JP2001125759A - Print system and information storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print system applicable to the printing industry or copy center, for example, by widening operation scale in a state of ensuring the security of each of users corresponding to print requests from a lot of unspecified users. SOLUTION: In spite of the system configuration with the wide operation range opened to a lot of unspecified users, in the case of a user who registers user identification information in the relevant print system through a client beforehand while using a register means, the correspondent user identification information is designated and logged in (Y in step S15 and S16) so that the use of the relevant print system is permitted. Though, in the case of a user who does not register user identification information yet, use of the relevant print system is not permitted (S17) so that security concerning user can be kept, since the correspondent user identification information is not provided and can not be properly logged in through the client (N in S15).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for transmitting an electronic document from a client installed on a network or a remote place to a print server installed on the network and instructing the printing of the document, and at least installing the electronic document on the network. The present invention relates to a printing system that outputs data to one or more printing apparatuses and an information storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the importance of network computing represented by the Internet or intranet has been increasing, and various information has been stored on a server computer and can be accessed and viewed from a client computer.

In a printing system, recently, a print server and a plurality of printing apparatuses are installed on a network, a client computer transmits a plurality of desired document files to the print server, and the print server queues the files. There is also proposed a system in which a plurality of printing apparatuses output data efficiently according to an optimal print scheduling.

Further, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-216606, a job ticket having a program command for printing together with a document file to be printed is transferred to a print server, and the document is processed, edited and output according to the command. There is also a proposal for an example of a system that allows this.

[0005]

However, when considering the scale of application of this type of conventional printing system, it is limited to a certain range, for example, within a certain department of a certain company. In other words, in the case of a conventional networked printing system, security and management of users who use the print server and the printing apparatus are not particularly taken into consideration. The operation scale is limited, for example, when used in a security-free environment.

[0006] Similarly, the security and document management of a document to be printed are not particularly taken into consideration, so that the operation scale is limited in terms of the document.

Accordingly, the present invention can widen the operation scale in a state where the security of each user can be ensured in response to a print request from an unspecified number of users by a Web browser or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system and an information storage medium applicable to a trader, a copy center, and the like.

[0008] Further, with the widening of the operation scale, a business system configuration in which a printing company performs printing in response to a printing request from a user is assumed, and an estimation request at the time of printing or a test printing request is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system having a system configuration capable of coping with the above.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system for transmitting an electronic document from a client installed on a network or a remote place to a print server installed on the network, and printing the document. In a printing system that outputs to at least one or more printing devices installed on the network according to an instruction, a registration unit that registers user identification information for using the printing system via the client in a memory; System use restricting means for permitting use of the printing system only when user identification information matching registered user identification information is input.

Therefore, even if the system configuration is open to a large number of unspecified users and has a wide operating range, any user who has previously registered user identification information in the printing system using the registration means through a client can be used. The user is permitted to use the printing system by logging in with the corresponding user identification information specified. However, since the unregistered user does not have the corresponding user identification information and cannot log in properly through the client. However, use of the printing system is not permitted, so that security for the user can be ensured. As a result, it is possible to construct a system whose operation scale is not particularly limited.

The present invention is also realized by causing a print server to execute a program stored in an information storage medium. That is, according to the information storage medium of the present invention, at least one of the information storage media installed on the network according to reception of an electronic document from a client installed on a network or a remote place and an instruction to print the document.
An information storage medium storing a program readable by the print server that causes a print server installed on the network to output to more than one printing device, and to use the printing system through the client. A registration function for registering the user identification information in the memory, a registration management function for grouping and managing users in at least one hierarchical structure when registering the user identification information by the registration function, and a registration management function for registering the user in the memory. A program for causing the print server to execute a system use restriction function for permitting use of the printing system only when user identification information matching the user identification information is input is stored.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printing system according to the first aspect, further comprising a registration management unit that groups and manages users in at least one hierarchy when registering the user identification information by the registration unit. .

Therefore, for example, in the case of individual users belonging to a corporate user, these individual users are managed in a hierarchical structure hierarchized under the corporate user, and the users are easily grouped by the corporate unit. Can be managed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first or second aspect, a storage unit for storing an electronic document transmitted by the client and instructed to print,
A registered document search providing means for searching a desired document from the electronic document stored by the storage means through the client and providing browsing / acquisition of the document; and an electronic document when the electronic document is stored by the storage means. Access right setting means for setting an access right to the user in accordance with the user identification information of the user; and setting of the access right to search for a desired document or browse / acquire the corresponding document by the registered document search providing means. Access restricting means permitting only when user identification information or user identification information in a group to which the user belongs is input,
Is provided.

