An image forming apparatus and an image forming method are provided. The image forming apparatus includes a printing engine to form an image, a step motor to drive the printing engine, a driving circuit to provide a constant current to the step motor and sense a voltage corresponding to a magnitude of the constant current provided to the step motor, and a processor to calculate a temperature of the step motor based on the voltage sensed by the driving circuit during an excitation period of the step motor and control an operation of the image forming apparatus based on the calculated temperature.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an image forming control method, a consumable chip, an image forming apparatus, and a consumable. For the image forming control method, based on the environmental data, the encryption and decryption processing and transmission are performed on the preset compensation value of the image forming control parameter using the environmental data respectively detected by the consumable chip and the image forming apparatus. The preset compensation value is prevented from being intercepted and tampered during transmission, which makes data transmission more secure, thereby ensuring the printing and image forming quality.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming part, a fixing device, a fixing temperature sensor, a drive device, a printed sheet number counting part, a fixing voltage power supply, a controller, and an apparatus external temperature sensor. The controller can perform a cooling mode in which, when a number of continuous printed sheets at a reference speed exceeds an upper limit number, a number of printed sheets per unit time is gradually decreased to suppress an increase of an apparatus internal temperature. The controller sets the upper limit number based on a temperature difference between the fixing temperature detected by the fixing temperature sensor and the apparatus external temperature detected by the apparatus external temperature sensor.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device having a heater that includes a first heating element, a second heating element having a length smaller than the first heating element length, and a third heating element having a length smaller than the second heating element length. The image forming apparatus further includes a first temperature detection unit, a control unit, second temperature detection units, first and second sheet-width detection units, and a determination unit. The control unit controls a heater temperature based on the first temperature detection unit detection result. The determination unit determines a width of the recording material based on a detection result of the first sheet-width detection units, a detection result of the second sheet-width detection units, and a detection result of the second temperature detection units.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an image forming control method, a consumable chip, an image forming apparatus, and a consumable. For the image forming control method, based on the environmental data, the encryption and decryption processing and transmission are performed on the preset compensation value of the image forming control parameter using the environmental data respectively detected by the consumable chip and the image forming apparatus. The preset compensation value is prevented from being intercepted and tampered during transmission, which makes data transmission more secure, thereby ensuring the printing and image forming quality.

An image forming apparatus includes an image former that forms a color image by superimposing images of respective colors formed on respective different photoconductors on an intermediate transfer body, the image former continuously forming color images of pages on one continuous paper, and the image forming apparatus includes: a first hardware processor that performs job management for each color and generates print job data in which a margin region having a first width is set on an upstream or a downstream in a sheet passing direction of an image forming region of each page; a second hardware processor that detects a color shift amount of each color of the image forming region; and a third hardware processor that corrects a formation position of the image forming region to be a print target page next on the print job data for a color in which a color shift has occurred.

An image forming apparatus includes a controller configured to identify a selected sheet size setting as defined by a dimension in the width direction and a dimension in the conveyance direction, set a cooling threshold at a first threshold if the selected sheet size setting is a first size having a dimension in the width direction larger than a predetermined dimension, and a dimension in the conveyance direction larger than the dimension in the width direction, and set the cooling threshold at a second threshold lower than the first threshold if the selected sheet size setting is a second size having a dimension in the width direction that is the same as the dimension in the width direction of the first size, and a dimension in the conveyance direction smaller than the dimension in the width direction.

An image forming apparatus includes: sheet feeding trays; an image forming part that includes a fixing part and forms an image on a sheet fed from each of the sheet feeding trays based on a print job; and an acquisition part that acquires information indicating “presence” or “absence” of a possible carrier having a possibility of virus infection in a region where an apparatus main body is installed; and a hardware processor that is able to select an operation mode of the print job from a normal mode and a virus removal mode, and sets an operation mode of the print job to the virus removal mode, wherein in the virus removal mode, a fixing temperature of the fixing part is set to a predetermined temperature, and a heating time for the sheet in the fixing part is made longer than a heating time in the normal mode.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device having a heater, a first temperature detection unit, a pair of second temperature detection units, a pair of first sheet-width detection units, a pair of second sheet-width detection units, and a control unit. The heater includes a first heat generating element, a second heat generating element having a length smaller than a length of the first heat generating element in a longitudinal direction, and a third heat generating element having a length smaller than the length of the second heat generating element in the longitudinal direction. The control unit controls a temperature of the heater based on a detection result of the pair of first sheet-width detection units, a detection result of the pair of second sheet-width detection units, and a detection result of the pair of second temperature detection units.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device having a heater that includes a first heating element, a second heating element having a length smaller than the first heating element length, and a third heating element having a length smaller than the second heating element length. The image forming apparatus further includes a first temperature detection unit, a control unit, second temperature detection units, first and second sheet-width detection units, and a determination unit. The control unit controls a heater temperature based on the first temperature detection unit detection result. The determination unit determines a width of the recording material based on a detection result of the first sheet-width detection units, a detection result of the second sheet-width detection units, and a detection result of the second temperature detection units.