Patent ID: 8141161

Claim:
A system for managing trace of issuing certificates by an image forming apparatus, comprising a certificate server having a certificate database, a log server having first log storage means, and a client are interconnected via a communication medium to constitute a network, and the image forming apparatus is coupled to the client, wherein the certificate server comprises means for, in response to a request that specifies selection conditions from the client, extracting certificate data that satisfies the selection conditions from the certificate database, creating a certificate file that includes data relating to the extracted certificate data and print job and a certificate ID code having a client terminal identification code, and transmitting the certificate file to the client, wherein the client comprises means for extracting print-job log data from the received certificate file, and for creating certificate print data based on the certificate file to transmit to the image forming apparatus, wherein the print-job log data includes the certificate ID code, wherein the certificate print data includes data not to be printed that has the certificate ID code and a page number of each page, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises means for, in response to receiving the print data, transmitting data of its page number together with the certificate ID to the client before printing the print data, means for, in response to a completion of bitmap conversion from the print data by one page, transmitting data of its page number together with the certificate ID to the client, means for printing the bitmap data on paper every page, confirming completion of discharge of a printed sheet every page, and thereafter transmitting a discharge log data relating to the discharge and including the certificate ID code and its page number to the client, wherein the client further comprises means for transmitting the received print-job log data and the discharge-log data to the log server, wherein the log server comprises means for storing the received print-job log data and the discharge-log data in the first log storage means, and in response to a search request for the contents of the first log storage means, outputting a result thereof.