An image forming apparatus (200) includes an image bearing member (1) configured to bear a toner image on a surface thereof, a charging mechanism (3) configured to charge the surface of the image bearing member uniformly, an intermediate transfer mechanism (6a) configured to transfer the toner image from the image bearing member onto an image receiver (10), a cleaning mechanism (2) configured to clean the surface of the image bearing member after the toner image is transferred onto the image receiver; and a lubricant supplying mechanism (7) configured to supply a lubricant (L) contained therein onto the surface of the image bearing member and form a thin layer using a lubricating blade (7a), the lubricant supplying mechanism being arranged at a position between the cleaning mechanism and the charging mechanism: whereby the surface of the image bearing member becomes more uniform for charging. To have a good thin line resolution, toner images are formed by using essentially spherical toner particles having an average volume based diameter of at most 10 µm.