Abstract:
A fixing device comprises an upper heat roller and a lower heat roller which, by contact rotations of their roller surfaces, thermally fix images on cut sheets passing therebetween. The fixing device further comprises a single oil roller which supplies oil for cut sheet release to the upper and lower heat rollers. When conveying to a process unit a cut sheet B1 to be back-side printed which has been delivered via a circulation path, a conveyance control unit forms a conveyance spacing L2 from a precedent cut sheet A5, which spacing conforms to one turn or more of the lower heat roller, so as to ensure uniform application of oil from the upper heat roller to the lower heat roller during the cut sheet vacant interval.