JP2000284368A - Digital printing system and method for digital printing service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a situation that a print is wasted even in the case that there is a customer who does not come to a shop after ordering printing by providing a means to instruct a printing start indicating the start of a printing output based on order information to a printer at the inside of the shop on the side of the shop. SOLUTION: In a digital printing system which receives a printing order from a user 10 through a network 20 and executes the printing output based on the order information of the printing order by the printer 43 provided at the shop 40, the means instructing the printing start indicating the start of the printing output based on the order information to the printer 43 is provided on the side of the shop 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a digital print system for ordering printing of a digital image via a network, and a digital print service method using the digital print system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of the Internet,
At home, you can request printing of images input from a digital camera via the Internet, digitize film at a DPE store, access the digitized data from a home personal computer via a network, and order printing (printing). The system is being realized. In general, customers usually go to a distant shop for printed materials (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-7).
Nos. 8618, 78619 and 78620).

[0003]

However, in the case of a form in which a print order received via a network is printed immediately at the shop side and the orderer waits for the customer to come to the store to retrieve the printed material at a later date, It is also assumed that there are customers who do not come to pick up, and it is anticipated that there will be cases where precious printed materials are wasted.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a digital print system which prevents the above-described case.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A digital print system according to the present invention receives a print order from a customer via a network and prints out a print at a printer provided in a shop based on the order information of the print order. In the system, means for instructing the printer in the shop to start print output based on the order information is provided on the shop side.

A digital print system according to the present invention is a digital print system which receives a print order from a customer via a network and prints out based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop. The storage expiration date is notified at a predetermined timing after the print order.

A digital print service method according to the present invention is directed to a digital print service method for receiving a print order from a customer via a network and performing print output based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop. After the customer has arrived at the shop, the printer in the shop is started to print out based on the order information.

A digital print service method according to the present invention is a digital print service method for receiving a print order from a customer via a network, and performing print output based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop. The storage expiration date is notified at a predetermined timing after the print order by the customer.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital print system for realizing a digital print service for explaining a configuration of an entire system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a customer (hereinafter referred to as a user) who places a print (print) order, 11 a home personal computer for making a print order from home, 20 a network such as the Internet, 30 a web server, 40 and 50 shops, and 1
2 is a web browser running on a home PC, 13
Numeral denotes digital image data to be ordered for printing, 41 denotes a print server for controlling printing of the digital image data for which printing is ordered, 42 denotes an operation unit for operating the print server, and 43 denotes a printer for actually printing digital image data. It is. The print server 41, the operation unit 42,
The printer 43 is provided in the shop 40.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a processing flow of the digital printing system of the present invention. Reference numeral 301 denotes a storage period for storing the order of the print request, and reference numeral 302 denotes a storage period for determining the time for notifying the user that the storage period for storing the order information of the print order is approaching. Notification conditions.

FIG. 5 shows a part of a web browser screen for making a print order, and FIG. 6 shows a part of an operation section screen of a print server for controlling printing of an order for which a print order has been placed. It is shown. The operation of the above configuration will be described below.

In the configuration shown in FIG.
1 is connected to a network 20, and the user 10 can operate the web browser 12 operating on the home personal computer 11 to access the digital image data 13 to the web server 30 via the network 20. . A print server 41 installed in each of the shops 40 and 50 is also connected to the network, and registers order information of a print order transferred via the web server 30 and operates the print server 41. , User 1 who visited the shop
0 or the order of the print order is drawn by the operation of the shop operator (not shown), and the order is transferred by the printer 43 and printed.

