Patent ID: 7764900

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier that holds a toner image; an intermediate transfer member onto which the toner image that has been held on the image carrier is transferred; a transfer unit that transfers onto a recording medium the toner image that has been transferred onto the intermediate transfer member, the transfer unit transferring thereon a color toner image for checking the toner image, which has been formed in a non-image forming region on the intermediate transfer member; an application unit that applies an adhesion force reducing agent to a surface of the transfer unit before the color toner image for checking the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer member passes through the transfer unit such that the color toner image for checking the toner image is transferred onto the adhesion force reducing agent applied on the surface of the transfer unit, the adhesion force reducing agent reducing adhesion force to the transfer unit of the color toner image for checking the toner image; and a cleaning unit that removes the color toner image for checking the toner image that has been transferred onto the transfer unit and the adhesion force reducing agent.