Image forming system which controls image formation on a bundle of sheets to be bound by a ring bookbinding section

An image forming system comprising:

• a sheet feeding section which feeds sheets;
• an image data acquisition section which acquires image data of a plurality of pages;
• an image forming section which carries out image formation on the sheets fed by the sheet feeding section based on the image data;
• a cover sheet setting section which acquires a user input for setting a cover sheet;
• a ring bookbinding section which performs a ring bookbinding to a bundle of sheets by using a ring binder;
• a judging section which judges whether or not an image is to be formed by the image forming section on a last sheet of the bundle of sheets based on the user input for setting the cover sheet acquired by the cover sheet setting section;
• and
• a control section configured to control the sheet feeding section and the image forming section such that:
• (i) when the judging section judges that an image is not to be formed by the image forming section on the last sheet of the bundle of sheets, the last sheet of the bundle of sheets, which is to be a rear cover sheet, is fed by the sheet feeding section before the image data acquisition section acquires the image data of a last page of the plurality of pages after job initiation and, after the sheet feeing section has fed the last sheet of the bundle of sheets, the image forming section begins forming images based on the image data onto a plurality of the sheets without forming an image on the last sheet of the bundle of sheets;
• and
• (ii) when the judging section judges that an image is to be formed by the image forming section on the last sheet of the bundle of sheets, which is to be the rear cover sheet, the image data acquisition section acquires at least the image data of the last page of the plurality of pages after job initiation, and then the image forming section carries out image formation on the plurality of sheets based on the image data.