Patent ID: 8452199

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image former configured to form a toner image on an image bearer; a transferer configured to transfer the toner image onto a recording medium; a cleaner configured to collect a waste toner remaining on the image bearer after transfer of the toner image; a waste toner collection container configured to accumulate the waste toner therein; a first detector configured to detect whether the waste toner collection container is properly set in the image forming apparatus; a second detector configured to detect that the waste toner collection container is nearly full of the waste toner; a first determiner configured to determine a first quantity of the waste toner in the waste toner collection container; a second determiner configured to determine whether the waste toner collection container is properly exchanged with a vacant waste toner collection container; and a limiter configured to limit toner images to a printable quantity after the waste toner collection container is detected to be nearly full of the waste toner, based on the second determiner, wherein the second determiner determines that the waste toner collection container is exchanged with a new collection container when the first waste toner quantity determined by the first determiner is not less than a second quantity when the waste toner collection container is nearly full of the waste toner, the first determiner is configured to determine the first waste toner quantity based on a toner feed quantity as pixel information of the toner images, the first waste toner quantity being indicative of whether the waste toner collection container is vacant or already partially-filled, the limiter is configured to determine that the printable quantity of the toner images is the number of printable actual recording medium once the waste toner collection container is deemed to be already partially-filled by the first determiner, and the limiter is configured to determine the printable quantity of the toner images based on the pixel information.