WO2011030386A1

WO2011030386A1 - Printing system and printing method

Info

Publication number: WO2011030386A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/004537
Authority: WO
Inventors: 清水知幸
Original assignee: 株式会社アイ・シー・ティー
Priority date: 2009-09-11
Filing date: 2009-09-11
Publication date: 2011-03-17

Abstract

Disclosed is a printing system and method to easily print printed material that includes an image tailored to each user’s preferences or needs. With a printing system operated by a vendor that transfers printed material to a user, an application information collection means collects application information designated by a user. Based on the application information, a data creation means creates printed character information to be printed on the printed material. A print image creation means selects an image to be printed on the printed material based on the application information and creates print data wherein the image to be printed and the printed character information are arranged. A printing means prints the print data.

Description

Printing system and printing method

The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing method using variable printing.

In recent years, variable printing has been used in which information that is commonly printed on a plurality of printed materials and information that can be changed according to the printed materials are combined. This variable printing is often used for printed materials such as direct mails and bills that are produced for the purpose of distribution to individuals.

Personal insurance system is known as a related technology. In this system, a plurality of insurance policies are selected by the customer terminal, the insurance server receives the insurance application data transmitted from the customer terminal, and transmits the received plurality of insurance application data to the printing terminal. Further, the printing terminal prints the transmitted insurance application data as a single policy and security. As another technique, a variable system is also known in which electronic data is generated by substituting data retrieved from a database into a variable part of a form stored in a repository, and transmitted to a printer together with a print instruction.

JP 2005-18437 A JP 2007-233820 A

In the above related technology, since the design of the printed matter and the image printed on the printed matter are determined by the business operator who prints the printed matter, it is difficult to make the image etc. correspond to the preferences and needs of individual users. Therefore, it has been difficult to enclose users by adapting the design and the like to the preferences and needs of individual users.

The present invention provides a system and method for easily printing a printed matter including an image according to the preference and needs of each user.

A printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a printing system that is operated by a business operator that delivers a printed material to a user, and is applied to the application information acquisition unit that acquires the application information designated by the user, and is printed on the printed material. Data creation means for generating print character information based on the application information; and a print target image to be printed on the printed material is selected based on the application information, and the print target image and the print character information are arranged. A print image generation unit that generates the print data, and a print unit that prints the print data.

∙ Printed materials containing images tailored to individual user preferences and needs can be printed easily.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing system according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an application screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a charge table. It is a figure which shows an example of a form ID table. It is a figure which shows the example of application data. It is a flowchart explaining an example of operation | movement of an image design selection apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a printing form. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the print image data generation apparatus. It is a figure showing an example of the application screen in case a some ticket is sold as a set. It is a figure which shows the example of the printing form containing a some ticket. It is a figure which shows an example (the 2) of form ID table. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the print image data generation apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an application history database. It is a figure which shows an example of user information data. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the print image data generation apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of hardware constitutions, such as an image design selection apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the case of tickets for sports events and concerts will be described as an example of printed materials. However, printed materials printed using the system according to the present embodiment are not limited to tickets.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing system according to the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 1, the printing system includes an image design selection device 2, a print image data generation device 4, and a printer 6. The system shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the image design selection device 2, the print image data generation device 4, and the printer 6 can be combined into one device according to the implementation. Further, two of the image design selection device 2, the print image data generation device 4, and the printer 6 can be integrated into one device.

The user 1 inputs ticket application information to the image design selection device 2. Here, the ticket application information includes, for example, information for selecting an image to be printed on the ticket (image to be printed) and information indicating the number of tickets purchased. The image design selection device 2 generates application data 3 based on the input information. In addition to the information input by the user 1, the application data 3 includes data determined based on the application information such as a ticket price. When the print image data generation device 4 receives the application data 3 from the image design selection device 2, the print image data generation device 4 generates data indicating the image of the ticket to be printed (print image data 5). Here, the print image data 5 indicates an image in which a print target image and character information are arranged along a print form used for ticket printing. When the print image data generation device 4 outputs the print image data 5 to the printer 6, the printer 6 prints the print image data 5 to generate a ticket.

Here, since the application data 3 received by the print image data generation device 4 includes information specifying the print target image selected by the user 1, the generated print image data 5 includes the user 1. The specified print target image is included. Accordingly, the business operator can print a ticket including an image in accordance with the preference and needs of each user 1 without conducting a survey of the preferences and needs of the user 1.

Next, the image design selection device 2 will be described in detail. The image design selection device 2 includes an application information acquisition unit 21, a storage unit 22, and an application data creation unit 23.
The application information acquisition unit 21 displays an application screen and acquires application information input from the user 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application screen. The application information acquisition unit 21 specifies the user 1 and sends the ticket, such as the charge type of each ticket, the information specifying the image to be printed, the user's 1 name, phone number, e-mail address, address, etc., on the application screen. The user 1 is requested to input data used for the process. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the application information acquisition unit 21 can also request input such as the number of purchased tickets and the membership number of the user 1.