Therefore, the printing system has a function of storing, by the storage unit, an electronic document instructed by the registered user to print through the client, so that when the same document needs to be printed again, the print document is transmitted again. Printing can be performed without any problem, and efficient and quick print processing can be performed. At this time, with respect to the stored document, the access right is set by the access right setting means in accordance with the user identification information of the user, and the user identification information to which the access right is set or a user in the group to which the user belongs Only when the identification information is input, the security of the document can be ensured by permitting the search of the document or the browsing / acquisition of the document by the access restricting means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the third aspect, there is provided a designating means for designating whether or not the electronic document transmitted by the client and instructed to print is stored by the storage means.

Accordingly, the user who instructs the printing system to arbitrarily select whether or not to save the electronic document for which printing has been instructed in the printing system can be arbitrarily selected. By specifying and saving, if the same document needs to be printed again, it can be printed using the saved document without sending the print document again, and efficient and quick printing Processing becomes possible. In the case where storage is not particularly necessary, payment of a storage fee becomes unnecessary by not specifying storage.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the third or fourth aspect, the access right setting unit specifies whether to set an access right to the electronic document stored by the storage unit. A designation means is provided.

Therefore, the user who instructed printing can optionally specify whether or not to set the access right when saving the electronic document for which printing has been instructed. If the setting of the access right is designated, the user or the user can be designated. Only the users belonging to the group to which the user belongs can access, and security relating to the document can be secured. On the other hand, in the case of a document that does not have security in particular, if the setting of the access right is not specified, all users who can use the printing system that has logged in can access the document, such as viewing the document. Can be. That is, a storage mode according to the security of the document can be adopted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first or second aspect, prior to printing the document instructed to be printed by the printing apparatus, an estimate for estimating a chargeable item such as a cost and a schedule related to the printing is provided. Means, feedback means for feeding back the estimation result by the estimation means to the client corresponding to the user who instructed printing, order determination means for specifying whether or not to actually perform printing in accordance with the estimation result fed back, Is provided.

Therefore, for a user who can use the printing system, before deciding an order to actually perform printing through the client, estimating means estimates the items to be charged such as the cost and schedule related to the printing, and estimates the cost. Since the result is fed back to the client corresponding to the user who instructed printing, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to place an order, as in the case of requesting printing from a normal printing company.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the sixth aspect, the estimating means includes elements relating to printing paper such as paper quality, paper size, the number of prints, staples, and the like.
A main operation unit for performing an estimate calculation with elements relating to finisher processing in the printing apparatus such as a punch, and elements relating to a schedule such as urgent printing, date and time designation printing, and a storage cost of an electronic document stored by the storage unit; And a sub-operation means for performing an estimate calculation as a billing target.

Therefore, it is possible to appropriately estimate the chargeable item.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the sixth or seventh aspect, the feedback means outputs the estimation result to an external file.

Therefore, the estimation result is, for example, CSV
By outputting as an external file in a format such as (Comma Separated Value), the data can be corrected,
Processing becomes possible, and information such as a discount according to the user can be easily added, and the estimate can be easily corrected.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there are provided the first to eighth aspects.
In the printing system according to any one of the above, prior to printing the set number of sheets of the document for which printing has been instructed by the printing apparatus,
A test output unit for test-outputting a print image of the document is provided.

Therefore, when a user who can use the printing system instructs printing, for example, when the number of prints is large, the print image is output in advance by the trial output means, so that the desired print image is output. , It is possible to prevent a large amount of misprints from occurring.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the ninth aspect, the test output means includes a hard trial output means for actually printing a print image on a print sheet by the printing device and outputting the print image. And a software trial output unit for displaying and outputting a print image on the screen of (1). The software trial output unit includes a designating unit for selectively designating which output form is to be adopted.

