Image forming apparatus, image forming system, and image forming method

摘要

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member, a transfer unit, a fixing unit, a transport unit, a transfer-performance-detection toner image forming unit, a density detection unit, and a selector. A toner image is held on the image holding member. The transfer unit transfers the toner image onto a recording medium. The fixing unit fixes the toner image onto the recording medium. The transport unit reverses the recording medium onto which the toner image has been fixed, and transports the reversed recording medium back to the transfer unit. The transfer-performance-detection toner image forming unit forms plural transfer-performance-detection toner images with different transfer settings of the transfer unit. The density detection unit detects densities of plural transfer-performance-detection toner images. The selector selects a transfer setting of the transfer unit in accordance with a detection result obtained by the density detection unit.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image holding member configured to hold a toner image; a transfer unit configured to transfer the toner image held on the image holding member onto a recording medium having a first side and a second side; a fixing unit configured to fix the toner image transferred onto the recording medium by the transfer unit; a transport unit configured to reverse the recording medium having the toner image fixed onto the first side by the fixing unit and configured to transport the reversed recording medium back to the transfer unit; a transfer-performance-detection toner image forming unit configured to form a plurality of transfer-performance-detection toner images which are arranged in an array and are formed with different transfer settings of the transfer unit so that a transfer-performance-detection toner image to be formed on the first side of the recording medium and a transfer-performance-detection toner image to be formed on the second side of the recording medium at least partly overlap each other; a density detection unit configured to detect densities of a plurality of transfer-performance-detection toner images transferred onto the second side of the recording medium or densities of a plurality of transfer-performance-detection toner images which remain on the image holding member after a plurality of transfer-performance-detection toner images have been transferred onto the second side of the recording medium; and a selector configured to select a transfer setting of the transfer unit in accordance with a detection result obtained by the density detection unit.