A belt conveyance apparatus includes a plurality of support rollers, an endless belt, a regulation portion configured to regulate a shift of the endless belt in a width direction, a regulation receiving member configured to contact the regulation portion to receive a regulation force by the regulation portion, and support members disposed on an upstream side, in a conveyance direction of the endless belt, of the support rollers provided with the regulation portion to oppose each other on an inner peripheral surface side and an outer peripheral surface side of the end portion side of the endless belt in the width direction, and configured to regulate a position of the regulation receiving member when the regulation receiving member enters a contact portion with the regulation portion.

A transfer member for a printing device includes a shaft, a rigid cylindrical core member, mounted on the shaft, an outer layer supported on the rigid cylindrical core member, and optionally a conformable intermediate layer, spacing the cylindrical core member from the outer layer. The outer layer defines an outer surface of the transfer member, and is configured for receiving a toner image thereon. The cylindrical core and outer layer have a same axis of rotation as the shaft. The rigid cylindrical core and/or the conformable intermediate layer, where present may be electrically biased, relative to a photoconductor drum of the printing device.

An endless belt comprising a polyimide-based substrate layer. A plurality of boron nitride nanotubes are dispersed in the polyimide.

An inventive transfer roller (1) is made of a foam formed from an electrically conductive rubber composition containing an electrically conductive rubber, a crosslinking component, and a foaming agent including OBSH and 0.25 to 2.5 parts by mass of sodium hydrogen carbonate based on 1 part by mass of OBSH, and has an Asker-C hardness of not lower than 25 degrees and not higher than 35 degrees and an average foam cell diameter of not greater than 120 μm. Therefore, the transfer roller is flexible with a lower rubber hardness, and has smaller foam cell diameters. An inventive production method includes the steps of: forming the electrically conductive rubber composition into a tubular body; and maintaining the tubular body at a temperature of not lower than 120° C. and not higher than 140° C. to foam the rubber by a single-stage foaming process.

A developing roller comprising an electroconductive substrate and an electroconductive elastic layer constituted by a single layer on an outer periphery of the substrate. The elastic layer contains a diene-based rubber, has a thickness of 0.30 mm or more, and the elastic layer has a crown shape in which an outer diameter of a center portion in a longitudinal direction along an axis of the substrate is larger than an outer diameter of each of both end portions in the longitudinal direction. Elastic moduli E11, E12 and E13 in a first region of the elastic layer in cross-sections at positions P1, P2 and P3 of the elastic layer are each 500 MPa or more.

An intermediate transfer belt has a first region and a second region in an outer circumferential surface thereof that is in contact with a blade. The first region has a first dynamic friction coefficient in a belt conveyance direction, and the second region has a second dynamic friction coefficient. The distance of the second region in the belt conveyance direction is less than the distance of the first region and is greater than the distance of a contact portion in which the blade is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt.

The crystallinity of a thermoplastic resin is 8% or more and 25% or less, the average primary particle size of carbon black is 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less, the content of the carbon black is 15.0 parts by mass or more and 30.0 parts by mass or less with respect to 100 parts by mass of an intermediate transfer belt, and (Li+Lo+Lc)/3≤100 nm, where Li, Lo, and Lc are values of an L-function indicating a dispersibility of the carbon black with respect to the thermoplastic resin in an inner peripheral surface region of the intermediate transfer belt, in an outer peripheral surface region, and in a central region that is a central portion of the intermediate transfer belt in a thickness direction of the intermediate transfer belt, respectively.

Provided is a roller capable of suppressing generation of cut waste from an end of a roller due to contact with another member inside a device when mounted on an image forming device, particularly a conductive roller, and an image forming device using the same. A roller includes a shaft 1 and a base layer 2 provided on the outer periphery of the shaft. A filler layer 4 covering the base layer is provided on end faces of both ends of the base layer in the roller axial direction, and the filler layer is composed of a material having a breaking strain measured according to a tensile test of JIS K 7127 of not less than 120% and a tensile stress at 100% elongation measured according to a tensile test of JIS K 7127 of from 5 to 30 N/mm.sup.2.

A polyimide resin film includes: a first layer that contains an imide resin, a bond composition ratio of a sum of a C—N bond and a C—O bond to bonds of all C elements that are present in a surface of the first layer being 4 atm % or more; and a second layer that is provided on the surface of the first layer.

Herein is disclosed an electrostatic printing apparatus comprising: a photoconductive member having a surface on which can be created a latent electrostatic image; an intermediate transfer member comprising: a supportive portion; and an outer release layer disposed on the supportive portion comprising a base polymer matrix and an additive selected from carbon nanotubes and carbon black nanoparticles. The carbon black nanoparticles have a BET surface area of 700 m.sup.2/g or greater, the additive is dispersed in the base polymer matrix, and the base polymer is a silicone polymer. The electrostatic printing apparatus is adapted, in use, on contacting the surface of the photoconductive member with an electrostatic ink composition to form a developed toner image on the surface of the latent electrostatic image, then transfer the developed toner image to the outer release layer of intermediate transfer member, and then transfer the developed toner image from the outer release layer of the intermediate transfer member to a print substrate.