Patent ID: 7769312

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image information storage unit that stores inputted image information as original image information, an image information processing unit that performs a process of converting the image information stored in the image information storage unit to outputable image information, an actual image forming unit that forms on a physical medium the outputable image information that has undergone the process of conversion by the image information processing unit, an image information control unit that controls transfer of image information between each of the units, a power supply control unit that controls a state of power supply of each of the units as required, a cost information management unit that holds basic cost information prescribing power costs dependent on a usage time and calculates unit cost information of an arbitrary time, and an image processing time management unit that calculates a processing time required for image output jobs in which image forming is to be performed by the image information processing unit and the actual image forming unit based on the image information stored in the image information storage unit, wherein, in relation to execution timings of image output jobs by the actual image forming unit, the image information control unit sets the execution timings of the image output jobs based on the basic cost information so that a total of image output costs of all target image output jobs stored in the image information storage unit is lowest, wherein, in relation to execution timings of image output jobs by the actual image forming unit, the image information control unit calculates a total of image output costs of an arbitrary time for the image output jobs of all the image information based on a processing time of the image output jobs of all target image information stored in the image information storage unit calculated by the image processing time management unit and unit cost information calculated by the cost information management unit, and sets a time at which the total of the image output costs is lowest as the execution timings of the image output jobs, and wherein the image information control unit resets at a fixed interval the execution timings of the image output jobs of all target image information stored in the image information storage unit when one or a plurality of sets of image information have been additionally stored in the image information storage unit before an execution timing of image output jobs that has been set arrives.