An image forming apparatus is provided with a storage, a controller, an image forming part, a first interface configured to receive an image forming job, and a second interface to which a portable storage device is connectable. When the particular storing function is enabled, image data is stored in the portable storage in response to receipt of the print job, and an image is formed in accordance with the image data stored in the portable storage. When the particular storing function is disabled, the image data related to the print job is stored in the storage of the image forming apparatus in response to receipt of the print job, and an image is formed in accordance with the image data stored in the storage of the image forming apparatus.

A printing apparatus, that performs communication via a secure first network and communication via a second network, receives print data from a first terminal apparatus connected to the first network, via the first network, or from a second terminal apparatus connected to the second network, via the second network, and transmits information for the print data to at least either one of a first server that performs communication via the first network and a second server that performs communication via the second network, based on through which of the first and the second networks the print data has been received. In the printing apparatus, in a case where the print data is received via the first network, the information for the print data is transmitted to the first server via the first network, without via the second network.

In a server device, a memory is configured to store a folder corresponding to each of a plurality of users. User permissions are set for the folder to indicate whether access to the folder is allowed. A client device is configured to perform transmitting print data to the server device. The print data is associated with identification information for identifying a user. A set of program instructions causes the server device to perform: in response to receiving the print data from the client device, storing the print data in the folder corresponding to the user identified by the identification information associated with the print data. A printer is configured to perform: receiving an input of the identification information; identifying the folder corresponding to the user identified by the identification information; acquiring the print data stored in the folder; and printing an image based on the print data.

Examples disclosed herein relate to determining whether a stored print job is potentially orphaned, and, in response to determining that the stored print job is potentially orphaned, requesting a renewal from a user associated with the stored print job and deleting the stored print job if no renewal is received within a configurable time period.

An image forming apparatus includes a memory that stores identification information of authorized users in association with biometric information thereof, a reading device configured to read identification information from a medium, an input device through which biometric information is input, and a processor configured to, upon receipt of one of identification and biometric information, perform a first authentication by determining whether said one of identification and biometric information is stored, when said one of identification and biometric information is stored, upon receipt of the other of identification and biometric information, perform a second authentication by determining whether the other of identification and biometric information is stored in association with said one of identification and biometric information, and when the other of identification and biometric information is stored, enable a first operation that can be performed for the corresponding authorized user.

A printing apparatus includes one or more memories, and one or more processors that execute a set of instructions to transmit information for identifying print data to a different printing apparatus, receive a print request including print data, store the print data included in the received print request in the memories, and print data, wherein, in a case where the received print request is a print request transmitted from the different printing apparatus, the print data included in the received print request is printed without being stored in the memories.

There is disclosed a method for management of printing jobs. In the method user identification is requested to identify the user, who then selects an artwork for the labels. Data regarding the selected artwork is retrieved from a data storage. Printing properties are defined for the selected artwork, and a set of available unique codes for the labels is determined on the basis of the user identification. A printing file is constructed including information related to at least the selected artwork and printing material selected for the printing job. The printing file is stored into a cloud storage linked with the identified user. A unique code is assigned for each label from the set of available unique codes. The unique code is assigned either in the printing file or when printing the labels.

A processing system includes a service provider, such as a printing device, that receives requests to process tasks or jobs from service requesters. At times, the service provider will not be available for processing and will generate deferral responses to the service requesters. The deferral responses include a condition to be met before processing requests can be resent from the service requesters. After the condition is met, the processing requests are resent to the service provider to be fulfilled.

Provided is a production method including a reception step of receiving a plurality of matters, a display step of displaying a list of the received matters, and a production step of producing a finished product by executing processing that includes a plurality of processes corresponding to the received matters, in which the production step executes processing of the matter of which the priority level is high, before executing unexecuted processing of the matter of which the priority level is low.

Provided is a production method including a reception step of receiving a plurality of matters and deadlines corresponding to the matters, a display step of displaying a list of the received matters, a plurality of processes corresponding to the matters, and the deadlines, and a production step of producing a finished product by executing processing that includes the plurality of processes corresponding to the received matters.