In response to receiving an instruction operation in a receiving process, a processor executes an apparatus-side preparing process including an issuance requesting process of transmitting issuance requesting information to a server through a communicator, the issuance requesting information being information for requesting issuance of authentication information indicative of authority to perform data communication with a service providing apparatus, the instruction operation being a user operation of instructing execution of a preparing process for connecting the image forming apparatus to the service providing apparatus, a storage-instruction receiving process of receiving storage instructing information from the server through the communicator, the storage instructing information being information including the authentication information issued by the service providing apparatus, and a first near-field transmitting process of, in response to approach of the card to the first near-field communicator, transmitting the authentication information included in the storage instructing information to a card through a near-field communicator.

A drawing unit configured to draw a print target content is instructed to draw a content and a predetermined element. Based on a notification from the drawing unit, which corresponds to the drawing instruction and has been made regardless of completion of drawing to the instruction, drawn data is acquired from the drawing unit. If the acquired data includes the predetermined element, a print apparatus is caused to execute printing based on the acquired data. If the acquired data includes no predetermined element, data is acquired from the drawing unit again without causing the print apparatus to execute printing based on the acquired data.

Generally, a job management apparatus of the present embodiment which sends a print job to an image forming apparatus comprises a communication section and a controller. The communication section communicates with the image forming apparatus and a delivery apparatus configured to deliver a sheet printed by the image forming apparatus to a delivery destination. The controller calculates printing time relating to completion of execution of the print job by the image forming apparatus and first arrival time when the delivery apparatus reaches the image forming apparatus and enables the image forming apparatus to execute the print job at a timing when the image forming apparatus can complete the execution of the print job by the first arrival time.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention causes an image forming portion to perform image forming processing based on a security job issued by an output-permitted user, in a case where an outsider-use-possibility calculated by an outsider-use-possibility calculation portion becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value on the basis of information of a movement trajectory of the output-permitted user and also the output-permitted user has been detected in an output-process-start area. Accordingly, it is possible to enhance the convenience for the output-permitted user while ensuring the security of the output product based on the security job issued by the user.

Information apparatus and application software supporting printing over air or network are herein disclosed and enabled. The information apparatus may include one or more software components that include (1) a discovery component to discover a supported printer in a local area network (LAN) and to receive device information related to the printer (e.g., capability, language or format supported, identification) from the printer, and (2) a printing component to generate or obtain print data based on the device information received and to transmit the print data to the discovered printer. After establishing the connection to the LAN, application software (e.g., Internet browser, email, photos, documents) in the information apparatus may print digital content by using the discovery component to discover the printer in the LAN, and may use the printing component to obtain and transmit print data in a form that is acceptable to the printer for printing the digital content.

An image printing system includes a plurality of image printing apparatuses each configured to accept a print order and print the image data, a payment machine performing a billing process, and a ticketing machine. If payment at the payment machine is selected, the image printing apparatus issues a first ticket and transmits order details to the payment machine. If payment at a counter is selected, the image printing apparatus 1 transmits second key information to the ticketing machine. After performing a billing process, the payment machine issues a third ticket on which first key information is printed and transmits the first key information to the image printing apparatus. The ticketing machine issues a fourth ticket including the second key information. The image printing apparatus prints the image data if accepting input of the key information printed on the third ticket or the fourth ticket.

An image forming system executes determination processing with an intensity of an image editing process being a first intensity and a determination threshold being a first value and does not execute the determination processing with the intensity of the image editing process being the first intensity and the determination threshold being a second value. The system executes the determination processing with the intensity of the image editing process being a second intensity greater than the first intensity and the determination threshold being the first value and does not execute the determination processing with the intensity of the image editing process being the second intensity and the determination threshold being the second value.

The character edge area determining unit (21) determines a character edge area in input image data.

The output image processing unit (12) performs an image process for a target pixel in the determined character edge area in order to adjust a toner consumption amount in accordance with the number of continuous edge pixels (i.e. continuous pixels that belong to the character edge area) included in a reference window of which a center is set on the target pixel and an average value of pixel values of the continuous edge pixels.

The present disclosure provides a method for printing via printing device-independent instructions. A rendered print job is received from a printer driver. A value of an attribute of the rendered print job is obtained. Determination regarding whether the value of the attribute of the rendered print job corresponds to one of a plurality of values acceptable by a printing device for the attribute is made. In response to a determination that the value is acceptable, the rendered print job is sent directly to the printing device. In response to a determination that the value is not acceptable, the rendered print job is re-rendered with a value acceptable by the printing device for the attribute, and the re-rendered print job is sent to the printing device.

Provided is a consumable chip and a communication method thereof. The method is adopted for a consumable chip including a first consumable MCU unit, a verification cryptographic operation unit and a second consumable MCU unit; the method includes: when the first consumable MCU unit is incompatible with the printer, the first consumable MCU unit activating the second consumable MCU unit to execute a second consumable chip core processing flow, and calling the verification cryptographic algorithm function program of the verification cryptographic operation unit to calculate a new verification password; after the first consumable MCU unit inquires that the second consumable MCU unit has completed the second consumable chip core processing flow, the first consumable MCU unit reading the new verification password and sending to the printer, the new verification password is received by the printer to achieve compatibility between the first consumable MCU unit and the printer.