Patent ID: 6970672

Claim:
A toner layer regulating system for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, comprising: a toner carrier; a toner regulating member supported in cantilevered fashion against said toner carrier so as to form a toner nip therebetween; said toner regulating member comprising a flexible metallic substrate having a first surface disposed toward said toner carrier and a coating covering at least an area of said first surface forming said nip; wherein said coating comprises a matrix of a base polymer and a plurality of fine particles, said fine particles having a particle size of 0.1 microns to thirty microns; wherein said coating has a thickness of approximately one hundred fifty microns or less; wherein said coating has a surface roughness in the range of 0.15 to 1.5 microns Ra and in the range of 1 to 15 microns Rz.