Image forming apparatus free of defect due to substances bleeding from transferring member

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearing member; a toner image formation means for forming a toner image on the image bearing member; a transfer member, contactable to the image bearing member, for transferring a toner image from the image bearing member onto a recording material in a transfer region; a voltage source for applying a first bias voltage to the transfer member when the transfer member transfers the toner image onto the recording material; executing means for executing, in absence of the recording material in the transfer region, a toner application mode operation for transferring the toner image from the image bearing member onto the transfer member by application, from the voltage source to the transfer member, of a second bias voltage having a polarity which is the same as that of the first bias voltage and which is different from that of the first bias voltage.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.