Therefore, as an output form of a print image,
It is possible to arbitrarily choose between a form of actually printing and outputting on a print sheet and a form of displaying and outputting on a screen of a display device, and check in a desired form.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The printing system according to the present embodiment is a system mainly intended for a printing company or a copy center, which broadens its operation range. In general, a user transmits information (a user name (information (name) , Company name, etc.), information on printing (number of copies, finisher processing, etc.), information on distribution destinations (distribution name, distribution form, etc.), etc., and submit a document to be printed with a ticket. In the printing system, after receiving the submitted job information and the document through the reception client, the submitted document is scheduled to be printed by the print server, and a plurality of MFPs are set.
(Multi Function Peripheral) or the like, and print and bind at high speed. Distribute the bound documents to the distribution destination specified in the job ticket.

FIG. 1 shows a basic system configuration example of the printing system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration example thereof.

The printing system according to the present embodiment basically includes a print server 2 and n printing apparatuses indicated by # 1, # 2,..., #N on a network 1 such as a LAN. An MFP 3 having a finisher function such as printing, facsimile, bookbinding, etc. is arranged. Further, a reception client 4 as a client installed on the network 1, a management client 5, a WWW server 6, and a document management server 7 are provided. Be prepared. Further, a user client 9 as a client installed at a remote place via the Internet / Intranet 8 or the like with respect to the network 1
Can be connected. Print server 2, reception client 4, management client 5, WWW server 6,
Each of the document management server 7 and the user client 9 basically has a PC (personal computer) configuration.

Here, the user client 9 is a PC used by a user to directly request a printing business or the like equipped with the printing system from outside the printing system for a printing operation. The user can transmit a job ticket and a document to be printed from the Internet / intranet 8 by accessing the print request homepage of the WWW server 6. In addition, by accessing the document management server homepage of the WWW server 6, it becomes possible to search for documents and job tickets for which printing has been requested in the past.

The reception client 4 is a PC used by a printing company to receive a print job requested by a user by telephone or the like. The only difference is whether the operator is the user himself or the person in charge of the reception at the trader,
Functionally, it is the same as the user client 9. That is, the receptionist can transmit the job ticket and the document to be printed by accessing the print request homepage of the WWW server 6.

The management client 5 is a PC for managing a print job requested by a user. The receptionist accesses the print management homepage of the WWW server through the reception client 4 to register / search / delete / manage the job ticket, and register / search / register the document to be printed on the document management server 7. Deletion / management becomes possible.

The WWW server 6 sends a print request to the user and the receptionist through the clients 9 and 4.
It is a PC for providing a homepage and a Web application for print management and document management.

The print server 2 is a server PC which forms the core of the printing system, and performs job ticket management, print job scheduling, accounting processing, and print control (parallel printing, alternative printing, etc.) as described later. The print server 2 includes a quote DB, a print job DB, and a device D.
B, a master DB, and a user DB.

The document management server 7 is a server PC used to manage documents to be printed. As a specific example, an integrated document management system LIFI manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.
SA is used. By using the document management server 7, the electronic document transmitted from the user is registered and stored, and the document is searched for at the time of repeat printing.
This document management server 7 has a document database 11.

In such a schematic basic configuration, in this embodiment, user registration is required to use the printing system. For example, user registration using the user client 9 will be described. When the user client 9 accesses the print request homepage of the WWW server 6, a main menu screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the screen 9a of the user client 9. On this main menu screen, user registration becomes possible by selecting and operating corporation registration or user management corporation registration, user (corporation) registration or user (individual) registration. For example, when a corporate registration is selected, the screen 9a is switched to a “corporate registration” screen as shown in FIG. 4, and a password is input as user identification information together with a company name, an address, a telephone number, etc., and an OK button is operated. By doing so, the user identification information of the corporation user is registered in the user DB on the database 10 as a memory. In the case of a user belonging to a corporation, it is possible to register as a user (corporation) belonging to the corporation user, provided that the corporation is already registered. In this case, when the user (corporate) registration is selected and operated, the screen 9a is switched to a “user (corporate) registration” screen as shown in FIG. 5, and the password is displayed together with the affiliation, name, address, telephone number, etc. And operating the OK button, the user identification information of the user (corporation) is registered in the user DB on the database 10 as a memory.
Further, in the case of a user (individual) who does not belong to a corporation, when the user (personal) registration is selected and operated, the screen 9a is switched to a "user (individual) registration" screen as shown in FIG.
By inputting a password as user identification information together with a name, an address, a telephone number, etc., and operating an OK button, the user identification information of the user (individual) is registered in the user DB on the database 10 as a memory. Such a registration is performed not only by the user client 9 but also by a receptionist through the reception client 4 at the request of the user by telephone or the like.