Next, the processing flow of FIGS.
The details of the operation will be described using the screen 6. In FIG. 2, the user activates the web browser 12 operating on the home personal computer 11 in S101, and accesses the web server 30 via the network 20 in S102.
In response, the web server 30 responds in S103, and displays a digital print order display screen on the web browser 11 in S104 to place a print order for digital images. An example of this screen is the service screen 1 in FIG.
It is 10. By selecting the digital image printing service 111 arranged on the service screen 110, interactive processing for ordering printing, such as reading of the digital image data 13, is performed. As one of these processes, the user 10
A contact input screen 120 for prompting the user to input a contact is displayed. The contact information entered here is used to notify that the expiration date of the digital image data ordered for printing is approaching,
Used to notify that data has been deleted. In addition, the shop to be printed is specified.
When a series of interaction processing is completed, the user 10 finally returns to S
The digital print order screen is operated at 105, and a print (print) order is made to the web server 30 at S106. The web server 30 responds to this order in S107, and
Displays the customer identification code (number) and the expiration date of the order information including the digital image data. The storage expiration date is for preliminarily managing the expiration date for each shop collectively on the web server 30. An example of this display is shown in the screen of the order information 130 in FIG. Since the customer identification code notified here is necessary for authentication when printing at a shop, the user 10 needs to carefully record and keep it. Here, if necessary, printing can be performed by a printer (not shown). When the confirmation of S109 is performed on the screen of the order information 130, the web browser 12 requests the web server 30 to register the order for the print order in S110. Web server 3
0 transfers the order information of the registered print order to the print server 41 of the shop 40 specified in S111. The print server 40 sends the print order to S
At 112, the order is stored and the storage period of this order is set. This completes the printing order of the series of digital image data 13.

Next, the user 10 enters the shop 4 in order to get a printed matter of the digital image data 13 for which printing has been ordered.
Go to 0. Here, in the case where the print server 41 of the shop 40 can be operated by the user himself, the user 10 operates the operation unit 42 of the print server 41 to give a print instruction. If the shop operator operates, the customer identification code is presented to the operator, and the operator inputs the code and gives a print instruction. The flow of this processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6. In S113, the user 10
A service screen 210 shown in FIG. 6 shows a screen of the operation unit for performing a print instruction by operating the. This service screen 2
By selecting ten digital image printing services 211, a printing service can be started. When the service is started, an authentication screen 220 requesting input of a customer identification code is displayed in S114, and the input of the customer identification code is prompted. Here, when the user 10 inputs the customer identification code notified at the time of the print order in S115, the print server 41 performs a data drawing process and performs printing (printing) with the printer 43.

Next, the operation related to the storage period and the storage period re-notification condition will be described with reference to FIG. In step S111, information about the order for which the print order has been made is transferred from the web server to the print server 41 of the shop 40, and in step S112.
Then, the order information is stored in the print server 41.
When the storage is completed, an order storage completion notification is sent to the web server in S121. Along with this notification, the web server 30 sets a storage period and a condition for re-notification of the storage expiration date, that is, a condition of how many days before the expiration date the re-notification is performed. Here, if the user 10 visits the shop 40 and does not perform printing before the set storage period re-notification date,
The storage expiration notice is sent in S122. This notification is sent by e-mail to the contact input on the contact input screen 120 of FIG. 5 in an interactive process when a print request is made by the web browser 12. This notification enters the mailbox in S123, and the user 10 can receive it as an e-mail. If the e-mail address is not entered, it is necessary to make a telephone call, and the operator can know this information in an operator mode (not shown).

If the user 10 still does not print within the storage period after the storage period re-notification, the web server 30 instructs the print server 40 to delete the order in S125, and the print server deletes the order in S126. I do. When the deletion of the order is completed, a deletion completion notification is sent to S1.
At 27, the print server 40 notifies the web server 30. Further, a deletion notification is transmitted to the home personal computer 11 of the user 10 by e-mail in S128, and the mail is entered in the mailbox in S129. The user can know this deletion notification as receiving the e-mail.

According to the present embodiment, the digital image data is transmitted via the web server to the print server installed in the shop via the network and is stored for a certain period of time. When printing is permitted, printing can be performed and a printing result can be obtained. This may be a device without an operator or a device operated by an operator, and has the advantage that the setting environment is not selected. Also, since the shop side does not always come to the user to obtain the print result, as shown in the present embodiment, the user enters the customer identification code to trigger the printing. There is also an advantage that the risk can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the embodiment relating to the storage period. In the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the print server 41 manages the storage period, and when the storage period re-notification date is reached,
In step S141, the print server 40 requests the web server 30 to notify the web server 30 of the storage expiration date.
In response to this, the storage expiration date is re-notified to the e-mail address of the contact and the user enters the mailbox in S143 to notify the user in the form of receiving the e-mail of the user 10. Also, regarding the deletion notification, the print server 4
Notification can be made from 0 to S146, S147, S148, and S149.

In this embodiment, it is not necessary to manage the storage expiration date and the storage expiration re-notification condition of each shop in the web server 30; There is an advantage that it becomes.