In the example of FIG. 2, the application information acquisition unit 21 displays a list of selectable images when the user 1 selects an image to be printed on the ticket. When the user 1 tries to input to the image data field of the ticket, the application information acquisition unit 21 displays a list of selectable images and waits for the user 1 to input. The user 1 selects an image to be printed on the ticket from the images listed. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when the user 1 selects “image E” on the list, the character string “image E” is displayed in the “ticket image” column.

When the user 1 accesses the image design selection device 2 and inputs information on the input screen and then presses the application button, the application information acquisition unit 21 acquires information input on the input screen as application information. The information specifying the image to be printed can be, for example, the image ID of the image corresponding to the character string displayed in the “ticket image” field. When the user 1 presses the application button, each ticket The image ID is acquired in association with.

Here, the user 1 can directly access the image design selection device 2 and can also access via an arbitrary communication network such as the Internet. When the user 1 is directly accessing the image design selection device 2, the user 1 inputs a name, an address, and the like using a display device and an input / output device provided in the image design selection device 2. On the other hand, when the user 1 accesses the image design selection device 2 via the Internet or the like, the user 1 inputs data via a communication device such as a computer or a mobile phone, and the image design selection device 2 via the network. Get the data. In addition, the input screen displayed by the application information acquisition unit 21 can include, for example, input of a name and an e-mail address in a plurality of places for confirmation of an input error, and is described in FIG. 2 such as a ticket delivery method. It can also be changed to require no information. In addition, the application screen can display a list including contents other than the character string, such as displaying thumbnails of selectable images as a list of selectable images. Further, the application screen can be changed so that a list of selectable images is not displayed and the user wants to input an image to be printed in the “ticket image” field.

The storage unit 22 stores information used for the operation of the application data creation unit 23. The storage unit 22 can also store information preset by an operator or an operator, such as a fee table or a form ID table. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charge table. In the fee table, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the relationship between the ticket fee type and the ticket fee is recorded. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the form ID table. In the form ID table, a correspondence relationship between a ticket identifier (ticket ID) and a print form identifier (form ID) used in the ticket is recorded. As will be described later, the application data creation unit 23 recognizes a form ID indicating a print form to be applied to each ticket, using a ticket ID assigned to each ticket and a form ID table. Here, the ticket ID is an identifier assigned by the application information acquisition unit 21 to each ticket for which information on a charge type, an image, and the like is input. The print form is a template applied to the print image data 5 and is stored in a database held by the print image data generation device 4 as described later.

The application data creation unit 23 generates the application data 3 using the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 21 and the information stored in the storage unit 22. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are diagrams showing examples of the application data 3. First, an example of operations of the application information acquisition unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the application data creation unit 23 will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) The user 1 accesses the application information acquisition unit 21 and applies for a ticket. For example, assume that the user 1 inputs the following data on the application screen of FIG.
First ticket Price type: General Image: A
Second ticket Price type: General Image: B
3rd ticket Price type: Kids Image: A
4th ticket Price type: Kids Image: E
Number of tickets purchased 4
Membership number 123
(2) The application information acquisition unit 21 assigns a ticket ID to each applied ticket, and acquires information specifying the charge type and image in association with the ID of each ticket. Here, the ticket ID is “1” for the first ticket, “2” for the second ticket, “3” for the third ticket, and “4” for the fourth ticket. To do. The number of tickets and membership number are also acquired.

(3) The application information acquisition unit 21 notifies the application data creation unit 23 of the acquired information and ticket ID. The application data creation unit 23 records the data received from the application information acquisition unit 21 as application data 3. In this example, among the information recorded in the table of FIG. 5A, the ticket ID, the image ID, the member number, and the charge type are recorded.

(4) The application data creation unit 23 obtains the receipt number and records the obtained value as the application data 3. The reception number can be obtained, for example, as the cumulative number of applied tickets. The method of assigning the receipt number is arbitrary. For example, a different receipt number can be given for each ticket, and the same receipt number can be given to the ticket that the user 1 has applied for in one application. In the following description, an example will be described in which the same receipt number is given to the ticket that the user 1 applied for at one time.

(5) The application data creation unit 23 refers to the charge table stored in the storage unit 22 and obtains the ticket price corresponding to the charge type of each ticket. For example, the ticket with ticket ID = 1 is requested to have a “general” price of 1500 yen and the ticket with ticket ID = 3 has a “kids” price of 500 yen, and is recorded as application data 3.

(6) The application data creation unit 23 refers to the form ID table and obtains a form ID for identifying a print form to be applied to each ticket. When referring to the form ID table of FIG. 4, the application data creation unit 23 records in the application data 3 that the form A is used for the ticket with the ticket ID = 1 and the other ticket is the form B.

(7) The application data creation unit 23 transmits the application data 3 to the print image data generation device 4. The application data creation unit 23 can also store the application data 3 in the storage unit 22 before transmitting the application data 3.

