The heater includes an elongated substrate, two electrodes disposed along a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a heat generation resistive member connected between the two electrodes. The heat generation resistive member is formed on the substrate by one of a sputtering method and a vapor deposition method. The uniform heat generation distribution of a heat generation resistive member in a heater can be achieved so as to reduce a temperature difference between a pass-through area through which a recording material passes and a no sheet pass-through area through which the recording material does not pass.