(Third Embodiment) In the second embodiment, a notification about the storage expiration date is sent from the print server 40 via the web server 30, but when an order is registered in the print server 40, By registering the information including the contact information, the print server 40 can directly notify the home personal computer 11 of the user 10 by e-mail.

In this embodiment, there is an advantage that the notification by e-mail does not need to be notified via the web server 30, and the notification system can be simplified.

It should be apparent that the networks used in the above embodiments can be various networks for accessing from the customer's home or the like, such as the Internet, a telephone line, and a network dedicated to this service. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a dedicated web server for receiving a print order from a customer is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to directly receive a print order at a terminal in a shop. Good.

The shop in the above embodiment is not limited to a specialized lab shop such as a DPE, but may be a convenience store or a station stand. In the case where the above-described printer, printer server, or the like is provided at every corner of the street, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated operator by simplifying the user interface so that the customer can operate the printer. In this specification, such an unmanned terminal device is generally referred to as a shop.

[0025]

According to the present invention, in a digital print system for receiving a print order from a customer via a network and performing print output based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in the shop, By providing a means for instructing the printer to start printing based on the order information to instruct a print start on the shop side, even if there is a customer who does not come to the shop after ordering a print, A situation in which printed matter is wasted can be prevented.

Also, in a digital print system for receiving a print order from a customer via a network and performing a print output based on the order information of the print order at a printer provided in a shop, a predetermined print after the print order by the customer is provided. By notifying the storage expiration date, the customer can be encouraged to visit the shop even if the customer has forgotten that he has ordered the print.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a digital print system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a processing flow (1) of the digital print system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a processing flow (2) of the digital print system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a processing flow (3) of the digital print system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a web browser screen operated on a home personal computer of the digital print system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a print server operation unit screen operated by an operation unit on the print server of the digital print system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 User (Customer) 11 Home PC 12 Web Browser 13 Digital Image Data 20 Network 30 Web Server 40 Shop 41 Print Server 42 Operation Unit 43 Printer 50 Shop 100 Web Browser Screen 110 Service Screen 111 Digital Image Printing Service 120 Contact Input Screen 130 Order information 200 Print server operation unit screen 210 Service screen 211 Digital image print service 220 Authentication screen 230 Storage expiration re-notification setting screen 240 Storage expiration re-notification condition setting screen 301 Storage period 302 Storage expiration re-notification condition

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP06 HJ06 HK19 2H106 BA95 BH00 5B021 AA30 PP06 5B089 GA13 JA08 KC26 KC58 LB12 5C062 AA01 AA05 AA29 AB20 AB22 AB38 AB42 AC23 AC35 AC42 AC43 AF00 AF06 BA00 BD

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A digital print system which receives a print order from a customer via a network and prints out a print at a printer provided in a shop based on order information of the print order. A digital print system, wherein a means for instructing a print start to instruct a start of a print output based on the order information is provided in the shop. 2. The digital print system according to claim 1, wherein input means for inputting a customer identification code is provided on the shop side, and printing is started based on the input by the input means. 3. The digital print system according to claim 1, wherein a customer identification code is issued to the customer when the customer orders the print. 4. The digital print system according to claim 1, wherein the stored order information is deleted at a predetermined timing. 5. The digital print system according to claim 4, wherein notification is made that the order information has been deleted. 6. The digital print system according to claim 4, wherein the customer is notified of a storage term of the order information. 7. The digital printing system according to claim 6, wherein the storage expiration date is notified again at a predetermined timing after the print order by the customer and before the storage expiration date. 8. The digital print system according to claim 7, wherein the condition of the re-notification can be set by a customer. 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the customer orders the print, the customer inputs contact information.
9. The digital print system according to any one of 6 and 8. 10. A digital print system which receives a print order from a customer via a network and prints out based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop. A digital print system for notifying a storage expiration date at the timing of: 11. A digital printing method for receiving a print order from a customer via a network and performing print output based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop, wherein the customer arrives at the shop. And causing a printer in the shop to start print output based on the order information. 12. The digital print service method according to claim 11, wherein printing is started by inputting a customer identification code in said shop. 13. A digital print service method for receiving a print order from a customer via a network and performing print output based on the order information of the print order by a printer provided in a shop. A digital print service method, wherein a storage expiration date is notified at a predetermined timing.