PURPOSE: To improve work efficiency by displaying the state of disabling the issue of documents when it is detected that the documents can not be issued with the remaining amount of paper sheets, and continuously permitting the issue of other documents.

CONSTITUTION: When a power source is turned on, an automatic certificate issue machine 1 detects the state of a near empty sensor 21 at the cassette of a laser printer 11 and when the sensor is turned on, the near empty sensors 21 of plural cassettes are successively checked. When there is the cassette with the near empty sensor 21 turned on, a certificate corresponding to that cassette is erased from the list of a certificate selection picture displayed on a CRT display device 3 by a CPU 13. When the near empty sensor 21 detects the remaining amount of paper sheets for preparing resident's cards, for example, the item of the resident's card is erased from the certificate selection picture. Concerning the other items, however, they are continuously displayed on the certificate selection picture and can be issued corresponding to the instructions of users.