Patent ID: 8817298

Claim:
An image forming apparatus that is connected to a plurality of information technology equipment, and performs image formation on a recording medium based on data for printing, comprising: a storing portion for storing a management table that manages identification information of a user, a number of used sheets of the recording medium, and ranking of the number of used sheets of each user in whole users and arranges the users so that the user with a smaller number of used sheets is in a higher place; a receiving portion for receiving the data for printing and the identification information of the user owning the data for printing from the information technology equipment; a calculating portion for calculating a number of sheets to be used of the recording medium necessary for the image formation based on the data for printing received by the receiving portion; an updating portion for, whenever the receiving portion receives the data for printing from the information technology equipment, adding the number of sheets to be used calculated by the calculating portion to the number of used sheets of the user corresponding to the identification information received by the receiving portion among the numbers of used sheets by the respective users managed by the management table to update the ranking of the number of used sheets so that the user with a smaller number of used sheets is in a higher place; a notifying portion for notifying the ranking of the user owning the data for printing so that the user with a smaller number of used sheets is in a higher place, with reference to the management table updated by the updating portion; and a notification request receiving portion for receiving input of a notification request of the ranking of the users, wherein when the notification request receiving portion receives the notification request, the notifying portion notifies the ranking of a part of the users so that the user with a smaller number of used sheets is in a higher place to the user who performed the notification request.