JP2020024601A - Printing order control device, printing order control program, image forming device, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printing order control device capable of reducing the number of recording media going to waste due to a transportation failure occurring in the middle of printing processing of one set as compared when an order of printing processing of one set is not controlled, a printing order control program, an image forming device, and an image forming system.SOLUTION: A printing order control device comprises: a reception unit 31A which receives requests of a plurality of printing processing including printing processing with different printing conditions as a request of one set of printing processing requests; an occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B which acquires a transportation failure occurrence frequency for each of printing conditions about each printing processing included in a request of one set of printing processing; and a printing order control unit 31C which controls the order of each printing processing on the basis of each of the acquired occurrence frequencies so that a printing unit executes each printing processing in descending order of occurrence frequencies among printing conditions in the request of one set of printing processing received by the reception unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a print order control device, a print order control program, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming system.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an abnormality detecting unit that detects an abnormal operation of a device or a sheet conveyance abnormality, a control unit that stops the apparatus when the abnormality is detected by the detecting unit, and operation information of the device including the abnormality information. When the device stop information due to the same operation abnormality in the same mode job is stored in the storage device a plurality of times, the pattern is specified, and the job is prohibited or prohibited. An image forming apparatus management system that issues device operation management information that calls attention is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163873 includes a plurality of jam detection units that detect a jam that occurs on a paper conveyance path, stores print history information, and predicts the occurrence of a jam for a new print job based on the history information. A history information storage control unit configured to store, in a storage unit, a printing condition that has caused a jam of the print job when a jam occurs during execution of the print job; When the changed print condition satisfies a predetermined occurrence condition, a cause condition storage control unit that stores the print condition in the storage unit as a cause condition indicating a cause of the occurrence of the jam, and a cause condition when a new print job is input. A prediction unit that predicts the cause of the occurrence of the jam in the print job based on the condition that the prediction unit predicts the cause of the occurrence of the jam in the printing conditions of the new print job. In, and an image forming apparatus having a substitute printing condition determining means for determining a substitute printing condition for avoiding the cause of the jam with respect to the printing conditions of a new print job is disclosed.

  Patent Literature 3 discloses an output device information obtaining unit that obtains information on a current state of an image recording device that records an image on a recording medium, an input print job, and an accumulated print job. A job information acquisition unit for acquiring job information for determining the output order of jobs included in the print job; and a state of the image recording apparatus with respect to the image quality of the recorded image based on the job information and information on the state of the image recording apparatus. And a job editing unit that determines the output order of the print jobs stored in the job information acquisition unit and instructs the image recording apparatus to output the print jobs in the determined order so that the effect of the print job is minimized. A job management device is disclosed.

JP 2006-261901 A JP 2016-107599 A JP 2005-258956 A

  By the way, when printing an image on a plurality of recording media such as a plurality of sheets of paper, a plurality of printing processes for a plurality of recording media, in which a plurality of printing processes in which different printing conditions are mixed, are grouped together. A request for print processing may be made. For example, a plurality of printing processes for printing a plurality of images selected by the user on A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) size paper and L size (89 mm x 127 mm) size paper are grouped together. This is a case where a set of print processing requests is made. Here, the printing process includes a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium, which is performed along with the recording process.

  In an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that executes a printing process, for example, A4 size paper has a higher frequency of occurrence of a recording medium conveyance failure than L size paper, depending on printing conditions. However, the frequency of occurrence of a recording medium conveyance failure may be different. Here, the transport failure is a transport failure related to the transport processing, and means a so-called paper jam. The transport failure is a concept including at least one of a supply failure that is a paper jam that occurs when the paper is supplied, and a discharge failure that is a paper jam that occurs when the paper is discharged.

  In such a set of printing processes, a part of one set of printing processes is completed, but if a transport failure occurs in a state where a part of the printing processes is not completed, the entire set of printing processes must be restarted from the beginning. You may have to. In such a case, there is a problem that a recording medium such as paper for which the printing process is completed is wasted.

  The present disclosure relates to a print order control device that can reduce the number of wasteful recording media due to a conveyance failure that occurs during one set of print processing, compared to a case where the order of one set of print processing is not controlled, and a print order. It is an object to provide a control program, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printing sequence control device according to claim 1, wherein a printing process includes a printing process of printing an image on a printing medium, and a transport process of transporting the printing medium that is performed along with the printing process. And a receiving unit that receives a plurality of print processing requests including print processing with different print conditions as a set of print processing requests for causing the print unit to execute the print processing. An acquisition unit for acquiring the frequency of occurrence of a transport failure, the frequency of occurrence of a transport failure for each print condition for each print process included in a set of print processing requests, and a set of print processes received by a reception unit Is a control unit that controls the order of each printing process included in the request, and obtains each occurrence frequency so that each printing process is executed by the printing unit in the order in which the occurrence frequency is high in each printing condition. Based on the order of each printing process And and a control unit for controlling.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print order control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, one set of print processing is performed by a print service that provides a print set including a plurality of recording media on which images are recorded. The print service is a print service that allows a user who uses the print service to be charged when all of a set of print processes is completed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing order control apparatus according to the second aspect, the printing service has completed a part of a set of printing processes, but has not completed a part due to a transport failure. In the case of, the print service is a print service that is not provided to the user, but is collected by a provider that provides the print service, without providing the print medium for which print processing has been completed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing order control apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein a part of one set of printing processes is completed, but a part is not completed due to a transport failure. An output control unit that performs output control for presenting a message representing a condition of the service to the user, wherein the message is a first message indicating that the user is not charged if a part of the message is not completed; In addition, if a part of the recording medium has not been completed, at least one of the second messages indicating that the recording process is completed is not provided to the user but is collected by the provider.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print order control device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the control unit is configured to execute each print process request in a set of print processes received by the reception unit. If the change of the order is permitted, the order of each printing process is changed based on the frequency of occurrence.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the print order control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the printing unit executes the print processing, the history of the execution of the print processing and the history of the transport failure. Are obtained from the printing unit, and a recording unit that records the obtained history is provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printing order control device according to the sixth aspect, the control unit controls the order of the printing process for each of the printing units included in the plurality of image forming apparatuses. Then, the recording unit records a history for each image forming apparatus.