An example of processing control in the print server 2 for such user registration will be briefly described with reference to a schematic flowchart shown in FIG. First, a print request homepage of the WWW server 6 is accessed through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4), and a main menu is displayed on a corresponding client screen.
When any of corporate registration, user (corporate) registration, or user (individual) registration is selected, a registration mode is set (Y in step S1). In this registration mode, if corporate registration is selected (Y in S2), after inputting predetermined items, OK
When the button is operated (Y in S3), user identification information such as the password of the corporate user is registered in the user DB,
A corporate ID, which is one of the user identification information, is issued to the corporate user (S4), and the registration process ends. In the registration mode, when the user (corporation) registration is selected (Y in S5), after inputting predetermined items, the OK button is operated (Y in S6), and the password (eg, password) of the user (corporation) is entered. The user identification information is registered in the user DB in association with the corporation ID to which the user belongs, a user ID that is one of the user identification information is issued to the user (corporation) (S7), and the registration processing ends. . In registration mode,
When the user (individual) registration is selected (N in S5), after the predetermined items are input, if the OK button is operated (Y in S8), the user identification information such as the password of the user (individual) is input. The user ID is registered in the user DB, and a user ID, which is one of the user identification information, is issued to the user (individual) (S9), and the registration process ends. A series of processes in steps S1 to S9 shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the registration unit.

FIG. 8 shows that the registration process is performed by a corporation / company.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a result of user registration. That is, as shown in the figure, the corporation and the user (individual) are grouped as equivalent units (corporation 1, corporation 2,..., User (individual) 1, user (individual) 2,.
n), in the case of a user belonging to a corporation, the user (corporation) is managed in a hierarchical structure below the corresponding corporation (for example, a user (corporation) 1, a user (corporation) 2, ..., user (corporation) n). That is,
Of the processing examples shown in FIG.
Steps S7 and S9 are executed as functions of the registration management means.

The password and user ID registered and issued as described above are used as user identification information of the user when using the main functions of the printing system, such as an original print request, an estimate, a job registration, and the like. Used when necessary user login. That is, the user logs in to use the main functions of the printing system. When performing this user login, the user must input the user ID issued at the time of registration and the password specified at the time of registration. For example, when the user client 9 accesses the print request homepage of the WWW server 6, a main menu screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the screen 9a of the user client 9. On this main menu screen, enter the user ID and password correctly and operate the OK button.
If the user is a registered user, the user is logged in and can use the printing system. Conversely, if no user ID or password is entered on this main menu screen, or if a corresponding user ID is not issued even if entered, or if a corresponding password is not specified, Login is not performed normally, and use of the printing system is not permitted.

An example of processing control in the print server 2 for such a user login will be briefly described with reference to a schematic flowchart shown in FIG. First, WWW is transmitted through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4).
There is access to the print request homepage of server 6,
When the main menu is displayed on the screen of the corresponding client, a user ID and a password are input, and the OK button is operated, a login mode is set (step S11).
Y). In this login mode, it is searched whether the input user ID exists in the user DB (S1).
2) As a result of the search, if the corresponding user ID exists (Y in S13), the input password is also collated with the password specified for the user ID in the same manner (S14). (Y of S15), the login is completed (S16), use of the printing system is permitted, and the specified necessary processing becomes possible. On the other hand, if there is no ID corresponding to the input user ID (N in S13), or if the input password does not match the designated password (S1).
5) N), login is disabled (S17), and use of the printing system is not permitted. A series of processes in steps S11 to S17 shown in FIG. 9 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the system use restricting unit.
As a result, even if the printing system itself is constructed so as to cover a wide range of operations, users who have not been registered cannot use the printing system and cannot respond to printing requests from an unspecified large number of users. User security can be ensured.

The functions of the registration means, the registration management means, and the system use restriction means are such that a program corresponding to an information storage medium such as a CD-ROM or FD readable by the print server 2 is stored. , Can also be executed by causing the print server 2 to read.

Next, FIGS. 10 and 11 show an outline of the flow of business of the printing system provided to the user who can register and log in as described above. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the range enclosed by the broken line is the applicable range of the printing system.

