Patent ID: 7054587

Claim:
A transfer method, comprising: displacing at least one of a first image support for supporting a first toner image and a second image support for supporting a second toner image towards the other of the first and second image supports to establish a contact region; moving in the same direction and at the same speed the first and second image supports within the contact region in which image support sides of the first and second image supports come into contact; conveying a recording medium sandwiched between the first and second image supports within the contact region; using a first transfer member disposed upstream in the movement direction of the first and second image supports within the contact region to transfer one of the first and second toner images supported on one of the first and second image supports to one side of the recording medium conveyed within the contact region; and using a second transfer member disposed downstream in the movement direction of the first and second image supports within the contact region to transfer the other toner image of the first and second toner images supported on the other image support to the other side of the recording medium conveyed within the contact region.