Electrophotographic copier with a developing device using a liquid developer

An image forming equipment comprising:

• an image carrier for electrostatically forming a latent image on a surface thereof by exposure;
• a developing unit for developing the latent image by a liquid developer stored in a tank to produce a visible image;
• an image transferring unit for transferring the visible image to a recording medium;
• a movable cleaning unit for cleaning the surface of the image carrier after image transfer;
• the liquid developer comprises a mixture of a toner and a liquid carrier;
• wherein said liquid carrier consist essentially of polymethyl phenyl siloxane having a low volatility;
• a print command switch which is continuously held in a printable state after the turn-on of a power source;
• means for causing said cleaning unit to perform a cleaning operation upon the turn-on of the print command switch;
• stirring means coupled to said tank for periodically stirring said liquid developer contained therein, and
• means for, after the cleaning unit has cleaned a leading edge of an image on the image carrier once, to commence a recording operation which begins when the exposure is started.