This disclosure is directed to a material composition that may be usable as a surface component in a plate design for use in variable data digital lithographic image forming devices. The disclosed material composition incorporates infra-red (IR) absorbing filler materials, including carbon black filler material particles in a fluorosilicone polymer or elastomer. The inclusion of the disclosed carbon black material compositions promotes precise heating in a patterning step for a layer of dampening fluid while minimizing harmful byproduct emissions including emissions of trifluoropropionaldehyde (TFPA) resulting from localized heating of a principally fluorosilicone imaging layer. The disclosed homogeneously-dispersed carbon black particles are particularly usable for improving operational characteristics of fluorosilocone-based reimageable surface layers of imaging members employed in the variable data digital lithographic image forming devices.

An intermediate transfer belt includes a thermoplastic resin and a fibrous material. The fibrous material has an orientation angle Fa of from 5 to 30 in a direction perpendicular to a circumferential direction of the intermediate transfer belt.

An image forming apparatus includes an intermediary transfer belt, stretching rollers, a pressing member, a supporting member, a moving mechanism, and a controller. In a case that an operation in a toner image transfer mode is executed for recording materials of a predetermined kind in a predetermined environmental condition, when a sum of times each in which the operation was executed from a new state of the pressing member is a first time, a position of the supporting member during execution of the operation in the mode is a first position, and when the sum is a second time longer than the first time, the position of the supporting member during the execution of the operation is a second position where the pressing member is moved in a direction in which the pressing member presses the belt more than in the first position.

A transfer unit that transfers a developing agent image formed with a developing agent, includes a belt; and a rotational body that stretches the belt. The rotational body includes a shaft body, and a surface layer provided on an outer side of the shaft body in radial directions. Surface roughness of an outer peripheral surface of the surface layer is greater than a volume mean particle diameter of the developing agent.

A transfer device includes: a transfer member that is formed in an endless band-like shape and to which a toner image is transferred; a transfer cylinder that includes a cylinder body having an outer peripheral surface at which a recess portion extending in an axial direction is formed and a transfer jacket that is wound around the outer peripheral surface such that both end portions of the transfer jacket are disposed outside the recess portion; and a transfer roll that extends in the axial direction, that transfers the toner image to a recording medium wound around the transfer cylinder while sandwiching the transfer member together with the transfer jacket, and that repeats collision and separation with respect to the transfer jacket as the transfer roll passes through the recess portion, in which at least one end portion out of both end portions of the transfer jacket includes an edge that is not parallel to an axis of the transfer roll.

An image forming apparatus includes: a formation body on which a latent image is developed so that an image is formed; a transfer belt with an outer peripheral surface onto which the image formed on the formation body is transferred, the transfer belt having an annular shape; a driving roll around which the transfer belt is wound and that causes the transfer belt to revolve; a transfer body that transfers, at a transfer region between the transfer body and the transfer belt, the image from the transfer belt to a recording medium while transporting the recording medium; a drive mechanism that rotationally drives the transfer body; a detection unit that detects a predetermined rotation position of the transfer body; a writing unit that writes the latent image on the formation body based on a detection timing at which the detection unit detects the rotation position; and a speed adjustment mechanism that adjusts a rotation speed of the transfer body rotated by the drive mechanism each time the transfer body makes one rotation, that switches between a first adjustment pattern and a second adjustment pattern in which a speed profile is different from the first adjustment pattern each time the transfer body makes one rotation, and that synchronizes a switching timing, at which switching between the adjustment patterns is performed, with the detection timing.

An intermediate transfer belt assembly includes an intermediate transfer roller located on an inner side of an intermediate transfer belt to support the intermediate transfer belt, an accommodation portion to accommodate foreign matter, the accommodation portion having an inlet open toward the intermediate transfer belt, and a shutter to open or close the inlet.

Provided is an image forming apparatus including: an image bearing member which is configured to bear a toner image; an intermediate transfer belt; a transfer roller; a drive roller; a driven roller; a meandering prevention pulley; and a meandering prevention belt. The meandering prevention pulley is arranged to face an end surface of the driven roller in an axial direction of the driven roller. The meandering prevention belt is arranged on an outside in the axial direction relative to the meandering prevention pulley, and protrudes from an inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt. The meandering prevention pulley has a guide surface which faces the meandering prevention belt in the axial direction, and which is formed to have a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.5 m or more.

Provided is a belt for electrophotography which is capable of suppressing the occurrence of adhesion to other members and blocking and which is less liable to cause image defects due to a singular protrusion. The belt for electrophotography comprises a surface layer which comprises heteroaggregate including an inorganic oxide particle having an average primary particle diameter of from 10 to 30 nm and an electroconductive metal oxide particle having an average primary particle diameter of from 5 to 40 nm, and a ten-point average roughness Rzjis of a surface of the surface layer satisfies a relationship: 0.3 mRzjis0.7 m.

A transfer device includes a conveyance belt, a transfer roller, and a stretch roller. The conveyance belt is in contact with an image carrier that carries a toner image, and conveys a sheet via a contact position with the image carrier. A voltage having a polarity opposite to a charging polarity of toner that forms the toner image is applied to the transfer roller, and the transfer roller transfers the toner image carried by the image carrier onto the sheet at the contact position. The stretch roller stretches the conveyance belt at a separation position in which the sheet is separated from the conveyance belt and which is downstream of the contact position in a conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed by the conveyance belt, and the voltage having the polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the stretch roller.