Patent ID: 7250240

Claim:
A toner formed from a toner raw composition comprising a foaming agent, a binder resin and a colorant, wherein: the colorant comprises a black metal compound; the foaming agent has a volume-average particle diameter of from 2 μm to 50 μm; the toner raw composition turns into a porous mixture as the foaming agent expands during melting and kneading of the toner raw composition; after milling and classifying the porous mixture, the toner is obtained having a specific density of from 1.0 g/cm 3 to 1.3 g/cm 3 ; and the specific density is determined as follows: 1 gram of toner is pressed at 400 kgf/cm 2 for five minutes in a discal cavity having a diameter of 20 mm, then the discal toner is removed; discal toner volume (V) is calculated from diameter and height, measured at 10 minutes after releasing pressure on the discal toner, and the discal toner mass (W) is measured; and then the specific density is determined from a formula; Specific Density (ρ T )= W/V.