JP2010219946A - Image forming apparatus, image data management method, and image data management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a work burden on a user for management of reception data stored in a memory. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 101 receives image data such as FAX data using a receiving means and stores the received image data in a memory. The image forming apparatus 101 prints the image data stored in the memory on paper or the like using a printing means and reads a printed surface using an image reading means. In the case where a matching rate between the printed surface read by the reading means and the image data stored in the memory is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the image data are erased from the memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image data management method, and an image data management program for printing image data acquired by facsimile (FAX) communication or the like.

  Conventionally, reception data received by FAX communication in an image forming apparatus is generally stored in a memory in the image forming apparatus, printed out by a printing unit, and then deleted from the memory. This is because the memory capacity on the image forming apparatus has an upper limit, and when the upper limit of the memory capacity is exceeded (memory full), the subsequent reception operation cannot be performed.

  On the other hand, as a process of storing received image data in a memory, if the received data is not normally output due to a failure of the printing unit or the like, the received data is stored in the image forming apparatus without performing print output until the printing unit is restored. A method of storing in a memory is known. Also, a method is known in which external storage means such as a hard disk drive is connected to the image forming apparatus, a large amount of received images are stored, and the received images stored by user operation are selectively deleted (for example, , See Patent Document 1 below).

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, when an abnormality occurs due to a paper jam or out of ink, when the printing unit detects an abnormality and stops printing the received data, the received data is stored in the memory. Although it is possible to store the received data, there is a problem in that the received data is erased if the printing means cannot detect the abnormality. For example, when the printing unit normally performs ink ejection processing, but a part of the print head is dry or the like, and ink is not ejected onto the printing paper, the image forming apparatus determines that the printing processing has been completed normally. The received data is deleted from the memory. For this reason, even though an image of a part of an important document such as a contract or an invoice is missing and not output normally, the received data is lost, which is serious for the user who uses the image forming apparatus. There was a problem of giving a disadvantage.

  A method of avoiding the above situation can be considered by installing an external storage device such as a hard disk drive in the image forming apparatus and storing a large amount of received data, but there is also an upper limit on the capacity of the external storage device In any case, it is necessary to delete unnecessary received data from the memory. At this time, it is quite troublesome to search and specify only the normally output image data from a large amount of received data and delete it, and there is a problem that the burden on the user increases. Further, the provision of the external storage device raises the problem that the price of the image forming apparatus increases and the cost for introducing the apparatus increases.

  In order to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, the present invention can reduce a user's work burden related to management of image data stored in a memory, an image data management method, and an image data management program. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires image data, and a storage unit that stores the image data acquired by the acquisition unit. A printing unit that prints the image data stored in the storage unit on a medium; a reading unit that reads a printing surface of the medium on which the image data is printed by the printing unit; and the reading unit that is read by the reading unit And an erasing unit for erasing the image data from the storage unit when the coincidence ratio between the printing surface and the image data stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the input means for accepting a designated keyword designation input and the keyword inputted by the input means are the reading means. And determining means for determining whether or not the print surface read by is included in the print surface, and the erasing means determines that the keyword is included in the print surface by the determination means, The image data is not deleted.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the input means for accepting designation input of a predetermined keyword, and the keyword designated and inputted to the input means are the storage means. Determining means for determining whether or not the image data stored in the image data is included in the image data, and when the determining means determines that the keyword is included in the image data by the determining means, The image data is not deleted.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data management method, an acquisition step of acquiring image data, a storage step of storing the image data acquired in the acquisition step in a storage unit, and a storage unit storing the image data. A printing step for printing the image data on a medium, a reading step for reading a printing surface of the medium on which the image data is printed in the printing step, the printing surface read in the reading step, and the storage unit And an erasing step of erasing the image data from the storage means when the coincidence rate with the image data stored in the memory is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an image data management program causes a computer to execute the image data management method according to the fourth aspect.

  According to the image forming apparatus, the image data management method, and the image data management program of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce a user's work burden related to management of image data stored in the memory.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the system configuration | structure of the office network system concerning embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a software configuration of an MFP controller. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of image forming processing by the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows typically the marker which an image forming apparatus adds. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an image forming process of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an image forming process of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an image forming process of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus, an image data management method, and an image data management program according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
(System configuration)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a system configuration of the office network system according to the embodiment. In the network system 100 shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 101, an information processing apparatus 102, a server 103, and the like are interconnected by a local area network (LAN) 110 such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The LAN 110 physically connects the image forming apparatus 101, the server 103, the information processing apparatus 102, and the like with a hub 111, and performs mutual communication using a medium access control (MAC) address and an IP address.

