A magnetic carrier including a magnetic carrier particle having a magnetic carrier core and a resin coating layer formed on a surface of the magnetic carrier core, wherein the resin coating layer includes a resin component including a resin A and a resin B, the resin A is a copolymer of monomers including (a) a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer having an alicyclic hydrocarbon group and (b) a specific macromonomer, the resin B is a copolymer of monomers including (c) a styrene-based monomer and (d) a specific (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer, and based on the resin components of the resin coating layer, the amount of the resin A is from 20% by mass to 99% by mass, and the amount of the resin B is from 1% by mass to 80% by mass.

Provided are a magnetic core material for electrophotographic developer and a carrier for electrophotographic developer, which are excellent in charging characteristics and strength with low specific gravity and with which a satisfactory image free of defects can be obtained, and a developer containing the carrier.

A magnetic core material for electrophotographic developer, having a sulfur component content of from 60 to 800 ppm in terms of a sulfate ion and a pore volume of from 30 to 100 mm.sup.3/g.

A toner comprising a binder resin and a colorant, wherein the toner has a Martens hardness, as measured at a maximum load condition of 2.010.sup.4 N, of from 200 MPa to 1,100 MPa.

A toner comprising a toner particle that contains a toner base particle and an organosilicon polymer on a surface of the toner base particle, wherein the organosilicon polymer forms protruded portions with a prescribed structure on the surface of the toner base particle, and in the toner cross section, when the protrusion width w is the length of the segment where a protruded portion and the toner base particle form a continuous interface, the protrusion diameter D is the maximum length of a protruded portion, and the protrusion height H is the length from the peak of the protruded portion to the line along the circumference of the toner base particle surface, the numerical proportion of these protruded portions having a ratio D/w of the protrusion diameter D to the protrusion width w from 0.33 to 0.80, is a least 70 number %.

A magnetic core material for electrophotographic developer, satisfying a value of Expression (1): a+b10+c+d+e+f, being from 200 to 1,400, when an amount of fluorine ion is denoted by a (ppm), an amount of chlorine ion is denoted by b (ppm), an amount of bromide ion is denoted by c (ppm), an amount of nitrite ion is denoted by d (ppm), an amount of nitrate ion is denoted by e (ppm), and an amount of sulfate ion is denoted by f (ppm), which are measured by combustion ion chromatography; and having a pore volume of from 30 to 100 mm.sup.3/g.

A developer set includes a first developer and a second developer. The first developer contains a first toner containing first toner particles and a first carrier containing first carrier particles. The second developer contains a second toner containing second toner particles and a second carrier containing second carrier particles. The first toner particles and the second toner particles each include a toner mother particle and external additive particles attached to the surface of the toner mother particle. The external additive particles include spacer particles. The spacer particles have a number average primary particle diameter of at least 32 nm and no greater than 145 nm. The first carrier particles each include a first carrier mother particle and strontium titanate particles attached to the surface of the first carrier mother particle.

A developing device includes a developing container storing a two-component developer containing a magnetic carrier and a toner, a developer carrying member carrying the developer on its outer circumferential surface, and a regulation member arranged to be opposed at a prescribed distance to the developer carrying member. The developer carrying member includes a developing sleeve on which a magnetic brush is formed, and a magnet secured in the developing sleeve and having a plurality of magnetic poles including a regulation pole opposed to the regulation member and a downstream-side magnetic pole arranged downstream of the regulation pole with respect to the rotation direction of the developing sleeve. The magnet is such that the vertical magnetic force gradient [mT/] has a local minimum value near a position at which the vertical magnetic force is 0 [mT] between the downstream-side surface of the regulation member and the downstream-side magnetic pole.

Provided is a carrier for a developer of an electrostatic latent image, the carrier including a core particle, and a resin layer covering the core particle, where the resin layer includes metal compound particles, wherein the metal compound particles include magnesium compound particles or barium compound particles, and an exposed amount B (atomic %) of the magnesium or the barium on a surface of the carrier particle satisfies a relationship below:
10.0B 1.2.

An electrostatic charge image developer includes: a toner A incorporating toner particles and silica particles (A) as an external additive, the toner particles containing a binder resin and resin particles, and the silica particles (A) containing a nitrogen-containing compound containing the element molybdenum; and a carrier B incorporating a core and a coating resin layer, the coating resin layer covering the core and containing inorganic particles, and the ratio N.sub.Mo/N.sub.Si is 0.035 or greater and 0.45 or less, where N.sub.Mo and N.sub.Si are measured net intensities for the element molybdenum and the element silicon, respectively, in the silica particles (A) in x-ray fluorescence analysis.

A carrier is provided including a core particle and a resin layer coating the surface of the core particle. The resin layer includes fine metal particles, and a detected metal element amount A obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry of the surface of the carrier is in a range of 4.0 atomic %A20.0 atomic % and an average major-axis length B of the fine metal particle exposing from the resin layer is in a range of 100 nmB800 nm.