Patent ID: 8908207

Claim:
A print server connected, through a communication network, with a client device for transferring PDL data and an image forming apparatus including a RIP section for creating raster data by rasterizing the PDL data and a printer section for printing based on the raster data, the print server comprising: a RIP section for creating raster data by rasterizing the PDL data received from the client device; a control section configured to determine if the PDL data received from the client device is a regular job, which designates the image forming apparatus for immediate printing, or a stored job, which is stored in the print server, without the image forming apparatus being designated by the client device, and wherein the control section is configured to compare a preparing time for an output when transferring the PDL data received from the client device to the image forming apparatus with a preparing time for the output when transferring the raster data created in the RIP section of the print server to the image forming apparatus, and transfers, to the image forming apparatus, one of the data which takes a shorter preparing time for the output; a storage section configured to store the PDL data received from the client device in the form of the stored job, which is stored on the print server until an instruction of printing based on the data stored in the storage section is given by the image forming apparatus to the print server; wherein upon receipt of the PDL data of the stored job, the PDL data is rasterized by the RIP section, and both the PDL data and raster data for the stored job is stored in the storage section until the instruction of printing is given by the image forming apparatus to the print server; wherein the storage section further is configured to store the raster data created by the RIP section of the print server, information on processing capacity of the RIP section of the image forming apparatus and information on a data transfer capacity of the communication network; and wherein when the instruction of printing based on the data stored in the storage section has been given, the control section refers to the information on the processing capacity and on the data transfer capacity, and calculates a first required time period necessary for transferring the PDL data stored in the storage section to the image forming apparatus and creating the raster data in the RIP section of the image forming apparatus and a second required time period necessary for transferring the raster data stored in the storage section to the image forming apparatus and if the first required time period is greater than the second required time period, the control section transfers the raster data stored in the storage section to the image forming apparatus and if the first required time period is equal to or smaller than the second required time period, the control section transfers the PDL data stored in the storage section to the image forming apparatus.