Patent ID: 8346144

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming station configured to form an unfixed toner image on a recording material; a fixing station configured to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording material, said fixing station including a rotatable member configured to form a fixing nip for nipping and feeding the recording material, and a cleaner, movable toward and away from said rotatable member, and configured to clean said rotatable member, wherein said apparatus is operable in a blankless image formation mode for forming the toner image without a blank space at least at one of a leading end and a trailing end of the recording material, wherein said cleaner contacts said rotatable member at a time at which a portion of said rotatable member that has contacted a blankless region at the leading end or the trailing end of the recording material reaches a position where the portion opposes said cleaner, and wherein said cleaner is spaced from said rotatable member in a period in which a portion of said rotatable member that has contacted the recording medium in a region other than the blankless region passes the position where the portion opposes said cleaner.