An image forming apparatus includes a printing unit, first and second stacking units, first and second conveyance units, and a control unit. When the first conveyance unit conveys a sheet to the first stacking unit, the printing unit prints an image on a first number of sheets as first sheets in a first printing operation and prints the image on the first sheets in a second printing operation. When the second conveyance unit conveys the sheet to the second stacking unit, the printing unit prints the image on a second number of sheets, greater than the first number of sheets, as second sheets in the first printing operation and prints the image on the second sheets in the second printing operation. A number of sheets printed per unit time in the second printing operation is less than a number of sheets printed per unit time in the first printing operation.

According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a sheet supply unit, a printer, a fixing device, and a controller. The sheet supply unit supplies a sheet from a sheet container. The printer forms a toner image to the sheet conveyed from the sheet supply unit. The fixing device includes a heater, a fixing belt, and a pressure roller. The heater includes a heat generating member including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a first direction orthogonal to a sheet conveyance direction and in which a heating element group selected in response to a printing request from the heat generating member generates heat. The fixing belt fixes the toner image heated by the heater to the sheet. The pressure roller presses the fixing belt.

A fusing apparatus includes: a pressing roller to be axially rotated; a fusing belt to rotate by receiving a rotational force from the pressing roller; a pressing member to press toward the pressing roller from the inside of the fusing belt to form a nip in which the printing paper is nipped between the fusing belt and the pressing roller; on the fusing belt or the pressing member, a sliding layer to reduce friction between the fusing belt and the pressing member; and an adhesive layer to adhere the sliding layer to the fusing belt or the pressing member.

A fixing film includes a cylindrical base layer, an elastic layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base layer, and a separation layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer. The separation layer includes fluororesin, and a degree of orientation of the fluororesin is greater than or equal to 40% and smaller than or equal to 59%.

A lubricant replacement case for an image forming apparatus includes a housing including a plurality of storage compartments to accommodate at least one lubricant unit. The plurality of storage compartments include at least one storage compartment for unused lubricant to be inserted into the image forming apparatus and at least one storage compartment for used lubricant to be retrieved from the image forming apparatus.

A sheet conveyance guide includes a door provided to be pivotable between an open state and a close state and permitting access to an operation portion, a releasing portion provided on the door, configured to abut with the operation portion on a guide plate positioned at a second position along with movement of the door and release a guide plate held by a holding portion, and a pressing portion provided on the door and configured to press the operation portion such that the guide plate is positioned at the first position. In addition, a retraction portion is provided on the door and configured to retract the pressing portion from a moving locus of the operation portion in moving the guide plate from the first position to the second position by abutting with the operation portion of the guide plate moving from the second position to the first position and swinging.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image holder configured to hold an image formed using an electrographic process; a transfer body that faces the image holder and is configured to contact the image holder while rotating to form a secondary transfer region; an application unit configured to apply a voltage for charging the secondary transfer region; and a charge unit that faces a region other than the secondary transfer region of the transfer body and is configured to charge a surface of the transfer body with a polarity opposite to an applied voltage of the application unit.

According to one embodiment, a heating device includes a cylindrical belt, a heat generating member, and a support member. The heat generating member is disposed in an interior region surrounded by the belt and in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the belt. The support member is provided in the interior region surrounded by the belt and contacts and supports the heat generating member.

According to one embodiment, a temperature control apparatus supplies power to a heater to control temperature of a temperature control target. The temperature control apparatus includes a temperature estimation unit to estimate a temperature of a temperature control target based on electrical power supplied to the heater. The temperature control apparatus also includes control signal generation unit that calculates a duty value for the heater based on an estimated temperature from the temperature estimation unit, a detected temperature from a temperature sensor, and a target temperature for the temperature control target. A pulse signal for controlling the electrical power supplied to the heater is generated based on the calculated duty value.

A method for producing a printed material includes providing pressure-induced phase transition particles on a recording medium having an arithmetic average roughness Ra of 0.07 μm or more and 3.80 μm or less to form a pressure-induced phase transition particle layer having a coverage C within a range of 30% to 90%; bonding the pressure-induced phase transition particles onto the recording medium; and folding the recording medium having the pressure-induced phase transition particles bonded thereon and pressure-bonding the folded recording medium, or pressure-bonding the recording medium having the pressure-induced phase transition particles bonded thereon and another recording medium placed on top of each other. The pressure-induced phase transition particles have at least two glass transition temperatures, and the difference between the lowest glass transition temperature and the highest glass transition temperature among the glass transition temperatures exhibited by the pressure-induced phase transition particles is 30° C. or more.