  The hub 111 is further connected to a router 112, and the router 112 connects the image forming apparatus 101, the information processing apparatus 102, and the server 103 to a wide area network 120 such as the Internet or a wide area network (WAN). A POP server 121 is connected to the wide area network 120 to enable transmission of electronic mail using the SMTP protocol between the image forming apparatus 101, the information processing apparatus 102, and the server 103. The wide area network 120 may be connected to a web server or the like other than that shown in FIG. The POP server 121 may be a mail server provided by an ISP or the like, or can be implemented as a dedicated mail server installed in the company.

  The image forming apparatus 101 provides a composite function such as facsimile, copy, printer, ARDF (Auto Reverse Document Feeder), direct command from the user, job request from the information processing apparatus 102, and the public line 130. The received facsimile data is processed to form an image.

(Hardware configuration of image forming apparatus 101)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 101 includes various functions for providing functions such as a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and the like. The ARDF 210 for reading a document and performing optical reading, and various settings for a user can be performed. And an operation panel 220 including an LCD panel. The ARDF 210 sends the document set on the platen to the scanner 230 that starts the motor 211 and performs optical reading of the document, and drives the irradiation optical system, drive motor, CCD, etc. to convert the document into digital data. To do.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 101 includes an MFP controller 240 and a printer engine 250 in charge of image formation. The MFP controller 240 includes a CPU (not shown) that operates an operating system (hereinafter referred to as an OS) such as a UNIX (registered trademark), a LINUX (registered trademark), or a Windows (registered trademark) 200X server. It is out. Further, the MFP controller 240 executes an application program written in a programming language such as C, C ++, JAVA (registered trademark), Perl, or a server program such as Apache or Servlet under the above-described OS, and Web・ Provide some server functions.

  The MFP controller 240 further includes a storage management unit 241, a communication processing unit 242, and an image conversion unit 243. The storage management unit 241 executes input / output management of a storage device 260 such as an SDRAM or a hard disk device. Further, the communication processing unit 242 receives the ITU-T recommendation T.264 received from the fax modem 270 having a communication rate of about 56 Kbps or 126 Kbps. Protocol data such as 6 is decoded using an encoding method such as run-length encoding, MR, or MMR, and digital data is encoded for facsimile transmission from the image forming apparatus 101. The communication processing unit 242 also manages data transmission using IP protocol suite and TCP / IP or UDP / IP.

  The communication processing unit 242 accepts a data transmission request from an application program included in the MFP controller 240, creates an IP packet or a frame, and transfers from the network interface card (NIC) 271 to the Ethernet (registered trademark) or the wireless LAN. Transmits data and transmits transmission data to an application program. The communication processing unit 242 supports a data connection protocol such as PPP (Point to Point Protocol) and PPPoE (PPP on Ethernet (registered trademark)) in order to execute the above-described processing.

  The image conversion unit 243 converts the data acquired by the image forming apparatus 101 into image data such as GIF, BMP, JPEG, JPEG2000, TIFF, and PNG, and uses the converted image data to perform PDL (Page Description). Language) is created, and the created PDL is transferred to the printer engine 250 to form an image. In addition, the MFP controller 240 is equipped with a flash ROM 246 and manages setup data when the image forming apparatus 101 is started up, color conversion data used for image formation, and the like.

  The USB control unit 245 manages the bus connection with the USB host and the printer engine 250 via the USB connector 247. The USB control unit 245 may support the UWB protocol defined by IEEE 802.15 or the like. The image forming apparatus 101 has a PSU 280 mounted therein, and the PSU 280 performs power management of the image forming apparatus 101.

  The printer engine 250 forms an image using an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and forms an image by each image data management method, so that a photoconductor, a semiconductor laser, a developing device, a transfer device, a fixing device, or an ink is formed. A container and an inkjet nozzle are included. The printer engine 250 supports PJL (Printer Job Language) and can execute printing corresponding to a print request from the outside.

  A storage device 260 such as an SDRAM manages a plurality of data sets. Data sets related to the present embodiment managed by the storage device 260 are transmission source registration data (SUC_ADDR: source_Address) 261, notification destination registration data (ACK_ADDR: Acknowledge_Address) 262, and MIB (Management Information Base) 263.

  The transmission source registration data 261 is data that is set by the user in advance and specifies whether to receive notification of received facsimile data. The transmission source registration data 261 is registered in a facsimile number format.

