JPH0990844A - Electrophotographic image forming method using specific toner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable forming a stable image over a long period, while preventing the occurrence of cleaning defect, by providing a processing stage for developing with the use of specified developer including toner, and the processing stage for cleaning the toner remaining on a photoreceptor. SOLUTION: The photoreceptor 2 is constituted by laminating the electric charge generating layer and electric charge transporting layer on a conductive substrate surface, if necessary, through the under coating layer, and the layer containing particulates is formed on the surface thereof. In order to prevent a blade from bounding, lubricant (higher fatty acid or its derivative) for giving a sliding property to the photoreceptor 2 is added to the toner. Thus, at the same time of developing, the lubricant can be fed to the photoreceptor surface. As a cleaning mechanism, the blade cleaning system using the blade 1 is preferable, and when the cleaning blade 1 is held by a holder 3, angle O1 formed by the holder 3 and the photoreceptor 2 is, for instance, 15 to 75 deg. is preferable. Moreover, the blade is prevented from bounding by adding the lubricant, thus the cleaning defect can be prevented from occurring, and the stable image over the long period can be obtained as a result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming method, and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming method using a specific toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electrophotographic photoconductors have been shifting from inorganic photoconductors such as selenium to organic photoconductors in view of prevention of environmental pollution. As the organic photoreceptor, a so-called laminated organic photoreceptor comprising a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on a conductive support via an adhesive layer as necessary is used.

Since the charge transport layer is made of a resin containing a charge transport substance, it is not worn by a process such as cleaning for removing the toner remaining in the developing portion and transfer during use over time. Occurs and has problems for long term use.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-1
No. 18667, an organic photoreceptor having a coating layer in which hydrophobic silica is dispersed is formed. In JP-A No. 57-30846, the protective layer contains fine particles of metal or metal oxide having an average particle diameter of 03 μm or less. 1-205171
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-242242 discloses a photoreceptor having a protective layer containing an inorganic filler. Both are methods of adding various fine particles to the surface layer of the photoconductor to improve the wear resistance of the photoconductor,
It is intended to improve the durability of the entire photoreceptor by improving abrasion resistance.

Further, as a cleaning method for the toner remaining after transferring the developed toner on the photosensitive member, a blade cleaning method composed of an elastic body (rubber or the like) such as urethane is lightweight and highly reliable. Is considered useful in. However, in the case of a photoreceptor having a high durability, in particular, a photoreceptor used as the uppermost layer in order to improve durability, there is a problem that the blade bounces due to the presence of the particles and cleaning failure occurs. Have

As described above, a stable image cannot be formed for a long period of time in the image forming method using a photoreceptor having a highly durable protective layer having a wear resistance function on the surface. .

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method capable of forming a stable image over a long period of time without causing cleaning failure.

[0008]

The above objects of the present invention have been attained by the following constitutions.

(1). A step of developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an organic photoreceptor having a surface layer containing at least fine particles with a developer containing an additive containing at least a higher fatty acid or its derivative and a toner; And a step of cleaning the toner remaining on the photoconductor after the image is transferred.

(2). The electrophotographic image forming method according to (1), wherein the step of cleaning the toner is a blade cleaning method.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

According to the present invention, when a photoconductor having a surface layer containing fine particles is used, by improving the slipperiness of the photoconductor and preventing minute bounding of the blade,
It is possible to provide an electrophotographic image forming method capable of preventing the occurrence of defective cleaning and consequently forming a stable image for a long period of time.

As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found that a method of imparting slipperiness to a photoconductor can be achieved by adding a lubricant (a higher fatty acid or its derivative) to a toner. With the method of imparting slipperiness to the photoreceptor itself, it is difficult to maintain the slipperiness over a long period of time, and a method of adding a material imparting slipperiness by another method requires a specific replenishment mechanism. Become.

It has been found that by adding a lubricant as an external additive to the toner, the lubricant can be replenished to the surface of the photoreceptor at the same time as development, and as a result, the lubricant can be stably replenished for a long period of time. It is a thing.

<< Lubricant of the Present Invention >> Examples of the lubricant of the present invention added to the toner as an external additive include higher fatty acids and / or derivatives thereof. The higher fatty acid used as the lubricant of the present invention, for example, caprylic acid, pelargonic acid, capric acid, undecanoic acid, lauric acid, tridecanoic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, Examples include behenic acid, lignoceric acid, cerotic acid, undecyl acid, tridecyl acid, dodecyl acid, pentadecyl acid, heptadecyl acid, montanic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and mixtures thereof. Examples of the derivative include metal salts such as lithium, sodium, potassium, copper, silver, magnesium, calcium, zinc, strontium, cadmium, barium, aluminum, tin, lead, iron and nickel. Particularly preferred are zinc salts, aluminum salts and copper salts of higher fatty acids.

