A printing apparatus includes: a printing section including a plurality of printing elements that performs printing on a medium; a power supply circuit supplying power to the printing section; a control circuit controlling the printing section and the power supply circuit; and a USB-Type-C interface configured to couple an external device and including a data transmission/reception terminal, a power input/output terminal, and a state identification terminal. When the state identification terminal detects that the external device that receives the power via the power input/output terminal is coupled, and the printing section performs printing, an amount of power supplied to the external device is large in a case in which a drive rate of the plurality of printing elements is low as compared with a case in which the drive rate of the plurality of printing elements is high.

Provided is a consumable chip and a communication method thereof. The method is adopted for a consumable chip including a first consumable MCU unit, a verification cryptographic operation unit and a second consumable MCU unit; the method includes: when the first consumable MCU unit is incompatible with the printer, the first consumable MCU unit activating the second consumable MCU unit to execute a second consumable chip core processing flow, and calling the verification cryptographic algorithm function program of the verification cryptographic operation unit to calculate a new verification password; after the first consumable MCU unit inquires that the second consumable MCU unit has completed the second consumable chip core processing flow, the first consumable MCU unit reading the new verification password and sending to the printer, the new verification password is received by the printer to achieve compatibility between the first consumable MCU unit and the printer.

A system and method for tracking multifunction peripheral device user satisfaction captures user images and audio during device operation. User characteristics such as gestures, posture, spoke words or facial expressions are used in conjunction with device status information to determine whether the user is satisfied with the device. If not, remedial action is initiated, such as launching a virtual assistant on the multifunction peripheral touchscreen or summoning of a human assistant.

An image forming apparatus includes a controller configured to perform a storage printing process that includes storing print data in a dedicated memory, which is a portable memory set as a storage destination to store the print data in the storage printing process when attached to a dedicated port among a plurality of ports, and causing a print engine to perform printing according to the print data stored in the dedicated memory in response to an operation received via a user interface, prior to the storage printing process, set one of the plurality of ports as the dedicated port, in response to a portable memory being attached to a port, determine whether the portable memory is the dedicated memory and the port is the dedicated port, and provide a notification when determining that the portable memory is not the dedicated memory but the port is the dedicated port.

A method for configuring a raster image processor (RIP) for a digital printing system includes receiving a file for a print job; receiving or determining job characteristics of the print job or the file for the print job; receiving or determining hardware characteristics of hardware upon which the RIP is operating; inputting the job characteristics and the hardware characteristics into a trained artificial intelligence (AI) module; and selecting, using the trained AI module, a configuration or settings for the RIP for processing of the file based on the plurality of job characteristics and the plurality of hardware characteristics.

A system and method for tracking multifunction peripheral device user satisfaction captures user images and audio during device operation. User characteristics such as gestures, posture, spoke words or facial expressions are used in conjunction with device status information to determine whether the user is satisfied with the device. If not, remedial action is initiated, such as launching a virtual assistant on the multifunction peripheral touchscreen or summoning of a human assistant.

An apparatus includes a nonvolatile semiconductor storage having a semiconductor area and configured to execute erasure processing based on information about a storage area in which unused data is stored in the semiconductor area in a case where the information is received, and a controller having one or more processors which execute instructions stored in one or more memories, the controller being configured to notify the semiconductor storage of the information, cause the semiconductor storage to stop the erasure processing by reception of a signal related to a job while the semiconductor storage is executing the erasure processing, and transmit a response signal for the signal related to the job to the semiconductor storage.

An image forming apparatus includes: a hardware processor that: executes processing corresponding to an instruction input via an external device; sends a first notification to the external device according to a completion of execution of the processing; and upon estimating that the execution of the processing is not completed before a timeout time, sends a second notification different from the first notification to the external device. The external device sets the timeout time for the first notification.

In an information processing apparatus, a storage device stores a plurality of respective combinations of setting values set in jobs previously executed in relation to each of a plurality of predetermined functions, and a control device allows a display device to display at least one of respective first images representing the plurality of functions in a first region of a display area and display, in a second region of the display area, at least one of respective second images showing the plurality of combinations of setting values stored in the storage device and, upon acceptance of a touch gesture on one of the at least one second image through a touch panel of an operation device, executes, in accordance with the combination of setting values shown by the second image on which the touch gesture has been made, a job related to the function associated with the second image.

There are provided a printing section that performs printing on a medium; a control section that controls drive of the printing section; a power supply connector that supplies electric power to the control section; a first receptacle connector that is electrically coupled to a first external device; and a second receptacle connector that is electrically coupled to a second external device, a plug of a USB-Type-C cable is configured to be physically inserted into the second receptacle connector, the plug is configured not to be physically inserted into the power supply connector, an insertion port of the first receptacle connector is arranged along a first connector surface, and an insertion port of the second receptacle connector is arranged along a second connector surface.