An endless belt is supported by a plurality of rollers. A transfer roller
comes in contact with an outer surface of the belt to form a transfer
nip. An auxiliary member makes contact with a recording medium on an
upstream side of the transfer nip in a movement direction of the belt, to
cause the recording medium to be in close contact with the outer surface
of the belt. A bias applying unit applies to the auxiliary member a bias
for electrostatically transferring a toner adhered to the auxiliary
member to the outer surface of the belt.