The amount of the higher fatty acid and / or its derivative added is from 0.01% by weight to 5.0% based on the toner.
Weight% is preferable, and 0.02 weight% -2.0 weight% is more preferable.

<< Photoreceptor >> In the present invention, the photoreceptor is a laminate of a charge generating layer and a charge transporting layer, or a charge generating substance and a charge transporting substance are mixed on the surface of a conductive substrate with an undercoat layer as needed. And a layer containing fine particles is formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer. In this case, a separate layer may not be formed, and a method of forming a fine particle layer on the surface by dispersing fine particles throughout the photoconductor layer may be used.

As the conductive substrate, a metal plate of aluminum, stainless steel, iron or the like, a metal layer of aluminum, palladium, gold or the like is provided on the surface of a flexible support such as paper or plastic film by laminating or vapor deposition. It is possible to use a material having a layer containing a conductive compound such as a conductive polymer, indium oxide or tin oxide applied or vapor-deposited on the surface of a flexible support such as paper or plastic film.

As an undercoat layer used as needed, casein, polyvinyl alcohol, nitrocellulose, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, polyvinyl butyral, phenol resin, polyamides (nylon 6, nylon 66, alkoxymethylated) Nylon etc.), polyurethane, gelatin and aluminum oxide are used. The thickness of the undercoat layer is preferably from 0.1 to 10 μm, particularly preferably from 0.1 to 5 μm.

The charge generating layer is a layer containing a charge generating substance, and the charge generating substance is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a phthalocyanine pigment, a polycyclic quinone pigment, an azo pigment, a perylene pigment, and an indigo. Pigments, quinacridone pigments, azurenium pigments, squarylium dyes, cyanine dyes, pyrylium dyes, thiopyrylium dyes, triphenylmethane dyes, styryl dyes and the like can be used, and these are formed alone or dispersed in a resin. The resin used here is styrene-
Acrylic resin, bisphenol A type polycarbonate,
Bisphenol Z-type polycarbonate, polyester resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, styrene resin, polyvinyl acetate, styrene-butadiene resin, vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate -Maleic anhydride resin, silicone resin,
Examples include silicone alkyd resin, phenol formaldehyde resin, polyvinyl acetal resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, and the like.

The charge-transporting layer is a layer containing a charge-transporting substance, and the charge-transporting substance is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include oxazole derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, thiazole derivatives, thiadiazole derivatives and triazole derivatives. , Imidazole derivative, imidazolone derivative, imidazoline derivative, bisimidazolidine derivative, styryl compound, hydrazone compound, benzidine compound, pyrazoline derivative, stilbene compound, amine derivative, oxazolone derivative, benzothiazole derivative, benzimidazole derivative, quinazoline derivative , Benzofuran derivative, acridine derivative, phenazine derivative, aminostilbene derivative, poly-N-vinylcarbazoles, poly-1-vinylpyrenes, poly-9-vinylant Mosses and the like. These are formed singly or in combination and dispersed or dissolved in a resin. The resin used here is styrene-
Acrylic resin, bisphenol A type polycarbonate,
Bisphenol Z type polycarbonate, polyester resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, styrene resin, polyvinyl acetate, styrene-butadiene resin vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride-
Examples thereof include vinyl acetate-maleic anhydride resin, silicone resin, silicone alkyd resin, phenol formaldehyde resin, polyvinyl acetal resin, and polyvinyl butyral resin. The thickness of the charge transport layer is 5 to 50 μm, preferably 10 to 40 μm.

In the case of a photoreceptor layer composed of a mixture of a charge transport substance and a charge generating substance, the above charge transport substance and the charge generating substance are appropriately mixed and dispersed in the resin shown above. It is obtained by forming a layer later. in this case,
The thickness of the layer is 5 to 50 μm, preferably 10 to 40 μm.

The fine particles used in the layer containing the fine particles of the present invention may be either inorganic fine particles or organic fine particles. The inorganic fine particles are not particularly limited, but those having a Mohs hardness of 5 or more are preferable. Specifically, oxides such as titanium oxide, silica, zirconium oxide and alumina; nitrides such as carbon nitride, aluminum nitride and silicon nitride; carbides such as silicon carbide; titanate compounds such as strontium titanate and barium titanate And so on.

