Patent ID: 8346104

Claim:
An image forming apparatus including a process cartridge that is detachably mountable to a main assembly of said image forming apparatus and includes a rotatable image bearing member for bearing an electrostatic latent image and includes a cleaning blade, provided counterdirectionally to a rotational direction of the image bearing member to contact the image bearing member in a predetermined area thereby forming a nip, for removing a developer from the surface of the image bearing member, said image forming apparatus comprising: a charging device for electrically charging the surface of the image bearing member; a developing device for developing, with a developer, an electrostatic latent image formed after the surface of the image bearing member is electrically charged, said developing device including a developer carrying member for carrying the developer and applying the developer to the image bearing member by being rotationally driven, and said developing device including a stirring member for stirring the developer accommodated in a developer container and feeding the developer to the developer carrying member by being rotationally driven; a fresh cartridge detecting device for detecting whether or not the process cartridge is a fresh cartridge; and a control device for effecting control so that in the case where said fresh cartridge detecting device detects that the process cartridge is a fresh cartridge when power to said image forming apparatus is turned on, a preparatory operation for printing is performed including an initializing operation such that the developer is deposited on the surface of the image bearing member by said developing device after said stirring member rotates at least one full circumference thereof and then the developer is deposited in the nip, wherein the initializing operation is performed before application of a charging bias to said charging means.