An image forming apparatus includes at least one recording head, at least one head holder, a carriage, a reference member, a sub-reference member, and an adjuster. The at least one recording head includes a plurality of nozzles to discharge droplets. The at least one head holder holds the at least one recording head. The carriage holds the at least one head holder and movable in a main scanning direction. The reference member is provided at the carriage and arranged along the main scanning direction. The sub-reference member is provided at the carriage in separation from the reference member. The adjuster adjusts parallelism of the sub-reference member to the reference member. The at least one head holder is supported by and detachable from the reference member, positioned in contact with the sub-reference member, and held in the carriage.