A printing system controls a printing member to perform printing based on a print job for which a charged fee is already settled. The printing system receives a first instruction to suspend the printing started by the printing member and suspends the printing started by the printing member in response to reception of the first instruction. The printing system receives a second instruction as to a post suspending process to be executed after the printing is suspended. The printing system performs one of a post fee-settlement process and a restart process, as the post suspending process. The post fee-settlement process is related to provision of a benefit corresponding to refunding at least part of the charged fee. The restart process is to restart the suspended printing to complete the print job after a reason that the first instruction is made is resolved.

According to an embodiment, a storage method includes: a step of generating scan data by scanning of a document with a reading device; a step of acquiring index information that is different from information that is based on the document; and a step of assigning the acquired index information to the scan data and storing the scan data to which the index information is assigned in a storage device.

A method for printing at least a first and a later print job includes receiving a first print job containing first image data of one or more first images to be printed in a printable area and a later print job containing later image data associated with a colour, determining a first sub-area of said printable area where no image of the first images is to be printed, using the first image data; printing the one or more first images in the printable area and at least one first control patch in the first sub-area, using for said at least one first control patch at least one colour representative for the colour associated with the later image data, measuring the colour of the printed at least one first control patch, and using the measured colour of the at least one first control patch for controlling the later print job.

An image forming apparatus includes a feeding unit, an image forming unit, a reading unit, a conveyance unit, a first discharge unit and a second discharge unit, a determination unit, and a control unit. When an (n)th sheet in a first copy is an abnormal sheet, remaining sheets include sheets fed by the feeding unit after the abnormal sheet is fed by the feeding unit until the image on the abnormal sheet is read by the reading unit, and the remaining sheets include a first group of remaining sheets and a second group of remaining sheets. The control unit is configured to execute an abnormal discharge mode in which the sheets of the first group of the remaining sheets are discharged to the second discharge unit and each of the sheets of the second group of the remaining sheets is discharged selectively to the first or the second discharge unit.

A printing system includes an acquirer, a comparator, a calculator, and an allocator. The acquirer acquires the number of media printed by a first printing device installed at a first location. The comparator compares the number of printed media acquired by the acquirer with the number of media specified based on a billing amount. The calculator calculates a first number of printable media of the first printing device based on the comparison by the comparator. The allocator allocates at least a part of the first number of printable media calculated by the calculator as a second number of printable media to a second printing device installed at a second location. The second printing device can perform printing as a billing target based on the second number of printable media.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: receive a print instruction to print an image rasterized by another information processing apparatus; associate the print instruction with any one of plural ejection destinations to which a recording medium printed in response to the print instruction is ejected; and, in a case where the ejection destination associated with the print instruction waits for ejection of a recording medium subsequent to the already ejected recording medium, execute a print instruction for the subsequent recording medium, and not execute a print instruction for ejecting a recording medium other than the subsequent recording medium to the ejection destination.

An image forming apparatus includes a confirmer, a response receiver, and a controller. The confirmer causes the image forming device to stand by, without starting production of a printed material, upon deciding that a print request has been sent from a remote location distant from the image forming apparatus, and transmits, through a network I/F, a request for final confirmation just before starting, about whether the production of the printed material may be started, to a user of a terminal device that transmitted the print request. The response receiver receives a response to the final confirmation, from the terminal device owned by the user. The controller causes the image forming device to start the production of the printed material, upon deciding that the response from the user received by the response receiver indicates permission to start the production of the printed material.

An information processing device includes a processor configured to: transmit, to a local system, a printing screen transmission request including a list of printing devices usable by a user installed outside the local system; display a printing screen including a list of the printing devices and a list of files saved in the local system, the printing screen being received from the local system in response to the printing screen transmission request; and cause a printing device selected by the user from the printing screen to print a file selected by the user from the printing screen.

A method, system, and computer program product for context-based print content prediction are provided. The method receives a print command from a computing device. In response to receiving the print command, a set of user activities are identified which are associated with the computing device. The method determines a context of the print command based on the set of user activities. A content to be printed is determined based on the print command and the context of the print command. A print recommendation is generated for the content to be printed based on the context of the print command. The method generates a print command user interface containing the print recommendation.

An information processing apparatus includes: a processor configured to: associate each of manufacturing processes of one of products with one of job elements each representing a detail of a job; and display the job elements in a schedule setting area of a screen, and in response to selection of one of the job elements, display displayed job elements that are included in the job elements and that represent respective jobs for manufacturing processes of an associated product that is one of the products and is a product of the manufacturing process associated with the selected job element, the displayed job elements being displayed in the schedule setting area in a form differentiated from a form for a job element associated with a manufacturing process of a different product that is included in the products and is different from the associated product.