An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes an image bearer and a cleaning blade configured to remove toner particles remaining on the image bearer. The cleaning blade includes an elastic member in contact with a surface of the image bearer to remove the toner particles. The elastic member has a Martens hardness of from 3 to 8 N/mm.sup.2 when measured by a nanoindentation method with a load of 1 μN. The toner particles comprise toner base particles and an external additive, and the external additive comprise silica particles. A liberation ratio (Xs) of the silica particles liberated from the toner particles is from 40% to 75% when measured by an ultrasonic vibration method. A proportion (R70) of the silica particles having a volume-based particle diameter of 70 nm or more in the silica particles liberated from the toner particles is from 70% to 90% by number.

A cleaning body includes a core and a foamed elastic layer spirally wound around an outer circumferential surface of the core from one end of the core to the other end. An end portion of a cell skeleton protruding from a surface of the foamed elastic layer has an equivalent circle diameter of 50 m or less. The foamed elastic layer has a spiral pitch R2 of 5 mm or less and a spiral angle of 15 or less.

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a charging unit; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit that includes an electrostatic image developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the image holding member with the electrostatic image developer to form a toner image; a transfer unit; and a cleaning unit that removes toner particles present on the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade arranged to contact with the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade A containing a contacting portion having a JIS-A hardness of 90 or more, or the cleaning unit includes a control unit B that controls a load with which the cleaning blade contacts with the image holding member, the control unit B controlling the load in a constant load mode. The toner includes toner particles; and silica particles having a number average particle size of 110 nm to 130 nm, a large-diameter-side number particle size distribution index (upper GSDp) of less than 1.080, and an average circularity of 0.94 to 0.98, wherein 80 number % or more of the silica particles have a circularity of 0.92 or more.

A method for manufacturing a blade for electrophotographic devices and a blade for electrophotographic devices are provided. The method includes: an impregnation step of impregnating, from the surface of at least a part of a blade-shaped substrate containing urethane rubber, with a blocked isocyanate in which an isocyanate group is blocked with a blocking agent, wherein the part includes a portion that comes into contact with a mating member; and a curing step of dissociating the blocking agent from the blocked isocyanate impregnated into the substrate in the impregnation step, and then curing the released isocyanate in the substrate to form a cured portion in at least the part of the substrate including the portion that comes into contact with the mating member. In the method, the isocyanate released from the blocked isocyanate includes an aromatic isocyanate.

A cleaning device includes a thin plate-shaped first blade that cleans a surface of a toner carrying body by making a tip portion come in contact with the toner carrying body to carry toner. The first blade includes a substrate and a coat layer covering a surface of the substrate. In the first blade, a cross-sectional shape, in a thickness direction, of the tip portion is a convex shape, or a protruding shape in which a center side protrudes more than an end portion of a contact side.

A cleaning pad can be attached onto an inner surface of a transport belt so the cleaning pad can move with the transport belt along hardware of a marking system, including support rollers and a marking platen to remove ink from the marking platen and support rollers of the rendering device as the transport belt cycles through its typical path within the rendering system.

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a charging unit; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit that includes an electrostatic image developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the image holding member with the electrostatic image developer to form a toner image; a transfer unit; and a cleaning unit that removes toner particles present on the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade arranged to contact with the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade A containing a contacting portion having a JIS-A hardness of 90 or more, or the cleaning unit includes a control unit B that controls a load with which the cleaning blade contacts with the image holding member, the control unit B controlling the load in a constant load mode. The toner includes toner particles; and silica particles having a number average particle size of 110 nm to 130 nm, a large-diameter-side number particle size distribution index (upper GSDp) of less than 1.080, and an average circularity of 0.94 to 0.98, wherein 80 number % or more of the silica particles have a circularity of 0.92 or more.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer carrying member, and a cleaning member including an elastic blade and a regulating portion. When an average of a free length L1 [mm] of the elastic blade in the image bearing region in the widthwise direction of the elastic blade is an average free length L1a [mm], an average of a free length L2 [mm] of the elastic blade on an outside of the developing region in the widthwise direction of the elastic blade is an average free length L2a [mm], and an absolute value of a difference between the average free length L1a and the average free length L2a is a free length difference L [mm], the following relationships are satisfied:

L2a 1.2L1a,

L2L2aL0.2, and

L1L1a+L0.2.

A cleaning blade includes a blade member including a ridgeline portion. The ridgeline portion contains polyrotaxane. A sheet conveyance roller includes a core and a surface layer. The surface layer contains polyrotaxane.

The present disclosure relates to an electrophotographic printer comprising a photoconductive cylinder, and a cleaning element comprising an absorbent foam substrate. The absorbent foam substrate has an abrasive material disposed on at least an outer surface of the absorbent foam substrate. At least part of the outer surface of the absorbent foam substrate is engageable with the photoconductive cylinder.