Patent 7608374 was granted and assigned to RICOH COMPANY,LTD. on October, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A toner including a binder resin, and a release agent, wherein the following relationships are satisfied:2 μm≦D4≦4 μm (a)0.05 μm≦Dw≦0.3 μm (b)Dw≦0.075×D4 (c)F≦−40×Dw+19 (d)F≦20×Dw+5 (e)wherein D4 is a weight-average particle diameter of the toner, Dw is an average dispersion diameter of the release agent and F is a pulverizability index of the toner.