Patent ID: 8089658

Claim:
An image forming device using a toner that maintains a color-generation state or non-color-generation state owing to color-generation information provided by light, the device comprising: an image forming unit containing a developing unit that has a photoreceptor and the toner, and that forms a toner image from the toner on the photoreceptor, a color-generation information providing unit that, on the basis of color component information of image data, provides the toner that forms the toner image with color-generation information by exposing the toner image to light, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a recording medium, a fixing unit that fixes the transferred toner image on the recording medium by heat or pressure, and a color-generating unit that heats the transferred toner image on the recording medium, thereby allowing each toner that forms the toner image to respectively generate a color, a toner temperature detection unit that detects a temperature of the toner before the toner is provided with color-generation information by the color-generation information providing unit, a toner temperature regulating unit that regulates the temperature of the toner when the toner is provided with color-generation information by the color-generation information providing unit, and a control unit that, on the basis of a detection result of the toner temperature detection unit, controls the toner temperature regulating unit such that the temperature of the toner when the toner is provided with color-generation information by the color-generation information providing unit is in a predetermined range.