Patent ID: 7933541

Claim:
An image-forming method comprising: forming a toner image on the surface of an image carrier; transferring the toner image from the surface of the image carrier onto an image-receiving layer of a belt-shaped intermediate transfer film in which the image-receiving layer is provided on a surface of a base material, wherein the thickness of the base material is approximately 50 μm or less; superimposing the intermediate transfer film on a surface of a recording medium such that the toner image contacts the surface of the recording medium, the recording medium being a plastic film having a thickness of 100 μm to 1000 μm; fixing the toner image by application of heat and pressure; forming a laminate by pressure-bonding the superimposed intermediate transfer film onto the recording medium by application of heat and pressure; peeling the base material off the image-receiving layer at the interface therebetween, so that the entire image-forming surface of the recording medium is covered with the image-receiving layer and so that the image is formed between the recording medium and the image-receiving layer; and receiving the peeled base material and winding the base material around a winding roll so that the base material accumulates around the winding roll.