Printing system

Abstract

To make it possible to easily specify whether to register as a user on a single printer or on multiple printers collectively in an area that the printer belongs to.SOLUTION: In a printing system, a first image forming apparatus provides a screen including: a first instruction unit which searches, on receipt of an instruction to register as a user for using the first image forming apparatus, for a second image forming apparatus located in the same area as an area that the first image forming apparatus belongs to, and registers, when the second image forming apparatus is searched, for using the first and second image forming apparatuses located in the same area; and a second instruction unit which registers for using the first image forming apparatus individually. A corresponding PIN code is issued depending on whether the first or second instruction unit is specified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print system in which a user's email address is registered with a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a public print system in which a printer with printing capabilities installed in a store is connected to a cloud server via a network, and jobs uploaded to the server by users are sent to the printer in the store by user operation for printing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-75734 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the method of Patent Document 1 is a public system configured using a large number of printers, and therefore is not intended for use in small offices.

[0005] In the present invention, when performing user registration on a printer, it is possible to easily specify whether to perform user registration on that printer alone or to perform user registration collectively on multiple printers in the area to which that printer belongs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a print system of the present invention includes a search means for searching for a second image forming apparatus that exists in the same area as an area to which the first image forming apparatus belongs when an instruction for user registration to use the first image forming apparatus is given in a first image forming apparatus, a provision means for providing a screen including a first instruction section for performing registration to use the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus that exist in the same area when the search means has found the second image forming apparatus, and a second instruction section for performing registration to use the first image forming apparatus individually when the first instruction section is instructed. When the second instruction unit is instructed, the system has a first notification means for issuing a first PIN code for using the first image forming device and the second image forming device in association with the user's email address, and notifying the user's email address of the issued first PIN code and the first email address to which the job will be sent, and a second notification means for issuing a second PIN code for using the first image forming device in association with the user's email address, and notifying the user's email address of the issued second PIN code and the second email address to which the job will be sent, when the second instruction unit is instructed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, when registering a user on a printer, it is easy to specify whether to register the user on that printer alone or to register the user on multiple printers in the area to which the printer belongs, and the job destination address and PIN code appropriate for each can be notified. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of an MFP. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an MFP cooperation service. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the image processing system. [Figure 6] 1A is an explanatory diagram of an MFP individual management tenant, and FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a registration flow diagram. [Figure 8] (a) An example of a data configuration managed by an MFP individual management tenant, (b) an example of a data configuration managed by an MFP cooperation management tenant, and (c) an example of a data configuration of MFP information linked to a tenant. [Figure 9] 1A is a flowchart showing a printer search process, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an MFP installed in an office. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a basic diagram of a print processing flow. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] (a) An example of a display of the registration UI. (b) An example of a display of the registration UI. (c) An example of a display of the registration UI. [Figure 13] This is an example of a job list UI. [Figure 14] 13 is an example of a notification email of a registration result. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a registration flow diagram. [Figure 16] This is an example of the registration UI. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0010] <Example 1> <Overall composition> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the system according to this embodiment. The image processing system is composed of an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) 110 and an MFP cooperation service 120. In the MFP cooperation service, tenants associated with printers (image forming apparatuses) are managed. The tenant associated with each MFP is called an MFP individual management tenant 130, and the tenant associated with a plurality of MFPs is called an MFP cooperation management tenant 140. The MFP 110 is connected to a server that provides various services on the Internet via a LAN (Local Area Network).

[0011] The MFP 110 is a multifunction device having a plurality of functions such as a scanner and a printer, and is an example of an image forming apparatus. In this embodiment, a multifunction device is taken as an example of the MFP 110, but a printer having only a print function and not having a scanner function may be used. The MFP cooperation service 120 manages the identification information (MFP serial number) of the MFP, and receives a print job via the network from a PC or a mobile terminal (not shown) on the network. A cloud print service that transfers the print job to the MFP 110 for printing is provided.

