An image forming apparatus includes a formation target that is wound around rotating bodies including a driving roller and transported by the rotating bodies including the driving roller while forming a shape having linear portions each of which forms a different angle, which is an acute angle or an angle of zero degrees, with a horizontal direction when viewed in an axial direction of the driving roller, first image forming bodies that are arranged along one of the linear portions in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other by a first distance and that form images onto the formation target, and second image forming bodies that are arranged along another one of the linear portions, the other linear portion forming the angle larger than the angle formed by the one linear portion, in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other by a second distance shorter than the first distance and that form images onto the formation target.

An image forming apparatus includes a formation target that is wound around rotating bodies including a driving roller and transported by the rotating bodies including the driving roller while forming a shape having linear portions each of which forms a different angle, which is an acute angle or an angle of zero degrees, with a horizontal direction when viewed in an axial direction of the driving roller, first image forming bodies that are arranged along one of the linear portions in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other by a first distance and that form images onto the formation target, and second image forming bodies that are arranged along another one of the linear portions, the other linear portion forming the angle larger than the angle formed by the one linear portion, in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other by a second distance shorter than the first distance and that form images onto the formation target.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming target looped around plural rotators including a driving roller, having at least one straight portion that is shaped straight when viewed in an axial direction of the driving roller, and transported by the driving roller and the rotators, and three or more image formers arranged along the straight portion and configured to form images on the image forming target. An adjacency distance along the straight portion between the image formers adjacent to each other on the straight portion is an integral multiple of an outer peripheral length of the driving roller. The adjacency distance at a downstream end is shorter than the adjacency distance at an upstream end, and one of the adjacency distances is equal to or shorter than the adjacency distance that is relatively on an upstream side.

Provided is an illumination optical system includes: a light source; and a light guiding member configured to guide a light flux emitted from the light source to an illuminated surface, the light guiding member having: an incident surface into which the light flux from the light source enters; an ellipsoidal reflection surface configured to reflect the light flux from the incident surface; and an exit surface from which the light flux reflected by the ellipsoidal reflection surface exits, in which the light source is arranged so as to be separated from a first focal point of the ellipsoidal reflection surface at a position farther from the illuminated surface, in a direction perpendicular to a light emitting surface of the light source.

An image forming method in which a surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a compound having a specific structure in an amount of 0.1% to 10% by mass based on the total mass of the surface layer, and in a charged region of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member charged in a charging step, a non-image forming region in which an electrostatic latent image is not formed is not irradiated with destaticizing light or is irradiated with reduced destaticizing light.

A cleaning member includes a core and an elastic layer disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the core. A circumferential cover length over which the elastic layer covers the core in a circumferential direction is greater at least at one of first and second end portions in an axial direction of the core than at a central portion in the axial direction. The central portion in the axial direction extends from one end to the other end of the core in the axial direction. When the cleaning member is rotated by a member to be cleaned, a non-contact region in which the first and second end portions in the axial direction are not in contact with the member to be cleaned is in a range from approximately 0 to approximately 15 in terms of a rotation angle of the cleaning member viewed from one side in the axial direction.

A cleaning member includes a core and an elastic layer disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the core. A circumferential cover length over which the elastic layer covers the core in a circumferential direction is greater at least at one of first and second end portions in an axial direction of the core than at a central portion in the axial direction. The central portion in the axial direction extends from one end to the other end of the core in the axial direction. When the cleaning member is rotated by a member to be cleaned, a non-contact region in which the first and second end portions in the axial direction are not in contact with the member to be cleaned is in a range from approximately 0 to approximately 15 in terms of a rotation angle of the cleaning member viewed from one side in the axial direction.

Provided is an illumination optical system includes: a light source; and a light guiding member configured to guide a light flux emitted from the light source to an illuminated surface, the light guiding member having: an incident surface into which the light flux from the light source enters; an ellipsoidal reflection surface configured to reflect the light flux from the incident surface; and an exit surface from which the light flux reflected by the ellipsoidal reflection surface exits, in which the light source is arranged so as to be separated from a first focal point of the ellipsoidal reflection surface at a position farther from the illuminated surface, in a direction perpendicular to a light emitting surface of the light source.

A cleaning blade having a good followability of a contact portion to a surface to be cleaned, and being unlikely to cause turn-up, is provided. A cleaning blade includes an elastic member and a supporting member, and the elastic member has a hardened region at at least a part of a portion exposed to a surface thereof, and the hardened region includes a material containing a polyether structure and a nurated isocyanate structure.

An image forming method in which a surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a compound having a specific structure in an amount of 0.1% to 10% by mass based on the total mass of the surface layer, and in a charged region of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member charged in a charging step, a non-image forming region in which an electrostatic latent image is not formed is not irradiated with destaticizing light or is irradiated with reduced destaticizing light.