In this embodiment, when requesting a print job from the printing system, the user can request an estimate of a print job through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4). When the print menu is designated as the work menu after the login as described above is completed in the user client 9, a print menu screen 9a as shown in FIG. 12 appears.
Therefore, when "estimate request" is specified, the print system automatically issues an estimate number and
The screen 9a of "estimation request" as shown in FIG. On this screen, distribution destination information, output information, document storage information, and the like are displayed as estimation target items, and input can be made at necessary places. Regarding the distribution destination information, by clicking on this distribution destination information input part, as shown in FIG. 14, personal information (name, telephone number, etc.), company information (company name, address, telephone number, etc.), delivery information Conditions relating to the billing target such as (delivery means, priority, number of copies) can be input and set as appropriate. By operating the OK button on this screen 9a, the input of the distribution destination information is confirmed. As for the output information, as shown in FIG. 13, the number of copies, both sides, the number of pages, the size, paper quality, cover color, paper color, special paper, the staple, the binding position, and the binding method as finisher processing information are shown as job information. , Drilling, scheduling information, such as normal, urgent, and date and time designation, can be input and set as appropriate. With respect to the document storage information, it is possible to appropriately input and set conditions relating to the billing target such as the presence or absence of storage and the storage period. By operating the OK button on the screen 9a shown in FIG. 13, the estimation condition is determined, and the estimation process is performed.

In order for the print server 2 to perform an estimation process in the printing system, a delivery fee table 10a as shown in FIG. 15, a paper fee table 10b as shown in FIG. A document storage fee table 10c as shown in FIG. That is, in the delivery charge table 10a, charges are set for each combination of the delivery destination and the delivery means.
Used for estimating and calculating costs related to printing. In the paper charge table 10b, a charge is set for each combination of a paper size and a paper type, and is used for estimating and calculating costs related to printing. In the document storage fee table 10c, a fee corresponding to the document storage age is set, and is used for estimating and calculating the storage cost.

Further, by accessing the print management homepage of the WWW server 6, the document requested to be quoted is input to the print schedule for each MFP 3 managed by the management client 5 as shown by an arrow. It has a function of calculating the scheduled print completion date and time (schedule).

An example of the process control in the print server 2 for such estimation will be briefly described with reference to a schematic flowchart shown in FIG. This is a process when a quote request is issued by the user through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4), and the OK button is pressed after the delivery destination information shown in FIG. 14 is input (S21), and FIG.
When the OK button is pressed on the estimate request screen shown in FIG. 3 (S22), the set estimate conditions are fetched (S2).
3) The print completion date and time when the job is input into the print schedule in the management client 5 is calculated (S24). Subsequently, the estimation DB in the database 10 is collated (S2
5) First, print cost estimation calculation is performed (S26).
That is, the printing cost is estimated based on the printing paper elements such as paper quality, paper size, and the number of print sheets, the elements related to the finisher processing in the printing apparatus such as staples and punches, and the elements related to the schedule such as urgent printing and date / time designation printing. Perform calculations. For example, simply, (page unit price x number of pages x number of copies) + (finisher processing unit price x
(Number of copies). The process of step S26 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the main arithmetic unit. Subsequently, an estimation calculation is performed with the storage cost of the electronic document being charged (S27). The process of step S27 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the sub-operation means. After these calculation processes, an estimate is created (S28), and the user client 9 (or
This estimate is sent to the receiving client 4) (S29). A series of processes in steps S21 to S28 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the estimating unit, and the process of step S29 is executed by the print server 2 as a function of the feedback unit. This allows the user to check the contents of the quote,
Based on the examination, it can be provided to determine whether or not to actually order printing. That is, by specifying print job registration on the screen 9a shown in FIG. 12 through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4),
A print request can be officially ordered (order determination means).

However, as a method of feeding back the estimation result to the user side, for example, the CS shown in FIG.
V of the printing system in a format such as V
May be output. According to this, correction and processing of the estimation data can be easily performed. That is, in the printing system, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, it is possible to hold the charge tables 10a, 10b, and 10c for each item in the system, and calculate the estimated amount by referring to the tables. However, for example, it is also assumed that a specific discount is provided for each corporation or user, and in such a case where a different discount is performed for each corporation, each user, and for each estimation request, Maintaining such a table inside a printing system is extremely difficult. Therefore, by outputting the estimation result created by the printing system as an external file 12 in a CSV format or the like to the outside of the system, it is possible to easily add information such as a discount according to the time.

