Image forming system

Abstract

This allows for the rapid execution of an interrupt print job even if an error occurs in the image forming apparatus while a preceding print job is being executed. [Solution] If an error occurs in the image forming apparatus before an interrupt print job is executed, the interrupt execution determination unit compares the error type with the attribute information of the interrupt print job to determine whether the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error is not cleared. If it is determined that the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error is not cleared, the image forming apparatus interrupts the preceding job, switches the execution target to the interrupt print job, and executes the interrupt print job. After the error is cleared, the control unit of the image forming apparatus resumes execution of the preceding job according to the print queue.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system including an image generation device and an image forming device.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, an image forming device such as a multifunction printer can receive a print job from an image generation device connected via a network or the like and perform a printing process. In this case, the image forming device executes the print jobs in the order in which they are received.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a printer device that temporarily interrupts a running print job to allow another print job to be interrupted and executed, and resumes the temporarily interrupted print job after execution.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] For example, when the image generation device transmits print job B as a forced interruption while the image forming device is executing print job A, the image forming device generally executes print job B after executing print job A even if there is another print queue. However, if an error occurs during the execution of print job A and the image forming device stops, even if print job B is executable regardless of the error, print job B will not be executed until the error is resolved, print job A resumes, and print job A is completed. Therefore, unless the user or administrator resolves the error, neither print job A nor print job B will be executed, and the queued print jobs cannot be efficiently executed.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to enable the rapid execution of an interrupt print job even if an error occurs in the image forming apparatus while a preceding print job is being executed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides an image forming system comprising an image generation device and an image forming device that performs data communication with the image generation device, wherein the image generation device comprises a job generation unit that generates print jobs, a print job storage unit that stores the print jobs, a first communication unit that performs data communication with the image forming device, an input reception unit that receives the selection of an interrupt print job to be printed preferentially from among the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit, and a first control unit that, when the input reception unit receives the input for the selection of the interrupt print job, transmits attribute information and an execution request for the interrupt print job from the first communication unit to the image forming device, wherein the image forming device comprises a second communication unit that performs data communication with the image generation device, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, and a second control unit that causes the image forming unit to execute a print job received from the image generation device via the second communication unit The image forming apparatus comprises an image forming unit and an interrupt execution determination unit that, when the operation of the image forming unit in accordance with a print job in progress is interrupted by an error, determines whether the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error has not been cleared, based on the attribute information received from the image generation device via the second communication unit. The interrupt execution determination unit of the image forming apparatus determines that the interrupt print job can be executed, and transmits completion information to the image generation device via the second communication unit indicating that the preparation for executing the interrupt print job is complete. The first control unit of the image generation device transmits the interrupt print job to the image forming device via the first communication unit when it receives the completion information from the image generation device. The second control unit of the image forming apparatus executes the processing in accordance with the interrupt print job received from the image generation device via the second communication unit with priority over the interrupted print job. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, even if an error occurs in the image forming apparatus while a preceding print job is being executed, an interrupt print job can be executed quickly. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the image forming system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus and the image generating apparatus. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing flow when an image generation device sends an interrupt print job to an image forming device. [Figure 4] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing flow when an image generation device sends an interrupt print job to an image forming device. [Figure 5] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing flow when an image generation device sends an interrupt print job to an image forming device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the image forming system 100 in this embodiment. The image forming system 100 consists of an image forming apparatus 1 and an image generating apparatus 2.

[0011] Image forming apparatus 1 prints images read from a document or images transmitted from image generation apparatus 2 onto paper. Image generation apparatus 2 is an electronic terminal such as a personal computer (PC) or tablet device, which creates print jobs to instruct image forming apparatus 1 to print.

[0012] Network N is a network capable of transmitting and receiving data, such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, and the image forming apparatus 1 and the image generating apparatus 2 transmit and receive data via Network N.

[0013] Figure 2 shows the electrical configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 and an image generating apparatus 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, an input receiving unit 12, an image reading unit 13, an image forming unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a communication unit 16, etc. The image forming apparatus 1 may be a copier, printer, facsimile machine, etc., or a multifunction device equipped with these functions. The image forming apparatus 1 may use any method, such as electrophotography or inkjet.

[0014] The input receiving unit 12 includes hard keys such as a confirmation key and a start key for confirming various operations and settings, and a display unit 121. The display unit 121 consists of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and displays operation screens, messages, etc. The display unit 121 may be integrated with a touch panel.

[0015] The image reading unit 13 is equipped with a scanner or the like and reads the image of the original document to acquire image data. The image forming unit 14 is an image forming mechanism such as an electrophotographic or inkjet method and prints an image on paper according to the image data read by the image reading unit 13 or a print job transmitted from the image generation device 2.

[0016] The storage unit 15 is a large-capacity storage device consisting of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores image data, various programs, data tables, etc., and has a print job temporary storage unit 151. The print job temporary storage unit 151 is a storage area that temporarily stores print jobs received from the image generation device 2.

[0017] The communication unit 16 is a communication module that exchanges various data, in addition to print jobs, with external devices such as the image generation device 2 via a network N such as the Internet. The communication unit 16 is an example of the second communication unit in the claims.

[0018] The control unit 11 is composed of a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or the like. The control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111 and an interrupt execution determination unit 112 by the processor executing a control program stored in the ROM or the like. The control unit 111 is in charge of the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 111 is an example of the second control unit in the claims.

[0019] Also, when the communication unit 16 receives a request to execute an interrupt printing job from the image generation apparatus 2 while the image forming unit 14 is executing a printing job, the control unit 111 interrupts the printing job being executed and controls the image forming unit 14 to execute the interrupt printing job.

[0020] When the operation by the image forming unit 14 according to the printing job being executed is interrupted due to an error, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines whether an interrupt printing job can be executed even if the error that has occurred has not been cleared, based on the attribute information received from the image generation apparatus 2 via the communication unit 16. The attribute information is data representing what properties the printing target indicated by the printing job has, for example, page configuration or section configuration.

[0021] Specifically, it will be described. Hereinafter, the printing job being executed by the image forming unit 14 before the image forming apparatus 1 executes an interrupt printing job is referred to as a preceding job. When an error occurs during the execution of the preceding job and the operation by the image forming unit 14 of the image forming apparatus 1 stops, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines whether an interrupt printing job can be executed even in this situation.

[0022] (1) The following are cases in which the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines that an interrupt print job can be executed even though an error has not been cleared. For example, (i) when the error is that A4 size paper is out of stock, but the paper size of the interrupt print job is not A4 size paper (the paper size of the interrupt print job is not out of stock), (ii) when a mismatch error occurs because the paper setting of the preceding job and the paper setting of the paper tray of the image forming apparatus 1 are different, but there is no mismatch between them and the paper setting of the interrupt print job, (iii) when one of the color ink cartridges is empty in the preceding job and a remaining ink error occurs, but the interrupt print job is monochrome printing and does not use color ink, etc. However, the examples of errors in which the interrupt print job is determined to be executable are not limited to these.

[0023] If the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines that the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error has not been cleared, the control unit 111 interrupts the preceding job and has the image forming unit 14 execute the interrupt print job, giving it priority over the preceding job. As a result, the interrupt print job is executed first even if the user does not clear the error, allowing the interrupt print job to be started and executed quickly.

[0024] (2) Conversely, there are errors in which the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines that the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the content of the error also affects the interrupt print job. The cases in which the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines that the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared are as follows:

[0025] For example, (i) an error occurs in the waste toner container or waste toner ink being full, or (ii) an error occurs in the transport path due to a paper jam. In these cases, the control unit 111 cannot execute the interrupt print job either. In this case, the control unit 111 interrupts the execution of the preceding job and, after the user clears the error, has the image forming unit 14 execute the interrupt print job first. However, examples of errors that make it impossible to execute the interrupt print job are not limited to these.

[0026] The image generation device 2 includes a control unit 21, an input receiving unit 22, a display unit 23, a communication unit 24, and a storage unit 25, etc. The input receiving unit 22 is a keyboard, a pointing device, etc. The input receiving unit 22 also accepts from the user the selection of an interrupt print job to be printed preferentially from among the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251, and is an example of an input receiving unit in the present invention.

[0027] The display unit 23 consists of a liquid crystal display or an organic E display, etc., and displays operation screens, messages, etc. The communication unit 24 is a communication module that exchanges various data with the image forming apparatus 1, etc., via a network N such as the Internet. The storage unit 25 is a large-capacity storage device consisting of an SSD or HDD that stores image data, various programs, data tables, etc.

[0028] The control unit 21 consists of a processor, RAM, ROM, etc. The processor is a CPU, MPU, or ASIC, etc. The control unit 21 functions as a control unit 211, a print queue management unit 212, and a job generation unit 213 by having the processor execute a control program stored in ROM, etc.

[0029] The control unit 211 is responsible for the overall operation control of the image generation device 2. The print queue management unit 212 allocates the execution order of print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251 of the image forming device 1. The job generation unit 213 generates print jobs. The print job storage unit 251 is a storage area within the storage unit 25, and the print jobs generated by the job generation unit 213 are stored in the print job storage unit 251 by the control unit 211.

[0030] Next, we will explain how the image generation device 2 manages interrupt printing jobs. Figure 3 is a sequence diagram showing the general processing flow when an interrupt printing job occurs, i.e., when no errors occur in the preceding job before the execution of the interrupt printing job.

[0031] When the input receiving unit 22 of the image generation device 2 receives an instruction to select an interrupt print job to be printed preferentially from among the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251 (S11), the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 sets a delimiter command indicating the timing to interrupt the preceding job and transmits the delimiter command from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S12). When an interrupt print job occurs, the image forming device 1 interrupts the preceding job and executes the processing according to the interrupt print job first, but the timing at which the image forming device 1 interrupts the preceding job is controlled by the image generation device 2.

[0032] The timing for interrupting a preceding job is, for example, the end of a page or the end of a section in a multi-page image to be printed by a print job. If the preceding job indicates printing one copy, the image generation device 2 sends the end of the page as a delimiter command to the image forming device 1. If the preceding job indicates printing multiple copies, the image generation device 2 sends the end of the section, i.e., the break in the number of copies, as a delimiter command to the image forming device 1.

[0033] Then, the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 transmits attribute information and execution request for the interrupted print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S13). In the image forming device 1, when the control unit 111 receives the attribute information and execution request for the interrupted print job via the communication unit 16, it causes the print job currently running (i.e., the preceding job) to run until it reaches the end of the page or section indicated by the received delimiter command. At this point, it transmits a signal from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 indicating that paper ejection up to the delimiter command has been completed (S14), interrupts the preceding job (S15), and transmits completion information from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 indicating that the preparation for executing the interrupted print job is complete (S16). When the control unit 111 interrupts the preceding job, it saves the job management object for the preceding job.

[0034] In the image generation device 2, when the control unit 211 receives the completion information via the communication unit 24, it transmits the interrupt print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S17).

[0035] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 receives the interrupt print job via the communication unit 16, it switches the print job to be executed to the interrupt print job (S18). That is, the control unit 111 switches the print target to the job management object of the interrupt print job.

[0036] Next, the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 transmits an instruction to start execution of an interrupt print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S19), and then transmits instruction signals for section start (S20) and page start (S21) to the image forming device 1.

[0037] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 receives the execution start instruction and each instruction signal via the communication unit 16, it executes an interrupt print job, performs processing according to the interrupt print job, and causes the image forming unit 14 to perform printing operations for the print target indicated by the print job. When the printing of the last page and paper ejection by the interrupt print job are completed, the control unit 111 transmits a signal indicating completion of paper ejection from the communication unit 16 to the image generating apparatus 2 (S22).

[0038] After the completion of the interrupted print job, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 1 sends a signal from the communication unit 16 to the image generating apparatus 2 indicating that the previously interrupted job can be resumed (S23), and switches the print job to be executed to the previous job (S24).

[0039] In the image generation apparatus 2, when the control unit 111 receives the signal indicating that execution can be resumed via the communication unit 24, it transmits the section number or page number for resuming printing of the preceding job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming apparatus 1 (S25). In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 receives the section number or page number via the communication unit 16, it has the image forming unit 14 resume printing of the print target indicated by the preceding job according to the received section number or page number for starting printing.

[0040] Next, we will explain the management of interrupt print jobs by the image generation device 2, specifically the process when an error occurs during the execution of a preceding job before the execution of an interrupt print job, and the error is not cleared but the interrupt print job can still be executed. Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow when an error occurs before the execution of an interrupt print job, and (1) the error is not cleared but the interrupt print job can still be executed. In Figure 4, processes with the same processing number as in Figure 3 indicate that they are the same processes as in Figure 3.

[0041] When the input receiving unit 22 of the image generation device 2 receives an instruction to select an interrupt print job to be printed preferentially from among the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251 (S11), the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 sets a delimiter command indicating the timing to interrupt the preceding job and transmits the delimiter command from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S12).

[0042] Furthermore, the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 transmits attribute information and execution request for the interrupted print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S13). When the control unit 111 of the image forming device 1 receives the attribute information and execution request for the interrupted print job via the communication unit 16, it starts processing the print job currently running (i.e., the preceding job) to execute the preceding job up to the end of the page or section indicated by the received delimiter command.