Further, the application data 3 can be data including data corresponding to an application from one or a plurality of users 1. In this case, the application data creation unit 23 outputs application data 3 corresponding to one application of the user 1 to the storage unit 22 in step (7). When the application data 3 for a certain number of people is stored in the storage unit 22, they are collected and transmitted to the print image data generation device 4 by the application data creation unit 23.

Furthermore, the image design selection device 2 can handle a plurality of types of tickets such as sports watching tickets and concert tickets. When the image design selection device 2 handles a plurality of types of tickets, the application information acquisition unit 21 stores a plurality of application screens, and the storage unit 22 stores the types of application screens and the types of tickets to be handled (ticket types). Is stored. In the example of FIG. 5B, application data 3 including the contents of applications made by three users 1 (1a to 1c) is shown. In this application data 3, it is assumed that the user 1a whose membership number is “123” applied for a ticket from the application screen corresponding to the ticket type “soccer_A”. Then, the application information acquisition part 21 calculates | requires the ticket classification corresponding to the application screen which the user 1a used for application in the above-mentioned procedure (2), and notifies a ticket classification to the application data creation part 23. The application data creation unit 23 records the ticket type in the application data 3 in step (3). On the other hand, it is assumed that the user 1c with the membership number “678” has applied for a ticket from the application screen corresponding to the ticket type “soccer_B”. At this time, the application information acquisition unit 21 notifies the application data creation unit 23 that the ticket type is “soccer_B”, and the application data creation unit 23 adds the user 1c of the membership number “678” to the application data 3. Record the ticket type you applied for. As a result of performing the same processing for the user 1b with the membership number “345”, the application data 3 shown in FIG. 5B is created.

Also, the ticket type can be obtained after recording the application information record of the user 1, the ticket price, the form ID of the form to be used, etc. in the application data 3. In this case, the application data creation unit 23 inquires of the application information acquisition unit 21 about the ticket type after recording the application information and the like.

Note that the procedure described above is an example, and for example, the procedures (3) to (6) can be interchanged. Furthermore, the application data 3 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is an example, and the application data creation unit 23 creates application data 3 that is recorded together with other information according to the implementation. be able to.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the image design selection device 2. The application information acquisition unit 21 acquires information for identifying the user 1, the charge type of the ticket desired by the user 1, the image ID designated by the user 1, the total number of tickets, member information, and the like (steps S1 to S5). The application information acquisition unit 21 notifies the application data creation unit 23 of the acquired information in association with the ticket ID. The application data creation unit 23 obtains an acceptance number (step S6). Further, the application data creation unit 23 refers to the charge table and the form ID table stored in the storage unit 22 and obtains the price of the applied ticket and the form ID used for printing the ticket (steps S7 and S8). . Furthermore, when the ticket type is specified, the application data creation unit 23 requests the application information acquisition unit 21 for the ticket type, and records the notified ticket type in the application data 3 (step S9). The application data creation unit 23 transmits the created application data 3 to the print image data generation device 4 (step S10). In the flowchart of FIG. 6, for example, the order of steps S1 to S5 can be changed, the order of steps S6 to S8 can be changed, and the like.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, the print image data generation device 4 will be described in detail. The print image data generation device 4 includes a reception unit 41, a print image data generation unit 42, a print form database 43, an image database 44, and a transmission unit 45. The receiving unit 41 receives data transmitted to the print image data generating device 4 such as application data 3. When receiving the application data 3, the receiving unit 41 outputs it to the print image data generating unit 42. In the following description, it is assumed that the application data 3 includes the data shown in FIG. 5A, the ticket destination desired by the user 1, and ticket purchase details.

Upon receiving the application data 3, the print image data generation unit 42 refers to the print form database 43 and the image database 44 to generate the print image data 5. The print form database 43 stores a ticket print form in association with the form ID. In the image database 44, images that can be designated as print targets are recorded in association with image IDs.

Fig. 7 shows an example of a print form. The form 7a shown in FIG. 7A includes a destination 71, a greeting 72, a ticket purchase description 73, an image 74a, a charge type 75a, and an amount 76a. The form 7b in FIG. 7B includes a caution item 77, an image 74b, a charge type 75b, and an amount 76b. In both of the

printing forms

7a and 7b, the image 74 (74a, 74b) is arranged with the image data acquired from the image database 44 by the print image data generation unit 42 based on the image ID recorded in the application data 3. Is done. Data extracted from the application data 3 is arranged in the charge type 75 (75a, 75b) and the amount 76 (76a, 76b). In the print form 7a, the print image data generation unit 42 also extracts and arranges the destination 71 desired by the user 1 and the ticket purchase details 73 of the user 1 from the application data 3. In this example, it is assumed that the print form 7 includes the greeting 72, the notes 77, and the date and place where the game to be watched is played.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the print image data generation device 4. Operation when print image data 5 is generated using the data shown in FIG. 5A, the ticket destination desired by the user 1a, and the application data 3 in which the ticket purchase details are recorded with reference to FIG. Will be described.