  The print order control device according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the print order control device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein the occurrence frequency is calculated based on the history of the print processing and the history of the transport failure recorded by the recording unit. It has a part.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the printing order control device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the acquisition unit can acquire the occurrence frequency of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses. The control unit controls the order of the printing process for each of the printing units included in the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and in controlling the order of the printing process, The order of print processing is controlled using the frequency of occurrence corresponding to the image forming apparatus that executes one set of print processing.

  Further, in order to achieve the above object, a print order control program according to claim 10 includes a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium executed in conjunction with the recording process. A receiving unit that receives a request for a plurality of printing processes including a printing process having different printing conditions as a request for a set of printing processes, the request being a printing process request for causing the printing unit to execute the printing process; An acquisition unit that acquires the frequency of occurrence of a transport failure according to the above, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the frequency of occurrence of a transport failure for each print condition for each print process included in a set of print process requests; A control unit that controls the order of each printing process included in the printing process request, and obtains each of the acquired occurrences so that each printing process is executed by the printing unit in the order of occurrence frequency in each printing condition. Based on frequency, A control unit for controlling the sequence of print processing, as it is the print order control apparatus comprising a, causes the computer to function.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 11 includes a printing order control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, a recording process for recording an image on a recording medium, and At least one printing unit that performs a printing process including a transport process of transporting a recording medium, which is performed along with the recording process.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, an image forming system according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention provides an image forming system including the print order control device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects and at least one image forming device An image forming apparatus configured to execute a printing process including a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium performed along with the recording process. It has.

  According to the inventions described in claims 1, 10, 11, and 12, a recording medium that is wasted due to a conveyance failure occurring in the middle of one set of print processing as compared with a case where the order of one set of print processing is not controlled Can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the print service provider can suppress costs that cannot be collected.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the user who uses the print service can reduce the psychological burden on the user.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the user who uses the print service can place an order after being satisfied with the conditions.

  According to the invention according to claim 5, it is possible to suppress a change contrary to the user's intention or the content of the print service.

  According to the invention according to claim 6, it is easy to update the occurrence frequency.

  According to the invention according to claim 7, it is easy to grasp the status of the occurrence frequency of a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  According to the invention according to claim 8, an external device for calculating the occurrence frequency is unnecessary.

  According to the ninth aspect, the order of the printing process can be appropriately controlled according to the difference in the occurrence frequency of the plurality of image forming apparatuses.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print set according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of the print set according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of a print order control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the print order control device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of an occurrence frequency table concerning a 1st embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing of a print service according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of print order control according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a history recording unit and an occurrence frequency calculation unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming system according to a second embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the history information table concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of an occurrence frequency table concerning a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a use example of the image forming system according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a print order control device, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

"First Embodiment"
FIG. 1 shows an image forming system 10 as an example of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 10 includes an image forming apparatus 12 and a control device 11 for controlling the image forming apparatus 12. The image forming system 10 is installed in a store 14 such as a convenience store, for example, and provides a print service for printing an image on a sheet, which is an example of a recording medium, to the user U.

  The image forming system 10 is communicably connected to the content management server 13. The content management server 13 manages an image printable by the image forming system 10 as an example of the content so that the image can be distributed. The content management server 13 is connected to, for example, each of the image forming systems 10 installed in a plurality of stores 14 via, for example, a communication line.

  The content management server 13 has a content DB (database) 13A in which images are stored. A plurality of images are stored in the content DB 13A. The images include, for example, documents, photographs, illustrations, and patterns.

  The print service provided by the image forming system 10 is, for example, a content print service. In the content printing service, for example, when accepting an order, a plurality of images in the content DB 13A are presented to the user U, and a favorite image of the user U is selected from the presented images. Then, the selected image is printed on paper, and the printed matter 16 on which the image is printed is provided to the user U.

  The fee for the print service is determined according to, for example, the type of image, the type of paper, and the size of paper selected by the user U, the number of prints 16, and the like. The image forming system 10 is provided with a fee collection device 15 that collects a fee for a print service as an auxiliary device of the control device 11. The fee collection device 15 accepts money and bills inserted by the user U who has ordered the printing service. Then, if there is a change, the fee collection device 15 returns the change and collects a fee corresponding to the amount transmitted from the control device 11 as a fee for the print service. When the fee collection is completed, the fee collection device 15 notifies the control device 11 of the completion of the collection. When the control device 11 receives the notification of the collection completion, the control device 11 provides the print service for which the order has been received. If the charge cannot be collected, the control device 11 stops providing the print service.

  As an example of the content print service, there is a service that provides a print set 17 in which a plurality of printed materials 16 are grouped.

  FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show an example of the print set 17. Here, when it is necessary to distinguish the individual print sets 17, a description will be made by attaching alphabetical subdivisions such as A and B after the numerals. When it is not necessary to distinguish the individual print sets 17, description will be made by simply attaching a numeral code without attaching a subdivision code. The same applies to the printed matter 16.

  The print set 17A shown in FIG. 2 is a set of the printed matter 16A and the printed matter 16B. The printed matter 16A is a printed matter in which a photograph image of an athlete, for example, a soccer player is recorded on an L-size (89 mm × 127 mm) photo paper of a so-called photograph size. The printed matter 16B is a printed matter in which an image related to the printed matter 16A is printed on plain paper of A4 (210 mm × 297 mm) size. The image of the printed matter 16B includes, for example, a background image on which a design including a logo mark and an image color of the team to which the soccer player belongs is drawn and which is recorded on the printed matter 16A, and an explanatory note indicating the profile of the soccer player. It is.

