In general, a printing system of an exemplary embodiment includes a client terminal connected via a network, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses each including an operating unit which receives an operation input of a user. A first image forming apparatus that receives a print file from the client terminal transmits metadata of the print file to a second image forming apparatus. The second image forming apparatus displays a list of print files which are on standby for printing based on the metadata, and obtains a print file from the first image forming apparatus when a print instruction and a selection of a desired print file from the list of print files are received through the operating unit, and performs printing based the print file.

An image forming apparatus includes a storage portion, a communication portion, a mechanism control portion, and a main control portion. The storage portion stores various kinds of information as to the image forming apparatus. The communication portion exchanges data and instructions with another image forming apparatus. The mechanism control portion controls operation of a mechanical system in the image forming apparatus. The main control portion performs a job related to a function of the image forming apparatus by controlling operation of constituent elements including the mechanism control portion in the image forming apparatus, and transmits an instruction to make the other image forming apparatus perform the job via the communication portion if, on detecting an error, the main control portion determines that only the main control portion has been rebooted based on a specific error of the image forming apparatus that is same as the error previously in the job.

Examples disclosed herein relate to receiving, at a first printing device, a request to print a print job, determining, by the first printing device, whether the print job has been received by the first printing device, in response to determining that the print job has not been received by the first printing device, determining whether a second printing device has received the print job, and, in response to determining that the second printing device has received the print job, retrieving the print job from the second printing device and printing the print job at the first printing device.

A control device that is communicable with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, comprises: an information obtaining part that obtains history information from the plurality of image forming apparatuses; a spool destination deciding part that decides two or more image forming apparatuses as spool destinations of an accepted job from the plurality of image forming apparatuses based on plural pieces of history information obtained by the information obtaining part; and a job transmitter that transmits a job to the two or more image forming apparatuses decided by the spool destination deciding part.

An image recording system includes a plurality of image recording apparatuses. In a case where a certain image recording apparatus of the image recording apparatuses has a failure nozzle proportion of failure nozzles of all the nozzles of the recording head smaller than or equal to a threshold, image recording is performed on the certain image recording apparatus based on a recording instruction. In a case where the certain image recording apparatus has a failure nozzle proportion exceeding the threshold, a recording instruction is transmitted to a different image recording apparatus having a failure nozzle proportion smaller than that of the certain image recording apparatus, and image recording is performed on the different image recording apparatus based on the recording instruction.

An example image forming apparatus includes a communication device to communicate with an external apparatus, a printing engine to perform a printing job, and a processor to, based on receiving a printing request for the printing job, perform accounting processing for the printing job, and control the printing engine such that the printing job is performed. The processor, based on an error occurring in the printing job, is to control the communication device to transmit proceeding history information of the printing job and accounting information to another image forming apparatus.

An information managing apparatus includes a receiver that receives user identification information for identifying a user who logs in an output apparatus and circuitry that acquires location information indicating a location of the user who logged in the output apparatus based on the received user identification information, determines, if a second user who is allowed to output the job data stored in accordance with the request from the first user logs in the output apparatus and the location information of the second user is acquired, whether or not the location of the first user corresponds to a location of the second user, and provides, if the circuitry determines that the location of the first user corresponds to the location of the second user, specifying information for acquiring the job data stored in accordance with the request from the first user to the output apparatus that the second user logs in.

A print control device is provided with a storage unit that stores print data which is being processed in another print control device that controls a printing device so as to perform print processing based on received print data, an acquisition unit that acquires second printed-page information from the printing device, and a controller. When an error occurs in the other print control device, the controller receives first printed-page information from the other print control device, determines a restart page from the first printed-page information received from the other print control device and the second printed-page information acquired by the acquisition unit, and controls the printing device on behalf of the other print control device so as to restart the print processing based on the print data from the restart page.

A method, non-transitory computer readable medium and apparatus for printing in a pull printing system when a print server is unavailable are disclosed. For example, the method includes receiving a request to print a document, determining that the print server of the pull printing system is unavailable, providing one or more printers to print the document, receiving a selection of a printer from the one or more printers to print the document, transmitting the document to the printer that is selected for printing, determining that the print server is available, and transmitting an update message to the print server that includes the document that was printed, the printer that was selected and one or more print parameters associated with the document, wherein the print server synchronizes a print queue and a print history of the print server based on the update message.

A method, a system, a server, and a computer readable medium are disclosed for a server connectable to at least one printer to judge an error level, which includes (a) receiving a notification of a given error which has occurred at a given printer; (b) judging on whether there is an unfinished job corresponding to the given printer; (c) judging on whether the unfinished job can be redirected to other printer than the given printer; and (d) determining an error level for displaying the given error based on the judgment at step (c).