The print image data generation unit 42 receives the application data 3 via the reception unit 41 (step S21). The print image data generation unit 42 confirms the form ID for the ticket with ticket ID = 1, and reads the print form 7 to be used (step S22). In this example, since the form A is designated as the form of the first ticket, the print image data generation unit 42 reads the print form 7 a from the print form database 43. When the reading of the form 7a is completed, the print image data generation unit 42 refers to the application data 3 and recognizes that the print target image of the ticket with the ticket ID = 1 is the image A, and the image A from the image database 44. Is acquired (step S23). Further, the print image data generation unit 42 arranges the acquired image A at the position of the image 74a (step S24).

The print image data generation unit 42 extracts information to be arranged on the print form 7a from the application data 3, and arranges it at a predetermined position (steps S25 and S26). In this example, since the destination 71, ticket purchase details 73, fee type 75, and amount 76 are included in the print form 7a, the print image data generation unit 42 extracts these pieces of information from the application data 3. For example, in the ticket with ticket ID = 1, the characters “general” are arranged in the fee type 75a and “1500 yen” is arranged in the amount 76a. In addition, a delivery destination 71 is provided with a desired ticket delivery destination designated by the user 1a, and a ticket purchase specification 73 is provided with a description representing the ticket purchase specification of the user 1a. When the data is arranged and the print image data 5 is generated, the print image data generation unit 42 confirms whether or not the read application data 3 includes information on a ticket for which the print image data 5 has not been generated. (Step S27). Here, since the print image data 5 has not been generated for tickets with ticket ID = 2 to 4, the process returns to step S22.

Since the ticket with ticket ID = 2 is designated to use the form B, the print form 7b is read (step S22). Since the image B is specified in the ticket with ticket ID = 2, the print image data generation unit 42 acquires the data of the image B from the image database 44 and arranges it in the image 74b (steps S23 and S24). Since the charge type 75b and the amount 76b are arranged in the print form 7b, the print image data generation unit 42 refers to the application data 3 and says “general” for the fee type 75b and “1500 yen” for the amount 76b. A character string is arranged (steps S25 and S26). On the other hand, since the caution item 77 is recorded in the print form 7b in advance, the print image data generation unit 42 does not arrange the caution item 77.

Similarly, after processing for tickets with

ticket IDs

3 and 4, it is determined in step S27 that there is no ticket for which print image data has not been created. Then, the print image data generation unit 42 outputs the print image data 5 to the printer 6 via the transmission unit 45 (step S28).

The printer 6 includes a printing unit 61 and prints the print image data 5 received from the print image data generation device 4.
As described above, since the print image data 5 is generated using the information specifying the image data selected by the user 1, in this embodiment, a ticket with an image selected by each user 1 can be printed. Therefore, the user 1 can obtain a printed matter to which the image selected by the user 1 is attached, and can obtain a ticket including an image according to the preference and needs of the user 1. If the effect of this embodiment is seen from the provider side, the willingness to purchase of the user 1 can be enhanced by selling a ticket including an image that matches the preference and needs of the user 1. Furthermore, even if competitors sell tickets for the same game, the willingness to purchase tickets printed using this embodiment will increase, so it can be expected to increase the sales share to other sellers. .

Furthermore, when the printing system according to the present embodiment is used, the business operator can generate a ticket that prints an image that matches the user 1's preference and the like without investigating the user's 1 preference and needs in advance. The burden of investigating the user 1's preferences and the like is reduced. Further, for example, the business operator can print a ticket that suits the taste of the user 1 even if the operator does not hold a stock of paper for ticket printing on which a plurality of types of images are printed in advance.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the example using the print image data 5 including the data of one ticket has been described. However, a plurality of tickets can be printed with one print image data 5. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application screen when a plurality of tickets are sold as a set. Using the application screen shown in FIG. 9, the application information acquisition unit 21 can accept applications for up to three tickets, with three tickets as one set. The application information acquisition unit 21 can also request data used for processing such as specifying the user 1 and sending a ticket, such as the name, telephone number, e-mail address, address, and membership number of the user 1. Hereinafter, an operation in the case of printing three sets of three tickets as one set will be described as an example, but the number of tickets in one set and the number of sets that can be applied can be arbitrarily changed.

(1) As shown in FIG. 9, the user 1 accesses the application information acquisition unit 21 and applies for a ticket through an application screen on which a plurality of ticket sets can be applied.

(2) The application information acquisition unit 21 assigns a ticket ID to each applied ticket, and acquires information specifying the charge type and image in association with the ID of each ticket. Here, the ticket ID attached to each ticket by the application information acquisition unit 21 is an ID that can identify which set number and number of tickets. For example, as shown below, the number of sets can be identified by the highest digit among four digits, and the number of tickets can be identified by the lowest digit.

