JP2010064388A - Image forming device, and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform confirmation of image quality deterioration by comparing output matter of a sample print when a job is for printing a plurality of copies. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming device having a sample output function is provided with: a printing job executing means for executing a requested printing job; a sample output object determining means for determining a paper sheet to be a sample output object; and a sample output means for delivering from one paper delivering port different from a printing job paper delivering port as a sample output paper delivering port with the same conditions except the paper port. The sample output object determining means determines images on the same page to be the sample output object for every copy (step S205-step S209). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a sample output function capable of confirming the finished state of a copy, and a control method executed by the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses have been increased in size and performance, and a large amount of printed matter can be produced at high speed in a short time. When a large number of sheets are printed at a high speed, the printed matter is stored in a large-capacity stacker whose opening and closing is locked, so it is difficult to check the finished state of the printed matter while the image forming apparatus is in operation. In view of this, an image forming apparatus having a sample output (trial copy) function capable of confirming the finished printed matter even when the image forming apparatus is in operation has been developed.

  As sample output, for example, by the operator's operation, paper being printed is printed and printed twice at the same time as the operation, one paper is handled as normal job paper, and the other paper is used for image formation The paper is discharged to another paper discharge tray that is easy to check.

As such a technique, for example, the invention described in Patent Document 1 or 2 is known. Among them, in Patent Document 1, when a finish confirmation instruction is issued during execution of an image forming job from a user, a control device of a post-processing device connected to the image forming device controls a conveyance unit for printing paper. Thus, an invention is described in which one copy unit from the first sheet, which is a section of a printed product on which an image has been formed, is discharged to a discharge section that can be taken by the user. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 allows the main control unit of the image forming apparatus having the trial copy mode to shift to the copy mode before starting the normal job and during the interruption of the job, and causes the trial copy to be executed. An invention is described that prohibits the transition to a trial copy when a job is interrupted in the duplex copy mode. As a result, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to perform a trial copy even during the processing of a normal job, and a normal copy can be performed even if a trial copy is performed during the processing of a normal job. It can be carried out.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-041505 JP 2000-035730 A

  Sample output is the same as in the invention described in the above-mentioned patent document, but is performed to check the printing status of paper such as image quality. However, in the case of a job for printing a plurality of copies, for example, if sample printing is automatically performed at a fixed number of prints regardless of the division of the copies, the interval at which sample printing is performed does not necessarily match the number of copies printed per copy. In most cases, images output as sample prints are not the same image. Since they are not the same image, it is difficult to confirm the deterioration of the image quality by comparing the output products of the sample prints.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to make it possible to easily check deterioration of image quality by comparing sample print output in the case of a job for printing a plurality of copies.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first means is a print job execution means for executing a requested print job and a sample output target determination for determining a paper to be sample output in an image forming apparatus having a sample output function. And sample output means for discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions except for the discharge outlet. The means is characterized in that an image of the same page in a preset part is determined as a sample output target.

  In the image forming apparatus having the sample output function, the second means is a print job execution means for executing a requested print job, a sample output target determination means for determining a paper to be sample output, and a paper discharge port. Sample output means for discharging one of the paper discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet, and the sample output target determining means is set in advance. It is characterized in that a page for every predetermined number of pages is determined as a sample output target from the start of printing of the copy.

  The third means is an image forming apparatus having a sample output function, except for a print job execution means for executing a requested print job, a sample output target determination means for determining a paper to be sample output, and a discharge port Sample output means for discharging one of the paper discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet, and the sample output target determining means is set in advance. A page after a certain number of copies from the start of printing for each copy is determined as a sample output target.

  According to a fourth aspect, in the control method of the image forming apparatus having the sample output function, the first step of executing the requested print job, the second step of determining the paper to be sample output, and the paper discharge And a third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions except for the mouth, and in the second step, a preset value is set. An image of the same page of the set portion is determined as a sample output target.

  According to a fifth means, in the control method of the image forming apparatus having the sample output function, the first step of executing the requested print job, the second step of determining the paper to be sample output, and the paper discharge And a third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions except for the mouth, and in the second step, a preset value is set. For each of the set parts, pages at a fixed number of intervals from the start of printing of the parts are determined as sample output targets.

  A sixth means is a method for controlling an image forming apparatus having a sample output function, a first step of executing a requested print job, a second step of determining a sheet to be sample output, and paper discharge And a third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions except for the mouth, and in the second step, a preset value is set. A page after a certain number of copies from the start of printing of each copy is determined as a sample output target.

