Method of manufacturing an intermediate transfer belt

Abstract

A method for making an intermediate transfer belt includes transferring a mixture of a solution of a thermosetting resin and a particulate electroconductive material into a centrifugal mold; rotating the centrifugal mold to form a film attached to an inner periphery thereof; thermally imidizing the film to have an imidization ratio not greater than 98%; and drawing the film to entirely harden the film and to form the intermediate transfer belt.

1 . A method of manufacturing an intermediate transfer belt, comprising:
 transferring a mixture of a solution of a thermosetting resin and a particulate electroconductive material into a centrifugal mold;   rotating the centrifugal mold to form a film attached to an inner periphery thereof;   thermally imidizing the film to have an imidization ratio not greater than 98%; and   drawing the film to entirely harden the film and to form the intermediate transfer belt,   wherein the intermediate transfer belt is used in an electrophotographic image forming process in which a toner image of each color formed on plurality of image bearing members is overlappingly transferred to the intermediate transfer belt to form a multi-colored image thereon, which is transferred to a transfer material.   
   
   
       2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the intermediate transfer belt is formed with an elasticity modulus of from 7,000 to 15,000 MPa. 
   
   
       3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the intermediate transfer belt is formed with a surface resistivity ρs of from 1.0×10 10  to 1.0×10 13 Ω. 
   
   
       4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the intermediate transfer belt is formed with a volume resistivity ρv of from 1.0×10 5  to 1.0×10 11  Ωcm.