Printer systems and associated ink cartridges can have specialized inksets and alternative fluids for use in printing. In such systems and cartridges, the inkset of a unique cartridge may be deliberately limited relative to traditional inksets that seek to have a wide color gamut such that chemistries having greater durability may be employed. Still further, such cartridges may include one or more functional inks that have a purpose other than merely coloration. Particularly in compact printers, for which space is limited, the system can be designed to accept various unique cartridges based on the intended printing application and print based on the characteristics of the received cartridge. Beyond this, the system may advise the user when a different cartridge is necessary and/or may be beneficially used for a particular application.

The invention backups job data, and detects and predicts the occurrence of trouble in a storage device. A gateway registers job data registered in a HDD and vibration-detection information of a vibration-detection sensor received from a user terminal in a memory, and then transmits the job data to a MFP. The MFP registers the job data in a HDD, and according to a request from the gateway, transmits the job data registered in the HDD and vibration-detection information of a vibration-detection sensor to the gateway. The gateway compares the data amount of when the job data is registered in the memory and the data amount of the job data from the gateway, and when there is a difference, registers trouble information related to the HDD in the memory.

A server connected to an image processing device over a network, executes: running an application that operates in cooperation with the image processing device; obtaining screen information to use the application from the application based on a request from an external device; outputting the screen information to the external device; detecting an error on the image processing device with which the application operates in cooperation; and adding error information to access an error screen constructed by the image processing device to the screen information when the error on the image processing device is detected. The server outputs the screen information with added the error information to the external device when the error information is added to the screen information.

A management system includes: a management server; one or more image forming apparatuses that notify the management server of information on a remaining amount of toner; and one or more terminals, in which the management server makes a toner remaining amount history by combining the information on the remaining amount of toner with time and date information, detects, based on the toner remaining amount history, that toner replacement has been performed when an increase rate of the remaining amount of toner exceeds a threshold value, and determines, based on the contract value, whether the remaining amount of toner before the toner replacement is not more than the contract value when the toner replacement is detected, and notifies the one or more terminals of that the performed toner replacement corresponds to a contract violation when the remaining amount of toner before the toner replacement is more than the contract value.

Optimal template component printing includes reading from a pool, a set of printable pieces, each corresponding to a pattern for a respective garment, and each having known dimensions. A starting point is located on a section of a fabric substrate onto which the pieces are to be printed. Different piece combinations are then computed for different subsets of the pieces in the set for which a sum of the known dimensions of the pieces of the subset is less than or equal to a constraining dimension of the fabric substrate as measured from the starting point. A combination is selected which minimizes a difference between the constraining dimension and the sum and a printer is directed to print the pieces of the selected combination onto the fabric substrate. Finally, the pieces of the selected combination are removed from the pool and the process repeats for remaining pieces in the pool.

An image forming apparatus is provided with a communication portion that is connected to an external device via a network and communicates with the external device and a control portion that controls communication by the communication portion and executes a restart process for restarting the image forming apparatus. When a preset restart target error has occurred, the control portion executes the restart process in a state where a network port used for communication with the external device is disabled.

A method of diagnosing a printer's status using an encoded image printed and/or displayed by the printer. The printer can produce an encoded image, such as a barcode, that indicates status values in one or more categories. A client device with a camera, such as a smartphone, can take a picture of the encoded image and transmit it to a printer status server. The printer status server can analyze the status values encoded in the encoded image to diagnose problems with the printer, and can return applicable user instructions indicating how to fix and/or prevent the problems.

An image forming apparatus includes a print engine, a first CPU that controls operation of the image forming apparatus except for the print engine, a second CPU that controls operation of the print engine, and a shared memory. On executing processing of a print job, the first CPU performs a job management including managing job management information and storing the job management information in a data area of the shared memory, and the first CPU outputs image data to be printed, stored in the data area, to the print engine. The second CPU monitors an operation state of the first CPU and, on determining that the abnormality is occurring in the first CPU, maintains the processing of the print job by outputting the image data to be printed to the print engine as proxy for the first CPU and performing the job management as proxy for the first CPU.

An information processing device includes an assistance image display and an assistance-image changing unit. The assistance image display causes a display section of a portable terminal provided with the display section and an image capturing section to display an assistance image for assisting with an operation of a target object be operated by an operator. The assistance-image changing unit changes the assistance image displayed on the display section by the assistance image display to a mode for not assisting with the operation of the target object in a case where a captured image result obtained by the image capturing section of the portable terminal satisfies a predetermined condition.

An image processing apparatus performs: acquiring instruction data including notification data and location information indicative of a location of next instruction data; controlling at least one of a display and an image processor to perform an operation instructed by the instruction data acquired most recently; when controlling the at least one of the display and the image processor, connecting a first communication interface with a mobile terminal within a particular distance range from the image processing apparatus, in accordance with a near-field wireless communication protocol; when controlling, transmitting the notification data extracted from the instruction data acquired most recently, to the mobile terminal through the first communication interface, the notification data being data for specifying an operation to be performed by the mobile terminal; and acquiring the next instruction data based on the location information extracted from the instruction data acquired most recently.