Patent ID: 8488166

Claim:
A printing system including a plurality of host devices and a plurality of printing devices which are connected via telecommunication lines, the printing system for executing a printing process for a print job sent from any one of the plurality of host devices on any one of the plurality of printing devices, the print job including print data and a processing command, the printing system comprising: a storage unit; a first storage processing unit for storing, in the storage unit, a print status of the print job, the print status including execution status identification information that indicates at least whether a printing process is suspended in the one printing device; an information updating unit for monitoring the plurality of printing devices and updates the execution status identification information stored in the storage unit; and a job management unit for determining, when a processing request for the print job sent from the one host device is received, based on the print status, whether the print job is to be executed on the one printing device, wherein: when a processing request for the print job is sent from another host device while the printing process for the print job sent from the one host device is suspended in the one printing device, the job management unit allows the one printing device to execute the print job sent from the another host device, the storage unit includes a second storage processing unit for storing at least process-suspended-device identification information, the process-suspended-device identification information indicating the printing device having been used to execute the printing process for the print job that is suspended, while the printing process for the print job sent from the one host device is suspended in the one printing device, the job management unit receives the processing request for the print job from the another host device and allows the one printing device to execute the print job sent from the another host device, and when the job management unit receives a processing request for the suspended print job from the one host device after the print job sent from the another host device is completed in the one printing device, the job management unit allows the one printing device which has suspended the print job to execute the print job based on the process-suspended-device identification information.