JP2000184158A - Device for forming image and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select density control with a saved transfer material or more correct density control by executing density control by means of selectively utilizing a first density detecting means for detecting the density of a patch formed on an image carrier body and the second density detecting means for detecting the density of the patch which is formed on the transfer material. SOLUTION: At first, the plural patches are generated on an intermediate transfer material 5, by which a density difference occurs by changing a development bias as against a pattern with the same density. A density sensor A25 detects the patch density on the intermediate transfer body 5. In the meantime, the density sensor B26 arranged in the neighborhood of a paper discharge part detects the patch density on the transfer material 27 by which the patch on the intermediate transfer body 5 is transferred at the position of a transfer electrifying device 6 and carried. A CPU part 22 controls a change-over part 21 to output the measurement result of the density sensor A25 in a normal print mode and to output the measurement result of the density sensor B26 in a prescribed print mode and sets the optimum development bias in each case.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus for performing density control based on the density of a formed image and a method for controlling the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus for forming a color image. In FIG. 1, a photosensitive drum 1 is provided substantially at the center of the apparatus, and the photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. A charger 3 is provided near the upper right of the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1,
Further, on the left side of the photosensitive drum 1, a plurality of developing units 4a, 4
b, 4c and 4d are supported by a rotatable support 4.

A laser diode 12, a polygon mirror 14, a lens 15, and a folding mirror 16 which are rotated by a high-speed motor 13 are arranged above the main body of the apparatus.

When a signal according to yellow (Y) image information is input to the laser diode 12, optical information corresponding to Y is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 1 through an optical path 18 to form a latent image. You. Further, when the photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow, this latent image is visualized as a Y toner image by the developing device 4a. Thereafter, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 5.

By performing the above steps sequentially for each of the colors magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), a full-color image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 5 using a plurality of color toners. Thereafter, when the plurality of color toner images on the intermediate transfer member 5 reach the transfer position where the transfer charger 6 is disposed, the toner images are transferred to the transfer material already supplied to the transfer position. The toner image on the surface of the transfer material on which the toner image has been transferred is fused and fixed by the fixing unit 9,
By being discharged outside the apparatus, a color image print is obtained.

On the other hand, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is cleaned by a cleaning device 11 such as a fur brush or blade means. The toner on the intermediate transfer member 5 is also cleaned by a cleaning device 10 such as a fur brush or a web, which removes residual toner by rubbing the surface on the intermediate transfer member 5.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a toner density sensor which detects the density of a toner image for each color formed on the intermediate transfer member 5.

Generally, in an image forming apparatus, if the density of a formed image fluctuates due to a change in various conditions such as a use environment and the number of prints, an original correct color tone cannot be obtained. Therefore, in a conventional image forming apparatus, in order to detect the current image forming state, a toner image (hereinafter, referred to as a patch) for density detection is formed on a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer member for each color on a trial basis. And the concentration was automatically detected.

In the above-described example of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 7, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, in a printing area on the intermediate transfer member 5, each color patch pattern is first formed by the first developing bias from the image writing position. And the Nth
Are sequentially formed up to each color patch pattern by the developing bias. Then, the density of the patch pattern is detected by the toner density sensor 2, and the detection result is fed back to image forming conditions such as an exposure amount and a developing bias, thereby performing density control to form a color image with an original density. And stable images were obtained.

As one of the methods for controlling the density based on the result of actually measuring the patch density, a method of optimizing the developing bias is known. Normally, the relationship between the developing bias and the density in the image forming apparatus is easily affected by environmental changes such as the number of prints, temperature, and humidity, and changes every moment. Therefore, for example, a plurality of patches as shown in FIG. 8 are created while changing the developing bias for each predetermined number of prints, and the density of the patches is measured, whereby the predetermined density can be obtained in the current environment. Such a developing bias value was estimated.

Further, as other density control methods, a method of forming a patch by changing a laser exposure amount, creating a laser exposure amount correction table based on the detected density, and a process condition such as a photosensitive drum potential. There is also known a method of forming a patch by changing it and estimating an optimum process condition based on the detected density.

