Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the image forming apparatus

A method of controlling an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• forming a density detection image on a surface of a transport belt;
• irradiating the density detection image on the transport belt with light;
• receiving light reflected by the density detection image;
• obtaining a plurality of levels of light intensity of the light reflected by different areas on the density detection image;
• selecting a number of levels of light intensity from the plurality of levels of light intensity;
• performing print density correction for the image forming apparatus based on the number of levels of light intensity.

An image forming apparatus capable of forming a density detection pattern, the density detection pattern including a first image of a first color and a second image of a second color, the apparatus comprising:

• a transport belt that transports a sheet thereon;
• a pattern forming section configured to form the density detection pattern on the transport belt;
• a light source that irradiates the density detection pattern on the transport belt with light;
• a first light receiving sensor that receives the light reflected from the density detection pattern;
• a second light receiving sensor that receives the light reflected from the density detection pattern;
• a first correcting section configured to drive the first light receiving sensor to detect the reflected light from the first image a first number of times and then perform density correction for the first color;
• and
• a second correcting section configured to drive the second light receiving sensor to detect the reflected light from the second image a second number of times and then perform density correction for the second color.