ID of the first ticket in the first set: 1001
ID of the second ticket in the first set: 1002
ID of the third ticket in the first set: 1003
ID of the first ticket in the second set: 2001
ID of the second ticket in the second set: 2002
ID of the third ticket in the second set: 2003
ID of the first ticket in the third set: 3001
ID of second ticket in the third set: 3002
ID of the third ticket in the third set: 3003
(3) The application information acquisition unit 21 notifies the application data creation unit 23 of the acquired information and the ticket ID, and the application data creation unit 23 records the received data as application data 3. The application information acquisition unit 21 obtains and records the price and receipt number of each ticket using a fee table or the like.

(4) The application data creation unit 23 refers to the form ID table and obtains a form ID for identifying a print form to be applied to each ticket.
FIG. 10 shows an example of a print form including a plurality of tickets. The print form 8a (form a) includes a delivery address 81, a greeting 82, a ticket purchase description 83, an image 84 (84a to 84c), a fee type 85 (85a to 85c), and an amount 86 (86a to 86c). ing. In the print form 8a, the first ticket includes an image 84a, a fee type 85a, and an amount 86a, and the second and third tickets also have an image 84, a fee type 85, and an amount 86, respectively. include. The same applies to the printing form 8b.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the application data creation unit 23 determines the print form 8 using the form ID table shown in FIG. The form ID table shown in FIG. 11 is held in the storage unit 22.

(5) Upon receiving the application data 3 via the receiving unit 41, the print image data generating unit 42 reads the print form 8 to be used. For example, the print form 8a is read for tickets with ticket IDs 1001 to 1003.

(6) The print image data generation unit 42 reads an image designated for each ticket and arranges it at the designated position as follows.
Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 1001: 84a
Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 1002: 84b
Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 1003: 84c
(7) Further, for each ticket, the print image data generation unit 42 reads the charge type 85 and the amount 86 from the application data 3, and generates print image data by arranging character strings indicating the data.

(8) For the second set of tickets, the print image data generation unit 42 reads the print form 8b with reference to the form ID table. Further, an image designated for each ticket is read and arranged as follows.

Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 2001: 84d
Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 2002: 84e
Image specified for ticket with ticket ID = 2003: 84f
(9) The print image data generation unit 42 arranges a character string indicating data read from the application data 3 for each ticket, and generates print image data.

(10) The procedures (8) and (9) are performed for the third set of tickets.
When an identifier is assigned to a set of tickets, a print form used when generating the print image data 5 can be associated with each set of tickets.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the print image data generation device 4 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for an example in which three tickets are set as one set. The print image data generation unit 42 reads the application data 3 and reads the print form 8 according to the designation of the application data 3 (steps S31 and S32). Next, the print image data generation unit 42 confirms whether or not an image ID is specified for the first ticket of the set being processed in the application data 3, and acquires the specified image (step S33). , S34). Similar operations are performed on the second and third tickets of the set to be processed (steps S35 to S38). When the images designated by the first to third tickets are acquired, the respective images are arranged on the print form 8, and the data included in the application data 3 is also arranged on the print form 8 (step S39, 40). Steps S32 to S41 are repeated until there are no more ticket sets for which print image data 5 has not been created, and the created print image data 5 is output to the printer 6 (steps S41 and S42). If no image ID is specified in any ticket, an error message is output and the process ends (steps S33, S35, S37, and S43).

By performing the processing as described above, a single print image data 5 can include a plurality of ticket data.
<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 13 shows an example of a printing system according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, for example, a text printed together with a ticket such as a greeting text or notes can be changed according to the user 1. In the system according to the third embodiment, the print image data generation device 9 is used. In the third embodiment, the image design selection device 2 and the printer 6 are the same as those used in the first and second embodiments. In the following description, a case where the greeting is changed according to the user 1 will be described.

The print image data generation device 9 includes a reception unit 91, a user information extraction unit 92, an application history database 93, a print image data generation unit 94, a print form database 95, an image database 96, a character information database 97, and a transmission unit 98. The reception unit 91 receives the application data 3 from the image design selection device 2 and outputs it to the user information extraction unit 92.

The user information extraction unit 92 extracts information about the user 1 (user information) from the application data 3. Here, the user information can be data including one or more pieces of information that can be used to identify the user 1 such as the member number, name, telephone number, and address of the user 1. In the following description, a case where the membership number of the user 1 is used as user information will be described. The user information extraction unit 92 searches the application history database 93 using the extracted user information.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the application history database 93. The application history database 93 records the member number of the member who applied for the ticket and the type of ticket applied by the member in association with each other. The user information extraction unit 92 searches the application history database 93 using the membership number of the user 1 (1a to 1c) as a keyword, and obtains the number of times that the user 1 who applied for the ticket to be processed previously applied for the ticket. For example, the user information extraction unit 92 confirms from the application history database 93 shown in FIG. 14 that the member (user 1c) with the member number “678” has applied for the ticket six times. Next, the user information extraction unit 92 compares the number of times of application with the threshold used to determine the greeting, and determines the greeting used for the application from the user 1c with the member number “678”. Further, when the greeting is determined, the user information extraction unit 92 adds the corresponding greeting text ID to the application data 3 to generate the user information data 31. FIG. 15 shows an example of the user information data 31. Note that the threshold used to determine the greeting is stored in advance in the application history database 93, and an arbitrary number of thresholds can be provided according to the type of greeting.

