An information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing apparatus. The information processing system includes at least one memory configured to store a plurality of jobs in order, by type of processing to be executed and a plurality of processors assigned to a specific type of processing to be executed, processes a job assigned to other processor stored in the memory in substitution for the other processor based on a determination that the job of the assigned type of processing is not stored in the memory, and cancels substituting of the processing of the job assigned to the other processor according to a processing status of at least one of other processors.

Proper print processing is performed in a print system in which a first information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a printer and a second information processing apparatus capable of communicating with the printer via the first information processing apparatus are connected via a network. To this end, an information processing method executed by the first information processing apparatus includes: obtaining setting information on communications of the printer, obtaining information on a status of the printer from the printer, and executing predetermined processing. The predetermined processing is executed while waiting to communicate with the printer, in a case where the setting information indicates that the printer is ready to communicate with the second information processing apparatus and that the second information processing apparatus generates a PDL.

An information processing apparatus configured to, on the basis of submitted data, generate a quality report for a printed material inspected by an inspection apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a first specifying unit that, when the submitted data is a new version and an old version of the submitted data is present, specifies a difference by comparing the new version of the submitted data with the old version of the submitted data; a second specifying unit that, on the basis of the difference, specifies an inspection for which an inspection result will be affected by the difference; and a creation unit that creates a quality report which makes it possible to distinguish, among inspection results received from the inspection apparatus, an inspection result for the inspection that will be affected from another inspection result.

An image processing apparatus described in the present specification includes a display unit configured to display a software keyboard, a reception unit configured to receive a signal transmitted from the information processing apparatus based on a depression of a keyboard, a storage unit configured to store the signal received by the reception unit in association with information about a hardware key provided on the image processing apparatus, and a control unit configured to display a character based on the signal received by the reception unit on the display unit in a case where the software keyboard is being displayed by the display unit, and to perform processing corresponding to a depression of the hardware key information about which is stored in the storage unit in association with the signal received by the reception unit in a case where the software keyboard is not being displayed by the display unit.

A self-organizing, distributed printing system utilizes a plurality of digital front ends coupled to to printers and configured to periodically poll a distributed electronic ledger for a print job. Each digital front end adds a bid block to the distributed electronic ledger requesting a page range of the print job to be allocated to the digital front end for printing; and further adds a vote block to the distributed electronic ledger to approve or deny a bid block for the page range added to the distributed electronic ledger by other of the digital front ends; and further may release all or part of a page range allocated to the digital front end back to the distributed electronic ledger in response to a print failure by a printer associated with the digital front end.

An image forming apparatus includes a first processor configured to control a transporter that transports a sheet and a first image forming section that forms an image on the sheet transported by the transporter, and a second processor configured to control a second image forming section that forms an image on the sheet transported by the transporter. The first processor and the second processor are contained in a single housing. When the first processor receives an image formation command from outside the housing and determines to perform an image forming process at the first image forming section, the first processor is configured to perform transport preparation for transporting the sheet at the transporter and receive, from the second processor, a completion notification corresponding to a preparation command, for performing image formation preparation in the second image forming section, transmitted to the second processor via an inside of the housing, and subsequently cause the transporter to transport the sheet and the first image forming section to form the image. If the first processor ascertains that an independent process involving not forming the image at the first image forming section but forming the image at the second image forming section is to be performed, the first processor is configured to perform the transport preparation before receiving the completion notification, and cause the transporter to transport the sheet after receiving the completion notification.

A management system capable of managing an apparatus with high accuracy at low cost without deteriorating productivity. The management system includes an image forming apparatus and a management apparatus that are communicatively connected. The image forming apparatus includes an obtainment unit that obtains data for items to which priorities are given, a first storage unit that stores the data, a transmission unit that transmits the data to the management apparatus, and an update unit that updates the priorities of the items according to a notification from the management apparatus. The management apparatus includes a second storage unit that stores data from the image forming apparatus, a determination unit that determines whether interpolation of defective data is possible for the items, a change unit that changes the priorities of the items according to possibility of the interpolation, and a notification unit that notifies of the priorities of the changed items.

A printing system includes a printing device including a thermal head that prints print content on a print medium; and an information processing apparatus that controls the printing device. The information processing apparatus comprises a processor configured to detect, from print image data from a server, a position of a control target portion including a specific portion in a print image corresponding to the print image data. The processor is configured to generate printing control information for printing the control target portion. The processor is configured to transmit the print image data, the position of the control target portion, and the printing control information to the printing device. The printing device executes different printing controls for the control target portion and a portion other than the control target portion based on the print image data, the position of the control target portion, and the printing control information.

A print system includes: a client terminal); a server system that provides predetermined distribution information to the client terminal; and at least one printing apparatus communicatively connected to the server system. The server system includes a notification unit that notifies the client terminal of notification information indicating that a printable print content is present based on provision of the distribution information to the client terminal. The client terminal includes a print request unit capable of sending the server system a print request as a request to perform printing in a case of being notified of the notification information. The server system further includes a job issuance unit that issues a print job for printing the print content to a printing apparatus identified by the print request from the client terminal. The printing apparatus prints the print content according to the print job.

A printing device includes a print engine, and a controller. The print engine performs an index print to print a plurality of images on one or more sheets, the plurality of images corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of files stored in an external memory. The controller controls the print engine. The controller performs determining a type of each of the plurality of files stored in the external device. The controller converts each file, which is determined as a non-image file and includes a page description language, to an image file representing contents of the each file by interpreting the page description language included in the each file. The controller generates a print command for the index print by referring to each image file which is stored in the external memory and each image file generated in the converting.