Image processing system, information providing apparatus, and information providing method for simultaneously displaying environmental burden reductions in an image forming apparatus and an erasing apparatus

An information providing apparatus comprising:

• a storage section configured to store display layout data;
• a communication section configured to receive first information containing information about a setting for image formation performed by an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet using a color material decolorable by heating and further receive second information containing information about the number of sheets erased by an erasing apparatus that decolorizes and erases, by heating, an image on a sheet outputted from the image forming apparatus, and
• a controller configured to compute, from a reduction in the number of sheets that is derived from the information which is included in the first information and relates to the setting for image formation, an amount of a reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by use of the image forming apparatus, to compute, from the information which is included in the second information and relates to the number of sheets erased, an amount of a reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by use of the erasing apparatus, and to generate display data by placing, in the layout data stored in the storage section, the computed amount of the reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by the erasing apparatus and the computed amount of the reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by the image forming apparatus such that the values of these computed amounts of the reductions in environmental burdens are displayed simultaneously.

An information providing method comprising:

• causing an image forming apparatus to form an image on a sheet using a color material decolorable by heating;
• causing an erasing apparatus to decolorize and erase, by heating, the image on the sheet outputted from the image forming apparatus;
• causing a first apparatus to compute, from a reduction in the number of sheets that has been achieved by a setting for image formation in the image forming apparatus, an amount of a reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by use of the image forming apparatus and to compute, from the number of sheets erased by the erasing apparatus, an amount of a reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by use of the erasing apparatus;
• and
• displaying simultaneously, on at least one of the image forming apparatus and the erasing apparatus, the amount of the reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by the erasing apparatus and the amount of the reduction in environmental burdens that has been achieved by the image forming apparatus, these amounts having been computed by the first apparatus.