Image forming apparatus and fixer fluid applying roller

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an intermediate transfer medium;
• a toner image forming section for forming a toner image, which is constituted by a toner that contains binder resin and is charged as a predetermined polarity, on a toner carrying surface of the intermediate transfer medium;
• a fixer fluid applying section for applying a fixer fluid, which is prepared as a liquid for softening or swelling the toner, to an entirety of the toner carrying surface of the intermediate transfer medium;
• and
• a transfer section for transferring the toner image carried on the intermediate transfer medium onto a recording medium,
• wherein the fixer fluid applying section performs application of the fixer fluid in such away that a quantity of applying the fixer fluid for a non-image portion of the toner carrying surface on which the toner is not carried is smaller than that for an image portion of the toner carrying surface on which the toner image is formed, in terms of application amount of the fixer fluid per unit area, and
• wherein a non-zero amount of fixer is applied to the non-image portion of the toner carrying surface.

A fixer fluid applying roller for applying a fixer fluid to a toner image in a contact manner, comprising:

• a hollow shaft;
• a permeation control layer formed on an outer surface of the shaft;
• and
• a porous layer formed on the outer surface of the permeation control layer,
• wherein the shaft stores the fixer fluid therein and has a plurality of fixer fluid supply holes formed so as to penetrate from the outer surface to an inner wall surface of the shaft in order to feed the fixer fluid into the permeation control layer, and the permeation control layer is made of an elastically deformable material which allows impregnation of the fixer fluid and retention of the fixer fluid in an impregnated state.