An image forming apparatus includes a receiving unit to receive print data including image to be formed, identification information identifying a print-requesting person, personal identity verification information for verifying identity of person, and execution condition information designating priority between readability and productivity when implementing an information-leak proofed printing; an operation-input receiving unit to receive an input by an administrator; a setting unit to set whether the information-leak proofed printing is mandatory; a personal identity verification unit to verify identity of person when the information-leak proofed printing is mandatory and readability-priority is designated; a watermark embedding unit to generate a watermark-embedded image depending upon a result of the personal identity verification; a text synthesizing unit to generate a composite image by synthesizing text data to image data when the information-leak proofed printing is mandatory, and productivity priority is designated; and a print unit to print the watermark-embedded image or the composite image.