In a conventional image forming apparatus, density control is performed by one of the above-described plurality of density control methods or by combining a plurality of types.

[0013]

Generally, in an image forming apparatus, the density of a patch formed on a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer member is detected on a transfer material after fixing, rather than on the basis of density control. It is known that performing density control based on the determined toner density enables more accurate control. That is, higher image quality can be obtained by controlling the toner density of the output image itself after formation than by controlling the toner density during image formation.

Therefore, in order to detect the toner density on the transfer material after fixing, it is conceivable to detect the toner density in, for example, a paper discharge section after transferring and fixing the patch on the transfer material. However, in this case, every time the density control is performed, the transfer material is wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and it is possible to selectively execute density control that saves a transfer material and more accurate density control that uses a transfer material. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof.

[0016]

As one means for achieving the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has the following arrangement.

That is, an image is formed on an image carrier by performing exposure and development based on an image signal, and an image forming means for transferring the image onto a transfer material, and a patch is formed by the image forming means. Patch forming means, first density detecting means for detecting the density of the patch formed on the image carrier, and second density detecting means for detecting the density of the patch formed on the transfer material Means, a setting means for setting a density control mode, and a density control means for controlling an image density formed in the image forming means, wherein the density control means comprises a density control set by the setting means. The density control is performed by selectively using the first density detection means and the second density detection means according to the mode.

For example, when the first mode is set by the setting means, the density control means performs density control based on the density detected by the first density detection means, and sets the second mode to When the setting is made, the density control is performed based on the density detected by the second density detecting means.

For example, when the first mode is set by the setting means, the density control means performs density control based on the density detected by the first density detection means. When set, density control is performed based on the density detected by the first and second density detection means.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment described below, the present invention is embodied in the above-described image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Therefore,
A detailed description of the overall configuration and functions of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be omitted, and only the features that characterize the present invention will be described.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes an image forming apparatus main body, and reference numeral 24 denotes a host computer as an external device. As described with reference to FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 20 includes the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing device 4.
a, 4b, 4c, 4d, an intermediate transfer member 5, and a transfer charger 6.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a density sensor A for detecting a patch density on the intermediate transfer 5, which is provided on the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer drum 5. Reference numeral 26 denotes a density sensor B for detecting the patch density after fixing on the transfer material, and is provided in the vicinity of the sheet discharge section that has passed through the fixing section 9.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a density sensor A25 and a density sensor B
A switching unit 26 for switching the output of 26, and a CPU unit 22 for controlling the above components in a comprehensive manner. Reference numeral 23 denotes a controller, which communicates with the host computer 24 and transfers input data (hereinafter referred to as video data) having 8-bit density information to the CPU 22 for four colors of Y, M, C, and K. Control. Further, the controller 23
Upon receiving a signal from the CPU section 22, the host computer 2
Communication control such as communication of the print status and the like is also performed with the control unit 4.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a pattern generator, which generates a patch pattern signal of a predetermined gradation for each color in accordance with an instruction from the CPU unit 22 when performing density control.

In this embodiment, normal density control,
That is, in addition to the normal print mode for performing density control based on the result of density detection by the density sensor A25, a specific print mode for performing density control based on the result of density detection by the density sensor B26 is provided. The normal print mode and the specific print mode are determined by the controller 2.
CPU unit 22 based on a command or the like input from
Controls the selection.

Hereinafter, the density control processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the case where the normal print mode is selected in step S101 will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, in step S102, a plurality of patches 105 having a density difference by changing a developing bias for a pattern of the same density first.
(105a, 105b) are created on the intermediate transfer member 5. Note that the patch 105 is generated based on the image signal output from the pattern generator 28.

In step S103, the patch density is detected by the density sensor A25. In particular,
The density sensor A25 includes a light emitting unit 101 and a light receiving unit 102. The light emitting unit 101 irradiates the patch 105 on the intermediate transfer body 5 with a light beam Io, and the reflected light Ir is detected by the light receiving unit 102. As a result, an output voltage indicating the density of the patch 105 is obtained as a measurement result. At this time, the switching unit 21 is controlled by the CPU 22 so as to output the measurement result of the density sensor A25. And the CPU section 22
In, the measurement result, that is, the output voltage of the density sensor A25 is converted into a density value.

