Patent ID: 8615189

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming section configured to form an image on a medium, using a thermally decolorable recording material containing a leuco dye and a developable material; a heating section configured to heat the medium while carrying the medium; a supply section configured to supply the medium with the image formed thereon using the thermally decolorable recording material; and a control section configured to set a temperature of the heating section higher in an image decoloring mode than in modes other than the image decoloring mode to decolor the image on the medium by heating the image with the heating section, and also configured to return the image decoloring mode to a predetermined mode other than the image decoloring mode when the image formed on the medium, using the thermally decolorable recording material, has been decolored, the image on the medium being not decolored in the modes other than the image decoloring mode.