A communication system includes a mobile terminal; an information processing apparatus; and a device. The mobile terminal communicates with the information processing apparatus. The mobile terminal communicates with the device. The device communicates with the information processing apparatus. The mobile terminal includes a first processor executing a process including transmitting, by a first communication device, output data to be output by the device, to the information processing apparatus; and transmitting, by a second communication device, acquisition location specification information to the device, the acquisition location specification information specifying a location from which the output data is to be acquired by the device from the information processing apparatus. The device includes a second processor executing a process including receiving the acquisition location specification information from the mobile terminal; acquiring the output data from the information processing apparatus according to the acquisition location specification information; and outputting the output data.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a print service relays an authentication request and a document acquisition request received from a multi-function printer to a document management service, and transmits authentication information and information of printing result acquired from the document acquisition request to the document management service. The document management service transmits a result of an authentication process, a document, and charge information to the print service based on a request received from the print service, stores and manages the information of print result received from the print service in association with a user account, and performs a process for charging a user for the printing later based on the information of print result.

An image forming apparatus includes a storage device and a control device. The storage device stores a document. The control device includes a processor and functions, through the processor executing a control program, as a character recognizer and a tag generator. The character recognizer analyzes the document stored in the storage device and recognizes characters contained in the document. The tag generator analyzes, based on a recognition result of the character recognizer, a sequence of characters contained in the document and generates a tag expressing a feature of descriptive content of the document.

Provided is an image forming system that is capable of displaying an accurate preview image in pull output. A document-data-receiving unit of a server receives document data from a terminal. A data-type-determining unit determines whether received document data is direct-output data or pull-output data. A document-data-retransmitting unit, when document data is determined to be direct-output data, transmits the document data as is to an image forming apparatus. A model-information-acquiring unit, when document data is determined to be pull-output data, acquires model information from the image forming apparatus. A preview-creating unit performs rasterization of the document data according to the model information, and creates preview data. A preview-transmitting unit transmits preview data that is created by the preview-creating unit to the image forming apparatus.

An image output method including capturing an image of code pattern including device information specifying an image output device, obtaining the device information from the image of code pattern, obtaining user information specifying a user, and outputting the device information, and the user information or a permission information for temporarily permitting the use of the image output device to an external device, by an information processing device; authenticating the user based on the user information, by a processor; and executing image output processing by the image output device specified based on the device information when authenticating the user based on the user information or when the permission information is sent from the information processing device.

An image processing apparatus connected to an external apparatus via a network, includes: a network interface to receive an output-target file and an output setting file from the external apparatus, the output setting file associating file identification information for identifying the output-target file with setting information to be set when the output-target file is output; and circuitry to set an output setting in accordance with the setting information associated with the file identification information of the output-target file, and to output the output-target file in accordance with the output setting that is set.

An information processing apparatus to which plural image forming apparatuses having different functions are connected and which transfers a print job transmitted from a terminal apparatus of a user to the image forming apparatus usable by the user, includes a generation unit that generates a model group of the image forming apparatus usable by the user, for each user.

Provided is an image forming apparatus that suppresses degradation of performance of processing up to completion of printing while suppressing the occurrence of moire. A data-compression unit stores identification data indicating the presence or absence of periodicity obtained by analyzing printing data, and printing data correlated with the identification data in a first memory area of a RAM. A color-conversion-processing unit that performs a speculative process, causes printing data that has undergone a color conversion process corresponding to printer printing to be stored in a second memory area of a RAM. A screen-processing unit that performs a speculative process, performs an AM screen process on printing data. In addition, a system-control unit causes the image-forming unit to move from a printing pre-start position to a printing start position based on a determination result of a printing color in a color conversion process corresponding to a first printer printing by the color-conversion-processing unit by a speculative process.

An information processing system includes one or more information processing apparatuses to individually store a print job executable with an image forming apparatus, and a management apparatus. Each information processing apparatus includes a first memory to store the print job and first circuitry to transmit, through a network, user identification information identifying one or more users who are allowed to execute the print job. The management apparatus includes a second memory to store association information associating for each print job the user identification information transmitted from the first circuitry and apparatus identification information identifying one of the one or more information processing apparatus storing the print job, and second circuitry to refer the association information and specify apparatus identification information of at least one of the one or more information processing apparatuses, and to transmit a list of information processing apparatuses through the network.

An image output method includes capturing an image of code pattern including device information specifying an image output device, obtaining the device information from the image of code pattern, obtaining user information specifying a user, and outputting the device information and the user information to an external device, by an information processing device; authenticating the user based on the user information, by a processor; executing image output processing instructed by the user authenticated based on the user information, by the image output device specified based on the device information; transmitting a result of the image output processing by the image output device to the information processing device, by the image output device; and displaying the result of the image output processing by the information processing device.