[0043] If an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 1 while the preceding job is being executed, the control unit 111 stops the operation of the image forming unit 14 for the print target indicated by the preceding job (S31). Then, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines, based on the attribute information of the interrupt print job received in S13, whether the interrupt print job can be executed even if the above error has not been cleared (S32). Here, it is assumed that the interrupt execution determination unit 112 has determined, based on the attribute information, that the interrupt print job can be executed even if the above error has not been cleared. The interrupt execution determination unit 112 interrupts and cancels the execution of the preceding job (S33).

[0044] Then, the control unit 111 sends a cancellation notification for the preceding job from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 (S34), and sends completion information from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 indicating that the interrupt print job is ready to be executed (S16).

[0045] After S16, when the control unit 211 of the image generation device 2 receives the completion information via the communication unit 24, it transmits the interrupt print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S17).

[0046] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 receives the interrupt print job via the communication unit 16, it switches the print job to be executed to the interrupt print job (S18). Thereafter, in the same sequence as shown in Figure 3, the image forming apparatus 1 operates the image forming unit 14 based on the interrupt print job under the control of the control unit 111, in accordance with each instruction received from the image forming apparatus 2. When the printing of the final page and paper ejection by the interrupt print job are completed, the control unit 111 sends a signal indicating completion of paper ejection from the communication unit 16 to the image generating apparatus 2 (S22).

[0047] In the image generation device 2, when the communication unit 24 receives a signal indicating the completion of paper ejection, the print queue management unit 212 re-registers the preceding job that was interrupted in process S33 at the end of the print queue for the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251 (S35). At this point, the above error has not been resolved and the preceding job cannot be executed, so other print jobs waiting in the queue that may be able to be executed despite the above error are given priority.

[0048] The print queue management unit 212 may also cause the print job storage unit 251 to re-register the preceding job that was interrupted in process S33 at the beginning of the print queue (S35). In this case, the above error has not been resolved and the preceding job cannot be executed immediately, but the control unit 111 will resume execution from the preceding job according to the print queue when the above error is cleared.

[0049] Next, we will explain the management of interrupt print jobs by the image generation device 2, specifically the process when an error occurs during the execution of a preceding job before the execution of an interrupt print job, and the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow when an error occurs during the execution of a preceding job, and (2) the preceding job and the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared. In Figure 5, processes with the same processing number as in Figures 3 and 4 indicate that they are the same processes.

[0050] In the image forming apparatus 1, if an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 1 while a preceding job is being executed, the control unit 111 stops the operation of the image forming unit 14 for the print target indicated by the preceding job (S31). Then, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines, based on the attribute information of the interrupt print job received in S13, whether or not the interrupt print job can be executed even if the above error has not been cleared (S32). Here, it is assumed that the interrupt execution determination unit 112 has determined, based on the above attribute information, that the interrupt print job cannot be executed if the above error has not been cleared.

[0051] At this time, the control unit 111 transmits release information indicating error release guidance from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 (S41). This error release guidance is information indicating the work necessary to resolve the error that has occurred at this point, and each error release guidance corresponding to the type of error is stored in the storage unit 15. The control unit 111 reads the error release guidance corresponding to the type of error that has occurred at this point from the storage unit 15 and transmits the read error release guidance as release information from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2.

[0052] In the image generation device 2, when the control unit 211 receives the release information via the communication unit 24, it causes the display unit 23 to display the error message indicated by the release information.

[0053] Subsequently, the user or administrator visually confirms the error message displayed on the display unit 23 of the image generation device 2 and performs the necessary work on the image forming apparatus 1 to resolve the error. When the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 1 recognizes that the error has been resolved, for example, based on signals received from the built-in sensors (S42), the interrupt execution determination unit 112 interrupts and cancels the execution of the preceding job (S33).

[0054] Then, the control unit 111 sends a cancellation notification for the preceding job from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 (S34), and sends completion information from the communication unit 16 to the image generation device 2 indicating that the interrupt print job is ready to be executed (S16).

[0055] In the image generation device 2, when the control unit 211 receives the completion information via the communication unit 24, it transmits the interrupt print job from the communication unit 24 to the image forming device 1 (S17).

[0056] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 receives the interrupt print job via the communication unit 16, it switches the print job to be executed to an interrupt print job (S18).

[0057] Subsequently, in the same manner as the sequence diagrams shown in Figures 3 and 4, the image forming apparatus 1 operates according to the instructions received from the image forming apparatus 2, under the control of the control unit 111, and the image forming unit 14 operates based on the interrupted print job. When the image generating apparatus 2 receives a signal from the communication unit 24 indicating the completion of paper ejection, the print queue management unit 212 re-registers the preceding job that was interrupted in process S33 at the beginning of the print queue for the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit 251 (S35). At this point, the above error has been resolved and the preceding job can be executed immediately, so the preceding job that was interrupted is given priority for execution.

[0058] As explained above, if an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 1 before the execution of an interrupt print job, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines whether the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error is not cleared. If the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error is not cleared, the control unit 111 cancels the preceding job and has the image forming unit 14 execute the interrupt print job. As a result, the interrupt print job starts quickly without the user having to clear the error, so that pending print jobs can be executed efficiently and the usability of the image forming apparatus 1 can be improved.

[0059] It should be noted that the configuration and processing described in the above embodiment are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to that configuration and processing. For example, the case in (2) above where the preceding job and the interrupt printing job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared was described for the case where there is one interrupt printing job. When there are multiple interrupt printing jobs (for example, interrupt printing job A and interrupt printing job B), the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines whether all interrupt printing jobs can be executed in the case where the error has not been cleared.

[0060] For example, if the interrupt execution determination unit 112 determines that the preceding job and interrupt print job A cannot be executed because an error has not been cleared, but interrupt print job B can be executed, the control unit 111 will interrupt the execution of the preceding job and interrupt print job A, switch to executing interrupt print job B, and execute interrupt print job B first. In this way, if there are multiple interrupt print jobs, the interrupt execution determination unit 112 may select the interrupt print job that can be executed even if an error has not been cleared, and the control unit 111 may execute it.

[0061] According to the present invention, if the image forming apparatus stops due to an error, the interrupt execution determination unit determines whether an interrupt print job can be executed even if the error has not been cleared. If an interrupt print job can be executed even if the error has not been cleared, the control unit interrupts the preceding job and has the image forming apparatus execute the interrupt print job. As a result, the interrupt print job is executed first without the user having to clear the error, allowing the interrupt print job to start quickly and improving the convenience of the image forming apparatus.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiments and various modifications are possible. Furthermore, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiments using Figures 1 to 5 are merely one embodiment of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention to such configuration and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 100 Image Forming Systems 1. Image forming apparatus 111 Control Unit 112 Interrupt execution decision unit 12 Input reception section 121 Display section 13 Image reading unit 14 Image forming unit 15 Storage section 16 Communications Department 2 Image generation device 211 Control Unit 212 Print Queue Management Department 213 Job Generation Unit 22 Input Reception Section 23 Display section 24 Communications Department 25 Memory section 251 Print job storage unit N Network

Claims

1. An image forming system comprising an image generation device and an image forming device that performs data communication between the image generation device and the image generation device, The image generation device is A job generation unit that generates print jobs, A print job storage unit for storing the aforementioned print jobs, A first communication unit that performs data communication with the image forming apparatus, An input receiving unit that receives the selection of an interrupt print job to be printed preferentially from among the print jobs stored in the print job storage unit, The system includes a first control unit which, upon receiving the input of the interrupt print job selection, transmits attribute information and an execution request for the interrupt print job from the first communication unit to the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus is A second communication unit that performs data communication with the aforementioned image generation device, An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, A second control unit causes the image forming unit to execute a print job received from the image generation device via the second communication unit, The system includes an interrupt execution determination unit that, when the operation of the image forming unit in accordance with a print job in progress is interrupted by an error, determines whether the interrupt print job can be executed even if the error has not been cleared, based on the attribute information received from the image generation device via the second communication unit, When the interrupt execution determination unit of the image forming apparatus determines that the interrupt print job is executable, it transmits completion information to the image generation apparatus via the second communication unit indicating that the preparation for executing the interrupt print job is complete. The first control unit of the image generation apparatus, upon receiving the completion information from the image generation apparatus via the first communication unit, transmits the interrupt print job to the image forming apparatus. The second control unit of the image forming apparatus performs processing according to the interrupted print job received from the image generating apparatus via the second communication unit, with priority given to the interrupted print job, in this image forming system.

2. The image generation device further comprises a print queue management unit that assigns the order in which to execute the print jobs, The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the print queue management unit sets the interrupted print job to the end of the print queue after the image forming apparatus has executed the interrupted print job.

3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein if the interrupt execution determination unit of the image forming apparatus determines that the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared, it transmits the completion information to the image generation apparatus via the second communication unit after the error has been cleared.

4. The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein if the interrupt execution determination unit of the image forming apparatus determines that the interrupt print job cannot be executed because the error has not been cleared, it transmits clearing information indicating guidance for clearing the error to the image generating apparatus via the second communication unit.

Images