The present disclosure relates to a liquid electrophotographic ink developer unit. The unit comprises a developer roller comprising a layer formed from a polymer composition containing a conductive filler, whereby the polymer composition has a specific resistivity of less than 110.sup.6 .Math.cm. The unit also comprises a secondary roller that co-operates with the developer roller.

The inventive developing roller (1) includes a roller body (2) having an outer peripheral surface (5) which includes a surface roughness component including a multiplicity of asperities and having a void volume Vv of not greater than 0.5 ml/m.sup.2, and a surface waviness component including a multiplicity of asperities having a longer periodicity than the surface roughness component and having a void volume Vv of not less than 0.05 ml/m.sup.2 and not greater than 3.5 ml/m.sup.2, the void volumes Vv being each defined as the sum Vvc+Vvv of a core void volume Vvc and a dale void volume Vvv. The inventive production method includes the steps of: polishing the outer peripheral surface (5); and finishing the polished outer peripheral surface by at least one method selected from the group consisting of a laser processing method, a wet blasting method and a dry blasting method, so that the outer peripheral surface has a surface geometry satisfying the requirements for the void volumes Vv.

Disclosed is an image forming method including: developing, with an electrostatic charge image developing toner, a latent image formed on a photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer is formed on a support containing aluminum as a main component; transferring a toner image on the photoreceptor onto a transfer target; and rubbing and removing the electrostatic charge image developing toner remaining on the photoreceptor after the transferring. The support contains silicon in a range of more than 0.6% by mass and 12.6% by mass or less, a shape factor of toner particles included in the electrostatic charge image developing toner is in a range of 0.800 to 0.970, and a content of the toner particles having a particle diameter of 2 ?m or less is in a range of 5% by number to 30% by number.

A developing sleeve for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes an aluminum alloy containing more than 0.6% by mass of silicon and conveys a developer containing a toner and a carrier.

The developing apparatus includes a developer carrying roller rotatable in a first rotating direction, and a developer regulating member which regulates a thickness of a developer layer carried on the developer carrying roller, wherein at least a part of the developer regulating member is in pressure contact with a surface of the developer carrying roller to form an abutting portion between the developer carrying roller and the developer regulating member, the abutting portion having an abutting width W in a circumferential direction of the developer carrying member of 1.0 to 5.0 mm, wherein in the abutting portion, an abutting pressure has a maximum value in a first area, the first area having a width of 20% or less of the abutting width W from an upstream edge of the abutting portion in the rotating direction, and wherein an abutting pressure in a second area is 0.08 to 0.18 MPa.

The present disclosure provides developing member superior in triboelectric charge imparting ability to a toner. The developing member includes a substrate and a surface layer, the surface layer containing alumina particles and a resin, the surface layer having protrusions on the surface thereof. Each of the protrusions containing the alumina particles, part or all of the alumina particles being exposed at the surfaces of the protrusions, and the resin being interposed among the alumina particles.

The developing apparatus includes a developer carrying roller rotatable in a first rotating direction, and a developer regulating member which regulates a thickness of a developer layer carried on the developer carrying roller, wherein at least a part of the developer regulating member is in pressure contact with a surface of the developer carrying roller to form an abutting portion between the developer carrying roller and the developer regulating member, the abutting portion having an abutting width W in a circumferential direction of the developer carrying member of 1.0 to 5.0 mm, wherein in the abutting portion, an abutting pressure has a maximum value in a first area, the first area having a width of 20% or less of the abutting width W from an upstream edge of the abutting portion in the rotating direction, and wherein an abutting pressure in a second area is 0.08 to 0.18 MPa.

Disclosed is an image forming method including: developing, with an electrostatic charge image developing toner, a latent image formed on a photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer is formed on a support containing aluminum as a main component; transferring a toner image on the photoreceptor onto a transfer target; and rubbing and removing the electrostatic charge image developing toner remaining on the photoreceptor after the transferring. The support contains silicon in a range of more than 0.6% by mass and 12.6% by mass or less, a shape factor of toner particles included in the electrostatic charge image developing toner is in a range of 0.800 to 0.970, and a content of the toner particles having a particle diameter of 2 m or less is in a range of 5% by number to 30% by number.

A developing sleeve for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes an aluminum alloy containing more than 0.6% by mass of silicon and conveys a developer containing a toner and a carrier.

An electrophotographic roller comprising a substrate having a conductive outer surface and a resin layer on a side of the outer surface of the substrate, in which the volume resistivity of the outer surface of the electrophotographic roller is 1.010.sup.6 .Math.cm or higher, when a corona discharger having a grid part is relatively moved along the axial direction of the electrophotographic roller to charge the electrophotographic roller, and the potentials of the outer surface after 0.06 seconds from passage of the grid part are measured, a maximum value of the potentials is lower than 20.0 V, the ionization potential of the outer surface of the electrophotographic roller is 5.0 to 5.6 eV, and an elastic modulus E1 in a region from the outer surface of the electrophotographic roller to a depth of 0.1 m is 200 MPa or higher.