Patent ID: 8521068

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrying member on which a toner image is to be formed; a developing device including a developing roller for supplying a liquid developer containing a solid content to the image carrying member to form the toner image on the image carrying member, a supply roller for supplying the liquid developer to the developing roller, a nip forming roller, disposed so that a supply nip portion is formed between the supply roller and nip forming roller, the liquid developer being discharged to the supply nip portion; a liquid developer supplying device including a liquid developer flow path in which the liquid developer flows and supplying the liquid developer to the developing device through a discharge port of the liquid developer flow path, the discharge port facing the supply nip portion; a storage container storing the liquid developer; a conveying mechanism capable of feeding the liquid developer from the storage container to the liquid developer flow path and feeding the liquid developer in the liquid developer flow path back to the storage container; and a controller controlling the conveying mechanism; wherein at the time of non-developing operation in which a toner image forming operation is not performed by the developing device, the controller controls the conveying mechanism to feed at least a part of the liquid developer present in the liquid developer flow path back to the storage container.