Patent ID: 8474970

Claim:
A recording medium conveyance method of conveying a cut sheet of a recording medium, the method comprising the steps of: wrapping the cut sheet about a circumferential surface of a conveyance body and conveying the cut sheet in a conveyance direction by rotating the conveyance body, the conveyance body being one of a drum and a belt, a back surface of the cut sheet being in contact with the circumferential surface of the conveyance body; and pressing a pressing member to a front surface of the cut sheet held on the circumferential surface of the conveyance body, to apply pressing force to the cut sheet to make the cut sheet close contact with the circumferential surface of the conveyance body, while controlling the pressing force so as to gradually decrease the pressing force from a leading end of the cut sheet toward a trailing end of the cut sheet in terms of the conveyance direction, wherein the leading end of the cut sheet is gripped by a gripper provided at the conveyance body.