[0012] <Hardware Configuration of MFP> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the MFP 110. The MFP 110 is composed of a control unit 210, an operation unit 220, a printer unit 221, a scanner unit 222, and a modem 223. The control unit 210 is composed of the following units 211 to 219, and controls the operation of the entire MFP 110. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in a ROM 212, and executes and controls various functions of the MFP 110, such as reading, printing, and communication. The RAM 213 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory and a work area of ​​the CPU 211. In this embodiment, one CPU 211 executes each process shown in a flowchart described later using one memory (RAM 213 or HDD 214), but is not limited to this. For example, each process may be executed by cooperating multiple CPUs and multiple RAMs or HDDs. The HDD 214 is a large-capacity storage unit that stores image data and various programs. The operation unit I / F 215 is an interface that connects the operation unit 220 and the control unit 210. The operation unit 220 is provided with a touch panel, a keyboard, and the like, and accepts operations / inputs / instructions from a user. The printer I / F 216 is an interface that connects the printer unit 221 and the control unit 210. Image data for printing is transferred from the control unit 210 to the printer unit 221 via the printer I / F 216, and is printed on a recording medium. The scanner I / F 217 is an interface that connects the scanner unit 222 and the control unit 210. The scanner unit 222 reads an original placed on an original table or an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), not shown, generates image data, and inputs the image data to the control unit 210 via the scanner I / F 217. The MFP 110 can print (copy) the image data generated by the scanner unit 222 from the printer unit 221, as well as transmit the image data as a file or by e-mail. The modem I / F 218 is an interface that connects the modem 223 and the control unit 210. A modem 223 communicates image data by facsimile with a facsimile device on the PSTN. A network I / F 219 is an interface that connects the control unit 210 (MFP 110) to a LAN.The MFP 110 transmits image data and information to each service on the Internet or receives various information using the network I / F 219.

[0013] <Hardware Configuration of MFP Linked Service> Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computer that provides the MFP linked service 120, which is a cloud service. The MFP linked service 120 is composed of a CPU 311, a ROM 312, a RAM 313, an HDD 314, and a network I / F 315. The CPU 311 controls the overall operation by reading out the control program stored in the ROM 312 and executing various processes. The RAM 313 is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and work area of the CPU 311. The HDD 314 is a large-capacity storage unit that stores image data and various programs. The network I / F 315 is an interface that connects the MFP linked service 120 to the Internet. The MFP linked service 120 receives a processing request from another device (such as the MFP 110) via the network I / F 315 and transmits and receives various information. In this way, the hardware such as the CPU 311, ROM 312, RAM 313, and HDD 314 constitutes a so-called computer. Note that the computer that realizes the linked service 102 may further include an ASIC or the like that performs rendering of print data. In this embodiment, for the sake of explanation, the case where one CPU 311 executes each process shown in the flowchart described later using one memory (RAM 313) is illustrated, but other modes may also be possible. For example, a plurality of processors, memories, and storages may cooperate to execute each process shown in the flowchart described later. Also, each process can be executed using a plurality of server computers.

[0014] <Hardware Configuration of Mobile Terminal> FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the mobile terminal 150. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 150 is assumed to be a device such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, but may be any other device as long as it is an information processing device that can connect to the Internet and can transmit emails and display web pages. The CPU 401 reads out a control program stored in the ROM 402 and executes various processes for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 130. The ROM 402 stores the control program. The RAM 403 is used as a storage area such as the main memory and work area of ​​the CPU 401. Various data such as photos and electronic documents are stored in the RAM 403. The OS (Operating System) and applications are also stored. The reference numeral 404 is a position sensor (GPS) that can acquire the position information of the mobile terminal as, for example, longitude and latitude information. The operation panel 405 has a touch panel function that can detect a touch operation by a user, and displays various screens provided by applications on the mobile terminal. The user can input a desired operation instruction to the mobile terminal 130 by inputting a touch operation to the operation panel 405. The camera 406 captures an image in response to an image capture instruction from the user. Photos taken by the camera 406 are stored in a predetermined area 403. A microphone / speaker 407 is used when the user makes a call to another mobile terminal or a landline phone. A wireless communication unit 408 executes wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

