To provide a method and an apparatus for forming an image which enables small image density lowering and image roughness caused by use endurance and the keeping of a high surface potential and a latent image contrast potential even when spherical magnetic toner with, which waste toner is reduced or is not generated and which has good fixation and good transfer efficiency even if an a-Si photoreceptor is used.
The method and the apparatus use at least an a-Si image carrier which has a surface layer consisting of a non-single crystal material based on carbon atoms, an electrifying means which has an electrifying member carrying electrically conductive particles with the size of 10 nm, to 10 μm on its surface and contacts the electrically conductive particles with the image carrier to electrify the image carrier, and monocomponent magnetic toner whose means circularity is 0.950 to 0.995 and saturation magnetization in 79.6 kA/m is 10 to 50 Am2/kg. An electrostatic latent image is developed to form an image on a recording medium under conditions that absolute value of dark part potential in a development region is 400 to 800 V and latent image contrast potential is 360 to 800 V.
HITSUISHI MITSUHARU
SHIMOJO MINORU
