An image forming apparatus includes first and second image bearing members, first and second developing members. The controller controls to execute first and second controls based on an image information in a case that the first developing member is separated from the first image bearing member when an operation in which the image is sequentially transferred to a transferred member from the first and second image bearing members is terminated. The first developing member is started to separate from the first image bearing member in the first control after an end of an image forming area on the first image bearing member in a moving direction passes through the first transfer position, and in the second control after the end of the image forming area on the first image bearing member in the moving direction passes through the developing position and before the end of the image forming area reaches the first transfer position.

A printing device comprises a housing, a communication interface configured to communicate with a server, and a controller. The printing device is configured to operate either in a contract mode or in a normal mode. The housing is configured such that one or more consumables including a first type consumable and a second type consumable are attachable. The first type consumable is dedicated for the contract printing, and the second type consumable is usable for printing in both the contract mode and the normal mode. The controller is configured to activate the contract mode in response to an activation instruction from the server. In a case where the second type consumable is attached to the housing when the contract mode is activated, the controller changes a state of the printing device to a contract printing state in which the contract printing is activated after activating the contract mode.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming portion; a first metal side plate and a second metal side plate; an antenna; and a housing on which a discharging port is disposed, wherein the housing includes a top cover that is disposed at a position vertically higher than the first metal side plate, wherein in a region on a downstream side with respect to the antenna in a discharging direction where a recording material is discharged from the discharging port, an upper end of the first metal side plate is located at a position vertically lower than the antenna, and a resin support portion connected to the first metal side plate is disposed in the region such that the resin support portion supports the top cover, wherein the antenna and the resin support portion are disposed along the upper end of the first metal side plate.

A server apparatus including a first communication device and a first computing device. The first communication device communicates with an image forming apparatus via a network. The first computing device includes a processor, and acts as a data acquirer, a dimension reduction processor, and a residual service life calculator, when the processor executes a first control program. The data acquirer acquires observation data of a first number of dimensions from the image forming apparatus, via the first communication device. The dimension reduction processor converts the observation data of the first number of dimensions into characteristic data of a second number of dimensions fewer than the first number of dimensions. The residual service life calculator calculates a residual service life of a replaceable unit in the image forming apparatus, on a basis of the characteristic data.

The image forming apparatus according to the present disclosures is configured to transmit, to a file server, an acquisition request for an updating data file at a time different from an access time, which is indicated by access time information of a setting file, by a particular time and update a content of the setting file by the acquired updating data file.

An image forming apparatus includes a heating member energization control circuit that estimates a temperature of a fixing rotating body, based on a temperature detection result of the fixing rotating body, which is heated by a heating member and heats a toner image formed on a medium to fix the toner image on the medium, by a temperature sensor, a power supply voltage of a power supply source, and an energization pulse for controlling energization to the heating member, and outputs an energization pulse for controlling power to be supplied to the heating member, based on the estimated temperature and the temperature detection result. The apparatus further includes a controller that acquires a power supply voltage detection result by a communication interface via a network, from another apparatus which holds a power supply voltage detection result by an image forming apparatus with a power supply voltage detection function, provided with a power supply voltage detection circuit that detects a power supply voltage value of a same power supply source as the power supply source, and inputs the acquired power supply voltage detection result to the heating member energization control circuit, as a power supply voltage value of the power supply source.

A printing system that is communicable with an image management server through a network includes an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus. The information processing apparatus controls a display to display a print setting screen for receiving a print setting that designates printing of a specific color image superimposed on an image to be printed, transmits the specific color image corresponding to the print setting to the image management server, acquires storage location information from the image management server, and transmits print data to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a printer. The image forming apparatus receives the print data, acquires the specific color image from the image management server, generates image data for overprinting the specific color image on the image to be printed, and controls the printer to perform printing based on the image data.

A printing apparatus includes a reception unit and a determination unit. The reception unit receives a display mode of a sheet type from an information processing apparatus. The determination unit determines sheet type information to be transmitted to the information processing apparatus, based on the display mode of the sheep type received by the reception unit.

There is provided an image forming system including at least a first image forming apparatus that includes a first image forming unit and an obtaining unit configured to obtain operation-related information related to an operation of the first image forming unit. The image forming system further includes a carryover unit configured to carry over, to a second image forming apparatus, information related to an operation of a second image forming unit of the second image forming apparatus among the operation-related information obtained by the first image forming apparatus when the second image forming apparatus is newly used in the image forming system. The operation-related information includes operation history information of the first image forming unit.

A printing device comprises a housing, a communication interface configured to communicate with a server, and a controller. The printing device is configured to operate either in a contract mode or in a normal mode. The housing is configured such that one or more consumables including a first type consumable and a second type consumable are attachable. The first type consumable is dedicated for the contract printing, and the second type consumable is usable for printing in both the contract mode and the normal mode. The controller is configured to activate the contract mode in response to an activation instruction from the server. In a case where the second type consumable is attached to the housing when the contract mode is activated, the controller changes a state of the printing device to a contract printing state in which the contract printing is activated after activating the contract mode.