[0015] <Image processing system software configuration> 5 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the image processing system according to this embodiment. First, the software configuration of the MFP 110 will be described. The MFP 110 has a linkage service request unit 501, a display control unit 502, a print control unit 503, a printer search unit 504, and a data management unit 505. The data management unit stores a multi-digit character string that is unique for each MFP so that the MFP can be identified, and in this embodiment, this is called an MFP serial number (e.g., MFP_0001). The display control unit 502 displays user login operations, job lists, and the like on a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function of the operation unit 220 of the MFP 110.

[0016] The cooperation service unit 501 transmits and receives processing requests from the MFP cooperation service 120 and the mobile terminal 130. For example, when a login operation is performed on the MFP panel, the login information is transmitted to the MFP cooperation service 120, and as a response, a job list and the like are received from the service.

[0017] Next, the software configuration of the MFP cooperation service 120 will be described.

[0018] The MFP cooperation service 120 includes a request control unit 521, a data management unit 522, a tenant management unit 523, a display control unit 524, and an email control unit 525.

[0019] The request control unit 521 waits in a state where it can receive requests from external devices. When it receives a processing request, it appropriately instructs the data management unit 522 to perform processing according to the request. The data management unit 522 holds tenant management information, MFP information, various setting data, etc. managed by the MFP cooperation service 120. The display control unit 524 receives requests from a web browser operating on another terminal (not shown) such as a PC or mobile device connected via the Internet and returns screen configuration information (HTML, CSS, etc.) necessary for screen display. The user can check the operating status of the MFP cooperation service 120 via the screen displayed on the web browser.

[0020] The tenant management unit 523 generates, monitors, stops, etc. the tenants that cooperate with the MFP, and manages the tenants that cooperate with the MFP in response to requests from the cooperation service unit 501. The email control unit 525 delivers received emails in response to inquiries from the tenants managed by the tenant management unit, and transmits user identification information, etc. for registered users. In this embodiment, the user identification information is referred to as a PIN code, and refers to a string consisting of a plurality of unique digits (e.g., 9999) assigned to each user registered in each tenant.

[0021] <MFP Management Tenant Configuration> 6 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the MFP individual management tenant 130 and MFP cooperation management tenant 140 managed by the MFP cooperation service 120 and the MFP. The MFP individual management tenant 130 is a tenant linked to each MFP, and is generated by the MFP cooperation service 120 when the MFP is started for the first time. In the MFP individual management tenant, a management tenant 130 is generated for each MFP, as shown in FIG. 6(a).

[0022] 8(a) is an example of data managed by the MFP individual management tenant, and is composed of a user email address, a PIN code associated with it, and a job transmission destination email address. Note that the MFP-tenant association information is held in a format in which the MFP serial number is associated with the tenant information in the data management unit 522 of the MFP cooperation service 120. The MFP cooperation management tenant 140 is a tenant associated with multiple MFPs, and performs a printer search at the time of user registration, and manages printers detected as printers in the same area by associating them with one tenant.

[0023] FIG. 6B shows an example in which MFP 110(1) and MFP 110(2) are detected as printers in the same area, and are therefore managed in association with MFP cooperation management tenant 140(1).

[0024] FIG. 8B shows an example of data managed by the MFP cooperation management tenant, and like the MFP individual management tenant, it is composed of a user email address, a PIN code associated with the email address, and a job transmission destination email address.

[0025] The MFP information linked to a tenant is held in the data management unit 522 of the MFP cooperation service 120 in a format in which the MFP serial number and the tenant information are linked. Fig. 8(c) is a diagram showing an example of this, in which the cooperative management tenant information and the individual management tenant information are linked and managed for each MFP serial number. An individual management tenant is generated for each MFP serial number, but the cooperative management tenant is not registered if no printer is detected in the same area. For this reason, there are cases in which NA (no registration information) is set in the cooperative management tenant information for the MFP serial number.