In step S107, an optimum developing bias is set under the current environment. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the developing bias and the density obtained in step S103. Although the curve shown in FIG. 4 is easily affected by changes in the environment such as the number of prints, temperature, and humidity, the developing bias value corresponding to the predetermined target density D can be estimated based on the curve. For example, in the case of FIG. 4, the target density D is achieved only by the development bias Vc.
It turns out that it is. The thus obtained developing bias value is used as the optimum developing bias until the next density control processing.

Next, the case where the specific print mode is selected in step S101 will be described. In this case, as in the case of the normal print mode described above,
In step S104, a patch 105 is formed on the intermediate transfer member 5, and in step S105, the patch 105 is transferred to the transfer material 27 at the position of the transfer charger 6, and is fixed in the fixing unit 9. Then, in step S106, the density of the patch on the conveyed transfer material 27 is detected by the density sensor B26 provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge unit. After that, step S
In step 107, the optimum developing bias is set in the same manner as in the above-described normal print mode.

That is, the CPU section 22 controls the switching section 21 to output the measurement result of the density sensor A25 in the normal print mode, and to output the measurement result of the density sensor B26 in the specific print mode.
Is controlled so as to output the measurement result, and an optimum developing bias is set in each case.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
When the normal print mode is selected, the optimum developing bias is set without wasting the transfer material. When the specific print mode is selected, the patch density formed on the transfer material is set. , And performing more accurate density control, a high-quality image can be obtained.

<Second Embodiment> Hereinafter, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. In the figure, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 of the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 5, FIG.
Is characterized in that the switching unit 21 is not provided for the configuration shown in FIG.

Also in the second embodiment, the density sensor A2
5 has a normal print mode for performing density control by the density sensor B26 and a specific print mode for performing density control by the density sensor B26.

Hereinafter, a density control process according to the second embodiment will be described.

First, the case where the normal print mode is selected will be described. In this case, as in the first embodiment described above, a patch 105 as shown in FIG.
An output voltage indicating the density of 05 is obtained as a measurement result.
The CPU section 22 converts the voltage value of the port connected to the output terminal of the density sensor A25 into a density value, and takes into account the development bias value corresponding to each of the patches 105, thereby obtaining a predetermined density. Guess the bias value.

Next, a case where the specific print mode is selected will be described. In this case, the patch 105 formed on the intermediate transfer member 5 is transferred to the transfer material 2 at the position of the transfer charger 6.
7, and is fixed in the fixing unit 9. Then, the patch density on the conveyed transfer material 27 is detected by a density sensor B26 provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge unit. And C
The PU unit 22 converts the voltage value of the port connected to the output terminal of the density sensor B26 into a density value, and takes into consideration the developing bias value corresponding to each of the patches 105, thereby obtaining a predetermined density. Guess the bias value.

That is, the CPU section 22 takes in the voltage value of the port connected to the output terminal of the density sensor A25 in the normal print mode, and takes the voltage value of the port connected to the output terminal of the density sensor B26 in the specific print mode. Control to take in. Then, an optimum developing bias voltage is set in each case.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained by switching the output voltages of the density sensors A25 and B26 in the CPU section 22. .

Third Embodiment Hereinafter, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment shown in FIG.

Also in the third embodiment, the density sensor A2
5 has a normal print mode for performing density control by the density sensor B26 and a specific print mode for performing density control by the density sensor B26.

Hereinafter, the density control processing according to the third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is characterized in that the density control is first performed by correcting the laser exposure amount, and further the density control is performed by setting the bias voltage as in the first embodiment.

First, the case where the normal print mode is selected will be described. In this case, first, FIG.
In the same manner as the patch 105 shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of patches in which the density difference is generated by changing the laser exposure for the same density pattern are formed on the intermediate transfer member 5. The density sensor A25 includes a light emitting unit 101 and a light receiving unit 102.
The light beam Io is emitted, and the reflected light Ir is detected by the light receiving unit 102, so that an output voltage indicating the density of the patch is obtained as a measurement result. The measurement result is taken into the CPU unit 22 via the switching unit 21.

