Toner

A toner containing a binder resin, a pigment, and an azo compound,

• wherein the pigment is selected from the group consisting of C. I. Pigment Blue 15, C. I. Pigment Blue 15:1, C. I. Pigment Blue 15:2, C. I. Pigment Blue 15:3, C. I. Pigment Blue 15:4, C. I. Pigment Violet 19, C. I. Pigment Red 122, C. I. Pigment Red 150, C. I. Pigment Yellow 120, C. I. Pigment Yellow 151, C. I. Pigment Yellow 185 and carbon black,
• wherein the azo compound contains a polymer component selected from the group consisting of a vinyl polymer-type resin, a polyester, a polyurethane, a polyamide resin and a hybrid resin in which a plurality of the preceding are chemically bonded, and a moiety in the azo compound other than the polymer component is represented by the following general formula (1):
• in general formula (1), any one of R1, R2, and Ar is bound to the polymer component with a single bond or a linking group;
• R1 not bound to the polymer component represents a monovalent group selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, phenyl group, OR4 group, and NR5R6 group (in which R4 to R6 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, phenyl group, or aralkyl group);
• R1, which is bound to the polymer component with a single bond or a linking group, represents a divalent group of which a hydrogen atom is removed from the corresponding monovalent group of R1 and the linking group is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of an amide group, ester group, urethane group, urea group, alkylene group, phenylene group, —O—, —NR3—, and —NHCH(CH2OH)CH2—wherein R3 represents a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, phenyl group, or aralkyl group;
• R2 not bound to the polymer component represents a monovalent group selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, phenyl group, OR8 group, and NR9R10 group wherein R8 to R10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, phenyl group, or aralkyl group;
• R2, which is bound to the polymer component with a single bond or a linking group, represents a divalent group of which a hydrogen atom is removed from the corresponding monovalent group of R2, and the linking group is a divalent linking group (a) selected from the group consisting of an alkylene group, phenylene group, carboxylate ester group, carboxylamide group, sulfonate ester group, sulfonamide group, —O—, —NR7—, and —NHCH(CH2OH)CH2— wherein R7 represents a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, phenyl group, or aralkyl group;
• Ar not bound to the polymer component represents an aryl group;
• Ar, which is bound to the polymer component with a single bond or a linking group, represents a divalent group of which a hydrogen atom is removed from the corresponding aryl group of Ar, and the linking group is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of an amide group, ester group, urethane group, urea group, alkylene group, phenylene group, —O—, —NR3—, and —NHCH(CH2OH)CH2— wherein R3 represents a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, phenyl group or aralkyl group);
• and
• designating as (A) the solubility for the azo compound in a toluene-hexane solubility test and designating as (B) the solubility for the binder resin in the toluene-hexane solubility test, the (A) and the (B) satisfy the relationship |(B)−(A)|≦60.