If a printing job is generated when an image forming apparatus is in a sleep state, the image forming apparatus returns from the sleep state and performs a printing preparation operation (hereinafter referred to as pre-run). A period from the start of the pre-run until printing is actually executed mainly depends on time for warming a fixing unit (hereinafter, heat accumulation time).
In the past, when the image forming apparatus returns from the sleep state, irrespective of what kind of a printing job is performed next, the image forming apparatus always warms the fixing unit until a fixed time elapses.