Patent ID: 8223359

Claim:
A printing device, comprising: a receiving unit which receives print data for confidential printing; a lockable output bin in which a printed recording medium based on said print data can be outputted, wherein said lockable output bin is capable of being locked and unlocked by a key; a holding unit for holding said print data and reading out said print data for printing based on user verification; and a controller which decides an output destination for said received print data to be either said lockable output bin or said holding unit in accordance with an estimated time required for printing said print data calculated based on a printing condition of said print data, said controller deciding the output destination for said print data to be said lockable output bin if said estimated time is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value, and to be said holding unit if said estimated time is smaller than the threshold value, said controller forwarding said print data to another printing device having a lockable output bin that can be used if said controller decides that said output destination for said print data is said lockable output bin and said lockable output bin is unavailable.