Patent ID: 8270013

Claim:
A printing system, comprising: an information processing apparatus that processes information on a printing operation; and an image forming apparatus that is connected to the information processing apparatus via a network and that performs the printing operation based on the information processed by the information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a print-data generating unit that generates print data in response to a print request from a user, the print request including a status indicating that a printout destination has not been selected by the user, a storage unit that stores therein the print data generated by the print-data generating unit, and a first communication processing unit that, when the print-data generating unit generates the print data, enters a standby state for waiting for a print-data transmission request from the image forming apparatus; the image forming apparatus includes an input unit that receives identification data uniquely identifying the information processing apparatus in which the print data is stored, wherein the input unit receives, when the information processing apparatus is in the standby state and waiting for a plurality of print-data transmission requests corresponding to a plurality of print data, a designation selecting one of the plurality of print data to be printed out by the image forming apparatus, a second communication processing unit that transmits the print-data transmission request to the information processing apparatus corresponding to the received identification data and that receives the print data transmitted from the information processing apparatus in response to the print-data transmission request, and a print unit that prints out the print data received from the information processing apparatus; the first communication processing unit transmits the print data stored in the storage unit to the second communication processing unit upon receiving the print-data transmission request from the image forming apparatus, which is the printout destination; and when the first communication processing unit receives a print incomplete notification from the image forming apparatus that received the print data, the first communication processing unit obtains a number of print pages for which the printing operation has been completed from the print incomplete notification, and transmits, of the print data, only subsequent pages that follow the obtained number of print pages to another image forming apparatus.