The Mohs hardness of the inorganic fine particles means the Mohs hardness of the substance having the material. The Mohs hardness is a relative hardness that is evaluated based on the presence or absence of scratches using a standard material in which talc is 1 and diamond is 10 in sequence.

Crosslinked organic fine particles are particularly preferable as the organic fine particles. The crosslinked organic fine particles are organic fine particles in which an insoluble content in a solvent is 30% or more. Specifically, styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, p-chlorostyrene, 3,4-dichlorostyrene, p-phenylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene, 2 , 4-dimethylstyrene, pt-butylstyrene, pn-hexylstyrene, pn-octylstyrene, pn-nonylstyrene, pn-decylstyrene, pn-dodecylstyrene, etc. Styrene or styrene derivative, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid n
-Butyl, isopropyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate, n-methacrylate
Octyl, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid ester derivatives such as dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, acrylic N-butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, stearyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, acrylate derivatives such as phenyl acrylate, ethylene, propylene, Olefin such as isobutylene, vinyl chloride such as vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, vinyl bromide and vinyl fluoride, vinyl ether such as vinyl propionate, vinyl acetate and vinyl benzoate. Ethers, vinyl methyl ether,
Vinyl ethers such as vinyl ethyl ether; vinyl ketones such as vinyl methyl ketone, vinyl ethyl ketone and vinyl hexyl ketone; N-vinyl carbazole;
N-vinyl compounds such as vinyl indole and N-vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl compounds such as vinyl naphthalene and vinyl pyridine, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile,
Divinylbenzene for vinyl monomers such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid derivatives such as acrylamide,
Polyfunctional vinyl compounds such as ethylene glycol diacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, etc. In addition, vinyl-based organic fine particles obtained by polymerization, condensation-based organic fine particles such as polyurethanes, polyureas, crosslinked polyesters and crosslinked silicone resins formed by condensation of polyvalent isocyanates and polyvalent amines Can be raised.

These fine particles have a number average primary particle diameter of 0.
It is preferably from 1 to 5 μm. More preferably, 0.
05 to 2 μm. If the particle size is large, the surface layer itself becomes brittle, so that the intended improvement in durability cannot be achieved, and the presence of the fine particles may damage the cleaning mechanism. When the particle size is small,
There is no improvement in hardness due to the presence of the fine particles, and the durability does not improve.

Furthermore, the volume resistance of these fine particles themselves is 1.
0 ⁸ or more Ωcm is preferable. If the resistance is lower than this range, the resistance of the surface is reduced, the charge retention function is reduced, and a problem of causing image defects is induced.

When the surface layer is formed, it can be formed by dispersing the fine particles in a resin and coating the resin. The constituent resin is not particularly limited, for example, styrene-acrylic resin, bisphenol A type polycarbonate, bisphenol Z type polycarbonate, polyester resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, styrene resin, Polyvinyl acetate, styrene-butadiene resin, vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-maleic anhydride resin, silicone resin, silicone alkyd resin, phenol formaldehyde resin, polyvinyl acetal resin, polyvinyl butyral resin Etc. can be given. The content of fine particles in these resins is 1 to 200 parts, preferably 5 to 10 parts with respect to 100 parts of the resin.
0 parts. If the amount is less than 1 part, the amount of the fine particles is too small to exert the effect of improving the hardness. If the amount is more than 200 parts, the hardness is improved, but the amount of the fine particles is too large. This causes scattering and causes image defects.

Further, in the present invention, a photoreceptor having a laminated type photosensitive layer is preferable, and the surface layer is 0.2 to
It is 10 μm, preferably 0.4 to 5 μm. When this layer is thin, the effect of improving the durability of the present invention is not exhibited,
Further, when the film thickness is large, the effect of improving durability is exhibited, but image defects due to light scattering and a problem of sensitivity decrease occur.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the layer containing fine particles contains a charge transport substance.
That is, since a specific surface layer is not formed by containing the charge transport material, the charge is uniformly transported, and the charge distribution according to the image can be stably formed. The content ratio of this charge transport material in the surface layer is 30 to 30 parts per 100 parts of the resin constituting the protective layer.
0 parts, preferably 50 to 200 parts.

<< Cleaning Mechanism >> In the present invention, the toner cleaning step is a step of cleaning the toner remaining on the photosensitive member, and the toner cleaning mechanism is not particularly limited, and a blade cleaning method is used. , A magnetic brush cleaning method, a fur brush cleaning method, and the like, and any of them can be used. Among these, a blade cleaning method using a so-called blade is particularly preferable as the cleaning mechanism.