[0026] <User registration flow> The user registration flow is shown in Fig. 7. In this embodiment, in order to lower the barrier to introduction of the cloud print service, a system consisting of a large number of printers is not adopted, but a system configuration is based on automatically generating a tenant for each printer and managing users.

[0027] Step S701 in FIG. 7 is a process immediately after the printer is started, in which a cloud print application pre-installed in the data management unit 505 is started, and a request for the generation of an individual management tenant is made in step S702 via a collaboration service request 501. In the MFP collaboration service 120, the request control unit 521 receives the notification in step S702, and notifies the tenant management unit 523. Step S703 is a step in which the tenant management unit 523 of the MFP collaboration service 120 generates an MFP individual management tenant. The previously described FIG. 8(a) is an example of the data configuration managed by the individual management tenant. Note that a job transmission destination email address linked to the tenant is also generated in the previously described step. When the individual management tenant is generated in step 703, the printer is notified in step 704. In this state, user registration to the management tenant is possible from the printer panel.

[0028] In step S710, the user presses a user registration button on the printer panel. Fig. 12A shows an example of a UI display on the printer panel. When the registration button 1201 is pressed, a printer search request S711 is sent to the printer search unit 504 of the MFP 110. In step S712, the printer search unit 504 performs printer search processing.

[0029] 9A is an example of a printer search process flow performed by the printer search unit 504. The printer search in this embodiment will be described as a method in which an IP range is set in advance, and if a printer is detected within the IP range, the printer is determined to be a printer within the same area.

[0030] Step 0901 is a step for setting an IP range for printer search. To explain this by taking a specific example, this is a process for setting 1 to 254 as the IP range in the fourth octet. Note that in this embodiment, the IP range is assumed to be set in the system beforehand, but it goes without saying that this proposal is also effective if the IP range is specified by the user.

[0031] Here, a printer search in an office configuration as exemplified in FIG. 9(b) will be specifically described. Here, the description will be made assuming that the registered printer is MFP_001 of the shared office A. Step 902 is a step for setting the IP address of the search source printer for searching for printers in the same area. 172.29.1.110 is set as the IP address of MFP_001 of the shared office A. Step 903 is a step for setting the search IP address from the search source printer address and IP range of the previous step. The IP address range will be described assuming that the fourth octet is 1 to 254. The IP range is added to the search source IP address to generate 172.29.1.1 to 254 as the search IP address. Step 904 is a step for notifying the IP address generated in step 903 of a printer search packet (e.g., unicast packet) such as MIB (Management Information Base). MIB is a known technology, so it will not be described in detail here. Step 905 is a step for receiving a response to the packet notified to the search IP address. Here, a response to the notification in the previous step is received, and whether it is a printer is identified based on the result. If the response result is determined to be a printer, it is registered in the printer list in step 906. The printer list manages the detected printer by linking its IP address and its printer identification information (serial number).

[0032] S713 is a process for generating a registration UI to be displayed on the printer panel according to the result of the printer search process. If it is determined that a printer has been detected in the same area as a result of the printer search process (if information on the detected printer exists in the printer list), a UI screen including a button (first instruction unit) for performing user registration (area account registration) that can be commonly used by printers in the same area, and a button (second instruction unit) for performing user registration (individual account registration) for the printer being operated alone is displayed on the display control unit 502. Fig. 12(b) is an example of the UI display in this case.

[0033] If no printer in the same area is detected, a UI screen without a selection button is generated. When the UI is generated in step S713, the registration UI is displayed on the display control unit 502 of the MFP 110 in step S714. Fig. 12(c) is an example of the UI display.

