A print agent application assembly cleaning tool is disclosed. The print agent application assembly cleaning tool may include a handle and a flexible blade. The flexible blade may be inserted into a gap between a pair of electrodes of a print agent application assembly. The blade may protrude from a distal end of the handle in a lengthwise direction. The blade may have a width that varies to define a curved profile. The width may reduce and subsequently increase along a length of the blade so as to define a recess in an edge of the blade.

A transfer device includes an intermediate transfer member that has an outer peripheral surface to which a toner image is to be transferred, a primary transfer device that has a primary transfer member performing primary transfer of a toner image formed on a surface of an image holder to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer member, a secondary transfer device that has a secondary transfer member which is arranged in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer member and performs secondary transfer of the toner image transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer member to a surface of a recording medium, and a cleaning device that has a cleaning blade cleaning the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer member, in which a coefficient D of dynamic friction between the intermediate transfer member and the cleaning blade is 0.2 or more and 1.2 or less, a lead-in angle A that a contact portion of the cleaning blade coming into contact with the intermediate transfer member forms with the intermediate transfer member is 15° or more and 80° or less, and the coefficient D of dynamic friction and the lead-in angle A satisfy Expression (1),

lead-in angle A−(50×coefficient D of dynamic friction)>0  Expression (1).

There is provided a method of producing a blade for cleaning a toner image retainer, the method including: binding an abutting layer that abuts against the toner image retainer and a supporting layer that supports the abutting layer, wherein the maximum value D of a difference between a first loss tangent at 1 Hz and a second loss tangent at 100 Hz of the blade that includes the abutting layer and the supporting layer satisfies the formula: 0.2≤D≤0.7, wherein the maximum value D is a maximum value of a difference between the first loss tangent and the second loss tangent at temperatures within a range of 0° C. to 50° C.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearers and a rotatable transferor. Images borne on the plurality of image bearers are transferred to the transferor. The transferor has an elastic power larger than an elastic power of each of the plurality of image bearers, and a difference in elastic power between the transferor and a most upstream image bearer in a rotation direction of the transferor is smaller than a difference in elastic power between the transferor and any other image bearer except the most upstream image bearer of the plurality of image bearers.

A conveying device includes a conveying member that conveys a spray-receiving medium to be sprayed with pressure sensitive adhesive particles having a pressure-induced phase transition property, containing at least a binder resin, and having a sulfur content of 0.1 mass % or more and 0.5 mass % or less relative to an entirety of the pressure sensitive adhesive particles as measured by X-ray fluorescence; and a removing member that contacts the conveying member and removes the pressure sensitive adhesive particles remaining on the conveying member.

A cleaning blade includes a contact part coming into contact with a member to be cleaned, the contact part being constituted by a member containing polyurethane rubber produced by polymerizing at least a polyol component and a polyisocyanate component. The ratio (M100/Re) of 100% modulus (M100 [MPa]) to rebound resilience coefficient (Re [%]) of the member is 0.25 or more. The rebound resilience coefficient (Re [%]) of the member is less than 25%. The tensile stress at 23° C. and 200% strain of the member is 15 MPa or more.

A toner conveying device includes a toner conveying passage through which toner is conveyed, a conveying screw, and a brush member. The conveying screw includes a rotary shaft rotatably arranged inside the toner conveying passage and a helical blade formed on the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft. The brush member has a number of brush bristles that swing while in contact with the outer circumferential face of the conveying screw and that are planted at a predetermined interval along the axial direction of the conveying screw. On the brush member, the blush bristles planted at one place are composed of one to three fibers, and the blush bristles are planted parallel to each other at a predetermined interval of 0.5- to 3 mm.

A cleaning blade is provided. The cleaning blade includes an elastic body having a contact edge to contact a surface of a cleaning target to remove a residue on the surface. The elastic body includes a coating layer on at least a part of the contact edge. The coating layer contains fluorine-based particles and a binder comprising a fluorine-based oil.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging unit that charges a surface of the photosensitive member, an electrostatic image formation unit that forms an electrostatic image on the charged surface of the photosensitive member, a developing unit that includes a developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member with the developer to form a toner image, an intermediate transfer body including a surface layer, the surface layer including an acrylic resin and a fluorine-containing polyether, a first transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a surface of the intermediate transfer body as first transfer, a second transfer unit that transfers the toner image transferred on the surface of the intermediate transfer body to a recording medium as second transfer, and an intermediate transfer body cleaning unit that includes a cleaning blade including a tetrahedral amorphous carbon layer disposed on a surface of a contact portion of the cleaning blade, the contact portion being arranged to contact with the intermediate transfer body, and removes a residual toner by bringing the cleaning blade into contact with the intermediate transfer body. Linear velocities of the intermediate transfer body and the photosensitive member are adjusted to satisfy a requirement (1) below: Requirement (1): 0.3≤|Linear velocity of Intermediate transfer body−Linear velocity of Photosensitive member|/Linear velocity of Intermediate transfer body×100≤1.5

Toner contains toner base particles and an organosilicon polymer on the surface of the toner base particles. After a toner image is transferred from an intermediate transfer belt to a transfer material, residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt is collected into a belt cleaning device by a blade. A CPU executes supply control of supplying toner from a developing device toward the blade via a photosensitive drum and via the intermediate transfer belt on the basis of a counter accumulated value that correlates with an amount of organosilicon polymer adhering to the blade.