Image forming system, electronic terminal, and print control method

Abstract

To enable easy modification of the settings indicated by a job ticket using individually filed overall setting files and exception setting files.SOLUTION: An image forming system 1 comprises an image forming unit 33 that forms images on a recording medium, a control unit 211 that causes the image forming unit 33 to form images according to a job ticket, a storage unit 24 that individually stores an overall setting file indicating print settings for an entire page and an exception setting file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range, and an input reception unit 22 into which instructions from a user are input. The control unit 211 reads from the storage unit 24 the overall setting file or exception setting file indicated by an instruction input to the input reception unit 22 and creates a job ticket indicating the settings of the read overall setting file or exception setting file.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system, an electronic terminal, and a printing control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the commercial printing industry, which receives orders for the creation of printed materials from customers and delivers the printed materials that the customers desire, with the development of digital printing, a printing management method has become known in which a job ticket is created and managed based on the print settings included in a print job, and the job ticket is used to easily set print settings when reprinting or printing as a routine job.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that allows partial change of print processing conditions for a print job that includes image data for multiple pages. Patent Document 2 describes a technology that suppresses discrepancies between the print desired by the user and the print recognized by the image forming system for a saved print job.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes a technique for displaying to a user, when changing the print settings of print data, the print setting items that are valid or invalid for the drawing information of the print data. Patent Document 4 describes a technique that allows a user to easily compare images printed with different print settings. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-164358 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-051379 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-068340 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-154339 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] There are two types of print settings: global settings, which indicate print settings for the entire page, and exception settings, which indicate print settings for a range of pages. A job ticket is created using the global settings and exception settings.

[0007] For example, suppose image data is printed using job ticket A created using overall settings A. If you later want to print the same image data based on overall settings A and exception settings B that change the color of some pages, you cannot use job ticket A to change the settings; instead, you must create a new job ticket B from scratch based on overall settings A and exception settings B.

[0008] Conversely, even if you want to change only the overall setting A indicated by job ticket A at a later date and print using overall setting B, which changes the paper type for all pages, and exception setting B, which is the same as before, you will need to create a new job ticket C from scratch using overall setting B and exception setting B.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to make it possible to easily change the setting contents indicated by a job ticket by using an overall setting file and an exception setting file that are individually filed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] An image forming system according to one aspect of the present invention is an image forming system for printing, comprising: an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium; a control unit for causing the image forming unit to form an image in accordance with a job ticket; a memory unit for separately storing an overall settings file indicating print settings for an entire page and an exception settings file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range; and an input receiving unit for inputting instructions from a user, wherein the control unit reads out from the memory unit the overall settings file or the exception settings file indicated by the instruction input to the input receiving unit, and sets the setting contents indicated by the read overall settings file or the exception settings file as the job ticket.

[0011] An electronic terminal according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a control unit that causes an image forming device to form an image in accordance with a job ticket, a memory unit that separately stores an overall settings file indicating print settings for an entire page and an exception settings file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range, and an input receiving unit into which instructions from a user are input, and the control unit reads out from the memory unit the overall settings file or the exception settings file indicated by the instructions input into the input receiving unit, and creates the job ticket indicating the setting contents of the read overall settings file or the exception settings file.

[0012] A print control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a print control method in an image forming system that performs printing, and includes a creation step of creating an overall settings file that indicates print settings for an entire page and an exception settings file that indicates print settings for a predetermined page range separately and storing them in a memory unit; a step of reading out the overall settings file or the exception settings file from the memory unit in accordance with instructions from a user and using the setting contents indicated in the read overall settings file or the exception settings file as the job ticket; and a step of causing an image forming unit to form an image in accordance with the job ticket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the setting contents indicated by the job ticket can be easily changed using the overall setting file and the exception setting file, which are individually filed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the image forming system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a display unit of an electronic terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] An image forming system, an electronic terminal, and a printing control method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system 1 includes an electronic terminal 2 and an image forming device 3. The electronic terminal 2 is a personal computer (PC) 2a, a smartphone, a mobile terminal 2b such as a tablet terminal, or the like. The image forming device 3 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral, and prints printed materials (pamphlets, flyers, posters, etc.) for the business activities of a company or organization. The network N is a network capable of sending and receiving data, such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

[0016] In accordance with a user's instruction, the electronic terminal 2 transmits a print job to the image forming device 3. The image forming device 3 executes printing in accordance with the received print job.

