A job storage unit stores a print job. An image forming unit forms a toner image on a sheet. A fixing unit fixes the toner image on the sheet by heating the toner image. A first authentication unit communicates with a communication medium in a first communication range. A second authentication unit communicates with the communication medium in a second communication range. A control unit controls the fixing unit to be heated if the print job associated with user information is stored in the job storage unit when the first authentication unit acquires the user information, and controls the fixing unit to be heated if the print job associated with the acquired user information is not stored in the job storage unit when the second authentication unit acquires the user information.

An image forming apparatus includes a controller. The controller generates page images of one or more pages by performing image processing on acquired input image data. The controller determines a job generation method to be either a first method or a second method. The job generation method is a method through which print job data is generated. The first method is a method through which the print job data is generated based on page image data indicating a page image of one page among the one or more pages upon completing the image processing on the page image of the one page. The second method is a method through which the print job data is generated based on the page image data of all pages included in the output image after completing the image processing on the page images of all the pages included in the output image.

An information processing system and apparatus are provided. The information processing system includes the information processing apparatus and an image processing apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus through a network. The information processing apparatus authenticates a user based on a card identifier (ID) acquired through the network, and controls execution of an image formation output by the image processing apparatus based on priority execution settings indicating execution order of process execution information set in advance and the process execution information, the image processing apparatus including an image forming device configured to executes the image formation output.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-readable instructions that are executable by a processor coupled with an information processing device. The information processing device includes a physical communication interface including a first logical interface and a second logical interface. The instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, cause the information processing device to, in response to receiving an image forming instruction from an operating system, generate preparation information instructing an image forming apparatus to perform a preparation operation, which is an operation to be performed in advance of image formation based on image forming data, transmit the preparation information to the image forming apparatus via the first logical interface, which is configured to communicate data other than the image forming data, and generate the image forming data to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus via the second logical interface, in accordance with the image forming instruction.

An image forming system includes: a server accepting a print job from a client apparatus; and an image forming apparatus receiving an order for the print job from the server, the image forming apparatus including: a sheet feeding tray accommodating a sheet; a hardware processor determining to receive an order for a print job accepted by the server when a first and second conditions are satisfied; and an image former forming a page image based on the print job accepted by the server and a page image based on the print job being accepted specifying the sheet of the same size as that of the sheet specified, by allocating the page images in parallel to the sheet of twice the size of the sheet specified, when it is determined by the hardware processor that the order for the print job accepted by the server is received.

A printing system includes a printer configured to perform an issuance process of issuing a cancel notification in response to detecting a cancel trigger, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor connected with a communication interface, cause the processor to cancel a generating process of generating print data and a print instruction process of transmitting print instruction information to the printer via the communication interface, in response to acquiring the cancel notification issued by the printer, during the generating process.

An image forming apparatus includes a circuit configured to generate an image based on the PDL data, a generating unit configured to generate an image corresponding to at least part of a plurality of pages included in the PDL data, according to acquisition of the PDL data, a holding unit configured to hold the image generated by the generating unit into a storage, and an obtaining unit configured to obtain images of all pages to be printed among the pages included in the PDL data according to the print instruction from the user, wherein the obtaining unit instructs the circuit to skip image generation of a page of which an image is already generated by the generating unit among the pages to be printed, and instructs the circuit to perform image generation of a page of which an image is not generated by the unit configured to generate.

An image forming apparatus includes a communication interface configured to communicate with a portable terminal capable of receiving a signal from a transmitter in a detection area. A processor of the apparatus is configured to determine whether to shift to an operable state from a sleep state based on user information contained in proximity information when the proximity information, containing the user information indicating that a user enters the detection area, is received by the communication interface from the portable terminal receiving a signal from the transmitter.

A method of processing a print job where a distribution strategy is determined for how a print job is to be distributed to a plurality of image processors for image processing based on at least one predetermined rule, and where distribution of the print job to at least one image processor of the plurality of image processors is controlled using the determined distribution strategy.

Sheet feeding has been started after storing image data for one page of a document. A control method for a printing apparatus includes feeding a sheet from a sheet holding unit by a feeding unit, reading an image of a document by a reading unit, storing image data of the document read by the reading unit in a storing unit, and reading out, before image data for one page of the document is stored in the storing unit, the image data of the document from the storing unit and printing, by a printing unit, the image based on the read image data to the sheet fed from the sheet holding unit by the feeding unit, in which the feeding unit is able to start to feed the sheet from the sheet holding unit before the image data for the one page of the document is stored in the storing unit.