Image forming apparatus in which plural transfer media are carried

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier for carrying an image, and a transfer medium bearing member for bearing and conveying a transfer medium to a transfer unit of said image carrier. The transfer medium bearing member is able to bear multiple transfer media concurrently. The apparatus includes transfer device for transferring the image of the image carrier onto the transfer medium borne on the transfer medium bearing member in the transfer unit, and a plurality of transfer media capable of being borne on the transfer medium bearing member concurrently, wherein in consecutively transferring the image onto the transfer media of the number not divisible by the maximum sheet bearing number by which said transfer medium bearing member is capable of bearing the transfer media concurrently. The number of transfer media that the transfer medium bearing member concurrently bears at the n-th time where n is a natural number equal to or greater than two, is not less than the number of transfer media that it bears concurrently at the n-1-th time. In transferring the image consecutively as above, the number of sheets that the transfer medium bearing member concurrently bears at the final time is greater than the number of transfer media that the transfer medium bearing member concurrently bears at the first time.