[0017] 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of an image forming system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The electronic terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, an input receiving unit 22, a communication unit 23, a storage unit 24, and the like.

[0018] The input receiving unit 22 includes a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and receives various instructions from the user. The display unit 221 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. When the electronic terminal 2 is a mobile terminal, the display unit 221 may be integrated with a touch panel (input receiving unit 22).

[0019] The communication unit 23 is a communication module that exchanges various data with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 3 via a network N such as the Internet. The storage unit 24 is a large-capacity storage device formed of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various programs, data tables, etc., and stores an overall setting file 241 and an exception setting file 242.

[0020] The storage unit 24 stores a control program for executing a print control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, the control program may not be stored in the storage unit 24, but may be a web application stored in a web storage.

[0021] The control unit 21 is composed of a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 21 functions as a control unit 211 when the processor executes a control program stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 21 controls the overall operation of the electronic terminal 2.

[0022] Here, there are two types of print settings: global settings, which indicate print settings for the entire page, and exception settings, which indicate print settings for a certain range of pages. Specifically, global settings are information indicating each print setting item and its setting value that is applied to the entire page. Exception settings are information indicating each print setting item and its setting value that is applied only to a predetermined range of pages. The control unit 211 creates a job ticket that indicates the setting contents indicated by the global settings and the exception settings. A job ticket is a file that includes settings necessary for executing a print job in industrial printing. The control unit 211 creates the job ticket in, for example, JDF or XJDF data format.

[0023] Furthermore, the control unit 211 files the overall settings and the exceptional settings individually in accordance with instructions input by the user to the input receiving unit 22, and stores each of the files in the storage unit 24.

[0024] In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 211 creates a job ticket indicating the setting contents indicated by each file based on an overall settings file 241 in which overall settings are filed, and an exceptional settings file 242 in which exceptional settings are filed.

[0025] The image forming device 3 receives the job ticket from the electronic terminal 2 and executes printing using the print settings indicated in the job ticket. When the image forming device 3 is to print periodically, such as monthly or weekly, it is time-consuming to create a job ticket on the electronic terminal 2 in order to change the print content each time. Furthermore, conventionally, a job ticket was created from a single file that combined general settings and exception settings.

[0026] However, there are cases where it is desired to change only one of the print settings indicated by a job ticket, either the overall settings or the exceptional settings. For example, suppose job ticket A is created using overall settings A and exceptional settings A, and image forming apparatus 10 performs printing based on this job ticket A. If the following month, it is desired to print using the overall settings A and exceptional settings B (different from exceptional settings A) that change the color of some pages, job ticket A cannot be used, and a new job ticket B must be created using overall settings A and exceptional settings B.

[0027] In addition, if you want to print using overall setting B, which changes the paper type for all pages, and exception setting A, you cannot use job ticket A and must create a new job ticket C using overall setting B and exception setting A.

[0028] In this embodiment, the control unit 211, for example, converts the overall settings and the exception settings used to create the job ticket into individual files and stores them in the storage unit 24 as an overall settings file 241 and an exception settings file 242. The control unit 211 combines the overall settings file and the exception settings file indicated by a user instruction from among the overall settings file 241 and the exception settings file 242 stored in the storage unit 24, and creates a job ticket including the settings indicated in the overall settings file and the exception settings file. This allows for creating a new job ticket by using one of the overall settings file and the exception settings file that make up the job ticket as is and changing the settings indicated in the other, by simply changing the other file, thereby saving the effort and time required to create a new job ticket.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the filed overall setting file 241 and exceptional setting file 242 are described as being stored in the storage unit 24 of the electronic terminal 2, but they may also be stored in a network storage connected to the network N. By storing them in the network storage, other electronic terminals 2 connected to the network N can read the overall setting file and exceptional setting file from the network storage and use them to create a job ticket.

[0030] Alternatively, the filed overall setting file and exceptional setting file may be stored in the storage unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 3. In this case, the control unit 211 of the electronic terminal 2 transmits the filed overall setting file and exceptional setting file to the image forming apparatus 3 via the communication unit 23, and the control unit 311 of the image forming apparatus 3 stores the overall setting file and exceptional setting file received via the communication unit 35 in the storage unit 34. When creating a job ticket, the electronic terminal 2 transmits a transmission request for the overall setting file and exceptional setting file indicated by an instruction from the user input to the input acceptance unit 22 of the electronic terminal 2 to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 23. The control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 10 reads the overall setting file and exceptional setting file indicated by the request from the storage unit 34 and transmits them via the communication unit 35 to the electronic terminal 2.