Next, storage of an electronic document for which printing has been instructed using the printing system, browsing of the electronic document after storage, and the like will be described. User Client 9
On the print menu screen 9a shown in FIG. 12 (or the reception client 4), for example, following the end of the quote request, when ordering print job registration, print job saving processing can be selected and specified. When this print job registration is designated, a print job registration screen 9a as shown in FIG. 21 is displayed, and items necessary for registration are displayed. This item is basically the same as that at the time of estimation, and one of the items is input of document storage information,
By selecting whether or not to save the electronic document, it is possible to select whether to save the electronic document or not. Therefore, the screen 9a shown in FIG. 21 functions as a designation unit. The user who instructed the printing can arbitrarily designate whether or not to save the electronic document instructed to be printed in the printing system. If there is a high possibility that the same document will be printed again, save and designate and save. By doing so, if it becomes necessary to print the same document again, it is possible to print using the saved document without sending the print document again, and efficient and quick print processing becomes possible . In the case where storage is not particularly necessary, payment of a storage fee becomes unnecessary by not specifying storage.

When the user specifies to save the electronic document instructed for printing when registering a print job, the print server 2 uses the Web application for document management of the WWW server 6 to store the electronic document in the document management server. 7, the document database 11
Register to save. The electronic document stored in the document database 11 as described above can be browsed / acquired by search at an arbitrary time and later. In the present embodiment, only the user who has made the print request is stored. An access right of the user can be set for an electronic document to be saved at the time of registering a print job (that is, at the time of printing request) so that the corresponding electronic document can be searched and browsed. Thereby, security for the stored document is ensured. FIG. 22 shows stored documents (for example, documents A, B,.
The situation where ID information of the corresponding user is added as security information to n) is schematically shown.
In particular, in the case of a user (corporation) belonging to a corporate user as shown in the illustrated example, the user (for example, user ID: U00010001) requesting printing and the corporation (for example, corporate ID: C0001) to which the user belongs are printed. By adding an access right that allows the user to view the stored electronic document A, only the user who instructed printing and users in the group to which the user belongs (for example, user (corporate) 2,..., User (corporate) n) Searching, browsing, and acquiring the electronic document become possible.

However, depending on the contents of the document to be printed and stored, there is no confidentiality or the like at all, and it is not limited to use only by the user and may be widely opened to the registrant of the printing system. Therefore, such a case can be dealt with by specifying no access right when saving. That is, the document database 11
If no access right is specified for the document stored in the printing system, all users who have logged in to the printing system are permitted to search, browse, and acquire the document.

An example of processing control in the print server 2 regarding such document storage will be briefly described with reference to a schematic flowchart shown in FIG. This processing is performed when print job registration is specified by the user through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4), and when document storage is specified during the print job registration (S
31) Further, it is checked whether the access right is set (S32). If the access right is set (Y in S32), the access right is added as security information, and the electronic document instructed to print is sent to the document management server 7 and stored in the document database 11 (S32).
33). On the other hand, if the access right is not set (S
32), the electronic document instructed to be printed is sent to the document management server 7 and stored in the document database 11 without adding an access right (S34). The function as a storage unit is executed by the document management server 7.

In addition, search, browsing, and
An example of processing control in the document management server 7 when an acquisition request is made will be briefly described with reference to a schematic flowchart shown in FIG. When a user who can log in to the printing system through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4) requests search / browsing / acquisition, first, the search conditions are fetched (S41), and the search conditions are obtained. Search the document database 11 (S4
2). As a result of the search, if there is no corresponding document (N in S43), the fact is notified to the user client 9 (or the reception client 4), and the process is terminated. If there is a corresponding document (Y in S43), it is checked whether an access right is set for the document (S44). If the access right is set (Y in S44), it is checked whether or not the user ID input to log in to the printing system corresponds to the security information set as the access right. (S45).
In the case of a user (corporate), the user is not limited to the user who has instructed the document printing, and if the user is the same as the corporate user, it is determined to correspond. If it corresponds to the security information (Y in S45), the user is permitted to browse the search result or provide the document information (S46). In the case of a user who does not support security information, browsing of search results or provision of the document information is not permitted, and the user is notified through the user client 9 (or the reception client 4) (S47). ). If the access right is not set (N of S44), the user is permitted to browse the search result or provide the document information (S4).
6). Here, N in step S44, Y in S45, S4
6 is executed by the document management server 7 as a function of the registered document search providing means.
7 is executed by the document management server 7 as a function of the access restriction means.