User information data 31 is output from the user information extraction unit 92 to the print image data generation unit 94. The print image data generation unit 94 recognizes the form ID, image ID, and greeting text ID included in the user information data 31. Thereafter, a print form used for the ticket is acquired from the print form database 95 using the form ID, and an image to be printed is acquired from the image database 96 using the image ID. The greeting text is recorded in the character information database 97. Therefore, the print image data generation unit 94 acquires a greeting text corresponding to the recognized greeting text ID from the character information database 97. The print image data generation unit 94 generates the print image data 10 by arranging the acquired image and greeting on the acquired print form and acquiring and arranging other information from the user information data 31. The generated print image data 10 is transmitted from the transmission unit 98 to the printer 6 and printed by the printing unit 61.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the print image data generation device 9. An example of the operation of the print image data generation apparatus 9 that has received the application data 3 in FIG. 5B will be described with reference to FIG. Steps S51 to S58 are operations of the user information extraction unit 92, and steps S59 to S64 are operations of the print image data generation unit 94. In this example, it is assumed that three types of greetings are prepared in advance, and there are two types of thresholds Th ₁ and Th ₂ for determining greetings to be used. In this example, Th ₁ = 1 and Th ₂ = 5. In addition, greetings shall be used properly as follows.

Greeting text ID = 1: Greeting text to user 1 who has applied for the first time Greeting text ID = 2: Greeting text to user 1 who has received 1 to 4 applications so far Greeting text ID = 3: 5 times Greeting to the user 1 who has received the application The user information extracting unit 92 receives the application data 3 via the receiving unit 91 and reads the application data 3 (step S51). The user information extraction unit 92 acquires a membership number from the application data 3, and refers to the application history database 93 to determine the number of past applications of the user 1 (step S52). For example, when recognizing the application of the user 1a with the member number “123”, the user information extracting unit 92 checks the application history database 93 to check the past application status of the user 1a with the member number “123”. As shown in FIG. 14, the user 1a with the membership number “123” recognizes that the number of applications is 0 because the past application status is not recorded.

Next, the user information extraction unit 92 compares the number of applications with Th ₁ (step S53). Since the user 1a with the membership number “123” has not applied for in the past, the user information extraction unit 92 sets the greeting text ID to 1 and records it in the user information data 31 (step S56). Furthermore, the user information extraction part 92 confirms whether the user 1 which does not attach | subject greeting text ID among the users 1 contained in application data remains (step S58).

In this example, since the application data 3 includes data of the user 1 (1b, 1c) with the member numbers “345” and “678”, the number of past applications is also returned to step S52 for other members. Ask for. Since the user 1b whose membership number is “345” has applied for once, the number of applications is equal to or more than Th ₁ but less than Th _2. Therefore, the user information extraction unit 92 has a greeting ID Is set to “2” and recorded in the user information data 31 (steps S53, S54, S57).

Next, when it is confirmed that the process for the user 1c with the member number “678” has not been completed, the user information extraction unit 92 confirms the past application count for the user 1c with the member number “678” (step S58, S52). Since the user 1c with the membership number “678” has applied for six times so far, the number of applications is Th ₁ or more, and further Th ₂ or more. Is set to “3” and recorded in the user information data 31 (steps S53 to S55).

Thus, when the greeting text ID is determined for each user included in the application data 3, the user information extraction unit 92 outputs the user information data 31 to the print image data generation unit 94 (step S58). The print image data generation unit 94 reads the user information data 31, acquires the form ID and image ID, and acquires the corresponding print form and image from the print form database 95 and the image database 96 (steps S59 to S61). ). Further, the user information extraction unit 92 reads the greeting text ID from the user information data 31 and acquires the designated greeting text (step S62). Further, the user information extraction unit 92 creates the print image data 10 in which the acquired image, greeting, and user information are arranged on the acquired print form (steps S63 to S65). The print image data generation unit 94 repeats the processes of steps S59 to S65 until the print image data 10 is created for all applications (steps S63 to S66). When the print image data 10 is generated for all applications, the print image data generation unit 94 outputs the print image data 10 (step S67). When the print image data 10 is received from the print image data generation unit 94, the transmission unit 98 transmits the print image data 10 to the printer 6, and the printing unit 61 prints the print image data 10 and issues a ticket.

If the third embodiment is used, it is expected that by changing the greeting for each user 1, it is possible to increase the favorability from the user 1 and to help increase the company's share with competitors. The In this example, the greeting is changed according to the user 1, but the advertisement of an event to be held in the future can be changed according to the user 1. For example, the user 1 who frequently applies for a ticket can be notified of the event schedule until one year later, and the user 1 who has purchased the ticket for the first time can be notified of the event schedule until six months later.

