A spectral characteristic obtaining apparatus includes a color information obtaining unit including a plurality of spectral sensors aligned in an array direction, the spectral sensors being configured to receive light reflected from an object so as to obtain first color information of the object; a spectral characteristic calculating unit configured to estimate a spectral characteristic of the object based on the first color information by using a preset transformation matrix; a calibration color index configured to include a region of a color with a known spectral characteristic; and a transformation matrix calibrating unit configured to calibrate the transformation matrix by using second color information obtained from the calibration color index, wherein the spectral sensors are configured to obtain the second color information from the same region included in the calibration color index, while relative positions thereof with respect to the calibration color index are changed at a time of calibration.

An image reading apparatus and an image reading method is provided. The apparatus and method are capable of efficiently performing a check process for determining whether a document has been forgotten after image reading only in an appropriate case. Whether a process for detecting a forgotten document is necessary to be performed is determined prior to the process every time after a reading process for reading an image of a single page.

A post-processing apparatus acquires a status of an image forming apparatus and sheet information of sheet feeders in the image forming apparatus, and when determining that sheets used in a print job that the image forming apparatus is instructed to perform need to be fed on the basis of the acquired status and sheet information, transmits information on the sheet feeding together with an instruction to perform the print job to the image forming apparatus when instructing the image forming apparatus to perform the print job.

A printing apparatus having an insert-sheet inserting function includes a plurality of sheet-feeding ports, a printing mechanism that performs printing on paper fed from each sheet-feeding port, and a controller that controls the printing mechanism. In a case where no insert-sheets are present in a sheet-feeding port for insert-sheets when the printing mechanism feeds the insert-sheets from the sheet-feeding port for insert-sheets, the controller selects another sheet-feeding port different from the sheet-feeding port for insert-sheets as a new sheet-feeding port for insert-sheets on the basis of a paper specification of paper used for printing data to be printed and a sheet-feeding port setting.

An image processing machine with usage tracking includes a communication interface, a document table having a document placement surface, a scanner configured to read an image of a document placed on the document placement surface, and a processor that is configured to determine whether or not the document is set on the document placement surface upon receiving an instruction to perform image reading by the scanner, and transmit a thumbnail image that is processed from the image read by the scanner upon determining that the document is determined to be not set on the document placement surface, to a processing device through the communication interface, so as to improve the usage tracking feature of the image processing machine.

An image reading apparatus includes a document table, a pressing plate that rotates about a rotation axis between an open position and a closed position, a line sensor that includes an image sensor arranged in a main scanning direction intersecting the rotation axis and outputs data by reading a document on the document table, and a control unit that determines presence or absence of the document based on first data acquired by the line sensor when the pressing plate is in an intermediate position before reaching the closed position and second data acquired by the line sensor when the pressing plate is in the closed position, wherein when the control unit determines the presence or absence of the document based on the first data and the second data, the control unit uses coefficient data that is smaller as a distance from the rotation axis is longer.

An image forming apparatus comprises a reading section, a controller, and an image forming section. The reading section comprises a reading surface and reads a sheet placed on the reading surface. The controller acquires a numerical value indicating a color of a background of the sheet read by the reading section, calculates a correction value on the basis of the numerical value, and applies the correction value to an image to be formed to carry out color correction. The image forming section forms the image to which the color correction is carried out on a sheet having a background in a color identical to the color of the background of the sheet read by the reading section.

An image reading apparatus and an image reading method is provided. The apparatus and method are capable of efficiently performing a check process for determining whether a document has been forgotten after image reading only in an appropriate case. Whether a process for detecting a forgotten document is necessary to be performed is determined prior to the process every time after a reading process for reading an image of a single page.

An image forming apparatus includes an exit tray, an image forming section, a user identification section, a printed sheet receipt managing section, and a fetch sensor. The image forming section performs a printing operation based on a print instruction issued from a user. The fetch sensor is capable of detecting that a printed sheet has been fetched from the exit tray. The user identification section identifies a print requester corresponding to a user having issued a print instruction, and a fetcher corresponding to a user fetching the printed sheet from the exit tray. If the printed sheet is fetched from the exit tray and the fetcher is different from the print requester, the printed sheet receipt managing section sends, to a computer of the user, a notice of printed sheet taken away notifying that the printed sheet has been taken away.

A paper receiving device includes a paper receiving member that receives a paper sheet; a first detector that detects whether or not a size of the paper sheet received by the paper receiving member is greater than a first size; a second detector that detects whether or not the size of the paper sheet received by the paper receiving member is smaller than a second size that is smaller than the first size; and an open-state detector that detects that the paper receiving device is opened when the first detector detects that the size of the paper sheet is greater than the first size and the second detector detects that the size of the paper sheet is smaller than the second size.