Patent ID: 7251445

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising (i) a latent image carrier for holding an electrostatic latent image, and (ii) an intermediate transfer member for temporally holding an image formed by visualizing the electrostatic latent image formed on the latent image carrier, the image forming apparatus performing image formation by (1) transferring, to the intermediate transfer member, the image formed by visualizing the latent image formed on the latent image carrier, so as to superimpose the image on an image held on the intermediate transfer member in order to prepare an superimposition image on the intermediate transfer member, and then (2) transferring the superimposition image onto a recording medium, wherein: the intermediate transfer member has a latent image holding property for holding an electrostatic latent image; and an image formed on the intermediate transfer member by visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on the intermediate transfer member is superimposed with the image formed by visualizing the electrostatic latent image formed on the latent image carrier; the intermediate transfer member having a support member, the electrostatic latent image being formed at a contact area of the intermediate transfer member and the support member which supports the intermediate transfer member.