Toner, as well as image forming apparatus and image forming method using the same

1. A toner produced by emulsifying or dispersing in an aqueous medium particles comprising at least polyester resin particles and by aggregating the polyester resin particles,

wherein the polyester resin particles comprise a polyester resin, the polyester resin is produced by condensation polymerization of an alcohol component comprising 65 mol % or more 1,2-propanediol in a dihydroxy alcohol component and a carboxylic acid component comprising purified rosin, and the softening point of the polyester resin is 80° C. or more and less than 120° C., and

wherein the toner further comprises a colorant and a releasing agent.

2. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the carboxylic acid component further comprises an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.

3. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the alcohol component further comprises glycerin.

4. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the toner comprises a core-shell structure, a core part formed of core particles comprising resin particles A for cores, and a shell part formed of fine shell particles containing resin particles B for shells.

5. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the toner is produced by a method which comprises:

forming core particles by aggregating resin particles A for cores comprising the polyester resin particles by heating;

forming shell-coated particles in which fine shell particles are attached to surfaces of the core particles by adding to a dispersion of the core particles fine shell particles comprising resin particles B for shells; and

heating the shell-coated particles.

6. The toner according to claim 4 , wherein the resin particles B comprise polyester resin particles.

7. The toner according to claim 1 , further comprising: an external additive made of fine inorganic particles attached to toner surfaces,

wherein the fine inorganic particles comprise fine silica particles having a hydrophobizing degree of 50% or more and a BET specific surface area of 100 m 2 /g to 300 M 2 /g, and fine titania particles having a hydrophobizing degree of 50% or more and a BET specific surface area of 20 m 2 /g to 150 m 2 /g.

8. The toner according to claim 7 , wherein the fine inorganic particles comprise silica particles of an average primary particle diameter of 60 nm to 150 nm and of approximately spherical shapes.

9. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the toner has a weight average particle diameter (D 4 ) of 3.0 μm to 7.0 μm, and the ratio of the weight average particle diameter (D 4 ) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) (D 4 /Dn) is 1.05 to 1.30.

10. The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the toner has an average circularity of 0.93 to 0.99.