In this embodiment, when registering a print job, it is possible to freely select whether or not to perform test printing before actually starting the printing process. That is,
In the screen 9a of the print job tongue shown in FIG. 20, one of the output information input items includes an input display as a designating means for selectively selecting whether or not to perform test printing. If the test print is designated, the user can confirm and check the result of the test print prior to the original print, and it is possible to prevent the erroneous printing of a plurality of copies from occurring. This is particularly effective when the number of printed sheets is large.

Although the present embodiment has been described assuming that test printing is performed on printing paper, the present invention is not necessarily limited to a hard output mode in which printing is performed on printing paper and output. The print image may be a software output mode in which the print image is displayed on the screen 9a of the display device of the user client 9 (or the reception client 4). For this purpose, although not specifically shown, a hardware test output unit for actually printing a print image on printing paper by the printing apparatus 3 and a software test for displaying and outputting the print image on a screen of a display device such as the client 9 are provided. Output means and can be selected,
What is necessary is just to have the structure provided with the specification means which selects and specifies which output form is taken. In the case of software trial output means,
For example, the print image may be held in a file format such as TIFF.

The configuration example of the printing system shown in FIG. 1 and the like is a schematic diagram showing a basic form, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be actually taken.

[0059]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the system configuration is open to a large number of unspecified users and has a wide operating range, the printing system can be registered in advance by using the registration means through the client. If the user has registered the user identification information, the user is permitted to use the printing system by logging in by designating the corresponding user identification information. Since it is not possible to log in properly through a client without using the client, the use of the printing system is not permitted. Therefore, security for the user can be ensured. As a result, a system can be constructed in which the operation scale is not particularly limited. .

According to the second aspect of the invention, for example, in the case of individual users belonging to a corporate user, these individual users are managed in a hierarchical structure hierarchized under the corporate user, and are managed in corporate units. By grouping users, it is possible to easily manage them.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the printing system has a function of storing the electronic document instructed by the registered user to print through the client by the storage unit, it is necessary to print the same document again. In this case, printing can be performed without transmitting the print document again, and efficient and quick print processing can be performed. On this occasion,
With respect to the stored document, the access right is set by the access right setting means in association with the user identification information of the user, and the user identification information to which the access right has been set or the user identification information in the group to which the user belongs belongs. Only when the input is made, security of the document can be ensured by permitting the access restricting means to search for the document or browse / acquire the corresponding document.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the user who instructed printing can arbitrarily select and specify whether to save the electronic document for which printing has been instructed in the printing system. If the document is high, specify the save and save it.If the same document needs to be printed again, it can be printed using the saved document without sending the print document again. As a result, efficient and quick print processing becomes possible. In the case where storage is not particularly necessary, payment of a storage fee becomes unnecessary by not specifying storage.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the user who has given the print instruction can arbitrarily select and specify whether to set the access right when saving the electronic document for which the print instruction has been given.
If the setting of the access right is specified, only the user or a user of the group to which the user belongs can be accessed, and security concerning the document can be ensured. on the other hand,
In the case of a document that does not have security in particular, if the access right setting is not specified, all logged-in users who can use the printing system can access the document, such as viewing the document. After all, a storage mode can be adopted according to the security of the document.

According to the invention described in claim 6, for a user who can use the printing system, before deciding an order to actually perform printing through the client, the estimating means determines the cost, schedule, etc. related to the printing. Since the item to be charged is estimated and the estimation result is fed back to the client corresponding to the user who instructed the printing, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to place an order, as in the case of requesting printing from a normal printing company. .

