity less than the first rigidity, and a first adhesive, wherein the fabric layer is secured to the carrier layer by the first adhesive bonding a first portion of the fourth surface to the first surface, applying a first liquid marking material to a first portion of the third surface of the fabric layer, and drying the first liquid marking material to the first portion of the third surface with a first dryer.

An image forming apparatus includes a second conveyance guide diverging from a first conveyance guide at a bifurcation and joining the first conveyance guide at a junction, the bifurcation being downstream of a first position of an image former in a conveyance direction, the junction being upstream of the first position in the conveyance direction, first and second sensors disposed in second and third positions between the junction and the first position along the first conveyance guide, respectively, and a controller that, when a sheet passes through the second and third positions for a second time, detects a surface characteristic of a side of the sheet by the first sensor and determines an image forming condition for the side based on the surface characteristic of the side and a basis weight detected by the second sensor when the sheet passed through the second and third positions for a first time.