  The notification destination registration data 262 registers the notification destination address of the user. The notification destination registration data 262 can be registered in various formats. For example, an e-mail address, a MAC address, and an IP address (private address / address) for sending a notification message as an e-mail using the mailer 244 are used. The local domain defined by the subnet mask) or the terminal name can be used. When using the MAC address and IP address as the notification destination registration data 262, it is preferable to implement a correspondence table between the terminal name or user identification value and the MAC address or IP address in order to save the user input. When the network infrastructure is not TCP / IP but NETBIOS is used, the destination name is used to notify the look-up table registered in association with the terminal name, IP address, MAC address, etc. Registration data 262 may be used.

  The MIB 263 is a data set for registering network management information, which is configured by using MIB1 specified by RFC1156 or MIB2 specified by RFC1213, and indicates an object identification value to the image forming apparatus to be managed. (OID) and its status data are managed in association with each other.

  The information processing apparatus 102 and the server 103 are information processing apparatuses dedicated to servers such as personal computers, workstations, blade servers, and thin servers. The information processing apparatus 102 transmits the processing result by the application software to the image forming apparatus 101 via the printer driver, and causes the image forming apparatus 101 to output the processing result. When the server 103 is provided as a printer server, the server 103 receives a print request from the information processing apparatus 102 and instructs the appropriate image forming apparatus 101 to perform a print job.

(Software configuration of MFP controller 240)
Next, the software configuration of the MFP controller 240 of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a software configuration of the MFP controller. In FIG. 3, shaded software is an application necessary for image formation by the image forming apparatus 101.

  Portal software 301 sets and deletes application software for each function. The various applications include document management software (Document management) 302, scanner software (Scan) 303, FAX software 304, printer software (Print) 305, and the like.

  The TWAIN driver 311 converts image data input from an image scanner such as a scanner into a format that can be used by the information processing apparatus 102. The PC-FAX driver 312 converts the image data input / output from the fax modem 270 into a format that can be used by the information processing apparatus 102. The RPCS driver 313 converts the image data into a format that allows printer output. The PCL driver 314 converts print data in the PCL format, which is a page description language, into a format that can be output to a printer.

  An SMU (System Management Unit) 321 manages AIO device information, and stores device information such as the data size of each driver and the capacity information of RAM and ROM. The MIB 322 is a device information database. An LSD (Local Status and Diagnostic) 323 is an application for registering / changing device settings from the information processing apparatus 102 via USB or the like. In addition, there is a help (user guide) application 324 and the like.

(Image formation processing by image forming apparatus)
Next, an image forming process performed by the image forming apparatus 101 will be described. The image forming apparatus 101 stores image data received by FAX or the like in a nonvolatile memory (hereinafter simply referred to as “memory”) in the apparatus, and prints it from a printing unit. At this time, the image output from the printing unit is scanned by an image reading unit such as ARDF, and the printed image is collated with the image data stored in the memory. If the scanned image matches the image data in the memory, the image data in the memory is erased. On the other hand, if the scanned image does not match the image data in the memory, the image data in the memory is not erased. As a result, when a printing error that cannot be detected from the inside of the image forming apparatus 101 (for example, a missing print image due to a malfunction of the print head) occurs, the image data in the memory is erased, and the image data Can be prevented from being reprinted.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of image forming processing by the image forming apparatus. Although not specifically mentioned below, the image forming apparatus 101 is provided with a function having a name such as “received image guarantee mode”, and the function setting panel such as an LCD can be set to enable / disable this function. . The image forming apparatus 101 performs the following operation when this function is enabled.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 101 receives FAX data via the public line 130 (step S401). The FAX communication means performs communication using, for example, a protocol in accordance with a generally used ITU-T recommendation. Next, the image forming apparatus 101 stores the received FAX data (reception data) in a memory (step S402). At this time, the image forming apparatus 101 stores the transmission source information sent from the other party (transmission source) at the time of data reception uniquely associated with the reception data together with the reception data as reception information.

  Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 develops the received data in a print memory to generate print data, and adds a marker to the print data (step S403). FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating markers added by the image forming apparatus. The print data 500 is data obtained by expanding the FAX data received in step S401 for printing. The print data 500 includes text data 501 that is the contents of the received data, and source information 502 added to the top of the text data 501. The transmission source information 502 includes, for example, a FAX transmission source name and a transmission date / time. As shown in FIG. 5, the markers 510 are added to both ends of the boundary between the body data 501 and the sender information 502.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 101 prints the printing data to which the marker is added in step S403 on a printing paper or the like (step S404). The image forming apparatus 101 does not erase the received data stored in the memory even when an error such as a paper jam or out of ink does not occur during printing. Next, the image forming apparatus 101 determines whether the operation panel is operated by the user and the received image confirmation function is selected (step S405). If the received image confirmation function is not selected (step S405: No), the processing according to this flowchart is terminated as it is.