  The print set 17B shown in FIG. 3 is a set of the printed matter 16C and the printed matter 16D. The printed matter 16C is a printed matter in which an image of a portrait photograph of a great man in history is recorded on L-size (89 mm x 127 mm) photo paper. The printed matter 16D is a printed matter in which an image of an explanatory note indicating a profile of a great person of the printed matter 16A, such as the name, history, and achievements, is printed on plain paper of A4 (210 mm × 297 mm) size.

  As described above, an example of the print set 17 includes a set of a person and a description related to the person. The person may be an idol, a singer, an actor, etc., regardless of the athlete or historical great. In the print set 17, as a printed matter to be combined with a printed matter in which an idol photographic image is recorded, a wrapping paper on which an idol name and a logo mark are printed may be considered.

Here, the plain paper, for example, the basis weight refers to a paper ^{82g / m 2 ~105g / m 2} . The photographic paper refers to, for example, a paper that has been subjected to a process for improving the appearance for photography, such as applying a gloss process to the recording surface. Photographic paper also includes photographic paper on which a photosensitive material is applied on a support.

In addition, types of paper include thin paper thinner than plain paper and thick paper thicker than plain paper. Herein, the thin paper, for example, basis weight refers to the paper ^{52g / m 2 ~81g / m 2} , cardboard and, for example a basis weight refers to paper ^{106g / m 2 ~121g / m 2} .

  In the present example, the print service of the print set 17 is charged to the user U who uses the print service when all of one set of print processing corresponding to one set of printed matter 16 is completed in the image forming apparatus 12. Is a printing service that enables

  In the print service of the print set 17, in the image forming apparatus 12, a part of one set of print processing may be completed, but a part may not be completed. In such a case, the print service of the print set 17 of the present example is not provided to the user U, but is collected by the provider that provides the print service, even for the printed matter 16 including the paper 18 for which the print processing has been completed. Service. An example of the cause of the partial incompleteness includes a transport failure in the image forming apparatus 12 described later.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of an electrical configuration of the image forming system 10 according to the present embodiment. The control device 11 is configured by a general-purpose computer such as a server computer and a personal computer, for example. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 11 includes a main control unit 110, a communication unit 112, a touch panel display 116, and an external I / F (Interface) 118.

  The main control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 120, a memory 122, a storage device 124, a bus line 126, and an I / O (input / output interface) 128. The CPU 120, the memory 122, and the storage device 124 are connected via a bus line 126. An I / O 128 is connected to the bus line 126.

 The CPU 120 controls the entire control device 11. The memory 122 is a volatile memory used as a work area when various programs are executed, and an example of the memory 122 is a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage device 124 stores, for example, a program for controlling a basic operation of the control device 11 and data such as various parameters. Examples of the storage device 124 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a flash memory.

  The communication unit 112 is connected to the I / O 128 and the communication network 129. The communication unit 112 controls transmission and reception of information via the communication network 129. The communication network 129 includes a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, a WAN (Wide Area Network) using a public telephone line or a dedicated line, and the like.

  The external I / F (Interface) 118 is an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. A peripheral device such as a USB memory is connected to the external I / F 118.

  The touch panel display 116 is connected to the I / O 128, and displays various information including an operation screen configuring a GUI (Graphical User Interface) under the control of the CPU 120. In addition, the touch panel display 116 also functions as an input device for receiving an input of an operation instruction from the user U through the operation screen.

  The touch panel display 116 is connected to the I / O 128, and the CPU 120 receives various operation instructions through the touch panel display 116.

  The storage device 124 stores an application program (AP) 130. The AP 130 includes a print order control program 130A (see FIG. 6) that causes a computer to function as the control device 11. The print order control program 130A is an example of an embodiment of a program according to the present invention.

  The content management server 13 is also configured by a general-purpose computer such as a server computer, for example. An example of the electrical configuration of the content management server 13 is also the same as that of the control device 11, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the content management server 13, for example, a content DB 13A is stored in an internal storage device. The content management server 13 distributes a list of contents stored in the content DB 13A to the control device 11. Further, it receives a content distribution request from the control device 11 and distributes the requested content to the control device 11.

  As the content management server 13, a network storage device accessible via the communication network 129 may be used instead of a general-purpose computer. Examples of the network storage device include NAS (Network Attached Storage) and SAN (Storage Area Network). Further, the content DB 13A can be stored in the storage device 124 of the control device 11 without using the content management server 13.

  The image forming device 12 is communicably connected to the control device 11. The image forming apparatus 12 is connected to, for example, an external I / F 118 of the control device 11. The image forming apparatus 12 receives a print processing request from the control device 11 and executes the received print processing.

  The image forming apparatus 12 includes a printing unit 21 and a printing control unit 22. The printing section 21 includes an image recording section 21A, a transport section 21B, a supply tray 21C, and a discharge tray 21D.

  The image recording unit 21A executes, for example, a recording process of recording an image on a sheet 18 as a recording medium by a laser method. The image recording unit 21A includes a photosensitive drum, a laser light source, a toner supply unit, a transfer roller, and the like. The laser type recording processing includes, for example, a charging step, an exposure step, a development step, and a transfer step. The charging step is a step of charging the photosensitive drum. The exposure step is a step of exposing the charged photosensitive drum by irradiating it with laser light to form a latent image corresponding to an image to be recorded. The developing step is a step of attaching toner to a portion of the photosensitive drum irradiated with the laser beam. The transfer step is a step of transferring the toner adhered to the photosensitive drum to the paper 18.

