In an example, a method includes determining, by processing circuitry, an element set to be associated with a print addressable location for printing an article in a one-pass print mode. The element set may comprise a plurality of elements, wherein each element identifies a print material or print material combination and is associated with a probability that the print material or print material combination identified by that element is to be applied to the associated print addressable location. Determining the element set for printing in a one-pass print mode may comprise favouring elements identifying individual print materials over elements identifying print material combinations.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image former, a transferor, and circuitry. The image bearer bears an image and an identification pattern. The image former forms the image and the identification pattern on the image bearer. The transferor transfers the image and the identification pattern on the image bearer directly or indirectly to a recording medium. The circuitry determines whether the identification pattern is an image portion pattern arranged at a position superimposed on the image or a position adjacent to the image, or a non-image portion pattern arranged at neither a position superimposed on the image nor a position adjacent to the image. The circuitry further causes the image former to form the non-image portion pattern larger than the image portion pattern.

Even from a plurality of small documents, their front-side and back-side images to be formed on a recording paper sheet, with alignment and coincidence of the front-side and back-side images of each document between the front and back sides of the recording paper sheet. In an image forming apparatus, an image processing section detects a front-side image of an original document from a scan area read in a first scan by an image reading section, detects a back-side image of the original document from a scan area read in a second scan, and moves or rotates the front-side image and the back-side image of the original document in terms of a whole image of the scan area so that the front-side image and the back-side image of the original document are brought into alignment and coincidence between a front side and a back side of a recording paper sheet.

In general, a printing system of an exemplary embodiment includes a client terminal connected via a network, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses each including an operating unit which receives an operation input of a user. A first image forming apparatus that receives a print file from the client terminal transmits metadata of the print file to a second image forming apparatus. The second image forming apparatus displays a list of print files which are on standby for printing based on the metadata, and obtains a print file from the first image forming apparatus when a print instruction and a selection of a desired print file from the list of print files are received through the operating unit, and performs printing based the print file.

An image forming apparatus includes: a pull-print data obtaining circuit that obtains rasterized data depending on a resolution of the image forming apparatus from a server device, the server device storing intermediate data and one or more pieces of rasterized data, the intermediate data being generated based on printable data and independent of a resolution, the one or more pieces of rasterized data being generated based on the intermediate data and depending on one or more resolutions, respectively; and an image forming circuit that forms an image based on the obtained rasterized data.

An image forming method includes: determining a number of copies; obtaining an original image including an object of a paper piece; detecting a paper piece size, the paper piece size being a size of the object of the paper piece included in the original image; clipping the object of the paper piece having the paper piece size from the original image to generate a paper piece image; and arranging the paper piece images of the number of copies on a printable area of one or more pages based on a printable size and the paper piece size and add a guide image to generate a reconfigured image, the printable size being a size of the printable area, the guide image being an image of a guide for dividing the paper piece images of the number of copies.

A chart includes a plurality of area images. Each area image of the plurality of area images includes a figure. The figure indicates positional information of each area image of the plurality of area images in the chart. An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet to create the chart, and an image reading device configured to read the image in the chart.

An image reading device includes first glass, an adjacent portion adjacent to the first glass, a reading unit, and a position reference portion. The first glass enables an document to be placed on a front surface side of the document. The reading unit is capable of being in contact with at least one of the adjacent portion and the first glass and reads, from a back surface side of the first glass, the document placed on the first glass by using a sensor while moving from the adjacent portion side in a movement direction. The position reference portion is disposed on the front surface side of the first glass and serves as a reference of a position of the reading unit in the movement direction. When the position reference portion is read by the reading unit, the reading unit is in contact with the adjacent portion and the first glass.

A method for reducing image burn-in artifacts in an electrophotographic printing system, includes receiving a print job including image data for a set of pages to be printed. The pages are analyzed to determine that the image data for a sequence of pages in the print job are similar. The similar pages are printed using a pattern of lateral translations wherein the image data is laterally translated such that it is printed at a different lateral position on the printed page.

A method for reducing image burn-in artifacts in an electrophotographic printing system, includes receiving a print job including image data for a set of pages to be printed. The pages are analyzed to determine that the image data for a sequence of pages in the print job are similar. The similar pages are printed using a pattern of page orientations including a first page orientation and a second page orientation, wherein the image data for the second page orientation is rotated 180 degrees relative to the image data for the first page orientation.