Patent ID: 8109624

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a calculating device that divides print data to be printed onto a recording medium into a plurality of zones along a conveyance direction of the recording medium, and, before printing on the recording medium, calculates printing time and drying time per each divided zone based on a data amount in each zone; a waiting time calculating device that, before printing on the recording medium, calculates waiting time from completion of printing onto the recording medium until the recording medium has been dried, based on the printing time and the drying time per each zone in consideration of elapse of the drying time of the previously printed zone(s) during printing; and a print controlling device that, before printing on the recording medium, configures settings for printing of the recording medium based on the waiting time and performs printing according to the settings; wherein said plurality of zones are n zones, wherein n is an integer larger than 1, before printing on the recording medium, the waiting time calculating device calculates time per each divided zone i by subtracting a sum of the printing time of all the zones that are to be printed after the zone i from the drying time of the zone i, and sets the largest of all the calculated time and the drying time of the zone to be printed last to the waiting time, wherein 1≦i≦n−1.