  In the embodiment described later, the image forming apparatus is denoted by PR or 401, the print job execution means is image printing means 403 or the printer engine unit, the sample output target determining means is control means 406, and the sample output means is image printing. The sample output paper discharge port corresponds to the sample tray 204 of the stacker 200, and corresponds to the means 403, the paper discharge means 409, or the stacker 200, respectively.

  According to the present invention, an image of the same page of a preset part is determined as a sample output target, or a page every predetermined number of intervals from the start of printing of the part for a preset part is determined as a sample output target, Or, for each preset number of copies, a page after a certain number of copies from the start of printing is determined as a sample output target. Therefore, in the case of a job that prints multiple copies, the output of the sample print is compared to check for deterioration in image quality Can be easily performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, this system includes an image forming apparatus PR main body, a large-capacity stacker 200 connected to the rear stage of the apparatus main body, and a post-processing apparatus (finisher) 100 connected to the rear stage.

  The main body of the image forming apparatus PR (401) includes an image input unit, a printer engine unit, a paper feed unit, and a paper discharge unit.

  The image input unit includes a reading unit 50. When the document bundle is placed on the document table 2 of the automatic document feeder (ADF) 1 with the image surface facing upward, The document is conveyed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feeding roller 3 and the feeding belt 4. The document on the contact glass 6 reflects the reflected light of the illumination light emitted from the light source 51, that is, the read light is reflected by the first to third mirrors 52, 55, 56, passes through the imaging lens 53, and the photoelectric conversion unit 54. An image is formed on the imaging surface and optically read. The document that has been read is discharged by the feeding belt 4 and the discharging belt 5. At this time, when the document set detection sensor 7 detects that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6, followed by reading and discharging operations as in the previous document. Is called. The photoelectric conversion unit 54 converts the document image into a binary signal in pixel units, and passes it to the printer engine unit as digitized image information.

The printer engine unit includes components of a writing optical system, an image forming system, and a fixing system.
In the writing optical system 57, laser light modulated from a laser diode (not shown) according to image information passed from the image input unit is emitted and optically scanned by the rotary polygon mirror 58 in the main scanning direction. In the course of scanning, the fθ lens 59 converts the constant angular velocity scanning into the constant velocity scanning, and is reflected by the reflection mirror 60 and reaches the image forming system.

  The image forming system includes a photoconductive photosensitive drum 15, a developing unit 27, a charging charger (not shown), a residual toner cleaning unit, a charge eliminating unit, and a conveying belt 16. In the image forming system, a laser beam modulated in accordance with image information reaches the photosensitive drum 15 so that a latent image is written on the photosensitive drum 15. The latent image written on the photosensitive drum 15 is developed with toner by the developing unit 27, and the toner image visualized by the development is transferred onto a sheet conveyed by a conveying belt 16 that rotates at the same speed as the photosensitive drum 15. Transcribed. This sheet is conveyed to a fixing system.

  The fixing system is a fixing unit 17 including a heating roller and a pressure roller (not shown), and the transferred image is fixed.

  The paper feed unit includes a first tray 8, a second tray 9, a third tray 10 on which paper is stacked, a first paper feed device 11 that transports paper, a second paper feed device 12, a third paper feed device 13, And the vertical transport unit 14, and the paper stored in any of the first to third trays 8, 9, 10 corresponds to the first to third paper feeders 11, 12, 13 and the vertical transport unit. 14 is conveyed to a position in contact with the photosensitive drum 15. This conveyance is performed in synchronization with the writing of image information to the photosensitive drum 15.

  The paper discharge unit includes a paper discharge unit 18 that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed, and a duplex unit 112 that forms an image on both sides by reversing and refeeding a sheet on which an image is formed on one side. The paper on which the image has been fixed by the fixing unit 17 is introduced into the paper discharge unit 18 and once transported to the duplex unit 112 by the transport roller 113. In the case of single-sided image formation, the paper is again introduced into the paper discharge unit 18 by the transport roller 114. Eject paper. In the case of double-sided image formation, the paper is further reversely conveyed by the feeding belt 111 and is again brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 15 to form an image on the other side. Thereafter, the paper is discharged from the paper discharge unit 18 through the same route.

  The large-capacity stacker 200 has an upper stacker tray 202 and a lower stacker tray 203. A sample tray 204 is provided at the top. These can be selectively used, and can be discharged to the post-processing apparatus 100 in the subsequent stage through the through-pass passage 201 without using any of them.