  On the other hand, when the received image confirmation function is selected (step S405: Yes), the image forming apparatus 101 enters the received image confirmation mode, and the print image (image printed in step S404) to be confirmed is ADF or the like. (Step S406: No loop). When the print image is set (step S406: Yes), the image forming apparatus 101 reads the print image (step S407). Data obtained by reading a print image is referred to as read data. The read data is stored as image comparison data in a bitmap format in a page memory used during printing.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 101 detects sender information (sender name and transmission date / time) from the read data using character recognition processing such as OCR, and reads the read data from the received data stored in the memory. The received data corresponding to is specified (step S408). Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 refers to the resolution information of the specified received data, and matches the resolution for reading the print image with the resolution of the received data (step S409).

  Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 expands the received data stored in the memory in the same manner as at the time of printing and expands the page data in the bitmap format (step S410). The image forming apparatus 101 detects a marker added at the time of printing from the read data developed in the page memory (step S411). Then, the image forming apparatus 101 compares the read data after the marker and the received data for each pixel, and determines whether or not they are the same image. More specifically, it is determined whether there is a difference between the read data and the received data (step S412).

  If there is no difference between the read data and the received data (step S412: Yes), the image forming apparatus 101 determines that the received data has been printed out normally. Note that the image difference determination criterion depends on the performance of a scanner (CIS, CCD, etc.) mounted on the image forming apparatus 101. Therefore, an actual device is evaluated and calculated based on the evaluation result. In this embodiment, for example, if the image matching rate is 85% or more, it is determined that the print output is normal. If the received data includes a plurality of pages, the image forming apparatus 101 returns to step S406 until the evaluation of the last page is completed (step S413: No) and repeats the subsequent processing.

  When the evaluation of all pages is completed (step S413: Yes), the image forming apparatus 101 deletes the received data stored in the memory (step S414), and ends the processing according to this flowchart. On the other hand, if there is a difference between the read data and the received data in step S412 (step S412: No), it is determined that there is a possibility that there is an abnormality in the print output, and printing is not normally performed on a display device such as an LCD. A warning message for notifying the possibility is displayed (step S415), and the processing according to this flowchart is terminated.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating image forming processing of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. The image forming apparatus 101 stores received data in a memory. However, since there is an upper limit on the capacity of the memory, it is impossible to store all received data permanently. Need to be removed from. This is the same even if, for example, an external storage device is installed to store received data.

  However, the operation of searching for and identifying received data corresponding to a print image that has been normally output from a large amount of received data and deleting it from the memory of the image forming apparatus is quite cumbersome and increases the burden on the user. For this reason, in the second embodiment, a keyword is registered in the image forming apparatus 101, and it is necessary to delete the received data after the print output depending on whether or not the registered keyword is detected as a result of scanning the print image. Determine no.

  The flowchart in FIG. 6 shows only the processing different from the first embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 101 accepts registration of a character string (for example, contract, bill, estimate, etc.) to be searched for in advance (step S601). Registration of the character string is performed, for example, by an operation input to the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 101.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 101 performs the processing of steps S401 to S407 in FIG. 4 to receive, store, print, and read FAX data (step S602). Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 detects characters in the read data by character recognition processing such as OCR (step S603). Then, the image forming apparatus 101 determines whether or not the characters in the read data include the character string registered in step S601 (step S604).

  If the registered character string is included (step S604: Yes), it is determined that the document is an important document, and the received data stored in the memory is not deleted, and the processing according to this flowchart is terminated as it is. . On the other hand, if the character string is not included (step S604: No), it is determined that the document is not an important document, the received data stored in the memory is deleted (step S605), and the processing according to this flowchart ends. To do.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating image forming processing of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. In the second embodiment, the print image is read, and it is determined whether or not to delete the received data in the memory depending on whether a pre-registered character string is included in the read data. In the third embodiment, when the received data is expanded in the page memory for printing, it is determined whether or not to delete the received data in the memory depending on whether or not a pre-registered character string is included.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 101 accepts registration of a character string (for example, a contract, an invoice, an estimate, etc.) to be searched in advance (step S701). Registration of the character string is performed, for example, by an operation input to the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 101.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 101 performs steps S401 to S403 in FIG. 4 to receive and store FAX data (step S702). Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 expands the received data to a print page memory to obtain print data, and detects characters in the print data by character recognition processing such as OCR (step S703). Then, the image forming apparatus 101 determines whether the character string registered in step S701 is included in the characters in the print data (step S704).

