PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING ELECTROSTATIC LATENT IMAGES IN ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY

A dielectric layer of copy paper is brought into contact with an electrostatic latent image bearing surface of a photosensitive plate by a first roller having an electric resistance value substantially higher than the rear face resistance value of the copy paper, the photosensitive plate having on its front face a dielectric layer for forming the latent image thereon and driven by a grounded roller. An electrically conductive lining element of the copy paper is substantially grounded by an electrically conductive second roller to transfer the electrostatic latent image by air-breakdown discharge under the influence of the first and second rollers. The gap between the photosensitive plate and the copy paper has a width for air-breakdown discharge according to Paschen's law.