Patent ID: 8758973

Claim:
An apparatus for producing a toner, comprising: a liquid droplet-forming unit configured to discharge a toner composition liquid containing at least a resin and a colorant at a uniform discharge speed from a plurality of discharge holes including holes of different shapes to form liquid droplets, and a particle-forming unit configured to solidify the liquid droplets of the toner composition liquid to form particles, wherein the liquid droplet-forming unit includes a discharge structure in which the plurality of the discharge holes are formed, wherein each of the discharge holes has a tapered shape such that an opening size thereof decreases along a direction in which the toner composition liquid is discharged, wherein each of the discharge holes has a taper angle that is set differently based on a position of the each of the discharge holes in the discharge structure, wherein the liquid droplet-forming unit includes a liquid chamber in which the discharge holes are formed and a vibration generator configured to apply a vibration to the toner composition liquid in the liquid chamber, and wherein the liquid droplet-forming unit is configured to allow the vibration generator to apply the vibration to the toner composition liquid in the liquid chamber to form a standing wave in the toner composition liquid by liquid column resonance, to discharge the toner composition liquid as the liquid droplets from the discharge holes formed in a region corresponding to an antinode of the standing wave.