| abstract |
Provided is a cleaning blade including an elastic member configured to abut on a surface of a cleaning target member and remove residual material deposited thereon, wherein elastic member satisfies requirements a to c below,n a. an abutment part of the elastic member to abut on the surface of the cleaning target member has a reformed layer, b. Martens hardness at a surface of the reformed layer is from 1.5 to 15 N/mm 2 , and c. a relationship H/L between maximum Martens hardness H among Martens hardnesses H in a region inward from the abutment part thicknesswise and distance L from the surface of the reformed layer is from 0.010 to 0.2 (N/mm 2 ·1/μm), where distance L represents minimum distance among distances to the surface of the reformed layer, from positions at which a measured Martens hardness and a measured elastic power are equal to those of the elastic member. |