A toner includes toner base particles each including a binder resin and a releasing agent, resin particles, and an external additive. Resin particles, from among the resin particles in the toner, and the external additive are deposited on a surface of each of the toner base particles. A standard deviation of a distance between resin particles next to one another on the surface is less than 600 nm, the resin particles next to one another being from among the resin particles deposited on the surface. The external additive includes primary particles each standing alone and non-spherical cohesive particles each including cohered primary particles. A proportion of the primary particles each standing alone per 1,000 particles of the external additive is 30% or less, the particles of the external additive in the per 1,000 particles being the primary particles each standing alone and the cohesive particles.

A fluorocarbon resin composite includes a fluorocarbon resin layer on a base, in which a fluorocarbon resin constituting the fluorocarbon resin layer is crosslinked by electron beam irradiation, and the base has a desired shape obtained by machining. The fluorocarbon resin is composed of a tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, or a mixture of the tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer and polytetrafluoroethylene. A fluorocarbon resin composite, cookware, and a roller and a belt for use in office automation equipment are each produced by applying an uncrosslinked fluorocarbon resin on a base, subjecting the fluorocarbon resin to electron beam irradiation in a low-oxygen atmosphere to crosslink the fluorocarbon resin while the temperature of the fluorocarbon resin is maintained at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fluorocarbon resin, and machining the base into a desired shape. There is also provided methods for producing them.

An image forming apparatus that has a transfer device that includes an intermediate transfer belt that is tensioned by a plurality of support rollers, a secondary transfer roller that faces one of the support rollers via the intermediate transfer belt, a cam that adjust a pressing force that presses the intermediate transfer belt by the secondary transfer roller, a motor that drives the cam, and a conveyor that conveys a recording medium to a transfer nip formed between the intermediate transfer belt and the secondary transfer roller is provided with a controller that controls an operation of the motor. The controller executes first control of operating the motor with a constant torque and stopping the motor when a rotation angular speed of the motor is less than or equal to a first threshold and second control of operating the motor at a predetermined timing to adjust a transfer nip amount.

An image forming apparatus that has a transfer device that includes an intermediate transfer belt that is tensioned by a plurality of support rollers, a secondary transfer roller that faces one of the support rollers via the intermediate transfer belt, a cam that adjust a pressing force that presses the intermediate transfer belt by the secondary transfer roller, a motor that drives the cam, and a conveyor that conveys a recording medium to a transfer nip formed between the intermediate transfer belt and the secondary transfer roller is provided with a controller that controls an operation of the motor. The controller executes first control of operating the motor with a constant torque and stopping the motor when a rotation angular speed of the motor is less than or equal to a first threshold and second control of operating the motor at a predetermined timing to adjust a transfer nip amount.

An image forming apparatus includes a toner image supporting section and a medium transfer section. The toner image supporting section includes first and second toner image supporting member that support first and second toner images at first and second linear speeds, respectively. The medium transfer section transfers, onto a medium, the first and second toner images respectively supported by the first and second toner image supporting members, to thereby cause the first and second toner images to be superimposed on each other. The following conditional expression (1) is satisfied when the medium transfer section transfers the first and second toner images onto the medium,
(Vd1Vt1)/(Vt1>(Vd2Vt2)/Vt2(1)
where Vd1 is the first linear speed, Vt1 is a first conveyance speed of the medium, Vd2 is the second linear speed, and Vt2 is a second conveyance speed of the medium.

An intermediate transferor (22;501) for an image forming apparatus includes a base layer (11), an elastic layer (12) layered on the base layer (11), and fine particles (13) on the elastic layer (12) to form an uneven surface of the elastic layer (12). The fine particles (13) have a volume resistivity of 110.sup.0 .Math.cm to 110.sup.6 cm.

A method of operating an electrophotographic printer (100) to control the optical density of a printed image is described. The method comprises providing a printing substance on a transfer member (104); emitting a pulse of heat to heat the printing substance on the transfer member to increase flowability of the printing substance on the transfer member; and transferring, from the transfer member to a substrate (108), the printing substance heated by the pulse of heat so as to provide the printed image on the substrate.

According to an aspect there is provided a method for conditioning a blanket in an offset printer, the method comprising during a non-printing cycle of the offset printer, applying a first voltage to an intermediate transfer member of the offset printer, wherein the intermediate transfer member comprises the blanket, and maintaining the first voltage for a first period of time.

The circuit substrate includes at least two lands formed on a substrate, wherein one electrode is to be mounted on the at least two lands, an electronic part having electrodes, one of the electrodes is soldered on the at least two lands with solders whose amounts are adjusted by a metal mask having at least two opening parts, positions of the at least two opening parts corresponding to the at least two lands when the solders are applied and melted, areas of the at least two opening parts being different with each other, wherein a height of one of the solders is different from a height of the other of the solders according to the difference of the areas of the at least two opening parts of the metal mask, whereby the electronic part is mounted on the circuit substrate in an inclined state.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section. The image forming section includes: a first toner image forming unit that forms a textile printing toner image with a textile printing toner; and a second toner image forming unit that forms a first dyeing-target toner image with a dyeing-target toner. The image forming section disposes the textile printing toner image and the first dyeing-target toner image in this order on a print medium. The textile printing toner includes a textile printing dye. The dyeing-target toner includes a polymer compound that is to be dyed with the textile printing dye.