An image forming apparatus includes: a schedule information generation unit that generates schedule information including an order of execution of received jobs; an acquisition unit that acquires resource information related to a resource used to execute a job; a prediction unit that predicts a timing of occurrence of an event that possibly occurs in the apparatus as the received jobs are executed in accordance with the order of execution on the basis of the schedule information and the resource information; a display information generation unit that generates display information for displaying a period of execution of the job to be executed and the timing of occurrence of the event along the same time axis, and for displaying a degree of influence of the event on execution of the job; and a display controller that controls display of the display information.

A print method in which carrying, cutting and printing of a continuous medium are performed according to print data includes a step of generating the print data that includes; a copy unit printing designation, a cut page number and a page number equalization designation; and a step of determining whether or not the page number equalization designation is included in the print data and whether or not a total number of print pages in printing the print data in the copy units is not a multiple of the cut page number, a step of inserting one or more of blank pages into the print data in order to make the total number of print pages, to which the blank pages are added, equal to the multiple of the cut page number when the page number equalization designation is included and the total number of print pages is not the multiple of the cut page number.

An image forming apparatus, having a recorder, a display, an input interface, a memory, and a controller, is provided. The controller is configured to control the recorder to consume colorant to print images on sheets, count a consumption value and a quantity of the sheets consumed, determine an average usage value based on the consumption value and the quantity of the sheets, obtain a filled amount value and determine a first printable quantity, determine a second printable quantity, control the display to display a first screen including a first object indicating the first printable quantity in the display, control the display to display a second screen including a second object indicating the second printable quantity in the display, and control the display to display a screen including a third object, through which one of the first object and the second object to be displayed in the display is selectable.

A reading apparatus includes: a conveyor that conveys transfer paper on which an image has been formed by using rotation of a stepping motor; a driver that performs control in such a manner as to supply control pulses to the stepping motor and rotate the stepping motor in predetermined target rotation steps; an encoder that detects the rotation of the stepping motor and obtains detected rotation steps; a reader that reads the image formed on the transfer paper in a state where the transfer paper is being conveyed by the conveyor; and a controller that detects a difference between an ideal value and an actual value of the detected rotation steps in the target rotation steps, and determines, on the basis of the difference, whether a read in the reader is valid or invalid.

Certain examples described herein relate to the processing of object data corresponding to a three-dimensional object. First data corresponding to a first portion of the three-dimensional object and second data corresponding to a second portion of the three-dimensional object, separate from the first portion, are determined. The first data is halftoned using a first halftoning technique to generate control instructions for an apparatus to produce the first portion of the three-dimensional object. The second data is halftoned using a second halftoning technique to generate control instructions for the apparatus to produce the second portion of the three-dimensional object.

A system and method provide an improvement to ordering pages for a multi-page print job. In an exemplary embodiment, a user interface includes a layout control feature which when engaged, invokes an underlying process that computes which pages are to be initially imposed onto a sheet, and thereafter, based on an increment value assigned to one or more of the pages entries, automatically imposes pages (and their content) to the page order for the print job. Page entries may have different increment values and thus a non-sequential and/or heterogenous page output may result alleviating the user from having to individually manually assign each page to a print position in the print job.

An image forming apparatus includes: a schedule information generation unit that generates schedule information including an order of execution of received jobs; an acquisition unit that acquires resource information related to a resource used to execute a job; a prediction unit that predicts a timing of occurrence of an event that possibly occurs in the apparatus as the received jobs are executed in accordance with the order of execution on the basis of the schedule information and the resource information; a display information generation unit that generates display information for displaying a period of execution of the job to be executed and the timing of occurrence of the event along the same time axis, and for displaying a degree of influence of the event on execution of the job; and a display controller that controls display of the display information.

A print method in which carrying, cutting and printing of a continuous medium are performed according to print data includes a step of generating the print data that includes; a copy unit printing designation, a cut page number and a page number equalization designation; and a step of determining whether or not the page number equalization designation is included in the print data and whether or not a total number of print pages in printing the print data in the copy units is not a multiple of the cut page number, a step of inserting one or more of blank pages into the print data in order to make the total number of print pages, to which the blank pages are added, equal to the multiple of the cut page number when the page number equalization designation is included and the total number of print pages is not the multiple of the cut page number.

A billing system used together with an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet and discharging the sheet includes: a counting unit for counting, when a print job is interrupted, a billing unit number for a sheet which already has an image formed thereon when the interruption occurs and which has not discharged from the image forming apparatus; a determination unit for determining whether the print job is continued or cancelled after the print job is interrupted; and a billing unit for counting a billing counter corresponding to an amount for which the image forming apparatus is used, and billing a user who uses the image forming apparatus according to the billing counter, wherein the billing unit switches whether the billing counter is counted by using a count result of the counting unit in accordance with a determination result of the determination unit.

Copy and scan printing may include scanning, by scanner disposed along a paper path between a paper delivery roller and a paper pickup roller, content of documents (302). Further, copy and scan printing may include determining whether the documents are to be copied (304), in response to a determination that the documents are to be copied, determining whether a page count of the documents to be copied is available (306), and generating copies of the documents (310).