As this configuration, any of the configurations described in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 can be used. 1 and 2, the cleaning blade 1 is attached to the holder 3.
Is held. The number of photosensitive members is 2. The angle formed by the holder and the photosensitive member is such that θ ₁ shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is 10 to 90 °, preferably 15 to 75.
°.

An elastic body such as silicone rubber or urethane rubber can be used as the material for the cleaning blade itself. In this case, the rubber hardness is 30 to 9
A thing of 0 degrees is good. The thickness is preferably 1.5 to 5 mm, and the length outside the holder is preferably 5 to 20 mm. The pressure contact force with respect to the photoconductor is preferably 5 to 50 gf / cm.

<< Developer such as Toner >> The toner contains a binder resin, a colorant, and other additives used as necessary, and the average particle diameter thereof is usually 1 to 1 in terms of volume average particle diameter.
It is 30 μm, preferably 5 to 20 μm. The binder resin that constitutes the toner is not particularly limited, and various conventionally known resins can be used. For example, a styrene resin, an acrylic resin, a styrene / acrylic resin, a polyester resin, and the like can be given.

The colorant constituting the toner is not particularly limited, and various conventionally known materials are used. For example, carbon black, nigrosine dye, aniline blue, calcoyl blue, chrome yellow, ultramarine blue, Dupont oil red, quinoline yellow, methylene blue chloride, phthalocyanine blue, malachite green oxalate, rose bengal and the like can be mentioned.

Examples of other additives include charge control agents such as salicylic acid derivatives and azo metal complexes.

When used as a one-component developer (magnetic toner), so-called magnetic powder may be used as a colorant. As the magnetic powder, any magnetic material that has been conventionally used can be used. The magnetic substance is a ferromagnetic element or an alloy or compound containing these, such as a compound such as magnetite, maghemite, or ferrite, or iron.
Examples include metals such as cobalt, nickel and manganese, and alloys thereof. Although the content of the magnetic powder varies depending on the developing method, it can be added to the toner in an amount of 15 to 80 wt%. More preferably, it is 25 to 65 wt%. Further, the particle diameter of the magnetic powder is preferably 0.01 to 1 μm in number average primary particle diameter, and more preferably 0.1 to 1 μm.
０．５0.5 μm. This particle size indicates a value measured by a transmission electron microscope.

From the viewpoint of imparting fluidity, inorganic fine particles may be added. The inorganic fine particles are preferably inorganic oxide particles such as silica, titania, and alumina, and further,
These inorganic fine particles are preferably hydrophobized with a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, or the like.

The two-component developer is prepared by mixing the toner and the carrier. The toner concentration is 2 to 10% by weight.

As a carrier constituting the two-component developer, a conventionally known carrier can be used. Ferromagnetic metals such as iron, nickel and cobalt, alloys containing these metals, ferromagnetism such as ferrite and magnetite. A carrier obtained by coating particles of a metal compound with a fluororesin, a silicone resin, or the like, and a magnetic substance-dispersed carrier in which magnetic fine particles are dispersed in a polyester resin or a polyethylene resin can be preferably used. The volume average particle diameter of the carrier is preferably in the range of 20 to 200 μm, particularly 30 to 1
A range of 50 μm is preferred. The volume average particle size is measured by a laser diffraction particle size distribution measuring device “HELOS” equipped with a wet disperser (SYMPATEC).
(Made by the company).

<< Developing Method >> There is no particular limitation. As a suitable method, it is suitable for contact-type development. in this case,
The layer thickness of the developer is 0.1 to 8 mm, preferably 0.2 to 5 mm in the developing area. The gap between the photosensitive member and the developer carrying member is 0.1 to 7 mm, preferably 0.2.
~ 4 mm.

[0042]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

<< Example of Preparation of Photoreceptor >> An undercoat layer made of polyamide resin and having a thickness of 0.3 μm was provided on an aluminum drum having a diameter of 80 mm. Then, as a charge generating substance, 10 parts of polyvinyl butyral and 160 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were added to 30 parts of the following perylene compound CGM-1.
A mixed solution of 0 parts was prepared, the charge generating substance was dispersed therein, and then the solution was coated on the undercoat layer and dried to give a film thickness of 0.
A 3 μm charge generation layer was formed.

Then, as a charge transport material, 500 parts of the following styryl compound T-2, 600 parts of bisphenol Z type polycarbonate resin, and 3000 g of dichloromethane.
To prepare a mixed solution, and applied on the charge generation layer,
After drying, a charge transport layer having a film thickness of 25 μm was formed.

