Patent ID: 7785760

Claim:
A toner, comprising: a binder resin; a colorant; and a release agent in an amount of from 3 to 15 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin, wherein the toner has a volume average particle diameter (Dv) of from 3 to 9 μm, and wherein the binder resin and the release agent form a sea-island structure in which the island formed of the release agent is dispersed in the sea formed of the binder resin in a cross-sectional image of the toner obtained by a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the following relationships are satisfied: IB>IA and IB>IC wherein IA represents an area ratio (%) of the island in an outermost region (A) of the cross-sectional image of the toner, having a thickness of 0.05 Dv; IB represents an area ratio (%) of the island in an intermediate region (B) thereof located under the outermost region (A), having a thickness of 0.15 Dv; and IC represents an area ratio (%) of the island in an innermost region (C) thereof located under the intermediate region (B), and wherein in a cross section of the toner, the domain of the release agent has an average longest particle diameter of from 0.1 to 2.5 μm.