Furthermore, the contents of greetings and advertisements can be changed according to the types of tickets that have been applied for in the past. In this case, the user information extraction unit 92 refers to the application history database 93 and confirms the type of ticket applied and the number of applications for each ticket. Further, the user information extraction unit 92 holds a threshold for selecting a text such as a greeting or a promotion to be printed according to the type of each ticket, and compares the number of applications with the threshold for each type of ticket. In accordance with the comparison result, the user information extraction unit 92 determines the greeting text and the content of the advertisement to be printed, and records them in the user information data 31 shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image design selection device and the like. The image design selection device 2, the print image data generation device 4, and the print image data generation device 9 can all have a hardware configuration as shown in FIG.

The CPU 101 of the image design selection device 2 includes an application information acquisition unit 21 and an application data creation unit 23. The memory 102 includes a storage unit 22 and stores data such as a form ID table and a fee type table, a program executed by the CPU 101, and the like. The input device 103 receives information from an administrator who performs setting of the printing system and the like with respect to the image design selection device 2. The output device 104 is used, for example, when notifying an administrator of an error message. The storage device 105 is a hard disk, for example, and stores a program executed by the CPU 101 and the like. The storage device 105 can also record the content recorded in the memory 102. The reading device 106 accesses the portable storage medium 107 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 101. The portable storage medium 107 includes, for example, a semiconductor device (such as a PC card) and a medium through which information is input / output by a magnetic action or an optical action. The network connection device 108 transmits and receives data via the network according to instructions from the CPU 101. For example, the image design selection device 2 uses the network connection device 108 when receiving data from the input device used by the user 1 via the network, or when transmitting data to the print image

data generation devices

4 and 9. .

The CPU 101 of the print image data generation device 4 includes a print image data generation unit 42. The CPU 101 of the print image data generation device 9 includes a user information extraction unit 92 and a print image data generation unit 94. The CPU 101 of each of the print image

data generation apparatuses

4 and 9 uses the memory 102 to execute a program. Databases such as the print form database 43, the image database 44, the application history database 93, the print form database 95, the image database 96, and the character information database 97 are recorded in the memory 102 and the storage device 105. The input device 103 and the output device 104 provided in the print image

data generation devices

4 and 9 are used for data input from an administrator of the print image data generation device, display of an error message, and the like. The print image

data generation devices

4 and 9 receive the application data 3 from the image design selection device 2 via the network connection device 108 and transmit the

print image data

5 and 10 to the printer 6.

As described above, in any of the first to third embodiments, it is possible to generate a printed matter on which an image or the like selected by the user 1 is printed. Therefore, a printed matter that meets the preference and needs of the user 1 can be easily obtained. Can be printed. In addition, the business operator can enclose the user 1 by matching the printed image and the like with the preference and needs of the user 1.

<Others>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be variously modified. Hereinafter, modifications will be described.

In the third embodiment, the information to be changed according to the number of applications by the user 1 is not limited to greetings or advertisements, but may be an image printed on a ticket. In this case, the image identification method and the information elements recorded in the user information data 31 are changed.

User 1 selects an image group from the application screen. The image group includes one or more images that can be printed on the ticket. The image group selection method can be the same as the image selection method described with reference to FIG. Therefore, in order to make it easy for the user 1 to select an image group, it is desirable that the user 1 can predict images included in the image group from data displayed in, for example, a list. When an image group is selected, an identifier (image group ID) for identifying the selected image group is recorded as application data 3. The application data 3 is output to the print image data generation device 9, and the user information extraction unit 92 refers to the application history database 93 as described above and identifies the number of applications of the user 1. Further, the user information extraction unit 92 outputs data obtained by adding the number of applications to the application data 3 to the print image data generation unit 94. The print image data generation unit 94 specifies an image to be printed on the ticket according to the image group ID and the number of applications.

For example, the player name of the A group can be displayed on the list of image groups and can be selected by the user 1. Here, when the user 1 selects “player a”, an image group ID for identifying the image group of “player a” is recorded in the application data 3. The application data 3 is output to the print image data generation device 9, and the user information extraction unit 92 outputs information obtained by adding the number of applications of the user 1 to the application data 3 to the print image data generation unit 94.

Here, there are three types of images included in the image group of “player a”: an image a1, an image a2, and an image a3. The number of applications and each image are preliminarily set in the print image data generation unit 94 as follows. Assume that they are associated. Note that n is a positive integer.

Number of applications (3n + 1): Image a1
Number of applications (3n + 2): Image a2
Number of applications (3n): Image a3
The print image data generation unit 94 recognizes information indicating the selected image group ID and the number of applications from the input data, determines which of the images a1 to a3 is to be printed on the ticket, and prints. Image data 10 is generated.

Such a modification can give variations to the image printed on the ticket within the range of the user 1's preference and needs, and can increase the user's 1 interest. As a result, the business operator can increase the purchase intention of the user 1 for the ticket handled by the business operator.

