An image forming apparatus includes: a fixing cylinder, having a groove formed in an outer portion thereof in a rotational radial direction thereof; a delivery cylinder; plural holding members configured to hold a recording medium when it passes around the delivery cylinder toward the fixing cylinder, and arranged in a length direction of a circulating member, each holding member being disposed in the groove when the holding member passes along the outer portion of the fixing cylinder; and a pressure unit applying a pressure to the recording medium as it passes between the pressure unit and the fixing cylinder, the pressure unit coming into contact with an end portion of the groove in a rotation direction of the fixing cylinder before or after a period during a holding operation when one of the holding members holds the recording medium.

A mounting member to be mounted on a member that moves in a traveling direction includes: a rectangular sheet member; and an attachment portion having a first surface bonded to one end portion of a reverse surface of a downstream side portion of the sheet member in the traveling direction, the attachment portion being detachably attached to an attachment-receiving portion and having a surface facing a direction different from a direction of the first surface and bonded to the sheet member.

A sheet processing machine with a transfer mechanism for moving sheets along a handling direction of the sheet processing machine and with a waste evacuation device (36) for releasing the sheets. The transport mechanism comprises at least one sheet handling element (28) for moving a sheet. The waste evacuation device (36) further comprises a passage (46) formed between an opening surface (48) and a restraint surface (50). The at least one sheet handling element (28) comprises a first sliding element (68) and a second sliding element (70) being in contact with the opening surface (48) and the restraint surface (50), respectively, when passing the waste evacuation device (36).

A device for storing a sheet pile in a converting machine (10) comprises a transfer mechanism (28) for delivering sheets (22) into a piling area (26) of the device (22), and a sampling plate (44) which is adjustable between a sampling position and an access position, wherein the top of the piling area (26) is covered by the sampling plate (44) when the sampling plate (44) is in the sampling position and the top of the piling area (26) is free when the sampling plate (44) is in the access position.

A sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) comprises a transport system (32) for transporting sheets (12) or parts thereof from a respective input end (20i, 22i, 24i) to a respective output end (20o, 22o, 24o). A gripper unit (46) is releasably coupled to the transport system (32) and is configured for holding at least a part of one of the sheets (12). Additionally, at least one handover mechanism (47d, 47r) is provided being configured for decoupling the gripper unit (46) from the transport system (32) and providing the gripper unit (46) to a neighboring sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) and/or receiving a gripper unit (46) from a neighboring sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) and coupling the received gripper unit (46) to the corresponding transport system (32). Additionally, a sheet material processing machine (10) is presented which comprises at least two such sheet material processing units (20, 22, 24).