Patent ID: 6799010
Filing Date: 2004-09-28
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
An image forming apparatus comprising:a plurality of image carriers; a plurality of toner image forming means each for forming a toner image of a particular color on a respective one of said plurality of image carriers; primary image transferring means comprising an intermediate image transfer body capable of contacting said plurality of image carriers, wherein toner images formed on said plurality of image carriers are sequentially transferred to said intermediate image transfer body one above the other by primary image transfer at positions where said image carriers contact said intermediate image transfer body, completing a composite toner image; and secondary image transferring means for transferring the composite toner image from said intermediate image transfer body to a recording medium by secondary image transfer; and a first memory configured to store data to be used to form the toner image of a first color and a second memory configured to store data to be used to form the toner image of a second color different than the first color; wherein said image forming apparatus is selectively operable in a first mode that uses all of said plurality of toner image forming means or a second mode that uses at least one of said plurality of toner image forming means, but does not use at least one of said plurality of toner image forming means, and in said second mode, the image carrier associated with the toner image forming means not joining in image formation is moved from the surface of said intermediate image transfer body at least until an end of the primary image transfer.