A cleaning device includes a cleaning blade, a supporting member, a housing, a pressing member, and a sealing member. The supporting member is a metal member extended in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade. The supporting member includes a first flat surface portion formed along a widthwise direction, a curved surface portion bent toward a rotatable member with respect to a thickness direction of the cleaning blade, and a second flat surface portion formed along the thickness direction of the cleaning blade. As viewed in the longitudinal direction, a swing center of the supporting member is positioned on a rotation center side of the rotatable member than a plane including the first flat surface portion is and than a plane including the second flat surface portion is. The sealing member is provided in contact with the curved surface portion and seals between the supporting member and the housing.

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 (Tan δ) at 1 Hz and a second loss tangent at 100 Hz of the blade that includes the abutting layer and the supporting layer satisfies formula (1):

[Mathematical Formula 1]

0.2≤D≤0.7  (1)

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 an image carrier to rotate about a rotation axis, a cleaning blade to contact a surface of the image carrier, and a protective agent coater. The protective agent coater has a rotatable shaft extending along the rotation axis of the image carrier, an elastic body formed around the rotatable shaft, and a waste toner supply member. The waste toner supply member supplies waste toner to the elastic body of the protective agent coater. The elastic body transfers protective agent from a protective agent supply to the image carrier. The protective agent coater is positioned upstream of the cleaning blade in the rotation direction of the image carrier.

An image forming apparatus comprises an image carrier to rotate about a rotation axis, a cleaning blade to contact a surface of the image carrier, and a protective agent coater. The protective agent coater has a rotatable shaft extending along the rotation axis of the image carrier, an elastic body formed around the rotatable shaft, and a waste toner supply member. The waste toner supply member supplies waste toner to the elastic body of the protective agent coater. The elastic body transfers protective agent from a protective agent supply to the image carrier. The protective agent coater is positioned upstream of the cleaning blade in the rotation direction of the image carrier.

A developing device includes a rotatable developer carrying member carrying a liquid developer on a carrying surface for developing an electrostatic latent image borne on an image bearing member, and an end portion restricting member, provided in contact with the developer carrying member at an end portion of the developer carrying member with respect its rotational axis direction, for restricting movement of the liquid developer in the rotational axis direction of the developer carrying member. A contact angle of the liquid developer to a side surface of the end portion restricting member on a side where the developer carrying member carries the liquid developer is larger than a contact angle of the liquid developer to the carrying surface of the developer carrying member, and the contact angle of the liquid developer to the side surface of the end portion restricting member is 45° or more.

A cleaning blade includes an elastic member to contact a surface of a cleaning target member. The elastic member includes a base material and a surface layer on at least a part of a lower surface of the base material including a contact part. Martens hardness of the surface layer has a gradient of decrease from a surface of the surface layer toward the lower surface of the base material in a film thickness direction. The Martens hardness is 2.5 to 32.5 N/mm.sup.2 in a range from a vicinity of the surface (with a load of 1 μN) to a deepest part in the film thickness direction (with a load of 1000 μN). An average film thickness of the surface layer is 10 μm or more to 500 μm or less. A content of a siloxane-based compound in the surface layer is 4 to 15% by mass.

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 drum cartridge includes a blade, a sheet metal member, a support member, and a fastening member. One of the sheet metal member and the support member includes a first center hole which is formed at a center portion, and a fastening member receiving portion formed at a first end side and configured to fasten the fastening member. The other of the sheet metal member and the support member includes a second center hole which is formed at the center portion, and a through hole which is formed at the first end side and through which the fastening member is passed. The first center hole and the second center hole are arranged such that centers thereof are overlapped. The through hole is configured to be larger than the fastening member receiving portion in a swinging direction with the first and second center holes serving as the center of swing.

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 cleaning device includes a cleaning unit that cleans an object to be cleaned that moves by bringing a contact portion into contact with the object to be cleaned, the contact portion extending in a width direction that crosses a moving direction in which the object to be cleaned moves, the cleaning unit including a supported surface at a downstream side in the moving direction; and a support unit including a supporting surface that faces the supported surface and that includes a bonded portion bonded to the supported surface, the support unit supporting the cleaning unit at the bonded portion. The bonded portion is provided at an intermediate position of the supporting surface in a direction in which the supporting surface extends toward the object to be cleaned, and the support unit includes an extending portion that extends further toward the object to be cleaned from the bonded portion.