A developed electrostatic image is transferred from a support to a carrier sheet over a gap of between twenty and seventy microns. The gap is formed by dusting onto the developed electrostatic image particles of such size as to form the required gap or by providing protuberances on the insulating support, which may be a photoconductor. The protuberances on the support or the majority of dusted particles are spaced apart by four millimeters or less.