A process unit includes a main unit and a toner cartridge. The main unit includes a photosensitive drum, a developing unit, a cleaner, a cleaning frame and a toner recovery pipe. The toner cartridge includes a toner accommodation box and a toner recovery box. The toner accommodation box has a toner supply pipe having a toner supply opening. The toner recovery box has a receiving portion having a toner recovery opening for receiving toner. When the toner cartridge is attached to the main unit, the toner supply pipe is inserted into the insertion opening on the developing frame in a first direction which is perpendicular to a rotation axis of the photosensitive drum. When the toner cartridge is attached to the main unit, the toner recovery pipe is inserted into the receiving portion in a direction parallel to the first direction.

An image forming apparatus includes a developing section, storage, a first calculation section, a comparing section, and an executing section. The developing section develops an electrostatic latent image with toner. The storage stores coverage rates. The first calculation section calculates a first coverage rate and a second coverage rate. The comparing section compares the first coverage rate with the second coverage rate. The first coverage rate includes one or more coverage rates stored earlier in the storage than the second coverage rate. The second coverage rate includes coverage rates of a specified number of latest images individually formed on the specified number of sheets. The running-in operation is driving the developing section. The executing section executes the running-in operation.

A developing device includes a developer cartridge and a developing unit. The developer cartridge, in some instances, may include a shutter. This shutter may have a wall for closing a developer supply hole, and be movable, with respect to a developer cartridge casing, between an open position where the supply hole is opened by the wall and a closed position where the supply hole is closed by the wall. The shutter may further include a protrusion that is movable with respect to the wall of the shutter between a first position and a second position in an axial direction. The protrusion, in the first position, is engageable with a developing unit and, in the second position, would be disengaged from the developing unit.

An image forming apparatus includes an image former, an informing unit, and a hardware processor. The image former prints an image on continuous paper by: forming an electrostatic latent image on an image holder based on image information of a job; developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, thereby forming a toner image on the image holder; and transferring the toner image onto the continuous paper. Based on the image information of the job, the hardware processor calculates a coverage of the image to be printed on the continuous paper. Based on the calculated coverage, the hardware processor determines a continuously printable distance on the continuous paper. The hardware processor causes the informing unit to inform a user of the continuously printable distance before the image former starts the printing.

A developing device includes a developer cartridge and a developing unit. The developer cartridge, in some instances, may include a shutter. This shutter may have a wall for closing a developer supply hole, and be movable, with respect to a developer cartridge casing, between an open position where the supply hole is opened by the wall and a closed position where the supply hole is closed by the wall. The shutter may further include a protrusion that is movable with respect to the wall of the shutter between a first position and a second position in an axial direction. The protrusion, in the first position, is engageable with a developing unit and, in the second position, would be disengaged from the developing unit.

A developing device includes a developer transport path through which a developer is agitated and transported, a developing roller mounted in the developer transport path, a discharging unit extending from the developer transport path in a length direction of the developing roller, the discharging unit including an air outlet from which air is discharged and a developer discharge outlet from which the developer is discharged, and a separating member mounted in the discharging unit to separate an inner portion of the discharging unit into an air discharge path, connecting the developer transport path and the air outlet, and a developer discharge path, connecting the developer transport path and the developer discharge outlet.

A developing device for forming an image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier with a developer, includes: a developing container that accommodates the developer; a developing roller that faces the image carrier, is disposed adjacent to the developing container, and conveys the developer accommodated in the developing container to the image carrier, and a developer discharging part that is provided in the developing container and discharges a part of the developer, wherein a discharge amount of the developer discharged by the developer discharging part is controlled on the basis of a charge amount of a toner included in the developer.

A developing device includes a developer cartridge and a developing unit. The developer cartridge, in some instances, may include a shutter. This shutter may have a wall for closing a developer supply hole, and be movable, with respect to a developer cartridge casing, between an open position where the supply hole is opened by the wall and a closed position where the supply hole is closed by the wall. The shutter may further include a protrusion that is movable with respect to the wall of the shutter between a first position and a second position in an axial direction. The protrusion, in the first position, is engageable with a developing unit and, in the second position, would be disengaged from the developing unit.

A toner cartridge includes a toner supply pipe and a first shutter. The toner supply pipe has a toner supply opening. When the toner cartridge is mounted onto a main unit, the toner supply pipe moves through an insertion opening from an outside position at which the toner supply opening is located outside a developing frame to an inside position at which the toner supply opening is located inside the developing frame. The first shutter is provided at the toner supply pipe. The first shutter moves relative to the toner supply pipe between an open position at which the toner supply opening is opened and a closed position at which the toner supply opening is closed. The first shutter moves relative to the toner supply pipe from the closed position to the open position in a state where the toner supply pipe is located at the inside position.

Provided is a consumables discharge device that discharges toner via an image carrier and an intermediate transfer body including a patch forming unit that forms a patch in a patch printing region to be formed on the intermediate transfer body via the image carrier by using the toner discharged from a developer tank after adjusting a range of the patch printing region in one or both of a gap region existing between image forming regions adjacent to each other of the intermediate transfer body and both end regions adjacent to both ends of an image forming region in a width direction of the intermediate transfer body, based on one or both of a size and a direction of a recording medium to be printed as input information.