An electrostatic-image developing toner includes toner particles including a binder resin including an amorphous resin including a polyester resin segment and a styrene acrylate resin segment and a release agent. The content of 1-amino-2-methoxybenzene in the electrostatic-image developing toner is 200 ppm by mass or less.

In an image forming method according to the present invention, an image is formed by removing residual charge from the image on an image recording medium. The image forming method includes formation of an image for forming a toner image by fixing a toner on the image recording medium and application of voltage from a voltage applier, the voltage having a polarity reverse to a polarity of a surface potential of the toner image. The toner includes toner base particles and an external additive. The toner base particles include a crystalline polyester resin.

Provided are a toner for developing electrostatic images excellent in low-temperature fusing property, gloss and carrier contamination resistance, and a wax dispersant. [1] A toner for developing electrostatic images, containing an amorphous composite resin (A), an amorphous polyester resin (B), and a wax, wherein the amorphous composite resin (A) contains a polyester resin segment which is a polycondensate of an alcohol component containing an aromatic diol and a carboxylic acid component containing an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid whose main chain has 8 or more and 14 or less carbon atoms, a vinylic resin segment of an addition polymer of a raw material monomer containing a styrenic compound, and a constitutional unit derived from a bireactive monomer, the constitutional unit bonding to the polyester resin segment and the vinylic resin segment each via a covalent bond; and has a glass transition temperature not lower than 45 C., and the ratio by mass of the amorphous composite resin (A) to the amorphous polyester resin (B) [(A)/(B)] is 1/99 or more and 60/40 or less; and [2] a wax dispersant containing the amorphous composite resin (A).

An electrostatic image developing toner includes a toner particle and an external additive. The toner particle contains a binder resin and a release agent that includes a hydrocarbon wax. The binder resin includes a vinyl resin and a hybrid resin in which an amorphous resin unit other than polyester resins and a crystalline polyester resin unit are chemically bound together. The toner particle has hybrid resin domains and release agent domains. An average distance Lhyb from the surface of the toner particle to the centers of the hybrid resin domains and an average distance Lwax from the surface of the toner particle to the centers of the release agent domains satisfy Lwax<Lhyb.

Provided are a binder resin composition for toner excellent in low-temperature fusing property, storage stability and durability, a toner for developing electrostatic images that contains the binder resin composition for toner, and a method for producing the binder resin composition for toner. The binder resin composition for toner contains a resin composition (C-P) prepared by condensing an acid group-having crystalline resin (C) and a polyalkyleneimine, and an amorphous resin (A).

A toner composition includes low and high molecular weight polyester resins. It also includes a release agent, such as a polyolefin wax, and a tri-block copolymer having a structure of the form A-b-B-b-A, wherein A is a hard block and B is a soft block. The hard block is styrene, while the soft block is butadiene/butylene. Upon partial hydrogenation, the copolymer provides improved dispersion, mobility control, and domain size of the release agent.

An electrostatic image developing toner includes a toner particle and an external additive. The toner particle contains a binder resin and a release agent that includes a hydrocarbon wax. The binder resin includes a vinyl resin and a hybrid resin in which an amorphous resin unit other than polyester resins and a crystalline polyester resin unit are chemically bound together. The toner particle has hybrid resin domains and release agent domains. An average distance Lhyb from the surface of the toner particle to the centers of the hybrid resin domains and an average distance Lwax from the surface of the toner particle to the centers of the release agent domains satisfy Lwax<Lhyb.

A method of producing a toner including the steps of: mixing resin fine particles, an organic solvent, and a resin R with a dispersion medium containing carbon dioxide, to prepare a dispersion of resin R-containing droplets; and removing the organic solvent by flowing carbon dioxide, wherein the resin fine particles contain one or more resins that have a partial structure A, B, and C, and are soluble in chloroform; the SP value of the partial structure A, the resin R, and the partial structure B satisfy particular relationships; a resin A constituted of the partial structure A and a resin B constituted of the partial structure B are soluble in the organic solvent; and a resin C constituted of the partial structure C is insoluble in the organic solvent.

A photoresponsive polymer includes a structural unit represented by the following general formula (1), the photoresponsive polymer being fluidized by light irradiation, and reversibly non-fluidized:
[Chemical formula 1]
R.sub.1Z.sub.1?Z.sub.2R.sub.2General formula (1) in the formula, Z.sub.1 and Z.sub.2 each represent CH or N, and Z.sub.1?Z.sub.2, R.sub.1 represents an aromatic hydrocarbon group having a substituent R.sub.a selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, and a halogen atom at each of two ortho positions with respect to Z.sub.1, R.sub.2 represents an aromatic heterocyclic group with or without a substituent, and at least one of the R.sub.1 and the R.sub.2 is bonded to a group containing a structure derived from a polymerizable group.

In an image forming method according to the present invention, an image is formed by removing residual charge from the image on an image recording medium. The image forming method includes formation of an image for forming a toner image by fixing a toner on the image recording medium and application of voltage from a voltage applier, the voltage having a polarity reverse to a polarity of a surface potential of the toner image. The toner includes toner base particles and an external additive. The toner base particles include a crystalline polyester resin.