Patent ID: 8426091

Claim:
An image-forming method, comprising: a charging step of charging an electrostatic latent image bearing member with a charging member to which a voltage is applied; an electrostatic latent image-forming step of writing image information as an electrostatic latent image on the charged electrostatic latent image bearing member; a developing step involving forming a toner layer on a toner carrying member carrying magnetic toner and having an outer diameter in a range from 8.0 mm to less than 12.0 mm with a toner layer thickness control member brought into abutment with the toner carrying member, and dislocating the magnetic toner to the electrostatic latent image in a developing portion which is formed by placing the electrostatic latent image bearing member and the toner carrying member with a gap between the electrostatic latent image bearing member and the toner carrying member and to which an alternating electric field is applied to form a toner image; a transferring step of transferring the formed toner image onto a recording medium; and a fixing step of fixing the transferred toner image, the electrostatic latent image bearing member repeatedly undergoing image formation on itself, wherein: the magnetic toner has a weight average particle diameter (D4) in a range from 8.0 μm to 14.0 μm; the magnetic toner has an intensity of magnetization in a magnetic field of 79.6 kA/m (1,000 Oe) in a range from 16.0 Am 2 /kg to 25.0 Am 2 /kg; the toner carrying member has a surface roughness in terms of a JIS center line average roughness (Ra) in a range from 0.60 μm to 1.20 μm; and when a surface free energy of a surface of the magnetic toner is represented by A (mJ/m 2 ) and a surface free energy of a surface of the toner carrying member is represented by X (mJ/m 2 ), A and X satisfy the following expressions (1), (2) and (3): 1.00 ≦X/A≦ 4.00; (1) 10.0mJ/m 2 ≦A≦ 55.0mJ/m 2 ; and (2) 35.0mJ/m 2 ≦X≦ 60.0mJ/m 2 . (3)