To provide a developing method utilizing the advantages of a one-component developing device and a two-component developing device, the one-component developing device being excellent in the reproducibility of a highly fine image but having difficulty in coping with high speed control of toner charging and high durability, and the two-component developing device being capable of easily controlling toner charging but liable to cause a magnetic brush mark and an edge effect.

The developing method uses the two-component developer, and an electrode member 71 of a mesh shape is disposed between an image carrier 4 and a developer carrier (developing sleeve) 54. Toner is brought into contact with and transferred to the electrode 71 by rotation of the developing sleeve 54, resulting in chain formation of carrier to which the toner has been attached. Since the electrode member 71 has the mesh form and the bias is applied between the electrode member 71 and the image carrier 4, the toner passes through the mesh by the electric field, and attached to a latent image on the surface of the image carrier 4, thus developing the latent image. The size of the carrier has been set so that the carrier does not pass through the mesh.