Patent ID: 7791743

Claim:
An image reader which is connected to a printer via a communication line to issue a print instruction to the printer by directly transmitting image data read by the image reader to the printer, the image reader comprising: a paper feed direction information acquisition unit that acquires, from the printer, paper feed direction information indicating whether the feeding direction of paper, which has been printed in the printer, is depthwise or crosswise; a paper information acquisition unit that acquires, from the printer, paper information indicating whether an orientation of paper to be fed from a paper tray of the printer according to the print instruction is a short edge feed (SEF) or a long edge feed (LEF), the SEF meaning that a long edge of the paper is horizontal and a short edge of the paper is vertical, the LEF meaning that the short edge of the paper is horizontal and the long edge of the paper is vertical; a printed paper information determining unit that (1) determines that an orientation of paper which has been printed is indicated as landscape in a printed paper information when the paper feed direction information acquired by the paper feed direction information acquisition unit indicates crosswise and the orientation of paper indicated in the paper information acquired by the paper information acquisition unit is the SEF or when the paper feed direction information acquired by the paper feed direction information acquisition unit indicates depthwise and the orientation of paper indicated in the paper information acquired by the paper information acquisition unit is the LEF or (2) determines that the orientation of paper which has been printed is indicated as portrait in the printed paper information when the paper feed direction information acquired by the paper feed direction information acquisition unit indicates crosswise and the orientation of paper indicated in the paper information acquired by the paper information acquisition unit is the LEF or when the paper feed direction information indicates depthwise and the orientation of paper indicated in the paper informality is the SEF; and a display that displays the orientation of paper indicated in the printed paper information determined by the printed paper information determining unit as an orientation of paper having been printed and to be discharged from the printer.