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately estimate the items to be charged.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the estimation result is output as an external file in a format such as CSV (Comma Separated Value).
The data can be corrected and processed, and information such as a discount according to the user can be easily added, and the estimate can be corrected easily.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when a user who can use the printing system instructs printing, for example, when the number of prints is large, the print image is output in advance by the trial output means. This makes it possible to check whether or not the print image is as desired, thereby preventing a large amount of misprints from occurring.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a form in which a print image is actually printed and output on a print sheet and a form in which a print image is output on a screen of a display device can be arbitrarily adopted. Can be checked in any desired form.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, even if the system configuration is open to a large number of unspecified users and has a wide operating range, the printing system can be identified in advance by using the registration means through the client. The user who has registered the information is permitted to use the printing system by logging in by specifying the corresponding user identification information. However, the unregistered user has the corresponding user identification information. Therefore, it is not possible to log in properly through the client, so that the use of the printing system is not permitted. Therefore, security relating to the user can be ensured, and as a result, a system can be constructed in which the operation scale is not particularly limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic system configuration diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a screen example of a main menu.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of a corporation registration screen.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a user (corporation) registration screen.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example of a user (individual) registration screen.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a control example of a user registration process.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a user registration result.

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a control example of a user login process.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a flow of business of the printing system.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a flow of business of the printing system.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing an example of a print menu screen.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing an example of an estimate request screen.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing an example of a distribution destination information input screen.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a delivery fee table.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a paper charge table.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a document interpolation fee table.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a print schedule.

FIG. 19 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of processing control for an estimation request.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of CSV output.

FIG. 21 is a front view showing an example of a print job registration screen.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing security of a document together with a user and a registration example.

FIG. 23 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of a storage process in print job registration.

FIG. 24 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of document search / browsing processing control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network 2 Print server 3 Printing device 4, 9 Client 7 Registration means 10 Memory

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Claims (11)

[Claims] At least one or more devices installed on a network according to a transmission of an electronic document from a client installed on a network or a remote location to a print server installed on the network and a print instruction of the document. In a printing system that outputs to a printing apparatus, a registration unit that registers user identification information for using the printing system in a memory through the client, and user identification information that matches the user identification information registered in the memory is input. And a system use restricting unit for permitting use of the printing system only when the printing is performed. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising a registration management unit configured to manage users by grouping them in at least one hierarchical structure when registering the user identification information by the registration unit. 3. A storage means for storing an electronic document transmitted by the client and instructed to print, a desired document is searched through the client from the electronic document stored by the storage means, and the corresponding document is browsed / acquired. A registered document search providing unit that provides the following; an access right setting unit that sets an access right to the electronic document in association with the user identification information of the user when the electronic document is stored by the storage unit; Access restricting means for permitting search of a desired document by the providing means or browsing / acquisition of the corresponding document only when user identification information to which the access right is set or user identification information in a group to which the user belongs is input; The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The printing system according to claim 3, further comprising a designation unit that designates whether or not the electronic document transmitted from the client and instructed to print is stored by the storage unit. 5. The printing method according to claim 3, further comprising a designation unit for designating whether or not an access right is set by the access right setting unit for the electronic document stored by the storage unit. system. 6. An estimating means for estimating a chargeable item such as a cost and a schedule related to the printing prior to the printing of the document instructed by the printing apparatus, and the estimating means by the estimating means corresponding to the user who instructed the printing. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: feedback means for feeding back to the client; and order determination means for designating whether to actually perform printing in accordance with the feedback of the estimation result. 7. The estimating means relates to elements relating to printing paper such as paper quality, paper size, the number of prints, etc., elements relating to finisher processing in the printing apparatus such as staples and punches, and schedules for urgent printing and date / time designation printing. 7. The printing method according to claim 6, further comprising: a main operation unit that performs an estimation calculation with the element as a charging target; and a sub-operation unit that performs an estimation calculation with a storage cost of an electronic document stored by the storage unit as a charging target. system. 8. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein the feedback unit outputs the estimation result to an external file. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a test output unit configured to test-output a print image of the document instructed by the printing apparatus before printing the set number of prints. The printing system as described. 10. The test output means includes: a hardware test output means for actually printing a print image on a print sheet by the printing apparatus and outputting the print image; and a software test output means for displaying and outputting the print image on a screen of a display device. 10. The printing system according to claim 9, further comprising a designation unit for selecting and selecting which output form to use. 11. The network according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an electronic document from a client installed on a network or a remote location, and outputting the document to at least one or more printing apparatuses installed on the network in accordance with an instruction to print the document. An information storage medium storing a program readable by the print server to be executed by a print server installed on the print server, and a registration function of registering, in the memory, user identification information for using the printing system through the client. A program for causing the print server to execute a system use restriction function for permitting use of the printing system only when user identification information matching the user identification information registered in the memory is input, and An information storage medium characterized in that: