Image forming apparatus, image forming system, management apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores program

An image forming system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses that are connected via a network, the image forming system outputting a job to the plurality of the image forming apparatuses in a distributed manner, each of the plurality of the image forming apparatuses including a printer, the system comprising:

• a hardware processor that is configured to:
• receive the job;
• determine whether the received job is a parallel tandem job;
• in a case in which it is determined that the received job is a parallel tandem job, transfer, via the network, data of the parallel tandem job to distribute the job to the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and acquire, via the network, state information indicating an operating state of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to which the distributed job is transmitted;
• determine based on the acquired state information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print a reference test chart on a transfer medium, and which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print an individual test chart on a transfer medium, wherein the test chart is used as a reference for an image formation adjustment in each of the image forming apparatuses;
• control the printer of a first image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the reference test chart, to print the reference test chart on the transfer medium;
• control the printer of at least one other image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the individual test chart, to print the individual test chart;
• and
• control the at least one other image forming apparatus to perform image quality correction based on the reference test chart printed by the printer of the first image forming apparatus and the individual test chart printed by the printer of the at least one other image forming apparatus so as to match image quality of the first image forming apparatus,
• wherein the state information includes at least one of a number of reserved jobs and an installation status of a sensor for reading the reference test chart and the individual test chart.

A management apparatus managing a system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses that are connected via a network, the system outputting a job to the plurality of the image forming apparatuses in a distributed manner, each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses including a printer, the management apparatus comprising:

• a hardware processor that is configured to:
• receive the job;
• determine whether the received job is a parallel tandem job;
• in a case in which it is determined that the received job is a parallel tandem job, transfer, via the network, data of the parallel tandem job to distribute the job to the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and acquire, via the network, state information indicating an operating state of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to which the distributed job is transmitted;
• determine based on the acquired state information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print a reference test chart on a transfer medium, and which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print an individual test chart on a transfer medium, wherein the test chart being used as a reference for an image quality adjustment in each of the image forming apparatuses;
• control the printer of a first image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the reference test chart, to print the reference test chart on the transfer medium;
• control the printer of at least one other image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the individual test chart, to print the individual test chart;
• and
• control the at least one other image forming apparatus to perform image quality correction based on the reference test chart printed by the printer of the first image forming apparatus and the individual test chart printed by the printer of the at least one other image forming apparatus so as to match image quality of the first image forming apparatus,
• wherein the state information includes at least one of a number of reserved jobs and an installation status of a sensor for reading the reference test chart and the individual test chart.

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores a program executed in a computer for controlling a distributed output of an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the image forming system outputting a job to the plurality of the image forming apparatuses in a distributed manner, each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses including a printer, the program causing the computer to perform functions comprising:

• receiving the job;
• determining whether the received job is a parallel tandem job;
• in a case in which it is determined that the received job is a parallel tandem job, transferring, via the network, data of the parallel tandem job to distribute the job to the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and acquiring, via the network, state information indicating an operating state of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to which the distributed job is transmitted;
• determining based on the acquired state information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print a reference test chart on a transfer medium, and which among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is to print an individual test chart on a transfer medium, wherein the reference test chart is used as a reference for an image quality adjustment in each of the image forming apparatuses
• controlling the printer of a first image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the reference test chart, to print the reference test chart on the transfer medium;
• controlling the printer of at least one other image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses which is determined as the image forming apparatus to print the individual test chart, to print the individual test chart;
• and
• controlling the at least one other image forming apparatus to perform image quality correction based on the reference test chart printed by the printer of the first image forming apparatus and the individual test chart printed by the printer of the at least one other image forming apparatus so as to match image quality of the first image forming apparatus,
• wherein the state information includes at least one of a number of reserved jobs and an installation status of a sensor for reading the reference test chart and the individual test chart.