To provide a pattern for separating, pushing and aligning, and counting to accumulate print sheets appropriate for a printing and maintaining process performed before and after the printing process in a series of operation processes when printing the printing product sheets.

In the printing and maintaining operation process performed before and after the printing operation, a series of operations of separating, pushing and aligning, and counting to accumulate unprinted sheets and printed sheets are divided into three patterns and one of the three patterns is selected for use, thereby performing separating, pushing and aligning, and counting for accumulation appropriate for the unprinted sheets and printed sheets.