[0031] The following describes the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus 3. The image forming apparatus 3 includes a control unit 31, an input receiving section 32, an image forming section 33, a storage section 34, a communication section 35, and the like.

[0032] The input receiving unit 32 includes hard keys such as a decision key for confirming various operations and settings, a start key, and a display unit 321, through which various instructions are input from the user. The display unit 321 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays an operation screen, messages, etc. The display unit 321 may be configured integrally with a touch panel.

[0033] The image forming unit 33 prints an image on paper in accordance with the job ticket received from the electronic terminal 2. The storage unit 34 is a large-capacity storage device that stores image data, various programs, data tables, etc. The communication unit 35 is a communication module that exchanges various data, including print data, with external devices such as the electronic terminal 2 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0034] The control unit 31 is composed of a processor, RAM, ROM, etc. The processor is a CPU, MPU, ASIC, etc. The control unit 31 functions as a control unit 311 when the processor executes a control program stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 31 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 3.

[0035] Next, a method for editing a job ticket will be described. Figures 3 to 7 are diagrams showing examples of displays on the display unit 221 of the electronic terminal 2. Figure 3 shows an example of a job ticket editing screen G1.

[0036] The control unit 211 of the electronic terminal 2 causes the display unit 221 to display a job ticket editing screen G1. An instruction to set the contents of the job ticket is input to the input accepting unit 22 based on a key operation on the input accepting unit 22 by the user while the job ticket editing screen G1 is displayed, or an operation on a touch panel provided on the display unit 221. The setting contents indicated by the instruction input while the job ticket editing screen G1 is displayed become the setting contents of the global settings file for all pages to be printed. An instruction to set the contents of the exception settings file is input while a screen different from the job ticket editing screen G1 is displayed.

[0037] When the job ticket editing screen G1 is displayed, the control unit 211 creates an overall settings file in, for example, XJDF data format, based on the settings indicated by instructions input by the user via the input receiving unit 22 or by operating the touch panel.

[0038] When a button 53 displayed on the job ticket editing screen G1 is operated by the user, the control unit 211 receives an instruction to display the exception settings file editing screen G2 associated with the button 53 via the input receiving unit 22. In accordance with the instruction, the control unit 211 displays the exception settings file editing screen G2, as shown in the example of FIG. 4. The exception settings file editing screen G2 displays a pull-down button 54 for receiving designation of a start page number and a pull-down button 55 for receiving designation of an end page number in order to specify the page range to which the print settings in the exception settings file will be applied. The setting contents indicated by the instruction input when the exception settings file editing screen G2 is displayed become the setting contents of the exception settings file, which are print settings for a portion of all pages to be printed.

[0039] When the exception setting file editing screen G2 is displayed, the control unit 211 creates an exception setting file, for example in XJDF data format, using the settings indicated by instructions input by the user through the input receiving unit 22 or touch panel operation.

[0040] Furthermore, the exception settings file editing screen G2 displays a button 56 for receiving an instruction to transition the screen to the overall settings file settings screen. When the button 56 is operated by the user, the control unit 211 receives an instruction to display the job ticket editing screen G1 associated with the button 56 via the input receiving unit 22, and causes the display unit 221 to display the job ticket editing screen G1.

[0041] After the overall settings file and the exception settings file are created as described above, when a job ticket creation instruction is input by the user to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 creates a job ticket in a predetermined data format (here, XJDF data format) in accordance with the instruction, the job ticket including the settings indicated by the created overall settings file and exception settings file. Control unit 211 transmits the created job ticket from communication unit 23 to image forming device 10 in accordance with a print execution instruction (including specification of data to be printed) input by the user to input receiving unit 22 after the job ticket is created. In image forming device 10, when communication unit 35 receives the job ticket, control unit 311 causes image forming unit 33 to form an image in accordance with the job ticket.

[0042] Furthermore, when saving the overall settings file or the exception settings file created as described above, the user inputs an instruction to display the job ticket editing screen G1 or the exception settings file editing screen G2 to the input accepting unit 22. The control unit 211 causes the display unit 221 to display the job ticket editing screen G1 or the exception settings file editing screen G2 in accordance with the instruction. On the job ticket editing screen G1 or the exception settings file editing screen G2, the user operates the button 51. When the button 51 is operated, the control unit 211 receives an instruction to display a window 60 via the input accepting unit 22, and displays the window 60 as shown in an example in FIG. 5 in accordance with the instruction.

