Patent ID: 7654519

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image forming section which forms an image on a sheet material; (b) a first curl correcting mechanism which holds and conveys the sheet material on which the image has been formed by the image forming section, the first curl correcting mechanism comprising, (1) a first conveying mechanism which elastically conveys the sheet material, (2) a first roller member which holds the sheet material with the conveying mechanism therebetween to apply pressure to one surface of the sheet material being conveyed, (3) a first conveyance and drive section having a first motor which drives the first conveying mechanism or the first roller member to convey the sheet material, and (4) a flirst pressing and driving section which relatively moves the first roller member or the first conveying mechanism toward each other, wherein pressure applied to the one surface of the sheet material during a holding operation can be changed by changing a distance between the first roller member and the first conveying mechanism through the first pressing and driving section and a conveying speed of the sheet material can be changed by changing a rotation speed of the motor through the first conveyance and drive section; and (c) a controller which controls the first curl correcting mechanism to change the conveying speed from a speed vs to a speed vm higher than the speed vs (vm>vs) while the sheet material is held, and to change the pressure to a high pressure in response to a change of the conveying speed while the sheet material is held, whereby a curl of the sheet material is reduced.