  The image recording unit 21A is not limited to the laser type, but may be a sublimation type thermal transfer type or an ink jet type. Note that the image forming apparatus 12 may include a plurality of such various image recording units 21A. In this case, for example, a plurality of image recording units 21A are accommodated in one housing of the image forming apparatus 12. Further, when the image forming apparatus 12 includes a plurality of image recording units 21A, the image forming apparatus 12 may include a supply tray, a transport unit, and a discharge tray for each of the various image recording units 21A.

  The paper 18 is stored in the supply tray 21C, and the paper 18 is supplied from the supply tray 21C to the transport unit 21B. The transport section 21B has a transport path for transporting the sheet 18 in the order of the supply tray 21C, the image recording section 21A, and the discharge tray 21D, and transport rollers for transporting the sheet 18 in the transport path. The transport unit 21B performs a transport process of transporting the sheet 18 as a recording medium along with the recording process performed by the image recording unit 21A.

  A plurality of supply trays 21C are provided according to the size or type of paper 18, such as a supply tray 21C for A4 size plain paper and a supply tray 21C for L-size photographic paper. For example, a plurality of discharge trays 21 </ b> D may be provided depending on the type of paper 18.

  The printing unit 21 performs a printing process including a recording process performed by the image recording unit 21A and a transport process performed by the transport unit 21B.

  The print control unit 22 receives, from the control device 11, a request for print processing to be executed by the print unit 21. The print processing request includes print conditions in addition to the image data to be recorded on the paper 18. The image data is converted, for example, by the control device 11 into print data in a format that can be handled by the image forming device 12, and the print control unit 22 receives the converted print data.

  The printing conditions include information such as the type and size of the paper 18, whether the printing is color printing or monochrome printing, whether the recording surface is double-sided or single-sided (double-sided printing or single-sided printing), and whether or not there is a page aggregation designation. It is included. In addition to the above, the printing conditions include, for example, designation of the printing direction (vertical or horizontal). Here, page consolidation refers to consolidating images divided into a plurality of pages on electronic data so as to fit on one sheet of paper 18. The print control unit 22 performs overall control of each unit of the printing unit 21 so as to cause the printing unit 21 to execute the received printing process according to the printing condition included in the received request for the printing process.

  As shown in FIG. 5 as an example, when executing the print order control program 130A, the CPU 120 functions as a receiving unit 31A, an occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B, a print order control unit 31C, a content acquisition unit 31D, and a request transmission unit 31E. .

  The receiving unit 31A receives an order for a print service from the user U via the touch panel display 116. When accepting an order for the content printing service, the accepting unit 31A controls the touch panel display 116 to display a selectable content list. The receiving unit 31A receives an order for a content printing service from the user U through the content list.

  The receiving unit 31A transmits the received order details to each unit. For example, the receiving unit 31A transmits the amount of the fee corresponding to the content of the received order to the fee collecting device 15.

  When the receiving unit 31A receives the order of the content print service of the print set 17 including the plurality of printed materials 16 instead of the single printed material 16, the receiving unit 31A performs the processing of the plurality of sheets included in the print set 17. A plurality of print processing requests corresponding to the respective printed materials 16 are received as one set of print processing requests (hereinafter, referred to as one set of print requests) 41. One set of print requests 41 includes print conditions for each print process and information on the selected image.

  For example, a set of print requests 41 corresponding to the print set 17 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes requests for a plurality of print processes P1 and P2, as shown in FIG. Each of the printing processes P1 and P2 includes a printing condition and information of a selected image. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the printing conditions of the printing processes P1 and P2 are different.

  In FIG. 5, in a printing process P1, the image to be recorded is an image C11, the printing condition is that the sheet 18 is L-size photographic paper, the recording surface is one side, and the printing process P2 is that the image to be recorded is an image C12. The printing condition is that the paper 18 is A4 plain paper and the recording surface is one side.

  The occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B is a frequency of occurrence of a transport failure related to the transport processing performed by the transport unit 21B in the printing unit 21 and is included in a set of print requests 41 such as the print processes P1 and P2. The frequency of occurrence of a transport failure for each printing condition in the printing process is acquired.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the print order control program 130A includes an occurrence frequency table 130B. The occurrence frequency table 130B is a table in which the correspondence between the printing conditions and the occurrence frequency of the transport failure is recorded in advance. The occurrence frequency table 130B records, for example, in the descending order of the occurrence frequency of the transport failure for each printing condition.

  The frequency of occurrence of the transport failure varies depending on the type of the paper 18, and even with the same paper 18, it depends on various printing conditions such as whether the recording surface is a single-sided single-sided print or a double-sided double-sided print. Change.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the printing condition with the highest occurrence frequency is a case where the sheet 18 is A4 size plain paper, monochrome printing, the recording surface is both sides, and there is no page aggregation. The printing condition with the second highest occurrence frequency is the case where the paper 18 is monochrome printing of A4 size plain paper, single-sided printing, and no page aggregation. The third most frequently occurring printing condition is when the paper 18 is an L-size photo paper in color printing, single-sided printing, and no page aggregation.

  The frequency of occurrence is expressed, for example, as a ratio of the number of times of occurrence of a transport failure to the number of times of executing print processing under the same printing conditions. For example, if the printing process under the same printing conditions is executed 100 times, and a transport failure occurs four times, the occurrence frequency is 4/100 × 100 = 4%. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the frequency of occurrence of the first place is 4.5%, the frequency of occurrence of the second place is 2.9%, and the frequency of occurrence of the third place is 0.5%.

  The occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B acquires each printing condition specified in a plurality of print processes (for example, print processes P1 and P2) included in a set of print requests 41 received by the reception unit 31A, and generates an occurrence frequency table 130B. , The occurrence frequency corresponding to the acquired printing condition is acquired. The occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B transmits the acquired occurrence frequency to the print order control unit 31C.

