Image forming apparatus for storing read image data in different storage devices

1. An image forming apparatus that reads a content of an original as an image and prints the content of the original thus read onto a transfer medium as an image, comprising:

an internal storage device;

an attachment portion to which an external storage device can be attached;

an image reading unit that reads contents of an original as an image and converts the image into an electronic signal;

a first image processing unit that generates image data from the electronic signal; and

a second image processing unit that separates the image data thus generated into character data that is recognized as characters and data that is recognized as different data from the character data, and stores data composed of an entirety or a part of the character data that is recognized as characters as first data in the external storage device and the data that is recognized as different data from the character data as second data in the internal storage device when the external storage device is attached to the attachment portion, wherein

in a case in which color data accompanies the character data, the second image processing unit further separates the character data into black and white character data and the color data accompanying the character data,

stores data composed of the black and white character data as the first data in the external storage device, and

stores the data that is recognized as different data from the character data and data composed of the color data accompanying the character data as the second data in the internal storage device.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second image processing unit recognizes graphical data and color data accompanying the graphical data as the different data from the character data.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising an image forming unit,

wherein the image forming unit combines the first data stored in the external storage device and the second data stored in the internal storage device to reproduce the image data of the original, when the external storage device is attached to the attachment portion.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising an image output unit,

wherein the image output unit prints the image of the original onto the transfer medium based on the image data of the original reproduced by the image forming unit.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the external storage unit is a USB flash drive.