Patent ID: 8200134

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a latent image forming unit configured to form a latent image on an image carrier; a developing unit configured to develop the latent image on the image carrier to form a toner image; a first transfer unit configured to transfer the toner image on the image carrier onto a front side of a transfer medium, which includes the front side and a back side, when the transfer medium is in a first transfer area of a transport path of the transfer medium, and configured to serve as a first intermediate transfer body that transfers the toner image onto a second transfer unit when the transfer medium is not in the first transfer area; the second transfer unit, which is configured to transfer the toner image from the first intermediate transfer body onto a second intermediate transfer body in a second transfer area; a third transfer unit configured to transfer the toner image from the second intermediate transfer body onto a third intermediate transfer body in a third transfer area; and a fourth transfer unit configured to transfer the toner image from the third intermediate transfer body onto the back side of the transfer medium in a fourth transfer area, wherein each of the first intermediate transfer body and the third intermediate transfer body includes a roller, and the second intermediate transfer body includes a belt, and wherein the fourth transfer area is located downstream of the first transfer area along the transport path of the transfer medium.