An image forming apparatus includes a interpretation unit, a memory control unit, and an execution unit. The interpretation unit is configured to interpret print data described in a page description language. The memory control unit is configured to control allocation a memory area to the interpretation unit. The execution unit is configured to execute printing by making the interpretation unit to which the memory area is allocated interpret the print data. The memory control unit releases the allocated memory area according to a time elapsed after the print data is interpreted without at least interpretation of print data being performed using the interpretation unit to which the memory area is allocated.

An image forming apparatus includes a feeding unit to supply a sheet, an acquiring unit, a fixing unit, a printing unit, a determining unit, and a comparing unit. The acquiring unit acquires, as a number, a remaining amount of sheets existing in the feeding unit. The fixing unit fixes a number of sheets required for a printing process per a certain unit for an accepted print job. The printing unit performs the printing process for the print job. The determining unit determines whether a restriction is imposed on interruption of the printing process for the print job. If, in comparing the remaining amount of sheets with the required number of sheets, the comparing unit determines that the remaining amount of sheets is greater than or equal to the required number of sheets, the printing unit starts the printing process for the print job regardless of whether the restriction is imposed.

Apparatus determines whether a number-of-sheet(s) of the paper required to form an image based on the printable data is equal to or larger than a threshold or smaller than the threshold, if it is determined that the number-of-sheet(s) of the paper is smaller than the threshold, determines whether a distance from the user is equal to or larger than a first distance or smaller than the first distance, if it is determined that the distance from the user is smaller than the first distance, controls the printer to form the image on the paper, and if it is determined that the distance from the user is equal to or larger than the first distance, if it is determined that the distance from the user is changed such that the distance from the user is smaller than the first distance, controls the printer to form the image on the paper.

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.

An image forming apparatus includes a display configured to display a control menu to perform a function, a sensor configured to sense a user within a predetermined range and output a signal which has a voltage size corresponding to a distance of the sensed user, and a processor configured to change an operation state of the image forming apparatus based on a voltage change amount of the signal.

A controller circuit board outputs image data. A head circuit board controls a head unit in accordance with a setting data list. An engine circuit board controls a sheet transportation unit, and sets setting data in the setting data list in accordance with a command from the controller circuit board. The head circuit board receives the image data from the controller circuit board not through the engine circuit board. The controller circuit board outputs a backup command and thereby causes the engine circuit board to acquire the setting data list from the head circuit board, acquires it from the engine circuit board, and store it in a storage device, and outputs a restoration command and a setting data list read from the storage device and thereby causes the engine circuit board to renew the setting data list in the head circuit board.

A printing apparatus determines whether or not a printing job accumulated by a different printing apparatus different in type from the printing apparatus itself is configured to be performed by the printing apparatus, based on at least one determination of a first determination of whether or not the printing job includes a printing setting dependent on a type of apparatus, a second determination relating to processing that rotates a printing image, and a third determination relating to a data format of the printing image.

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.

Embodiments herein describe RIP allocation schemes that consider a number of factors during page scheduling to improve the performance of a print controller. One embodiment comprises an apparatus that includes a plurality of RIPs collectively comprising a total number of RIPs that process logical pages. The apparatus further includes a scheduler. The scheduler receives a print job, determines that a number of available RIPs of the plurality of RIPs to process logical pages in the print job is less than the total number of RIPs, and to iteratively increase a number of the logical pages in the print job that are assigned to each of the available RIPs as the number of available RIPs increases over time.

An image forming device includes a communication unit to transmit data to and receive data from an external device, an image forming job unit to perform printing, and a controller to control warming up of the image forming job unit to perform the printing, such that the image forming job unit performs the printing after the warming up is completed. The controller is to receive a print execution request to perform the printing and a predicted value of a print preparation time for the image forming device to create output image data, to perform the printing, from the external device via the communication unit, determine a warm-up start time of when to start the warming up of the image forming job unit by using the received predicted value of the print preparation time, and control the image forming job unit to start the warming up at the determined warm-up start time.