Further, the fine particles shown in Table 1 below are prepared as shown in Table 1 below.
Bisphenol Z-type polycarbonate resin 10 containing 100 parts of the following styryl compound T-2 in the addition amount shown in
A liquid dispersed in 0 part was prepared, coated and dried to prepare a protective layer having high hardness on the surface.

[0046]

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[0047]

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[0048]

[Table 1]

The crosslinked styrene-acrylic resin fine particles are prepared by using divinylbenzene as a crosslinking agent and adjusting the particle size and the degree of crosslinking by emulsion polymerization or seed polymerization. The degree of crosslinking of this product, that is, the insoluble content in the solvent, was obtained by measuring the insoluble content in methyl ethyl ketone. When no crosslinking agent is used, the insoluble content is 0%.

<< Production Example of Two-Component Developer >> (Production Example of Toner) 100 parts by weight of polyester resin (PEs), 5 parts by weight of carbon black, 1 part by weight of nigrosine dye, and 3 parts by weight of low molecular weight polypropylene were added and melted.
After kneading and pulverizing and classifying, the volume average particle size is 8.3μ.
m colored particles were obtained. Next, a hydrophobic silica and a lubricant shown in Table 2 below were added to this product to obtain a toner.

[0051]

[Table 2]

Preparation Example of Two-Component Developer A mixture of a copper-zinc ferrite carrier having a volume average particle diameter of about 60 μm coated with a silicone resin and the above-mentioned “toners 1 to 4” is mixed, and a toner concentration of 6% by weight of the present invention is developed. Agents 1 to 3 and Comparative Developer 1 were prepared.

<< Production Example of One-Component Developer >> 100 parts by weight of polyester resin (PEs), magnetic powder (average particle size of the primary number of 0.
60 parts by weight (2 μm) and 3 parts by weight of low molecular weight polypropylene were added, and the mixture was melted and kneaded, and pulverized and classified to obtain a one-component developer having a volume average particle size of 11.0 μm. Next, hydrophobic silica and a lubricant shown in Table 3 below were added to the above to prepare Developers 4 to 6 of the present invention and Developer 2 for comparison.

[0054]

[Table 3]

<< Evaluation >> (two-component developer) electronic copying machine (U-BIX 3135)
The evaluation was performed using a modified machine manufactured by Konica Corporation. The developing gap between the developing sleeve and the photoconductor was 0.5 mm.

A combination of the above-mentioned photoreceptor and the above-mentioned developer was used to print 7200 sheets of 35 sheets per minute at a high temperature and high humidity (33 ° C./80% RH) with a 5% pixel rate, and every 100 sheets. The image deletion that occurred on the image and the image defects such as black spots were evaluated. The black spots referred to here are black spots having a diameter of 0.3 mm or more, which are generated when external additives, fine-grained toner, and the like released due to defective cleaning adhere to the photosensitive member. Tables 4 and 5 below show the number of sheets where image defects have started to occur.

As for the cleaning conditions, in the structure shown in FIG. 2, the angle θ ₁ formed by the holder 3 and the photosensitive member 2 is 22 °, and urethane rubber is used as the material for the cleaning blade 1 itself. did. The rubber hardness was 65 °, the thickness was 2 mm, and the length outside the holder was 8 mm. Further, the pressing force against the photoconductor is 15 gf / cm.

The evaluation paper used was A4.

(One-component developer) Electronic copying machine (U-BIX)
3135 Konica) was modified, and the evaluation was performed in the same manner as the two-component developer except that the developing conditions were changed to the one-component developing conditions. The developing gap between the developing sleeve and the photoconductor was 0.2 mm, and the developer layer was 0.22 mm.

The results are shown in Tables 4 and 5.

[0061]

[Table 4]

[0062]

[Table 5]

When the developers 1 to 6 of the invention were used, image defects such as image deletion and black spots did not occur even after 7,200 times of intermittent copying evaluation under high temperature and high humidity.

On the other hand, when the comparative developers 1 and 2 were used, the early ones occurred in only 100 sheets.

[0065]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming method capable of forming a stable image for a long period of time without causing cleaning failure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one cleaning mode of a cleaning unit.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing another cleaning mode of the cleaning means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning blade 2 Photoconductor 3 Holder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electrostatic latent image formed on an organic photoreceptor having a surface layer containing at least fine particles is developed with a developer containing at least an additive containing a higher fatty acid or its derivative and a toner. And a step of cleaning the toner remaining on the photoconductor after transferring the developed image, the electrophotographic image forming method. 2. The electrophotographic image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the step of cleaning the toner is a blade cleaning method.