The present invention provides an image forming method for forming a decorated image having a resin layer and a powder contacted with each other, the method including: forming a resin layer on a recording medium; and supplying a powder onto the recording medium, in which the recording medium has a surface with an arithmetic mean height Sa of 1.000 or more.

The present invention provides an image forming method for forming a decorated image, including: softening a resin layer contained in a resin image including a recording medium having a surface with an arithmetic mean height Sa less than 1.000 and the resin layer formed on the recording medium; and supplying a powder onto a surface of the resin layer.

An optical sensor includes a light source; and an optical detector detecting intensity of light that is reflected by a recording medium, the light from the light source and irradiated onto the recording medium. Further, when an incident angle of the light incident to the recording medium from the light source relative to a normal line of the recording medium is given as 1, a formula 75185 is satisfied.

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet under an operation condition set depending on a sheet type, includes a hardware processor that: detects whether the sheet type is any one of a plurality of assumed types; performs control such that an activation operation for forming the image under an interim condition, which is an operation condition corresponding to one of the plurality of assumed types, is performed before detecting the sheet type; determines whether or not a recovery operation for optimizing a state of image formation is performed before starting image formation under a determinate condition, which is an operation condition corresponding to the detected type; performs control such that the recovery operation is performed when it is determined that the recovery operation is performed; and performs control such that the image formation is performed under the determinate condition after the recovery operation is performed.

A recording material characteristic detecting device that irradiates a first light and a second light to a recording material carried along a predetermined carrying path and detects a transmitted light generated when the first light transmits the recording material and a reflection light generated when the second light is reflected by the recording material, and detects a characteristic of the recording material, comprises: a reflection light source that irradiates the second light toward the carrying path; a reference plate for reflection light arranged oppositely to the reflection light source across the carrying path to reflect the second light; and a light detector arranged oppositely to the reference plate for reflection light across the carrying path to detect at least a reflection light generated in response to reflection of the second light. The reference plate has a higher reflectivity to the second light than a reflectivity to the first light.

In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a printing setting acquisition section and a printer section. The printing setting acquisition section acquires printing setting information for holding setting at the time of printing for each kind of a sheet. The printer section applies, in a case in which a label paper is selected as the kind of the sheet, a developing agent in the vicinity of an area coming into contact with an end part of the sheet in an area on an image carrier for transferring the developing agent to the sheet, transfers the developing agent by a transfer member for transferring the developing agent from the image carrier to the sheet, and rotates the transfer member at least once.

An image forming apparatus includes a storing unit that stores information associated with a sheet type of a sheet and a sheet feed source, of a plurality of sheet feed sources, a selection unit that selects a sheet feed source from the plurality of sheet feeding sources based on at least a sheet type designated by a job and the stored information, and a feeding unit that feeds a sheet from the selected sheet feed source. The image forming apparatus also includes an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet fed by the feeding unit, and a detector that detects a sheet type of the sheet fed from one of the plurality of sheet feed sources by the feeding unit. The storing unit stores the sheet type detected by the detector as the information indicating the sheet type of sheet stored in the sheet feeding source.

A stacker includes: an ejector that ejects a sheet on which an image is formed depending on a print job to an ejection destination; a first tray on which the sheet ejected by the ejector is stacked, as the ejection destination; a second tray that is a delivery destination of the sheet stacked on the first tray and with which automatic external ejection processing that ejects the sheet externally is executable; a setter that accepts a setting detail in which it is set whether or not to execute the automatic external ejection processing executable with the second tray; and a controller that controls whether or not to execute the automatic external ejection processing depending on the setting detail, wherein the hardware processor continues stacking of the sheet on the first tray when not executing the automatic external ejection processing.

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet medium under an operation condition set in accordance with a type of the medium, includes a hardware processor that: detects which of a plurality of assumed types the type of the medium applies to, based on output from a sensor; and performs control under which, before the type of the medium is detected, shift to a quasi-rise state, in which preparation for image formation under a provisional condition has partially been completed, is performed, the provisional condition corresponding to an operation condition corresponding to one of the plurality of assumed types, and after the type of the medium is detected, shift to a rise state, in which preparation for image formation under a fixed condition has been completed, is performed, the fixed condition corresponding to an operation condition corresponding to the detected type.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a sheet, first and second rollers, a motor, a phase determiner, a controller, a current detector, and a discriminator. The motor drives the first roller which conveys the sheet. The second roller is downstream from the first roller. The phase determiner determines a rotation phase of a rotor of the motor. The controller controls a drive current flowing through a motor winding to reduce a deviation between a command phase representing a rotor target phase and the determined rotation phase. The current detector detects the drive current flowing through the winding. The discriminator determines a type of the sheet conveyed by the first roller based on a value of the drive current detected in a state in which the sheet is deflected while being conveyed by the first roller and not conveyed by the second roller.