Patent ID: 7113714

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a toner image forming section which performs an image forming process in which a toner image is formed by developing a latent image by means of one of plural developing devices that is selected to move to a predetermined development position, said plural developing devices containing toner of which toner colors different from each other respectively, the latent image formed by irradiating a light beam on a latent image carrier, and the toner image is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer medium revolving in a fixed direction; a secondary transfer device which is free to be abutting on or cleared from said intermediate transfer medium and which secondarily transfers the toner image on said intermediate transfer medium to a recording medium in abutting on said intermediate transfer medium; and a controller which selectively executes a monochromatic print mode and a color print mode; said monochromatic print mode being a print mode to form a monochromatic image by making said toner image forming section perform said image forming process using toner of a specific color, and to secondarily transfer the monochromatic image to said recording medium by making said secondary transfer device abut on said intermediate transfer medium; said color print mode being a print mode to form a color image by making said toner image forming section perform said image forming process each time one of said plural developing devices is selected to form plural toner images and then superimposing the plural toner images on top of each other on said intermediate transfer medium, and to secondarily transfer the color image to said recording medium by making said secondary transfer device abut on said intermediate transfer medium, wherein a timing on when said secondary transfer device abuts on said intermediate transfer medium in said color print mode is different from said timing in said monochromatic print mode.