  The print order control unit 31C is a control unit that controls the order of each print process included in a set of print requests 41 received by the reception unit 31A. More specifically, the print order control unit 31C performs printing based on each of the acquired occurrence frequencies so that each print process is executed by the printing unit 21 in the order of the highest occurrence frequency among the printing conditions. Control the order of processing. The print order control unit 31C is an example of a control unit.

  When the receiving unit 31A receives a set of print requests 41, the print order control unit 31C sends the frequency of occurrence of transport failures of a plurality of print processes in the set of print requests 41 to the occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B. Request acquisition of

  In the image forming apparatus 12, the order in which the plurality of print processes in the set of print requests 41 are executed is determined, for example, by the order of the print processes transmitted from the control device 11. Therefore, in this example, the printing order control unit 31C controls the order of each printing process by determining the order of transmission to the image forming apparatus 12 in the order of occurrence frequency.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, in one set of print requests 41, in the printing process P1, the paper 18 is L-size photo paper, and in the printing process P2, the paper 18 is A4-size plain paper. According to the example of the occurrence frequency table 130 </ b> B illustrated in FIG. 6, the printing process P <b> 2 is higher than the printing process P <b> 1 when the frequency of occurrence of the transport failure is compared for each printing condition of the printing process P <b> 1 and the printing process P <b> 2. Therefore, the printing order control unit 31C determines the transmission order to the image forming apparatus 12 as the first printing process P2 and the second printing process P1. The printing order control unit 31C transmits the determined order to the request transmitting unit 31E.

  In response to the request from the request transmission unit 31E, the content acquisition unit 31D acquires the data of the image selected in the print request received by the reception unit 31A from the content DB 13A, and transmits the data to the request transmission unit 31E.

  When receiving the signal indicating that the fee collection has been completed from the fee collection device 15, the request transmission unit 31E instructs the image forming apparatus 12 to execute a printing process. Specifically, the request transmission unit 31E converts the image data acquired from the content acquisition unit 31D into print data that can be handled by the image forming apparatus 12. Then, the request transmitting unit 31E instructs the execution of the print processing by transmitting the request for the print processing to the image forming apparatus 12 together with the data of the converted image.

  When the print request is a set of print requests 41, the request transmitting unit 31E acquires order information of a plurality of print processes in the set of print requests 41 from the print order control unit 31C. The request transmission unit 31E transmits a plurality of print processing requests included in a set of print requests 41 to the image forming apparatus 12 according to the order information acquired from the print order control unit 31C.

  In the example of FIG. 5, requests for a plurality of print processes P1 and P2 in a set of print requests 41 are transmitted to the image forming apparatus 12 in the order of the print processes P2 and P1.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming system 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in step S1001, the image forming system 10 displays a print service order reception screen on the touch panel display 116 during operation, and waits for a print service order from the user U. During operation, the image forming system 10 ends standby if the end condition is satisfied (Y in step S1007), and continues to wait for an order while the end condition is not satisfied (N in step S1007). Here, the termination condition includes a condition that a termination instruction is input from the operator to the image forming system 10, a condition that the image forming system 10 detects an abnormal state, and forcibly enters a termination process, and the like. .

  If there is an order for the print service from the user U in step S1001 (Y in step S1001), the receiving unit 31A receives the order and proceeds to step S1002. In step S1002, the receiving unit 31A determines whether the received order is an order for the print set 17 or an order for a normal single printed matter.

  In the case of an order for a normal single printed matter (N in step S1002), the receiving unit 31A instructs the request transmitting unit 31E to process a print request according to the contents of the order. The request transmission unit 31E acquires the selected image through the content acquisition unit 31D, and instructs the image forming apparatus 12 to execute a printing process (step S1006).

  On the other hand, if the received order is an order for the print set 17 in step S1002, the accepting unit 31A accepts a print processing request for a plurality of printed materials as a set of print requests 41, as shown in step S1003. .

  In this case, in step S1004, the print order control unit 31C acquires the occurrence frequency of the transport failure according to the printing condition of each print process in the set of print requests 41 through the occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B. The printing order control unit 31C determines the printing order of a plurality of printing processes in descending order of the acquired occurrence frequency (step S1005). The printing order control unit 31C transmits the determined order information to the request transmitting unit 31E.

  The request transmitting unit 31E performs a plurality of print processes (such as the print processes P1 and P2 illustrated in FIG. 5) included in the set of print requests 41 according to the order information received from the print order control unit 31C. The image forming apparatus 12 is instructed to execute a plurality of printing processes.

  The image forming apparatus 12 executes a printing process of printing the designated image on the sheet 18 and outputting a printed material in the order of the received printing processes. The printed matter printed by the image forming apparatus 12 is provided to the user U who has ordered the print service. In the case of ordering the print set 17, a print set 17 including a plurality of printed materials 16 is provided to the user U.

  In the image forming apparatus 12, when a conveyance failure of the paper 18 occurs during the printing process, the printing process is interrupted, and a warning is output to perform the failure recovery work. When the image forming apparatus 12 is installed in the store 14 as in the present example, for example, the staff of the store 14 handles the failure recovery work.

  In a set of print processes corresponding to a set of print requests 41, a part has been completed, but a part has not been completed due to a conveyance failure. Instead of being provided, it is collected by a print service provider such as the staff of the store 14. In this case, the user U is not charged because the entire printing process is not completed, and the fee charged to the fee collection device 15 is refunded to the user U.

  In step S1008, the image forming system 10 waits for the next order until the end condition is satisfied (N in step S1008). When the end condition is satisfied (Y in step S1008), the image forming system 10 waits for the order. finish.

  In the image forming system 10 of the present example, the number of sheets of paper 18 wasted due to a conveyance failure generated during one set of print processing is reduced as compared with a case where the order of one set of print processing is not controlled.

