Patent ID: 8681349

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: a job reception section which accepts a job to output an image; a job execution section which executes the job accepted by the job reception section and outputs the image; and a control section which, in cases where the job accepted by the job reception section is a job which requires an approval for outputting the image, makes the job under an approval waiting state, and transmits an approval request notice requiring the approval of an approver for outputting the image by the job, and in cases of receiving an approval notice indicating the approval for outputting the image by the job requiring the approval, switches whether to execute a first execution operation that immediately starts the job execution automatically without receiving any user's operation after receiving the approval notice, or to execute a second execution operation that does not immediately, start the job execution after receiving the approval notice and starts to execute the job after further receiving an execution instruction operation, according to an attribute of the job, wherein the job execution section has, as output modes for outputting the image, a first output mode where a confidentiality level is unchanged between the case of executing the first execution operation after the approval and the case of executing the second execution operation, and a second output mode where the confidentiality becomes higher in the case of executing the second execution operation than the case of executing the first execution operation after the approval, and wherein the job attribute to be a judgment factor for switching the first and second execution operations is information identifying the output mode, and the control section switches to the first execution operation with respect to the job identified to be the first output mode, and to the second execution operation with respect to the job identified to be the second output mode.