An image forming apparatus includes: an annular transfer belt having an outer surface on which an image is transferred; a nip portion that forms a nip region for nipping a recording medium with an outer surface of the transfer belt; a facing portion that faces the nip region from an inner side of the transfer belt and transfers the image from the transfer belt to the recording medium in the nip region by charging the transfer belt; and a transport unit including a holding portion that holds the recording medium, transports the recording medium by moving the holding portion, and causes the recording medium together with the holding portion to pass the nip region while holding the recording medium at the holding portion.

A fixing apparatus includes a rotatable belt, a rotatable pressurizing member, a steering roller, a contact portion, a detected portion, a sensor, and a guiding portion. The contact portion comes into contact with an end portion, in the width direction, of the belt. A position of the detected portion is changed on a basis of a position of the contact portion. The sensor detects the position of the detected portion. An inclination of the steering roller is controlled on a basis of a detection result of the sensor. The guiding portion is provided by connecting with the contact portion. The lubricant is guided from the contact portion to the guiding portion. The guiding portion is provided in a region below the contact portion in a vertical direction, inside of the belt, and overlapped with the belt in the width direction.

According to aspects of the present disclosure there are provided methods and apparatus for providing selective control of a lateral position of a transfer blanket, the method comprising providing a crowned pulley rotating about an axis of a shaft, supporting a transfer blanket on the crowned pulley, the crowned pulley providing a self-tracking effect on a lateral position of the transfer blanket, and selectively controlling a lateral position of the crowned pulley along the axis of the shaft.

An image forming apparatus includes a developer that forms a toner image on an endless belt that is suspended over outer portions of a plurality of rollers, a driver that rotates at least one driving roller out of the plurality of rollers, a position adjustment mechanism that corrects relative positions of the plurality of rollers relative to one another, and a hardware processor, wherein the hardware processor controls the position adjustment mechanism to correct a relative position between the belt and the driving roller with tension applied to the belt being a second tension smaller than a first tension that is applied in a developing state in which a toner image is formed on the belt by the developer.

A transfer device for an image forming apparatus includes a frame, a driving roller, a backup roller, and a transfer belt to travel between the driving roller and the backup roller. The transfer device further include meandering prevention members to rotate independently of the backup roller, the meandering prevention members including a first meandering prevention member located between a first end portion of the backup roller and the frame, and a second meandering prevention member located between a second end portion of the backup roller and the frame. When the transfer belt meanders and contacts one of the first and second meandering prevention members, the one of the first and second meandering prevention members is to be rotatably driven to increase a tension of the transfer belt.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer belt, a forming unit, a detection unit, a correction unit, a drive system, a determination unit, and a notification unit. The forming unit forms an image-misregistration detection pattern of a plurality of colors on the belt. The correction unit corrects an image misregistration of an image of each color based on a detection result of the pattern. The determination unit detects a difference amount between a pattern interval of the pattern on the belt and a pattern interval serving as a reference value for each color and determines that an abnormality has occurred in a driving state of the drive system, in response to the difference amount equal to or greater than a threshold value. The notification unit notifies occurrence of the misregistration when the determination unit determines that the driving state is abnormal, based on the difference amount of any one color.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a developing unit configured to develop a latent image formed on the image bearer with a toner to form a toner image, and a transfer member including a contact area that comes in contact with the image bearer. The toner image is primary transferred from the image bearer to the transfer member. A speed difference between the image bearer and the transfer member at the contact area is 0.1% or greater but 0.8% or less. The toner has an average circularity of 0.971 or greater but 0.986 or less and a shape factor SF-2 of 110 or greater but 119 or less. The speed difference is represented by the following formula:
Speed difference [%]={(V1−V2)/V2}×100  [Speed difference]
where V1 is a linear speed of the image bearer, and V2 is a linear speed of the transfer member.

An intermediate transfer belt device has an intermediate transfer belt, a drive roller that drives the intermediate transfer belt, and a pressure roller that presses from an outer surface of the intermediate transfer belt toward the drive roller. The pressure roller is disposed at a position corresponding to a downstream end in a rotating direction C in a contact region between the intermediate transfer belt and the drive roller. The intermediate transfer belt is provided in contact with the pressure roller and such that the outer surface of the intermediate transfer belt is wound around an outer surface of the pressure roller at a predetermined winding angle.

An image forming apparatus includes an endless image bearing belt, a first roller, a second roller, a rotatable member, a feeding unit, a first guiding member, and a second material guiding member. The second guiding member is fixed to the first guiding member so as to form a feeding path of a recording material with an interval between the second guiding member and the first guiding member.

An image forming apparatus includes an endless image bearing belt, a first roller, a second roller, a rotatable member, a holding member, a feeding unit, and a guiding member. The guiding member is provided on a side downstream of the feeding unit and upstream of a transfer nip with respect to a recording material feeding direction at a position opposing a stretching portion stretched by the first roller and the second roller of the image bearing belt and guides a recording material, to the transfer nip, fed by the feeding unit. The guiding member is fixed to the holding member.