Patent ID: 7354617

Claim:
A method for evaluating a fixing belt, comprising: forming a fixing belt which includes a substrate, an elastic layer laminated on the substrate and a mold releasing layer laminated on the elastic layer; performing a universal hardness test for said fixing belt; and judging as an acceptable product if a creep value C HU is included within a range of 0.04â‰¦C HU â‰¦3.50(%) when said universal hardness test is performed for said fixing belt and when said creep value C HU which is measured from the side of said mold releasing layer is defined by a formula below C HU =( h 2 - h 1 )/ h 1 Ã—100(%) where h 1 is a pushed depth when a test load reaches a predetermined value which is kept for a predetermined period of time, and h 2 is a pushed depth when a predetermined period of time is elapsed after the test load is removed.