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.

The present invention is related to an inspection apparatus reads a printed material; sets a setting relating to check inspection data for checking data formed on a printed material; derives data defined by a predetermined rule according to setting content set in the setting and generating check inspection data for a plurality of sections in a printed material; and detects a defect in an inspection target printed material by comparing data read in the reading from the inspection target printed material and the corresponding check inspection data generated in the generating.

A plurality of line sensors are disposed along a width direction intersecting a sheet conveying direction with respective positions in the width direction partially overlapping with each other, and configured to read images of a plurality of partial areas from the sheet, each of the partial areas including a non-overlapping area which does not overlap with an adjacent area and an overlapping area which overlaps with an adjacent area, each of which is a part of a sheet passing area in the width direction. An image judgment portion judges whether or not data of each of a plurality of read images obtained by the plurality of line sensors satisfies a tolerance condition based on a corresponding reference image data item. An error processing portion executes predetermined error processing when it is judged that the data of any of the plurality of read images does not satisfy the tolerance condition.

If an operation of canceling a predetermined state includes an operation of powering off the device, even if communication between the device and the information processing apparatus becomes inexecutable after the screen for cancelling the predetermined state is displayed, the information processing apparatus does not execute a notification corresponding to a state in which the communication is inexecutable. If the operation of canceling the predetermined state does not include the operation of powering off the device, the information processing apparatus executes, based on a fact that the communication between the device and the information processing apparatus becomes inexecutable after the screen for cancelling the predetermined state is displayed, the notification corresponding to the state in which the communication is inexecutable.

An image forming apparatus combines a plurality of sub-movies representing operation procedures to be performed to perform maintenance on the image forming apparatus and plays the combined sub-movies sequentially as one movie. In response to stopping the movie being played, the image forming apparatus displays a replay mark for use to issue a command to replay the movie from the beginning of a sub-movie corresponding to a position where the movie is stopped.

An image forming apparatus, guide providing method thereof, cloud server and error analyzing method thereof are provided. The image forming apparatus may include a scanner configured to scan a script and generate a scan image, a communicator configured to communicate with a cloud server, a display configured display a screen, and a processor configured to control the communicator to transmit the generated scan image to a cloud server, and in response to receiving an error solution guide of the scan image from the cloud server, control the display to display the received error solution guide.

An image forming apparatus is provided with a storage unit for storing setting information including at least a size of a substitute recording medium, and a processing unit for executing a print instruction by automatically changing a size of a recording medium to be used to the size of the substitute recording medium based on the setting information stored in the storage means, when the size of the recording medium specified by the print instruction is not available.

In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a communication section, an operation input section and a control section. The communication section receives print data from an external device. The operation input section receives a print execution instruction indicating an instruction on the execution of the printing of the print data and a print execution reservation instruction indicating an instruction on a reservation of the print execution. The control section registers the print execution reservation instruction received by the operation input section if a print job is being executed and the number of the print execution reservation instructions subjected to reservation registration is smaller than given value, and starts executing a print operation corresponding to the print execution reservation instruction received by the operation input section in a case of the presence of the print execution reservation instruction subjected to reservation registration after a print job is completed.

Disclosed here is a system enabling users/customers to receive an objective assessment of the performance of a printer. This is accomplished by comparing a quality score of an earlier-in-time image with a quality score of a later-in-time image. A processor analyzes each image based on several criteria and uses various image-analysis methods, to flag errors within an image. A numeric quality score, based on the number of errors, is provided to the user to objectively evaluate whether the printer has degraded or not. Thus, the user can objectively present an argument to a salesperson or manufacturer that the user is due a remedy.

Techniques for transmitting information to a recipient under their control are described. In some situations, the techniques are used in conjunction with a fax delivery system to provide, as part of a connection established to perform a fax transmission, a variety of functionalities to a human recipient that is participating as part of the connection, such as when the human recipient is contacted in error. In addition, in some situations, an interactive voice response system is used to receive and interpret input from a human recipient, such as in response to one or more control selections or options provided to the human recipient.