Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and recording medium storing program that causes the apparatus to execute the method

An image forming method used in an image forming apparatus including a plurality of ink cartridges to contain ink, each ink cartridge including a memory on which information is writable or updatable, and a plurality of image forming units to form images using the ink contained in the corresponding ink cartridges,

• the method comprising:
• managing an amount of ink remaining in each of the plurality of image forming units;
• determining at least one of a need for and a type of maintenance to be executed on each of the image forming units;
• writing or updating, when an ink near-empty or empty state occurs in a first one of the ink cartridges, information indicative of a spent state on the memory of the first ink cartridge;
• estimating an amount of ink required to execute the maintenance on each of the ink cartridges;
• and
• determining executability of the maintenance on each of the ink cartridges by comparing the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount,
• wherein, if the ink near-empty or empty state of the first ink cartridge is caused by image formation, the estimating estimates an amount of ink required to execute the maintenance on each of the other ink cartridges based on the at least one of the need for and the type of maintenance determined in the determining the at least one of the need for and the type of maintenance to be executed on each of the plurality of image forming units, and
• wherein, if the determining executability of the maintenance determines that the maintenance is not executable on at least one of the other ink cartridges based on the required ink amount and the remaining ink amount, the method includes determining that the at least one ink cartridge is at an ink near-empty or empty state and stopping writing or updating the information indicative of the spent state on the memory of the at least one ink cartridge.

A recording medium storing program codes causing an image forming apparatus to execute an image forming method, the image forming apparatus including a plurality of ink cartridges to contain ink, each ink cartridge including a memory on which information is writable or updatable, and a plurality of image forming units to form images using the ink contained in the corresponding ink cartridges,

• the method comprising:
• managing an amount of ink remaining in each of the plurality of image forming units;
• determining at least one of a need for and a type of maintenance to be executed on each of the image forming units;
• writing or updating, when an ink near-empty or empty state occurs in a first one of the ink cartridges, information indicative of a spent state on the memory of the first ink cartridge;
• estimating an amount of ink required to execute the maintenance on each of the ink cartridges;
• and
• determining executability of the maintenance on each of the ink cartridges by comparing the remaining ink amount and the required ink amount,
• wherein, if the ink near-empty or empty state of the first ink cartridge is caused by image formation, the estimating estimates an amount of ink required to execute the maintenance on each of the other ink cartridges based on the at least one of the need for and the type of maintenance determined in the determining the at least one of the need for and the type of maintenance to be executed on each of the plurality of image forming units, and
• wherein, if the determining executability of the maintenance determines that the maintenance is not executable on at least one of the other ink cartridges based on the required ink amount and the remaining ink amount, the method includes determining that the at least one ink cartridge is at an ink near-empty or empty state and stopping writing or updating the information indicative of the spent state on the memory of the at least one ink cartridge.