  The upper stacker tray 202 and the lower stacker tray 203 are provided with an open / close door (not shown) on the front surface. When the door is opened, the discharged paper can be taken out for each basket. The upper stacker tray 202 and the lower stacker tray 203 are provided with door opening sensors 207 and 208, paper presence / absence sensors 205 and 206, and paper full sensors 209 and 210, respectively, for opening / closing doors, paper presence / absence, and paper fullness. Detect state. The sample tray 204 is provided with a full detection sensor 211 to detect the full state of the paper.

  The finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus discharges the sheet discharged from the large-capacity stacker 200 by switching the switching plate 101 upward after passing through the punch unit 121 that punches the rear end portion of the sheet. Paper is discharged to the normal paper discharge tray 104 side by the roller 102 and the transport roller 103. Reference numeral 120 denotes an entrance roller, which can also function as a registration roller when punching.

  Further, by switching the switching plate 101 in the downward direction, the sheet is conveyed to the staple table 108 by the conveying rollers 105 and 107. Each time the sheet conveyed to the stapling stage 108 is discharged, the end face of the sheet is aligned by the jogger 109 for aligning the sheets, and is bound by the stapler 106 when one copy is completed. The paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the staple completion paper discharge tray 110 by its own weight.

  On the other hand, the paper discharge tray 104 is a normal paper discharge tray that can be moved back and forth. The paper discharge tray 104 moves back and forth for each original or each copy unit sorted by the image memory, and sorts the discharged paper.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram related to the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 401 includes an image input unit 402, an image printing unit 403, an image storage unit 404, an operation unit 405, and a control unit 406. An image input unit 402 is a document image input unit, and includes the reading unit (optical scanner) or a network I / F. The input image information is formed by the image output unit 403 or stored in the image storage unit 404. The image output unit 403 is a unit that forms an image based on the image information sent from the image input unit 402 or the image information read from the image storage unit 5, and corresponds to the printer engine unit described above. The image storage unit 404 is a volatile or non-volatile storage device and its driver, and stores the image information input by the image input unit 402. A non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk is desirable for reading out stored image information even after the device is turned off.

  The operation means 405 is a means for the user or operator to operate the apparatus. The sample output instruction operation, which will be described later, the specification of a part when outputting the same page at the time of sample output, and the page at regular intervals from the start of printing of the part It is also possible to specify the number of copies when outputting a sample, specify the number of copies when outputting a sample after a certain number of pages from the start of printing. The control unit 406 includes a microcomputer and controls the image input unit 402, the image output unit 403, and the image storage unit 404 in accordance with the contents instructed by the operation unit 405, and the control result and the state of the apparatus. It has a function of displaying on the display unit of the operation means 5. A computer program for realizing these functions is stored in a ROM (not shown) in the control unit 406, and control based on the program is executed by using a RAM (not shown) as a work area.

  FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the image printing unit 403. In the drawing, the white arrow indicates the sheet conveyance direction. A sheet is fed from a sheet feeding unit 407 corresponding to the above-described sheet feeding unit and conveyed to the image forming unit 408. The image forming unit 408 forms an image on a sheet using an image forming element such as an ink jet type or an electrophotographic type. The sheet on which the image forming unit 408 has formed an image is conveyed to a sheet discharge unit 409 including a plurality of sheet discharge trays, and is discharged to one of the sheet discharge trays.

  The inserter 410 is a kind of paper feeding means, but the paper fed from here is conveyed to the paper discharging means 409 without going through the image forming means 408. The inserter 410 is used to insert a sheet into a print job by setting a sheet on which an image is formed in advance or a blank sheet, and to provide a cover sheet or a slip sheet.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen portion of the operation means 405, and shows a screen example that enables sample output (trial print output). In the figure, when the user or operator selects the copy operation, this screen is displayed. Input such as paper determination, magnification determination, density determination, etc. is performed according to the display. Since the sample output key 415 is displayed at this time, this key 415 is turned on when performing sample output. Although not shown here, when the sample output key 415 is turned on, a key display for selecting the type of sample output is displayed, and the same page is output at the time of sample output from the key display and a numeric keypad (not shown). Specify the number of copies, specify the number of copies when samples are output at regular intervals from the start of printing, and specify the number of copies when samples of pages after a certain number of copies have been output from the start of printing. In this way, the user or operator can set in advance the sample output unit before outputting the sample.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure of the sample output process. In the sample output process, first, a “sample output target determination” process for determining a sheet to be a sample output target is executed (step S101). If the sample output target is determined (step S102—Yes), the target page Printing is performed and discharged to the sample output paper tray 204 (step S103). Each process such as the sample output process and the sample output determination process is performed by the microcomputer of the control unit 406 executing the computer program stored in the ROM as described above using the RAM as a work area.

