Patent ID: 7179577

Claim:
An image forming method comprising the steps of: contacting an image forming member bearing an electrostatic latent image thereon with a developer to develop the latent image with the developer to form a toner image on said image forming member; transferring said toner image to a transfer member; collecting the toner and the carrier remaining on said image forming member after the transferring step; and recycling the collected toner and the carrier for use in the contacting step; wherein said developer comprises a dry toner and a carrier said carrier comprising core particles having a weight average particle diameter of 48 to 50 μm, and a resin layer comprising a crosslinked silicone resin; and wherein said resin layer covers each of said core particles and comprises carbon particles thoroughly dispered therein; and wherein said carbon particles have a number average particle diameter of 0.01–0.1 μm.