A server disclosed herein may receive, from a printer, print quantity information related to a print quantity of the printer, calculate a first cost by using the print quantity information, and calculate a second cost by using the print quantity information. The first cost may be a print cost when the printer does not receive provision of a print service realized by the server. The second cost may be a print cost when the printer receives the provision of the print service. The server may output related information which is related to the calculated first cost and the calculated second cost.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: receive sequential processing to be executed, the sequential processing being processing for executing multiple preset operations which are related to each other; send a request to execute an operation included in the received sequential processing and receive an execution result; and calculate a fee, which is preset, in accordance with a degree of success of the executed operation indicated by the execution result and present the calculated fee.

A job processing unit of an image forming apparatus notifies a management server of a first file selected from a file list by a user, a file supply unit of the management server acquires the first file from first cloud storage and transmits the acquired first file to the image forming apparatus, the job processing unit of the image forming apparatus executes a job using the first file and transmits a job log including a job counter value and identification information of the first cloud storage to the management server, and a job log aggregation unit of the management server is configured to aggregate a job counter value for identification information of each piece of cloud storage and counts up the job counter value included in the job log.

In a consuming device, a controller is configured to perform, when an operating mode is set to a non-billing mode: executing. The executing executes, in response to receiving an execution instruction, a prescribed operation consuming a consumable. The prescribed operation is executed while consuming the consumable irrespective of a permitted consumption quantity without decreasing the permitted consumption quantity. The controller is configured to perform: when the operating mode is set to a billing mode: acquiring; and executing. The acquiring acquires the permitted consumption quantity including a newly purchased consumption quantity paid for by a user. The executing executes, in response to receiving the execution instruction, the prescribed operation. The prescribed operation is executed while consuming the consumable and decreasing the permitted consumption quantity acquired in the acquiring until the decreased permitted consumption quantity reaches a predetermined quantity.

An image forming apparatus includes an image reading unit that generates image data from an image on an original document, a short-range wireless communication unit that performs communication via short-range wireless communication, an acquisition unit that acquires identification information from a plurality of mobile terminals within a communication area, a display unit that displays a plurality of pieces of identification information, an operation input unit that accepts selection of a plurality of pieces of identification information, which is at least some of the pieces of identification information, in accordance with operation by an operator and that specifies a selection group including a plurality of mobile terminals indicated by the selected plurality of pieces of identification information, and a transceiving unit that transmits image data only to the plurality of mobile terminals included in the selection group via the wireless communication unit.

A management server includes a server communication unit connected to an office PC through a global network, an acquisition unit that acquires action information on a printer through the office PC connected to the server communication unit, a server storage unit that links a printer ID with an administrator ID and stores the printer ID and the administrator ID, and a calculation unit that calculates an amount of money paid to an administrator indicated by the administrator ID linked with the printer ID of the printer concerning the acquired action information based on the action information acquired by the acquisition unit.

When displaying a setting value selection screen for selecting a setting value of a setting item of a function associated with a selected menu button, an image forming device displays, for each setting list, a notification batch for notifying the presence or absence of a shortcut button associated with a setting list of the setting value selection screen.

A billing control apparatus capable of performing a billing processing in response to a state of a medium before printing or during printing is provided. The billing control apparatus, which manages billing information related to printing based on a print job, includes a job receiving unit that receives the print job, an interruption command receiving unit that receives an interruption command of the print job, and a controller configured or programmed to function as a print starting unit that transmits the received print job to the image printing apparatus and causes the image printing apparatus to start printing based on the print job, a print stopping unit that causes the image printing apparatus to stop the printing upon receiving the interruption command, and a billing setting unit that sets billing information related to the printing based on a feeding state of a medium when the printing is stopped.

An example method of setting ink limits for a printing system is described. The method involves printing a first set of color ramps. Each color ramp has test areas which are printed based different Neugebauer Primary Area Coverage (NPac) vectors. A test area for each color ramp is indicated that meets an image quality metric and Neugebauer Primary ink use limits are set based on these test areas. A second set of color ramps, for combinations of the set of available Neugebauer Primaries, is then printed, The test areas for each ramp are defined by monotonically-varying vector element values for one Neugebauer Primary in a combination and the second set of ramps are defined by monotonically-varying vector element values across said ramps for another Neugebauer Primary in a the combination. Test areas are then indicated again for the second set of color ramps to set ink use limits for the printing system.

A method of controlling a printing system includes displaying, in a mobile terminal, a setting region for inputting a print setting for print data, and a search region for inputting a search condition for image forming apparatus candidates, of a plurality of image forming apparatuses, for executing printing, and searching, in a management system, for one or more image forming apparatuses, out of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, in accordance with the search condition input in the search region of the screen, and displaying display content that associates information of the image forming apparatuses with charge information for when the print data is printed by the image forming apparatuses, respectively, on a screen that includes a selection region by which it is possible to select the printing target, out of the one or more image forming apparatuses found in the searching.