Patent ID: 8493457

Claim:
A managing device comprising: a request receiver that receives a request for use of an image forming apparatus, the request containing information concerning a user; an upper limit value determining unit that, upon receiving the request for use by the request receiver, determines an upper limit value for image formation processing on the basis of limiting information of a user group to which the user belongs; and a transmitter that transmits information providing an instruction to inhibit the image formation processing to an image forming apparatus whose image formation processing cannot be limited based on the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determining unit when the processing upper limit value is less than a threshold value, wherein the upper limit value determining unit determines the upper limit value for the image formation processing on the basis of the limiting information of the user group to which the user belongs and the number of image forming apparatuses whose image formation processing is to be limited, and redetermines an upper limit value on the basis of the number of image forming apparatuses whose image formation processing cannot be limited based on the upper limit value, out of the image forming apparatuses whose image formation processing is to be limited when the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determining unit is less than the threshold value, and when the upper limit value is redetermined by the upper limit value determining unit, the transmitter transmits information concerning the redetermined upper limit value to image forming apparatuses whose image formation processing can be limited based on the upper limit value, and transmits information providing an instruction to inhibit the image formation processing to image forming apparatuses whose image formation processing cannot be limited based on the upper limit value.