  Hereinafter, the sample output target determination process in step S101 will be described for each embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the sample output target determination process according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 6 shows a processing procedure of a subroutine of “sample output target determination” processing in step S101 of FIG. In the figure, first, when printing the first copy of the first copy (step S201-Yes), a sample print counter (described as “sample counter” in the flowchart) is initialized to 0 (step S202). The sample print counter is incremented each time a sheet is fed (steps S203 and S204). When the sample print counter reaches 5 sheets (step S205-Yes), the next paper to be fed is set as a sample output target (step S206), and the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S207). . Here, the sample output interval is set to 5 sheets. However, the number of sheets may be any other number, and the user or the operator can arbitrarily input from the operation means 405 and set it.

  When the last page of the copy is printed before the sample print counter reaches five sample output intervals (No at Step S205) (Yes at Step S208), when the sample print is not printed at this portion (Step S209) -No) sets the next paper to be supplied as a sample output target (step S206), and initializes the sample print counter to 0 (step S207). If it is not the last page of the copy in step S208, and if the sample print has been printed in step S209, the process returns.

  In this example, the sample output target is the paper to be fed next, but it may be the first page of the copy or the page with the highest toner coverage ratio among all the pages.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of the printed matter, the sample print, and the sample print counter in the first embodiment. In this example, a job for printing two copies of four printed materials per copy is shown.

  First, before printing the first copy of the first copy, the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S202, C1). When the fourth page of the last page is printed (C2), the sample print counter is set to 4 (C3), but the sample output interval has not reached 5 (No in step S205), and the first copy is printed. Since the sample print is not output, the fourth sheet is printed as a sample print (steps S206, C4), and the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S207). The second copy is the same operation, and the fourth sheet is printed as a sample print. Finally, the fourth sheet of each part is output as a sample print.

  It should be noted that it is also possible to set the sample output from the operation means 405, the interval between the copies, the number of copies from the start of printing, the interval between these copies, and the like.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the sample output target determination process according to the second embodiment.

  FIG. 8 shows a processing procedure of a subroutine of “sample output target determination” processing in step S101 of FIG. In the figure, first, when printing the first sheet of a set (step S301-Yes), a sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S302). The sample print counter is incremented every time a sheet is fed (steps S303 and S304). When the sample print counter reaches 5 sheets (step S305-Yes), the next paper to be fed is set as a sample output target (step S306), and the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S306). S307). In this example, the sample output interval is set to five sheets as in the first embodiment. However, the user or the operator can arbitrarily input from the operation means 405 and set it.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of the printed matter, the sample print, and the sample print counter according to the second embodiment. In this example, a job for printing two copies of 12 printed materials per copy is shown.

  First, before printing the first copy of the first copy, the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (steps S302 and C11). Since the sample print counter becomes 5 when printing the fifth sheet (step S305-Yes, C12), the fifth sheet is printed as a sample print (steps S306, C13), and the sample print counter is set to 0. Initialization is performed (steps S307, C14). When the 10th sheet is printed next, the sample print counter becomes 5 (step S305-Yes, C15), the 10th sheet is printed as a sample print (steps S306, C16), and the sample print counter is set. It is initialized to 0 (steps S307, C17).

  When the 12th sheet of the last page of the first copy is printed (C18), the sample print counter is set to 2 (C19). Before printing the first copy of the second copy, the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S302), and printing is performed in the same manner as the first copy. Finally, the fifth and tenth sheets of each part are output as sample prints.

  As in the first embodiment, it is also possible to set the sample output portion from the operation means 405, the interval between the copies, the number of copies from the start of printing, the interval between these copies, and the like.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the sample output target determination process according to the third embodiment.

  FIG. 10 shows a processing procedure of a subroutine of “sample output target determination” processing in step S101 of FIG. In the figure, first, when printing the first copy of the first copy (step S401-Yes), the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S402). The sample print counter is incremented each time a sheet is fed (steps S403 and S404). When the number of sample print counters reaches five (step S405-Yes), the next paper to be fed is set as a sample output target (step S406), and the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S406). S407). In this example, the sample output interval is set to five sheets as in the first embodiment. However, the user or the operator can arbitrarily input from the operation means 405 and set it.

