A coating layer application device (200) for applying a coating layer, which is located on a transfer element, to a substrate, the coating layer (206) being formed from a coating material, in particular a thermosetting coating material, the coating layer (206) being curable and comprising an amorphous material, the coating layer application device comprising: a heating device (214, 220) being configured so as to (i) maintain the temperature of the coating layer (206) within a temperature range before removal of N the transfer element (204) from the coating layer (206), wherein within the temperature range the uncured coating material is in its supercooled liquid state; and/or (ii) partially cure the coating layer (206) during a contact of the coating layer (206) and the substrate (210) and before removal of the transfer element (204) from the coating layer, in particular by increasing the temperature of the coating layer (206) to a temperature at or above a curing temperature of the coating layer (206).

The toner comprises a toner particle that comprises a binder resin-containing core particle and a thermosetting resin-containing shell on the surface of the core particle, wherein the binder resin includes at least one of (i) a vinyl resin and a polyester resin and (ii) a hybrid resin in which a vinyl resin and a polyester resin are bonded; the polyester resin comprises in a main chain thereof a cyclic structure, and the content of the polyester resin in the tetrahydrofuran-soluble matter of the toner is at least 51 mass%; the vinyl resin comprises a prescribed monomer unit; the thermosetting resin is at least one resin selected from melamine resins, urea resins, and oxazoline group-bearing vinyl resins; and the average circularity of the toner is in a prescribed range.

A toner for electrostatic charge image development includes toner particles, the toner particles containing a binder resin containing a vinyl resin and a release agent containing an ester wax, in which in sections of the toner particles, a number average of equivalent circle diameters of sections of domains of the release agent is 0.10 μm or more and 1.5 μm or less, and a standard deviation of the equivalent circle diameters is more than 0.05 and 0.5 or less.

A toner includes a base particle; and an external additive covering the base particle. The toner includes a tetrahydrofuran (THF)-insoluble component having a glass transition temperature determined from a DSC curve when heated for the second time of from −50° C. to 10° C. and an average circularity not greater than 0.98, and satisfies the following relation:
Bt−0.025×Ct≦1.80 wherein Bt represents a BET specific surface area [m.sup.2/g]; and Ct represents a coverage [%] of the external additive covering the base particle.

Provided is a toner containing a binder resin. The binder resin contains a crystalline resin. The toner has a maximum endothermic peak temperature (P1) of from 50° C. to 80° C. and a total endothermic amount (Q) of from 35 J/g to 90 J/g at a first temperature elevation of differential scanning calorimetry. A ratio (Q.sub.p/Q) of a total endothermic amount (Q.sub.p) of the toner in a temperature range of from 20° C. to the maximum endothermic peak temperature (P1) to the total endothermic amount (Q) of the toner is from 0.65 to 0.83.

Provided is a method of producing a liquid developer containing a dispersing agent, an insulating liquid (a), and a toner particle that contains a colorant and a binder resin, the method including a step (1) of preparing a mixture containing the colorant, the binder resin, the insulating liquid (a), a solvent (b), and the dispersing agent, and a step (2) of distillatively removing the solvent (b) from the mixture, wherein the binder resin dissolves in the solvent (b) and does not dissolve in the insulating liquid (a), the dispersing agent dissolves in both the insulating liquid (a) and the solvent (b), and the binder resin contains a polymer A that has an alkali metal sulfonate group or an alkaline-earth metal sulfonate group.

A toner including at least a crystalline resin as a binder resin, wherein a tetrahydrofuran soluble content of the toner includes 5.0% or more as a peak area of a component having a molecular weight of 100,000 or greater in a molecular weight distribution measured by gel permeation chromatography, and the tetrahydrofuran soluble content of the toner has a weight-average molecular weight of 20,000 to 60,000.

An image forming method includes developing an electrostatic charge image on the surface of an image holding member by a developer including toner particles which contain a binder resin, a flake shape brilliant pigment, and a layered inorganic material, transferring the developed toner image onto a surface of a recording medium, and fixing the toner image, which is a brilliant image, by passing the recording medium through a contact region between a fixing member and a pressing member pressed to the fixing member, the brilliant image satisfying (1) at a depth of 200 nm, A<10, 10≦B≦50, and 20≦C≦70 and (2) at a depth of 1,000 nm, 10≦A≦40, 20≦B≦60, and 20≦C≦50, wherein A, B and C are element amounts (atomic %) of aluminium, silicon, and carbon, respectively.

The toner according to the present invention is used for electrostatic latent image development, and has toner particles containing a binder resin, a colorant and a release agent. The binder resin is composed of a non-crystalline resin and a crystalline resin. The toner satisfies the relationship represented by specific expressions specified by the endothermic property of the crystalline resin, the endothermic property of the toner and the content ratio of the binder resin in the toner particles.

A brilliant toner includes toner particles that contain a binder resin and a brilliant pigment which has a flake shape, wherein an average thickness of the brilliant pigment is greater than 0.5 μm to 1.5 μm.