In an example of a method for reducing contamination, a purified imaging oil is formed by filtering an imaging oil through an imaging oil filter, and then filtering the imaging oil through a polar absorbent filter. A surface of an amorphous silicon photoconductor of a liquid electrophotographic printing apparatus is maintained by periodically applying the purified imaging oil to the amorphous silicon photoconductor.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a charging member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer member, and a rubbing member. The image bearing member includes a plurality of recess portions on a surface thereof. The rubbing member is configured to come into contact with the image bearing member to form a rubbing nip portion between the rubbing member and the image bearing member. The recess portions each have an opening portion whose maximum length in the rotational direction is 20 m to 120 m. When a linear speed of the image bearing member in the rubbing nip portion is S1 and a linear speed of the rubbing member in the same direction as the linear speed of the image bearing member in the rubbing nip portion is S2, a relationship of a linear speed ratio of S2/S1<1.0 is satisfied.

A tandem type electrophotographic image forming device using an organic photoreceptor, includes a plurality of image forming units each including at least: an electrostatic latent image former; a developer; a lubricant supplier; and a cleaner, wherein at least one combination composed of the two adjacent image forming units including toners having different colors satisfies the following formula (1) if a universal hardness of an organic photoreceptor A included in the image forming unit disposed on an upstream side is represented by Ha, and a universal hardness of an organic photoreceptor B included in the image forming unit disposed on a downstream side is represented by Hb.
[Numerical formula 1]
HbHa10 N/mm.sup.2(1)

In an example, a method includes applying a liquid print agent comprising a carrier fluid to a photoconductive surface and reducing a proportion of the carrier fluid in the liquid print agent on the photoconductive surface at a first location during a print cycle of a print apparatus. The method may further include, during a non-print cycle of the print apparatus, adding carrier fluid to the photoconductive surface at the first location.

An image forming apparatus executes charging, exposure, toner-supply suspension, and electric-field generation while a photosensitive member rotates at least a full turn. In the charging, a charger charges a portion of a circumferential surface of the photosensitive member. In the exposure, an exposure device exposes the portion, which has been charged in the charging, of the circumferential surface. In the toner-supply suspension, before the portion, which has been exposed in the exposure, of the circumferential surface passes a position at which developer from a developing unit is configured to initially adhere to the circumferential surface, a developing unit stops supplying developer to the photosensitive member. In the electric-field generation, an electric field is generated in a portion of the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive member corresponding to the portion, which has been exposed by the exposure device, of the circumferential surface.

An image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic photoreceptor that includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer disposed on the conductive substrate, the electrophotographic photoreceptor having an outermost surface layer that contains a binder resin, a charge-transporting material, and a fluorine-containing resin particle, the fluorine-containing resin particle containing 0 or more and 30 or less carboxy groups per 10.sup.6 carbon atoms, a charging device that charges the electrophotographic photoreceptor, an electrostatic latent image forming device that forms an electrostatic latent image on the electrophotographic photoreceptor that is charged, a developing device that houses a developer containing a toner and that develops, with the developer, the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photoreceptor into a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image onto a transfer-receiving medium, and an optical discharging device that, after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer-receiving medium and before the electrophotographic photoreceptor is charged, irradiates the electrophotographic photoreceptor with discharging light with a light quantity of 1.0 ?W or more and 50.0 ?W or less to perform discharging.

An apparatus is provided for controlling a liquid electrophotography printer (LEP). The LEP may include a plurality of ink developers, IDs, to transfer charged ink to a photoreceptor, by virtue of a potential difference between the engaged ID and the photoreceptor selectively dischargeable to allow an image to be formed on a print medium in use through printing a spread of plural color separations thereon each corresponding to ink from one of a plurality of engaged IDs. the apparatus may comprise a print controller to, in use monitor an order of color separations to be printed onto the print medium. The print controller may also detect in the order of color separations an empty separation of an ID followed by a printing separation of the same ID, an empty separation representing a separation in which no image is formed on the photoreceptor and the engaged ID is at a voltage different to the voltage of the ID for a printing separation so as to, in the empty separation, substantially wet the photoreceptor and substantially not transfer ink thereto. The print controller may also, in response to the detection, replace in the order of the color separations the ID for the empty separation with a different ID.

The present invention relates to a solid lubricant to be coated on an image bearing member included in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The solid lubricant contains a resin particle and metal soap. The resin particle includes a particle body containing an amorphous resin as a principal component, and a fluorine atom supported on a surface of the particle body. The resin particle is a particle having a volume average particle size of 70 nm or more. The solid lubricant can sufficiently increase a cleaning effect in the image forming apparatus.

A control unit of an image forming apparatus controls a developer supply amount per unit time in a coating agent removal sequence based on information about a driven amount of an image-bearing member unit acquired from a first memory of the image-bearing member unit via a communication unit, and information about a driven amount of a developing unit acquired from a second memory of the developing unit via the communication unit.

A print apparatus is disclosed. The print apparatus includes a photoconductive surface to receive a latent image representative of an image to be printed onto a printable substrate; a charging component to apply a voltage is to be applied to the photoconductive surface as the charging component moves relative to the photoconductive surface; and processing circuitry to receive data indicative of a measurement of a first current resulting from the voltage applied by the charging component; determine, responsive to detecting an increase in the measured first current relative to a reference current, the increase being greater than a first defined threshold current, that there exists a point defect under affecting the latent image; and generate instruction data responsive to determining that there exists a point defect under affecting the latent image. A method and a machine-readable medium are also disclosed.