The switching section 21 is controlled by the CPU section 22 so as to output the measurement result of the density sensor A25. The CPU section 22 converts the measurement result, that is, the output voltage of the density sensor A25 into a density value.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the laser exposure amount and the density thus obtained. According to FIG. 6, although the density tends to increase as the laser exposure increases, it can be seen that the relationship between the laser exposure and the density is non-linear.
Therefore, the relationship between video data and density is also non-linear.
Therefore, a laser exposure amount correction table for correcting the laser exposure amount is created so that the relationship between the video data and the density becomes linear as indicated by 17, and an actual print process is performed based on the table. The obtained laser exposure correction table is used until the next density control processing.

Next, density control is performed by setting a bias voltage in the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of patches 105 in which a density difference is generated by changing a developing bias with respect to a pattern having the same density are formed on the intermediate transfer member 5, and the density sensor A25 detects the patch density. Is measured. Then, the CPU unit 22 converts the measurement result into a density value, and estimates a development bias value at which a predetermined density can be obtained by considering a development bias value corresponding to each of the patches 105. Then, the value is used as the optimum developing bias at that time until the next density control processing.

Next, the case where the specific print mode is selected will be described. In this case, first, a plurality of patches in which a density difference is generated by changing a laser exposure amount for a pattern having the same density are formed on the intermediate transfer body 5. Then, as in the case of the normal print mode,
The density of the patch is detected by the density sensor A25, and a laser exposure correction table is created. Then, the laser exposure amount correction table thus obtained is used until the next density control processing.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of patches 105 having a difference in density by changing the developing bias with respect to the pattern having the same density are formed on the intermediate transfer member 5, and the transfer charger 6 Is transferred to the transfer material 27 at the position of, and is fixed by the fixing unit 9. Then, the patch density on the conveyed transfer material 27 is detected by the density sensor B26. Thereafter, a developing bias value capable of obtaining a predetermined density is estimated by a method similar to the above-described normal print mode. Then, the value is used as the optimum developing bias at that time until the next density control processing.

That is, in the normal print mode, the CPU section 22 creates a laser exposure correction table and sets an optimum developing bias voltage based on the measured value of the density sensor A25. On the other hand, in the specific print mode, a laser exposure correction table is created based on the measurement value of the density sensor A25, and an optimal developing bias voltage is set based on the measurement value of the density sensor B26.

In the third embodiment, an example has been described in which the developing bias is set after the laser exposure correction table is created. However, the processing order may, of course, be arbitrary.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, when the normal print mode is selected, the laser exposure correction table and the developing bias are set without using the transfer material, and the specific print mode is set. If is selected, a laser exposure correction table is created based on the patch density formed on the intermediate transfer member, and a bias voltage is set based on the patch density formed on the transfer material. By performing the control, a higher quality image can be obtained.

<Modification> In the above-described embodiments, when the specific print mode is selected, higher quality images can be obtained by performing density control for each print. Of course, printing can be performed. In this case, the interval at which the density control is performed may be defined in advance by a predetermined time or a predetermined number of prints.

In each embodiment, the normal print mode and the specific print mode are selected by the controller 23.
Although the description has been made assuming that the CPU unit 22 controls the image forming apparatus 20 based on a command or the like input from the user, the user may arbitrarily select an operation unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 20.

In each of the embodiments, the example in which the density control is performed by controlling the developing bias or the laser exposure amount has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. A method of forming a patch by changing the density, setting an optimum process condition based on the detected density, and performing density control, and a method of adjusting a color processing condition such as a gamma table of each color component based on the detected density. Other methods are also applicable.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example of an image forming apparatus including one photosensitive drum and obtaining a color image by performing charging, exposure, development, and transfer image forming processes a plurality of times has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and includes a plurality of image forming units,
The present invention is also realized in an image forming apparatus that obtains a color image by superposing a plurality of color toners on an intermediate transfer member or a transfer material.

In each embodiment, the example in which the density sensor A25 detects the patch density formed on the intermediate transfer body 5 in the normal print mode has been described. The present invention is applicable to a configuration in which the density of a patch formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is measured.

