Patent ID: 8055148

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing engine that secondarily supplies a sheet primarily supplied from a sheet storage portion, and transfers and fixes image data to the sheet; a print job input unit that inputs a print job having the image data and printing setting information; an image data storing unit that continuously stores the image data by dividing the image data on a band basis of a predetermined data amount; a job managing unit that outputs, based on the printing setting information, a primary sheet supply numerical order of the band and an image data delivery numerical order of the band; an image data output control unit that continuously acquires the image data on the band basis from the image data storing unit, outputs primary sheet supply permission information and delivery permission information of the image data to a printing engine control unit, and outputs the image data to the printing engine; and the printing engine control unit that outputs the primary sheet supply permission information and the delivery permission information of the image data to the printing engine, and controls the primary sheet supply in the printing engine and the delivery of the image data.