  If the registered character string is included (step S704: Yes), it is determined that the document is an important document. After printing the print data (step S705), the received data stored in the memory is deleted. Instead, the process according to this flowchart is terminated. On the other hand, if the character string is not included (step S704: No), it is determined that the document is not an important document, the print data is printed, and then the received data stored in the memory is deleted (step S706). Then, the process according to this flowchart is terminated.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating image forming processing of the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. In the second and third embodiments, it is determined whether or not to delete the received data in the memory in accordance with the presence or absence of a character string registered in advance. In the fourth embodiment, the source information received together with the received data is compared with the address registered in the image forming apparatus 101, and the data received from the address specified by the important destination is received in the memory. Do not delete data.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 101 accepts registration of an important partner in advance (step S801). The designation of the important destination is performed, for example, by designating an arbitrary address in an address book (a destination name, a telephone number, etc. is registered) in the image forming apparatus 101.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 101 performs the processing of steps S401 to S403 in FIG. 4 to receive FAX data and store received data (step S802). Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 101 expands the received data to the print page memory to obtain print data, and refers to the transmission source information associated with the received data in the memory (step S803). Then, the image forming apparatus 101 determines whether the transmission source information associated with the received data matches the address of the important destination registered in step S801 (step S804).

  If it matches the address of the important destination (step S804: Yes), it is determined as an important document, and after printing the print data (step S805), the received data stored in the memory is not deleted. Then, the process according to this flowchart is terminated as it is. On the other hand, if it does not match the address of the important destination (step S804: No), it is determined that the document is not an important document, and after printing the print data, the received data stored in the memory is deleted (step S806). ), The process according to this flowchart is terminated.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment, the image data received by FAX or the like is stored in the memory in the image forming apparatus 101 and printed from the printing unit. At this time, the image output from the printing unit is scanned by an image reading unit such as ARDF, and the printed image is collated with the image data stored in the memory. If the scanned image matches the image data in the memory, the image data in the memory is erased. On the other hand, if the scanned image does not match the image data in the memory, the image data in the memory is not erased. As a result, when a printing error that cannot be detected from the inside of the image forming apparatus 101 (for example, a missing print image due to a malfunction of the print head) occurs, the image data in the memory is erased, and the image data Can be prevented from being reprinted.

  Further, according to the image forming apparatus 101 according to the embodiment, keywords and important destinations are registered in advance, and are registered when the print image is scanned or when the print data is expanded in the page memory. It is determined whether or not the received data after printing is to be erased, depending on whether or not a keyword or an important destination address is detected. This eliminates the need for the user to search and specify received data corresponding to a print image that has been output normally from a large amount of received data and delete it from the memory of the image forming apparatus. Can be reduced.

  The image data management method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a hard disk, flexible disk, CD-ROM, MO, and DVD, and is executed by being read from the storage medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus, the image data management method, and the image data management program according to the present invention are useful for a multifunctional multifunction device that processes image data such as FAX data, and in particular, have a relatively large memory capacity. Suitable for small, low-price multifunction devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Network system 101 Image forming apparatus 102 Information processing apparatus 103 Server 110 Local area network (LAN)
111 hub 112 router 120 wide area network 121 POP server 121

Japanese Patent No. 3150300

Claims (5)

Acquisition means for acquiring image data;
Storage means for storing the image data acquired by the acquisition means;
Printing means for printing the image data stored in the storage means on a medium;
Reading means for reading a printing surface of the medium on which the image data is printed by the printing means;
An erasing unit for erasing the image data from the storage unit when a coincidence ratio between the print surface read by the reading unit and the image data stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value;
An image forming apparatus comprising: An input means for receiving a specified input of a predetermined keyword;
Determining means for determining whether or not the keyword specified and input to the input means is included in the print surface read by the reading means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the erasing unit does not delete the image data when the determination unit determines that the keyword is included in the print surface. An input means for receiving a specified input of a predetermined keyword;
Determining means for determining whether or not the keyword specified and input to the input means is included in the image data stored in the storage means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the erasing unit does not delete the image data when the determination unit determines that the keyword is included in the image data. An acquisition process for acquiring image data;
A storage step of storing the image data acquired in the acquisition step in a storage unit;
A printing step of printing the image data stored in the storage unit on a medium;
A reading step of reading a printing surface of the medium on which the image data is printed in the printing step;
An erasing step of erasing the image data from the storage means when the coincidence ratio between the printing surface read in the reading step and the image data stored in the storage means is a predetermined value or more;
An image data management method comprising:   An image data management program for causing a computer to execute the image data management method according to claim 4.

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