Patent ID: 8867051

Claim:
A printing system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses that store print data, the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to each other and include a first image forming apparatus and a second image forming apparatus, wherein the first image forming apparatus comprises: a first storage control unit configured to store print data and bibliographic information of the print data in a first storage unit; an image forming apparatus information transmission unit configured to transmit identification information for identifying the first image forming apparatus to the second image forming apparatus and to indicate that print data is stored in the first image forming apparatus; an image forming apparatus information request unit configured to request, from the second image forming apparatus, a list of image forming apparatuses that are storing print data to print the print data stored in the first storage unit; an image forming apparatus list reception unit configured to receive the list of image forming apparatuses; a print data list request unit configured to request a list of print data from image forming apparatuses corresponding to the received list of image forming apparatuses; a print data list reception unit configured to receive the list of print data; a print request unit configured to make a print request to an image forming apparatus in which the print data is stored; a printing unit configured to print received print data; a print data deletion unit configured to delete print data or to change the print data to a deleted status; and a deletion notification unit configured to provide a deletion notification to the second image forming apparatus when it is determined that print data is deleted or changed to a deleted status by the print data deletion unit and printable print data is not present, and wherein the second image forming apparatus comprises: an image forming apparatus information reception unit configured to receive the identification information from the first image forming apparatus; a second storage control unit configured to store the identification information in a second storage unit; an image forming apparatus information request reception unit configured to receive a request for a list of image forming apparatuses from the first image forming apparatus; an image forming apparatus list transmission unit configured to transmit a list of image forming apparatuses in which print data is stored to the first image forming apparatus; a deletion notification reception unit configured to receive the deletion notification from the first image forming apparatus; and an image forming apparatus information deletion unit configured to delete the identification information of the first image forming apparatus from the second storage unit according to the deletion notification.