  When the last page is printed before the sample print counter reaches five sample output intervals (step S405-No) (step S408-Yes), when the sample print is printed in this portion (step S409-Yes), The sample print counter is initialized to 0 (step S407).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of the printed matter, the sample print, and the sample print counter according to the third embodiment. In this example, a job for printing four copies of four printed materials per copy is shown.

  First, before printing the first sheet of the first copy, the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (steps S402 and C21). When the fourth page of the last page is printed (C22), the sample print counter becomes 4 (C23), but since the sample output interval has not reached 5 sheets, the first copy does not output the sample print. .

  Since the sample print counter becomes 5 when printing the first copy of the second copy (step S405-Yes), the first print is printed as a sample print (steps S406, C25), and the sample print counter is set. It is initialized to 0 (step S407, C26). At the time when the fourth sheet of the last page of the second copy is printed (C27), the sample print counter is 3 (C28), but the sample print is printed on the second copy (step S408, In step S409, the sample print counter is initialized to 0 (steps S407 and C29).

  In the third copy, the sample print counter starts at 0 and ends at (C30) 4 (C31), and the sample print is not printed. For the fourth copy, the sample print counter starts from 4 (C32), so the operation is the same as the second copy, and the first copy (C33) of the fourth copy is printed as a sample print (C34). Eventually, the first copy of the second and fourth copies is output as a sample print.

  As in the first embodiment, it is also possible to set the sample output portion from the operation means 405, the interval between the copies, the number of copies from the start of printing, the interval between these copies, and the like.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
1) Since the sample output target determining means determines the image of the same page for each copy as the sample output target, even in the case of a job for printing a plurality of copies, it is easy to check the deterioration of the image quality by comparing the output products of the sample print. It becomes.
2) Since the sample output target determining means determines a page for every predetermined number of pages as the sample output target from the start of printing of each section, even in the case of a job for printing a plurality of copies, the output quality of the sample print is compared and the image quality deteriorates. It becomes easy to confirm.
3) Since the sample output target determination means determines a page after a certain number of copies from the start of printing for each fixed number of copies as a sample output target, even in the case of a job for printing a plurality of copies, the output samples are compared. Therefore, it is easy to check the deterioration of the image quality, and it is possible to prevent useless sample printing.
There are effects such as.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, It cannot be overemphasized that all the technical matters contained in the technical idea described in the claim are object.

1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between operation units of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the operation | movement process of the image output means in FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen part of the operation means in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a sample output process. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of sample output target determination processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of a printed matter, a sample print, and a sample print counter according to the first embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of sample output target determination processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of a printed matter, a sample print, and a sample print counter according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of sample output target determination processing according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of a printed matter, a sample print, and a sample print counter according to the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Post-processing equipment (finisher)
200 Stacker 204 Sample tray PR, 401 Image forming apparatus 402 Image input means 403 Image printing means 404 Image storage means 405 Operation means 406 Control means 409 Paper discharge means

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A print job execution means for executing the requested print job;
Sample output target determining means for determining the paper to be sample output;
Sample output means for discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sample output target determining unit determines an image of the same page in a preset portion as a sample output target. In an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A print job execution means for executing the requested print job;
Sample output target determining means for determining the paper to be sample output;
Sample output means for discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
The image output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sample output target determining unit determines a page for every predetermined number of pages as a sample output target from the start of printing of a predetermined set. In an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A print job execution means for executing the requested print job;
Sample output target determining means for determining the paper to be sample output;
Sample output means for discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
The sample output target determining unit determines a page after a predetermined number of copies from the start of printing for each preset number of copies as a sample output target. In a control method of an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A first step of executing the requested print job;
A second step of determining a sheet to be output as a sample;
A third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
In the second step, an image forming apparatus control method, wherein an image of the same page in a preset part is determined as a sample output target. In a control method of an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A first step of executing the requested print job;
A second step of determining a sheet to be output as a sample;
A third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
In the second step, a page for every predetermined number of pages is determined as a sample output target for a preset part from the start of printing of the part. In a control method of an image forming apparatus having a sample output function,
A first step of executing the requested print job;
A second step of determining a sheet to be output as a sample;
A third step of discharging one of the discharge outlets different from the print job discharge outlet as a sample output discharge outlet under the same conditions other than the discharge outlet;
With
In the second step, a page after a certain number of copies from the start of printing for each preset number of copies is determined as a sample output target.

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