Patent ID: 8526029

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives print jobs; a paper information storing unit that, when the received print jobs are executed according to a given order and each time one page of a document in a print job having reached its turn in the order of printing is printed, stores paper information preset in the printed page; an initializing unit that initializes the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit during a period between the printing of the print job having reached its turn in the given order and the printing of the next print job after the print job in the given order; a paper information comparing unit that compares the paper information of the page to be printed in the print job having reached its turn in the order of printing with the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit; a temporary stopping unit that temporarily stops printing in the case that the paper information of the page to be printed is different from the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit as the result of the comparison; and a printing unit that prints the print data of the page to be printed in the case that the paper information of the page to be printed is the same as the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit as the result of the comparison or the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit has been initialized, wherein: the initializing unit initializes the paper information after each of the print jobs ends; the paper information comparing unit compares the paper information to be printed next with the paper information printed immediately before; in response to the paper information of the page to be printed being the same as the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit as the result of the comparison, the printing unit prints the print data of the page to be printed without an instruction from a user; in response to the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit being initialized, the printing unit prints the print data of the page to be printed without the instruction from the user; and in response to the paper information of the page to be printed not being the same as the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit as the result of the comparison the paper information stored in the paper information storing unit not being initialized, the image forming apparatus temporarily stops the printing and displays a message prompting the user to carry out paper replacement on an operation panel.