  That is, in the present example, in the case of ordering the print set 17, the printing service is not completed unless all the printing processes (printing process P1 and printing process P2) included in the order are completed. Therefore, as described above, if a conveyance failure occurs in the middle of one set of printing processes P1 and P2, a part of the printing process is completed, and the remaining is not completed, the completed printed matter 16 is Collected by staff at the store 14. Since the collected printed matter 16 is discarded, consumables such as paper 18 and toner are wasted. As described above, in the case of ordering the print set 17, a part of the printed matter 16 on which the print processing has been completed will be wasted unless all the print processing is completed.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, when an order for the print set 17 is received, the image forming apparatus 12 executes each print process in the order of the print process P2 and the print process P1. In this example, the frequency of occurrence of the transport failure is higher in the printing process P2 than in the printing process P1. Therefore, at the time when the printing process P2 is successfully completed without causing a conveyance failure in the printing process P2, the printing process P1 is executed first, and the next printing process P2 is left as compared with the case where the printing process P2 is left. The probability that the printing process P1 is completed successfully is high.

  In other words, when the print processing is executed in the order of occurrence frequency of the transport failure, the print processing is performed earlier in the entire set of print processing, for example, as compared with the case where the transport failure occurs in the last print processing. There is a high probability that a transport failure will occur. Therefore, controlling the order of the printing process as in this example completes a part of the printing process, but causes the remaining printing process to fail due to a conveyance failure, as compared with a case where the order of the printing process is not controlled. Incomplete cases are reduced. As described above, in this case, the completed printed matter 16 is also collected and wasted. Therefore, if the order of one set of print processing is controlled in accordance with the frequency of occurrence of the conveyance failure as in this example, compared to the case where the order of one set of print processing is not controlled, Reduces the number of sheets of paper 18 that are wasted due to the conveyance failure generated in step (1).

  Further, as shown in this example, in the case where the print service is a print service that allows the user U to be charged when all of one set of print processing is completed, the cost that cannot be collected due to a transport failure is suppressed. You. That is, for example, when a transport failure occurs at the end of a plurality of print processes included in one set, the print service provider collects the cost of consumables such as paper 18 and toner consumed in the print processes up to that time. Can not do. Therefore, if a transport failure occurs at an early stage, the cost that cannot be collected is suppressed as compared with a case where a transport failure occurs at a late stage.

  In the printing service of the present example, if a part of one set of printing processing is completed, but part of the printing processing is not completed due to a transport failure, the printing service is performed on the completed paper 18 (printed material 16). Are not provided to the user U because the print service provider collects them. Then, even if, for example, an image that the user does not want to be seen by others is printed on the printed matter 16 printed before the conveyance failure occurs, the image is passed to the provider. Depending on the user U, psychological resistance to such a situation may be felt strongly. The user U who feels such a situation may give up the refund and avoid the situation where the printed matter 16 is collected. Exists.

  As shown in the present embodiment, if the order of a set of printing processes is controlled in accordance with the frequency of occurrence of a transport failure, the probability that a transport failure will occur at an earlier stage is reduced as compared to a case where such control is not performed. Get nervous. As a result, a part of the completed printed matter 16 is prevented from reaching the hands of the print service provider, and the psychological burden on the user U is reduced.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration shown in FIG. 8 may be added. In FIG. 8, output control unit 31F controls display on touch panel display 116. The output control unit 31F performs output control for presenting a preset message to the user on the screen 116A of the touch panel display 116 when the reception unit 31A receives a set of print requests 41.

  As shown as an example in FIG. 8, the message displayed on the screen 116A is a condition of the print service when a part of one set of print processing is completed, but a part is not completed due to a transport failure. Is a message representing This message includes at least one of a first message and a second message. The first message is, for example, a message indicating that the user U will not be charged if a part of one set of printing processes is not completed. The second message is collected by the print service provider without providing to the user U, even if a part of the printing process is not completed, even the part of the paper 18 on which the printing process is completed is not provided. Is a message indicating that the

  The user U confirms the condition by seeing the message indicating the condition of the print service.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the printing order control unit 31 </ b> C, based on the frequency of occurrence, changes the order of each printing process in a set of printing requests 41 received by the receiving unit 31 </ b> A. Alternatively, the order of each printing process may be changed.

  In this case, for example, when the receiving unit 31A receives a set of print requests 41, the receiving unit 31A checks whether or not there is a print processing order designation 42 according to the content of the received print requests 41. The order designation 42 is designated as “present” when, for example, the images printed on the plurality of printed materials 16 in the print set 17 are continuous in content. When the order designation 42 is “present”, the change of the order of the print processing is prohibited.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the order designation 42 is “present” as in a set of print requests 41A, the print order control unit 31C does not change the order. The print order control unit 31C transmits the order information to the request transmission unit 31E so that the print processes P1 and P2 are executed in the order specified by the order specification 42.

  On the other hand, when the order designation 42 is “none” as in a set of print requests 41B, the print order control unit 31C performs the print processing in the descending order of the occurrence frequency according to the occurrence frequency of the transport failure. , Print processes P1 and P2 are determined. Then, the determined order information is transmitted to the request transmitting unit 31E.

  In this way, in a set of print processing requests, if the change of the order of the print processing is prohibited, the order is not changed, and if the change of the order of the print processing is permitted, the change of the order is not performed. Since it is performed, a change contrary to the intention of the user U or the content of the print service is suppressed.

  In the case where the change of the order of the print processing is permitted, as in the above example, when the information “None” is clearly defined in the order designation 42 included in the set of print requests 41, In addition, the case where there is no information of the order designation 42 itself is also included.

"Second embodiment"
FIG. 10 shows an image forming system 60 according to a second embodiment, which is an example of the embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system 60 according to the second embodiment differs from the image forming system 10 according to the first embodiment in that the control device 11 includes a history recording unit 31G and an occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H. Since other configurations are the same as those of the image forming system 10, the following description focuses on the differences and omits the common points.

  The history recording unit 31 </ b> G records an execution history that is a history of performing a printing process in the image forming apparatus 12 and a failure history that is a history of a transport failure that has occurred in the image forming apparatus 12.

  When the printing unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 12 performs the printing process, the history recording unit 31G acquires both the execution history and the failure history from the printing unit 21 through the print control unit 22 for each type of the paper 18. . Then, the history recording unit 31G records the acquired execution history and failure history in, for example, the storage device 124.

  The storage device 124 stores a history information table 130C in addition to the occurrence frequency table 130B as data attached to a print order control program which is an example of the AP 130.

  The history recording unit 31G records an execution history in the history information table 130C every time a printing process is executed in the printing unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 12. This execution history records the type of paper 18, the size of paper 18, and printing conditions such as double-sided printing or single-sided printing. The history recording unit 31G records a failure history in the history information table 130C every time a transport failure occurs.

  The occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H reads the execution history and the failure history from the history information table 130 recorded by the history recording unit 31G, and calculates the occurrence frequency based on the read execution history and the failure history. As described above, the occurrence frequency is the ratio of the transport failure that occurs to the number of executions. The calculated occurrence frequency is recorded in the occurrence frequency table 130B.

  In the second embodiment, the history recording unit 31G records information necessary for calculating the occurrence frequency, such as the execution history and the failure history of the image forming apparatus 12, every time the printing process is performed. It's easy to do.

  In addition, since the control device 11 includes the occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H, an external device for calculating the occurrence frequency is not required.

  In the present example, an example has been described in which the history information table 130C is stored in the storage device 124 which is a storage device existing inside the control device 11. However, the history information table 130C may be stored in an external storage device connected to the control device 11 by a communication cable or a communication line.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the image forming system 60 may include a plurality of image forming apparatuses 12. In this case, for example, the printing order control unit 31C of the control device 11 controls the order of the printing process for each of the printing units 21 included in the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12. Further, for example, the history recording unit 31G records an execution history and a failure history for each image forming apparatus 12.

  In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the history information table 130C has a history information table for each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12 (“apparatus A”, “apparatus B”, “apparatus C”...). Generated. The history recording unit 31G records the execution history and the failure history of each image forming apparatus 12 in each history information table.

  This makes it easier for the control device 11 to grasp the frequency of occurrence of transport failures of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12.

  When the execution history and the failure history for each image forming apparatus 12 are recorded in the history information table 130C as shown in FIG. 12, the occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H also calculates the occurrence frequency for each image forming apparatus 12. . Specifically, the occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H reads the execution history and the failure history for each image forming apparatus 12 from the history information table 130C illustrated in FIG. Then, the occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H calculates the occurrence frequency for each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12 (“apparatus A”, “apparatus B”, “apparatus C”...) Based on the read execution history and failure history. calculate. The occurrence frequency calculation unit 31H records the occurrence frequency calculated for each image forming apparatus 12 in the occurrence frequency table 130B for each apparatus as shown in FIG.

  In this case, for example, the process when the receiving unit 31A receives a set of print requests 41 is as follows. When one control device 11 controls the order of print processing in each of the plurality of image forming devices 12 as in the image forming system 60, for example, the reception unit 31A receives a set of print requests 41 received by the reception unit 31A. Each time, the image forming apparatus 12 for executing the printing process is determined.

  When controlling the order of a plurality of print processes in a set of print requests 41, the print order control unit 31C requests the occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B to acquire the occurrence frequency for each print condition of each print process. I do. In this case, the printing order control unit 31C requests the occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B to specify the image forming apparatus 12 determined by the reception unit 31A and to acquire the occurrence frequency corresponding to the specified image forming apparatus 12. I do.

  The occurrence frequency acquiring unit 31B acquires the occurrence frequency of the designated printing condition from the occurrence frequency table corresponding to the designated image forming apparatus 12, and sends the acquired occurrence frequency to the printing order control unit 31C.

  The print order control unit 31C acquires the occurrence frequency corresponding to the designated image forming apparatus 12 from the occurrence frequency acquisition unit 31B, and controls the order of one set of print processing using the acquired occurrence frequency.

  Accordingly, the order of the print processing is appropriately controlled according to the difference in the frequency of occurrence of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example of the image forming system in which the control device 11 and the image forming device 12 are separately provided has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 14, at least one printing unit 21 is provided. The control device 11 may be built in the image forming device 12.

  In addition, the image forming system 10 or the image forming system 60 has been described as being installed in a store 14 such as a convenience store, but as shown in FIG. It may be set in the office 70 or the like.

  Even when the image forming system 10 is installed in the office 70, there may be a case where a plurality of print processing requests such as the print set 17 are received and processed as a set of print processing requests. Therefore, even when the image forming system 10 is installed in the office 70, compared to a case where the order of one set of print processing is not controlled, if the print processing is executed in the order of higher occurrence frequency in one set of print processing, In this case, a transport failure is likely to occur at an early stage. For example, a countermeasure such as causing the other image forming apparatuses 12 to process the remaining print processing or sharing one set of print processing by the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12 is performed at an early stage. Therefore, the completion time of the entire printing process is also shortened.

  In the above-described embodiment, the paper 18 is described as an example of the recording medium. However, the recording medium is not limited to the paper 18 but may be a thin plastic sheet. Further, in a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an image for decoration may be printed on a surface opposite to a data recording surface. In such a case, recording media such as CDs and DVDs are also included in the recording media.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the occurrence probability is described as an example of the occurrence frequency of the transport failure. However, as the occurrence frequency, an evaluation value such as high, medium, or low may be used in addition to the occurrence probability.