[0034] Step 717 is a step in which the user sets registration information in the registration UI displayed on the printer panel. Here, when the user's email address (hereinafter, email address) is set on the screen of FIG. 12(b) and the button for individual account registration is selected, the information is notified in S720 and notified to the individual management tenant of the printer. In the individual management tenant, the email address is registered in the data management unit in the tenant as user information in registration processing S721. Also, a PIN code corresponding to the email address is issued, and the PIN code is linked with the user's email address and the job transmission destination email address as illustrated in FIG. 8(a) for management. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 8(c), the serial number and tenant information of the MFP are also registered in the data management unit 522 of the MFP cooperation service 120. Note that, if the printer is registered in the cooperation management tenant when the PIN code is issued, a unique PIN code is issued by referring to the PIN code information in the data management unit of the cooperation management tenant to which the printer belongs. S722 is a step in which the email address of the registered user, the job transmission destination email address, and the PIN code information are notified to the email control unit 525 of the MFP cooperation service 120.

[0035] Step 723 is a step of sending an email to the user's email address notified in the previous step, with the PIN code for the individual account registration and the job transmission destination email address set in the email body. An example is shown in FIG.

[0036] Similarly, when an email address is set in step 717 and the area account registration button is selected on the printer panel on the screen of FIG. 12(b), the information is notified in S725 to the cooperation management tenant of the printer. If there is no cooperation management tenant to which the printer belongs, a registration process 726 generates the cooperation management tenant to which the printer belongs and a job transmission destination email address. Also, the email address is registered as user information in the data management unit in the generated cooperation management tenant, and a PIN code corresponding to the email address is issued. Note that the PIN code to be issued refers to the PIN code information of the individual management tenant of the printer, and a unique PIN code is issued. Also, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the serial number and tenant information of the MFP are also registered in the data management unit 522 of the MFP cooperation service 120. Note that if the device is registered in the cooperation management tenant when the PIN code is issued, a unique PIN code is issued by referring to the PIN code information of the data management unit of the cooperation management tenant. S727 is a step of notifying the email control unit 525 of the MFP cooperation service 120 of the registered user's email address, the job transmission destination email address, and the PIN code information.

[0037] Step 728 is a step of sending an email to the user's email address notified in the previous step, with the PIN code for the area account registration and the job destination email address set in the email body.

[0038] <Printing process flow> 10 is a flowchart illustrating steps from input of a PIN code to printing processing. Step 1001 is a printer login screen displayed on the display control unit 502 of the MFP 110, and is a step for inputting the PIN code notified in steps 723 and 728.

[0039] Step 1002 is a step for searching for the tenant to which the printer whose PIN code has been entered belongs, and searches for the tenant to which the MFP belongs from MFP-tenant linkage information held in data management unit 522 of MFP linkage service 120.

[0040] Step 1003 is a step for judging the tenant to which the MFP belongs. As illustrated in FIG. 8(c), in this embodiment, only the serial number of the MFP and the affiliation information of the MFP cooperative management tenant are registered as the association information. Therefore, if the MFP is not associated with the cooperative management tenant, it is judged to be an individual management tenant. If the MFP is judged to be an individual management tenant, the process proceeds to step 1004. Step 1004 is a step for acquiring user information associated with the PIN code from the management information of the individual management tenant of the MFP (illustrated in FIG. 8(a)). If the relevant information exists, the process proceeds to step 1006, and if the relevant information does not exist, the process proceeds to step 1008 as a PIN code input error and ends the process. Step 1009 is a process when a cooperative management tenant to which the MFP belongs exists, as in the case of step 1004. This is a step for acquiring user information associated with the PIN code from the management information of the cooperative management tenant. If the relevant information exists, the process proceeds to 1006, and if not, the process proceeds to step 1008 and ends the process. Step 1006 is a step for displaying a job list linked to the PIN code.

[0041] Fig. 11 shows details of the job list display process in step 1006. This is a step of moving emails sent from a destination email address acquired from management information of the individual or linked management tenant in the previous step to a folder in which the emails sent to the destination email address in email control unit 525 of MFP linkage service 120 are saved. Step 1102 is a step of extracting emails sent from a user email address corresponding to the PIN code acquired from management information of the management tenant, using the sender email address (From) in the email header saved in the email folder. Step 1103 is a step of acquiring text information of the email body and attachments from the email extracted in the previous step. The extracted data is treated as a print job and displayed as a job list.