In the above modification, in addition to the information shown in FIG. 14, the ID of the image used for the ticket purchased by the user 1 can be recorded in the application history database 93. In this case, the user information extraction unit 92 can notify the print image data generation unit 94 of the image ID used for the ticket purchased by the user 1. Upon receiving the notification of the image ID used for the ticket purchased by the user 1, the print image data generation unit 94 searches the designated image group for an image that has been used less frequently and generates the print image data 10. You can also

Still other variations include the following examples.
The method in which the user 1 selects an image group and the print image data generation unit selects a print target image from the image group can be used in any of the first to third embodiments. At this time, in the first and second embodiments, the print image data generation unit 42 selects a print target image from the image group by, for example, a method of selecting an image corresponding to the generated random number.

In the image design selection device 2 that sells a plurality of tickets, the application information acquisition unit 21 can also request the user 1 to input data specifying the type of ticket to be handled on the application screen.

In the first embodiment, the date and place where the game to be watched is held is included in the print form 7, but the application data creation unit 23 uses the data of the application information acquisition unit 21 as a basis. It is also possible to create character data to be printed. The created character data is recorded in the application data 3 and output from the image design selection device 2 to the print image data generation device 4. In this case, the storage unit 22 also stores information used by the application data creation unit 23 to create character data.

Note that the print forms shown in FIG. 7 and the like are merely examples, and different print forms can be used depending on the implementation. For example, a column for recording the name of the user 1 can be provided on the print form 7 or the print form 8, which can be used to suppress ticket purchase for resale purposes. That is, since a ticket displaying the name of the user 1 is generated, it is possible to make it difficult for the user 1 to resell the purchased ticket.

In the above description, ticket printing is described as an example. However, the printing system according to the first to third embodiments can be used for printing arbitrary printed matter. For example, the user 1 can select an image to be printed on a brochure of a material.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 User 2 Image design selection apparatus 3

Application data

4, 9 Print image

data generation apparatus

5, 10 Print image data 6 Printer 7, 8 Print form 21 Application information acquisition part 22 Storage part 23 Application data creation part 31

User information data

41, 91 receiving

unit

42, 94 print image

data generating unit

43, 95

print form database

44, 96

image database

45, 98 transmitting

unit

71, 81

destination

72, 82

greeting

73, 83 ticket purchase details 74, 84 image 75, 85 Fee type 76, 86

Amount

77, 87 Notes 92 User information extractor 93 Application history database 97 Character information database 101 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Memory 103 Input device 104 Output device 105 Storage device 106 Reading device 107 Portable storage medium 108 Network connection device

Claims

A printing system operated by a business that delivers printed materials to users,
Application information acquisition means for acquiring application information designated by the user;
Data creation means for generating print character information to be printed on the printed matter based on the application information;
Print image generation means for selecting a print target image to be printed on the printed matter based on the application information, and generating print data in which the print target image and the print character information are arranged;
A printing system comprising printing means for printing the print data.
An image database for storing an image that can be selected as the print target image;
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the application information acquisition unit acquires an image identifier for identifying an image stored in the image database as the application information.
The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the print image generation unit acquires an image corresponding to the image identifier from the image database as the print target image.
A print form database for storing a print form used for generating the print data;
The data creation means determines a form identifier for identifying each of the print forms based on the application information,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print image generation unit generates the print data using a print form corresponding to the form identifier.
An application history database that records the history of applications made to the operator;
A character information database storing character information to be printed on the printed matter according to a history of applications made to the business operator,
Extracting the history of applications made by the user to the operator from the application history database, and comprising user information extracting means for determining the number of applications of the user,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print image generation unit selects the character information to be printed on the printed matter according to the number of applications determined by the user information extraction unit.
The user information extraction means stores a character information identifier for identifying the character information,
The user information extraction means compares the number of applications made by the user with the business operator with a threshold value, and when the number of times is equal to or greater than the threshold value, a first identifier for identifying first character information is printed in the print Informing the image generating means, and notifying the print image generating means of a second identifier for identifying second character information when the number of times is less than the threshold;
The print image generation unit selects character information corresponding to the character information identifier notified by the user information extraction unit from the character information database, and generates the print data. The printing system described in.
It is a device operated by a business operator that delivers printed materials to users,
Application information acquisition means for acquiring application information designated by the user;
Data creation means for generating print character information to be printed on the printed matter of the user based on the application information;
Print image generation means for selecting a print target image to be printed on the printed matter based on the application information, and generating print data in which the print target image and the print character information are arranged;
An output means for outputting the print data. A print data generation apparatus comprising:
Get application information specified by the user,
Generating print character information to be printed on the printed matter of the user based on the application information;
A print target image to be printed on the printed material is selected based on the application information from an image database storing images that can be selected as print target images, and the print target image and the print character information are arranged. Print data,
A printing method that causes a printing system to execute a process of printing the print data.