In the present invention, an example has been described in which an image is formed based on video data transferred from an external host computer 24. However, for example, a copying machine or the like having a scanner unit for reading a document image in an apparatus The present invention is also applicable to the above.

In the present invention, when the specific print mode is selected, the transfer material is consumed more than in the normal print mode. Therefore, when performing printing in a specific print mode, it is also effective to configure the system so that billing is performed according to, for example, the number of prints. Of course, if the present invention is applied to a system that is charged even in the normal print mode, a higher price may be charged in the specific print mode.

The specific mode in each embodiment is a mode for compensating for high-precision color reproducibility. For example, when a misprint is not allowed, such as printing on image information obtained by paying a fee from the web. Mode and a mode for proof processing. The determination as to whether the mode is the specific mode is performed in a copy mode in which the copy mode instructed by the user from the plurality of copy modes is a copy mode in which the specific mode is set in advance (this setting may be set to a plurality of copy modes). It can be performed by determining whether or not there is.

[0062]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of toner density measuring means, it is possible to selectively perform density control that saves the transfer material and more accurate density control using the transfer material. It becomes possible to execute.

[0068]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a density control process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a patch formed on an intermediate transfer member in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of setting a bias voltage in the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a laser exposure amount and a density according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a patch pattern in a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive drum 4 Developing device 5 Intermediate transfer body 6 Transfer charger 9 Fixing unit 21 Switching unit 22 CPU unit 23 Controller 24 Host computer 25 Density sensor A 26 Density sensor B 27 Transfer material

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An image forming means for forming an image on an image carrier by performing exposure and development based on an image signal, and transferring the image onto a transfer material, and forming a patch by the image forming means. Patch forming means, first density detecting means for detecting the density of the patch formed on the image carrier, and second density detecting for detecting the density of the patch formed on the transfer material Means, setting means for setting a density control mode, and density control means for controlling the image density formed in the image forming means, wherein the density control means controls the density set by the setting means. An image forming apparatus, wherein density control is performed by selectively using the first density detection means and the second density detection means according to a mode. 2. The density control means performs density control based on the density detected by the first density detection means when the first mode is set by the setting means. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when set, the density control is performed based on the density detected by the second density detection unit. 3. The density control means performs density control based on the density detected by the first density detection means when the first mode is set by the setting means. If set, the first and second
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the density control is performed based on the density detected by said density detecting means. 4. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patch forming means forms patches of a plurality of densities by changing a developing bias, and said density controlling means controls a developing bias. 5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patch forming means forms patches of a plurality of densities by changing an exposure amount, and said density control means controls the exposure amount. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the patch forming unit forms patches of a plurality of densities by changing a charge amount of the image carrier, and the density control unit controls a charge amount of the image carrier. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image carrier is a photosensitive drum. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, comprising a plurality of said photosensitive drums. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image bearing member is an intermediate transfer member. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second density detection unit detects the density of the patch fixed on the transfer material. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising communication means for communicating with an external device, wherein said image signal is input from said external device via said communication means. apparatus. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image signal includes a plurality of color components. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a charging unit configured to charge according to the number of image forming sheets, wherein when the second mode is set by the setting unit, charging is performed higher than in the first mode. 3. The image forming apparatus according to 2. 14. A control method for controlling image forming conditions of an image forming apparatus for transferring an image formed on an image carrier onto a transfer material, wherein the image formed on the image carrier is measured. A first control mode for controlling image forming conditions based on the result of the operation, and a second control mode for controlling image forming conditions based on the result of measuring an image formed on the transfer material. A control method for the image forming apparatus, wherein the first control mode or the second control mode is selected according to an output mode based on the first control mode. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the image forming condition is a color processing condition. 16. A recording medium recording a control program for controlling image forming conditions of an image forming apparatus for transferring an image formed on an image carrier to a transfer material, wherein the control program comprises: A code for a first control mode for controlling image forming conditions based on the result of measuring the image formed on the carrier, and a second control mode for controlling the image forming condition based on the result of measuring the image formed on the transfer material. And a code for selecting the first control mode or the second control mode according to an output mode based on a user instruction.
A recording medium comprising: