Patent ID: 8269811

Claim:
An image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on a photosensitive member, the image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit comprising an exposure unit configured to form an electrostatic latent image by exposing the photosensitive member and a development unit configured to develop the electrostatic latent image with toner, wherein a first portion on the photosensitive member exposed by the exposure unit is not developed with the toner, and a second portion on the photosensitive member is developed with the toner, and the second portion is either not exposed by the exposure unit or exposed in an exposure amount smaller than an exposure amount for the first portion; a determination unit configured to determine whether the toner image formed in the second portion is a first image in which a number of dots equal to or smaller than a predetermined number are continuously formed in a predetermined direction or a second image in which a number of dots larger than the predetermined number are continuously formed in the predetermined direction; and a control unit configured to control the exposure unit so that an exposure amount in which the exposure unit exposes the photosensitive member for forming the second image is larger than an exposure amount in which the exposure unit exposes the photosensitive member for forming the first image and so that an exposure amount in which the exposure unit exposes the photosensitive member for forming the second image is smaller than an exposure amount in which the exposure unit exposes the first portion.