[0043] When the user operates radio button 61 while window 60 is displayed, control unit 211 receives an instruction to save the general setting file and the exception setting file together via input receiving unit 22. At this time, when the user operates browse button 65, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 70 via input receiving unit 22, and in accordance with the instruction, causes display unit 221 to display window 70 as shown in an example in FIG.

[0044] Window 70 displays in a file list the general settings file and the exception settings file that are already stored in storage unit 24 at this point. When window 70 is displayed, the user operates input receiving unit 22 to input instructions to specify file names for the general settings file and the exception settings file, and then the user operates save button 71 to input instructions to input receiving unit 22 to save the general settings file and the exception settings file. Control unit 211 treats the general settings file and the exception settings file that have been created at this point as separate files, and stores the combination of the general settings file and the exception settings file in storage unit 24 with the specified file name.

[0045] On the other hand, when the user operates radio button 62 and check box 63 while window 60 is displayed, an instruction to save only the overall settings file is received by control unit 211 via input receiving unit 22. At this time, if the user wishes to input a file name, he or she operates browse button 67. When browse button 67 is operated, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 70 via input receiving unit 22, and in accordance with the instruction, causes window 70, such as the example shown in FIG. 6, to be displayed on display unit 221.

[0046] When window 70 is displayed, the user operates input receiving unit 22 to input an instruction to specify a file name for the overall setting file, and then the user operates save button 71 to input an instruction to save the overall setting file to input receiving unit 22, and control unit 211 stores the overall setting file created at this point in memory unit 24 with the specified file name.

[0047] Furthermore, when the user operates radio button 62 and check box 64 while window 60 is displayed, an instruction to save only the exception settings file is received by control unit 211 via input receiving unit 22. At this time, if the user wishes to input a file name, he or she operates browse button 68. When browse button 68 is operated, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display a name and other setting window for the exception settings file via input receiving unit 22, and displays window 70 on display unit 221 in accordance with the instruction.

[0048] When the window 70 is displayed, the user inputs an instruction to specify a file name for the exception setting file into the input receiving unit 22, and then the user operates the save button 71 to input an instruction to save the exception setting file into the input receiving unit 22. Then, the control unit 211 stores the exception setting file created at this point in the memory unit 24 with the specified file name.

[0049] When storing the above-mentioned general settings file and exception settings file, the control unit 211 may convert the general settings file and exception settings file into a data format indicated by an instruction input to the input receiving unit 22, and then store the general settings file and exception settings file in the storage unit 24. For example, the control unit 211 converts the general settings file or exception settings file in the XJDF data format into the JDF data format indicated by the above-mentioned instruction.

[0050] Next, a process for creating a job ticket by reading out an already stored general settings file and exception settings file will be described with reference to Fig. 3. When reading out a general settings file or exception settings file to create a job ticket, the user operates button 52 on job ticket editing screen G1. When button 52 is operated, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 80 via input receiving unit 22, and in accordance with this instruction, displays window 80 as shown in Fig. 7.

[0051] When the user operates radio button 81 while window 80 is displayed, control unit 211 receives an instruction to read out the general setting file and the exception setting file together via input receiving unit 22. At this time, when the user operates browse button 85, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 90 via input receiving unit 22, and in accordance with the instruction, causes display unit 221 to display window 90 as shown in the example of FIG.

[0052] At this point, window 90 displays in a file list the general settings file and the exception settings file that are already stored in storage unit 24. When window 90 is displayed, an instruction to specify the general settings file and the exception settings file to be read from among the general settings files and the exception settings files displayed in the file list is input to input receiving unit 22, and when the user operates open button 91 to input a file read instruction associated with open button 91 to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 reads the specified general settings file and the exception settings file from storage unit 24, and creates a job ticket indicating the setting contents indicated by each file based on the general settings file and the exception settings file in a predetermined data format (here, XJDF data format).

[0053] When a print execution instruction (including specification of data to be printed) is input from the user to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 transmits the job ticket created in this manner to image forming apparatus 10 from communication unit 23. In image forming apparatus 10, when communication unit 35 receives the job ticket, control unit 311 causes image forming unit 33 to form an image in accordance with the job ticket.

[0054] On the other hand, when the user operates radio button 83 while window 80 is displayed, control unit 211 receives an instruction to read out the overall setting file via input receiving unit 22. At this time, when the user operates browse button 87, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 90 via input receiving unit 22, and displays window 90 on display unit 221 in accordance with the instruction.

