Media processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and image forming system

A media processing apparatus, comprising:

• an internal tray;
• an ejection tray to stack sheet media;
• a first conveyor to convey a sheet medium in a first conveyance direction leading to the ejection tray via the internal tray;
• a second conveyor to come into and out of contact with the sheet medium stacked on the internal tray and convey the sheet medium in a second conveyance direction different from the first conveyance direction;
• a binder disposed at a downstream end of the internal tray in the second conveyance direction, to bind sheet media stacked on the internal tray, the binder including a pair of clampers facing each other to clamp the sheet media stacked on the internal tray;
• and
• control circuitry configured to control operations of the first conveyor, the second conveyor, and the binder,
• the binder being switchable among
• an out-of-contact state in which the pair of clampers are out of contact with each other to receive the sheet medium,
• a clamping state in which the sheet media are clamped by the pair of clampers, and
• a binding state in which the sheet media are pressed and bound by the pair of clampers,
• the control circuitry configured to switch the binder into the clamping state when an (N+1)-th sheet medium is conveyed in the first conveyance direction while contacting an N-th sheet medium in a state in which N sheets of sheet media are stacked on the internal tray, wherein N is a natural number.