[0042] When the job list is displayed on the display control unit 502 of the MFP 110 in step 1006, a job is selected in step 1007. Fig. 13 is an example of a job list display. When a job is selected in step 1007 and the print execution button is pressed, the process proceeds to step 1008, where the job is notified to the MFP 110 and printing processing is performed. Also, when the cancel button is pressed in step 1007, the process proceeds to after step 1008 and ends.

[0043] <Example 2> In the first embodiment, a method has been described in which a printer search is performed in the same area when a user account is registered, and when the user selects area account registration, the printer is registered in a collaboration management tenant.

[0044] In the second embodiment, a method will be described in which an administrator presses a printer search button in advance when a printer is introduced, searches for printers in the same area, and registers the printers in a collaboration management tenant.

[0045] In the second embodiment, this method will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0046] Incidentally, configurations and processes that are not specifically stated are all the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0047] FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram relating to a user registration flow.

[0048] As described above in the first embodiment, in this system, in order to simplify system management of the cloud print service and lower the barrier to adoption, a tenant is automatically generated for each printer as a basic configuration, and user management, etc. is performed.

[0049] 15 is a process performed immediately after the printer is started, in which a cloud print application pre-installed in a data management unit 505 is started and a request for the generation of an individual management tenant is made in step S1502 via a collaboration service request 501. In the MFP collaboration service 120, the notification of step S1502 is received by a request control unit 521 and notifies a tenant management unit 523. In step S1503, the tenant management unit 523 of the MFP collaboration service 120 generates an MFP individual management tenant.

[0050] When an individual management tenant is generated in step 1503, it is notified to the printer in step 1504. In step 1510, the system administrator presses a printer search button 1601 displayed on the printer panel as shown in FIG. 16. When the printer search button is pressed, a printer search request 1511 is notified to the printer search of the printer search unit 504 of the MFP 110. In step S1512, the printer search process is performed in the printer search unit 504. When a printer is detected as a result of the printer search, a tenant is generated in 1513 in which the searched printer information is notified to the cooperative management tenant. In addition, the notified printer information is registered in the management data of the MFP cooperative service. Note that if the printer is not detected, the above process is not performed.

[0051] Numeral 1519 is a step in which the user presses the user registration button. When the user registration button is pressed in this step, a registration UI is displayed in user registration UI display processing 1518. Here, the buttons displayed in the registration UI are an individual user registration button and an area account button in accordance with the MFP-tenant linkage information stored in the data management unit 522 of the MFP linkage service 120. When the individual user registration button is pressed, processing is 1520, and when the area account registration button is pressed, processing is 1525, which are the same as the processing from S720 and S725 onwards, respectively, and will not be described in detail here.

[0052] By using the above steps, this proposal is effective even if a printer search is performed when the printer is introduced.

[0053] As described above, according to the present invention, even when registering a user for a single printer (individual account registration) and when registering a user for multiple printers in the same area (area account registration), it is possible to obtain a commonly usable destination address and PIN code. This improves user operability.

Claims

[Claim 1] a search unit that searches for a second image forming apparatus that exists in the same area as the area to which the first image forming apparatus belongs when an instruction for user registration for using the first image forming apparatus is given in the first image forming apparatus; a providing means for providing a screen including a first instruction section for performing registration for using the first image forming device and the second image forming device that are present in the same area when the searching means has found the second image forming device, and a second instruction section for performing registration for individually using the first image forming device; a first notification means for, when the first instruction unit is instructed, issuing a first PIN code for using the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus in association with an email address of a user, and notifying the email address of the user of the issued first PIN code and a first email address to which a job is to be sent; a second notification unit that, when the second instruction unit is instructed, issues a second PIN code for using the first image forming apparatus in association with an email address of a user, and notifies the email address of the user of the issued second PIN code and a second email address to which a job is to be sent; A printing system comprising:

Images