[0055] In window 90, a file list displays the general settings files and exception settings files that are already stored in storage unit 24 at this point. When an instruction to specify a general settings file to be read from the general settings files displayed in the file list is input to input receiving unit 22, and the user further operates open button 91 to input a file read instruction associated with open button 91 to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 reads the specified general settings file from storage unit 24 and creates a job ticket indicating the settings of the general settings file in a predetermined data format (here, XJDF data format) based on the general settings file.

[0056] In this embodiment, it is also possible to create a job ticket by adding an exception settings file read from the storage unit 24 to the general settings file read as described above.

[0057] In this case, when the general settings file is read as described above, the user inputs an instruction to read the exception settings file before inputting the print execution instruction to input receiving unit 22. When the instruction to read the exception settings file is input to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 displays window 80.

[0058] When the user operates radio button 84 while window 80 is displayed, control unit 211 receives an instruction to read out the exception setting file via input receiving unit 22. At this time, when the user operates browse button 88, control unit 211 receives an instruction to display window 90 via input receiving unit 22, and displays window 90 on display unit 221 in accordance with the instruction.

[0059] In window 90, a file list displays the exception settings files from among the general settings files and exception settings files that are already stored in storage unit 24 at this point. When an instruction to specify an exception settings file to be read from the exception settings files displayed in the file list is input to input receiving unit 22, and the user further operates open button 91 to input a file read instruction associated with open button 91 to input receiving unit 22, control unit 211 reads the specified exception settings file from storage unit 24 and creates a job ticket in a predetermined data format (here, XJDF data format) that indicates the settings of the exception settings file and the settings of the general settings file that has already been read.

[0060] As described above, by separately saving the overall settings file and the exception settings file used to create a job ticket, it is possible to create a job ticket at a later date using the saved overall settings file or exception settings file, improving convenience. Also, by separately saving or reading the overall settings file and the exception settings file, it is possible to reduce the amount of data compared to when the overall settings and the exception settings are combined into a single file, thereby reducing storage area and data communication volume.

[0061] Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the setting contents indicated by the job ticket can be easily changed using the overall setting file and the exception setting file that are individually filed.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Furthermore, the configuration and processing of the above embodiment described using Figures 1 to 8 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and it is not intended that the present invention be limited to these configurations and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1. Image forming system 2. Electronic devices 21 Control Unit 211 Control Unit 22 Input reception section 221 Display section 23 Communications Department 24 Memory section 3. Image forming device 31 Control Unit 311 Control Unit 32 Input reception section 321 Display section 33 Image forming unit 34 Storage section 35 Communications Department N Network

Claims

1. An image forming system for printing, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium; a control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image in accordance with a job ticket; a storage unit that separately stores an overall setting file indicating print settings for the entire page and an exceptional setting file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range; an input receiving unit into which instructions from a user are input, The control unit reads the overall setting file or the exception setting file indicated by the instruction input to the input receiving unit from the storage unit, and creates the job ticket indicating the setting contents of the read overall setting file or the exception setting file.

2. an instruction to designate the exception settings file to be used in creating the job ticket is input to the input receiving unit; 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit creates the job ticket indicating the setting contents indicated by the overall setting file already designated as the overall setting file for creating the job ticket and the exception setting file indicated by the input instruction.

3. an instruction to designate the general settings file to be used for creating the job ticket is input to the input receiving unit; 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit creates the job ticket indicating the setting contents indicated by the exception settings file already designated as the exception settings file for creating the job ticket and the overall settings file indicated by the input instruction.

4. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a network storage located on a network.

5. a control unit that causes the image forming apparatus to form an image in accordance with the job ticket; a storage unit that separately stores an overall setting file indicating print settings for the entire page and an exceptional setting file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range; an input receiving unit into which instructions from a user are input, The control unit reads the overall settings file or the exception settings file indicated by the instruction input to the input receiving unit from the storage unit, and creates the job ticket indicating the setting contents of the read overall settings file or the exception settings file.

6. A print control method in an image forming system that performs printing, a creating step of creating an overall setting file indicating print settings for the entire page and an exception setting file indicating print settings for a predetermined page range separately and storing them in a storage unit; a step of reading the overall settings file or the exceptional settings file from the storage unit in accordance with an instruction from a user, and creating a job ticket indicating the setting contents indicated by the read overall settings file or the exceptional settings file; causing an image forming unit to form an image in accordance with the job ticket.

Images