As described above, the embodiment has exemplified and described the control device 11 as an example of the printing order control device, the image forming system 10 including one control device 11 and at least one image forming device 12, and the printing order control program. . The embodiment may be in the form of a computer-readable storage medium storing a print order control program. Examples of the storage medium include an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM (Read-Only Memory) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM, or a semiconductor memory such as a USB memory and a memory card. Further, the program may be obtained from an external device via a communication line.

  The configurations of the print order control device, the image forming device, the print order control program, and the image forming system described in the above embodiment are merely examples, and may be changed according to circumstances without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The processing flow described in the above embodiment is also an example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be changed without departing from the gist of the processing.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which, by executing a program, various processing units (accepting unit, acquisition unit, control unit, and the like) according to the embodiment are realized in cooperation with a CPU and software. Not limited to this. The various processing units according to the embodiment may be realized by, for example, a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array) and hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

10, 60 Image forming system 11 Control device 12 Image forming device 13 Content management server 13A Content DB
14 Store 15 Charge collection device 16, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D Printed matter 17, 17A, 17B Print set 18 Paper 21 Print unit 21A Image recording unit 21B Transport unit 21C Supply tray 21D Eject tray 22 Print control unit 31A Acceptance unit 31B Frequency acquisition unit 31C Printing order control unit 31D Content acquisition unit 31E Request transmission unit 31F Output control unit 31G History recording unit 31H Occurrence frequency calculation units 41, 41A, 41B Print request 42 Order designation 70 Office 110 Main control unit 112 Communication unit 116 Touch panel Display 116A Screen 118 External I / F
122 memory 124 storage device 126 bus line 129 communication network 130 history information table 130A print order control program 130B occurrence frequency table 130C history information tables P1, P2 print processing U user

Claims (12)

A request for a printing process for causing a printing unit to execute a printing process including a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium, which is performed along with the recording process, and includes a printing process. A receiving unit that receives a plurality of print processing requests including print processing with different conditions as a set of print processing requests;
An acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency of occurrence of the transport failure related to the transport processing, and to obtain an occurrence frequency of the transport failure for each of the printing conditions for each of the print processes included in the set of print processing requests;
A control unit configured to control an order of each of the print processes included in the set of print processes received by the reception unit, wherein the print processes are performed in a descending order of the occurrence frequency among the print conditions. Is executed by the printing unit, based on each of the acquired occurrence frequencies, a control unit that controls the order of each of the printing processes,
A printing order control device comprising: The one set of print processing is a print processing in a print service that provides a print set including the plurality of recording media on which the images are recorded,
The print order control device according to claim 1, wherein the print service is a print service capable of charging a user who uses the print service when all of the one set of print processing is completed.   The print service completes a part of the set of print processing, but when the part of the print processing is not completed due to the conveyance failure, the print service is also performed by the user. The print order control device according to claim 2, wherein the print order control device is a print service that is collected by a provider that provides the print service without being provided. An output for performing output control for presenting a message representing a condition of the print service to a user when a part of the one set of print processing is completed, but a part is not completed due to the transport failure. It has a control unit,
The message is a first message indicating that the user is not charged if the part is not completed, and the record of a part of the print processing completed if the part is not completed. The print order control device according to claim 3, further comprising at least one of a second message indicating that the medium is not provided to the user but is collected by the provider.   The control unit is configured to, based on the frequency of occurrence, change the order of each of the printing processes, when the change of the order of each of the printing processes is permitted in the set of printing processes received by the receiving unit. The print order control device according to claim 1, wherein the print order control device changes the print order.   When the printing unit executes the printing process, the printing unit includes a recording unit that acquires both a history of executing the printing process and a history of the conveyance failure from the printing unit, and records the acquired history. Item 6. The print order control device according to any one of Items 1 to 5. The control unit controls the order of the printing process for each of the printing units included in a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The print order control device according to claim 6, wherein the recording unit records the history for each of the image forming apparatuses.   8. The print order control device according to claim 6, further comprising a calculation unit configured to calculate the occurrence frequency based on a history of the execution of the printing process and a history of the transport failure recorded by the recording unit. 9. The acquisition unit is capable of acquiring the occurrence frequency of each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The control unit controls the order of the print processing for each of the printing units included in a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and
In the control of the order of the print processing, the printing frequency is determined by using the frequency of occurrence of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses according to the image forming apparatus that executes the set of print processing. The print order control device according to claim 1, wherein the print order control device controls a processing order. A request for a printing process for causing a printing unit to execute a printing process including a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium, which is performed in conjunction with the recording process, the printing process including: A receiving unit that receives a plurality of print processing requests including print processing with different conditions as a set of print processing requests;
An acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency of occurrence of the transport failure related to the transport processing, and to obtain an occurrence frequency of the transport failure for each of the printing conditions for each of the print processes included in the set of print processing requests;
A control unit configured to control an order of each of the print processes included in the set of print processes received by the reception unit, wherein the print processes are performed in a descending order of the occurrence frequency among the print conditions. Is executed by the printing unit, based on each of the occurrence frequencies acquired, a control unit that controls the order of each of the printing processes,
A print order control program that causes a computer to function as a print order control device that includes:   10. A printing method comprising: the printing order control device according to claim 1; a printing process for printing an image on a printing medium; and a transport process for transporting the printing medium, which is performed in conjunction with the printing process. An image forming apparatus comprising: at least one printing unit that executes a process. An image forming system comprising: the print order control device according to claim 1; and at least one image forming device.
The image forming apparatus includes at least one printing unit that performs a printing process including a recording process of recording an image on a recording medium and a transport process of transporting the recording medium that is performed along with the recording process. Image forming system.