To provide an image forming apparatus providing an excellent image by preventing soiling of a recording material, and also to provide an image forming method, a program, and a recording medium.

The image forming apparatus has: at least one or more image carrying means on the surface of which an electrostatic latent image for an image is formed; a developing means which selects the image carrying means on the basis of an image forming mode and develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrying means, to form a toner image; a primary transfer means which transfers the toner image to the surface of a means to be transferred; a secondary transfer means which transfers the toner image on the surface of the means to be transferred to a transfer material; a swelling out length detecting means which detects the swelling out length of an image area swelling out to the outside of the area of the transfer material, on the basis of the length of the transfer material, the length of the image and a position where the image is transferred to the transfer material; and a cleaning control means which makes control so as to transfer toner on the surface of the secondary transfer means to the means to be transferred, and to clean the secondary transfer means, when the swelling out length of the image area detected by the swelling out length detecting means is longer than a predetermined swelling out length.

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