JP2001312393A - Print service management system and management server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select a printer to execute printing in accordance with the time required from a print request to a delivery. SOLUTION: This system is provided with a printer information DB 41 for storing the print schedule and localization information of a printer 3. While accepting the print request containing print data and delivery destination information from a user terminal 5, a print ending time predicting part 13 predicts print ending time in the case of executing printing for each of printers and a delivery time predicting part 14 predicts time required the delivery from the site of each of printers 3. On the basis of the predicted results, an output printer determining part 17 determines which printer 3 is to executed printing of the print data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a technique for managing a plurality of printers, and more particularly to a technique for managing a print schedule in a case where a service for delivering printed matter printed by each printer is provided.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As a related technique other than the prior art, a large-format printer provided in a print station is requested to directly print from its own computer via a network such as the Internet, and the printed matter is sent to a designated delivery destination. There is a large format printing service system to deliver. In this large format printing service system, a plurality of print stations can be set and arranged so as to be scattered in various places.

[0003] It is generally preferable for both the provider of the service and the user of the service to shorten the time from the request of printing to the completion of delivery. Here, considering the time required from when the user requests printing to when the printed matter is delivered to the designated delivery destination, this time can be roughly classified into the time required for printing and the time required for delivery.

Normally, when printing is performed by a large format printer, it often takes several tens of minutes or more to print one sheet because of the large paper size and high resolution. Therefore, in a print station having many print jobs in a print waiting state, when a new request is received, the waiting time until the start is increased. Therefore, the time at which the newly requested printing is completed is delayed. In order to complete printing quickly, it is preferable that the waiting time is short.

On the other hand, the time required for delivery mainly depends on the distance between the location of the delivery destination and the location of the print station. Therefore, the longer the request is to a print station closer to the delivery destination, the shorter the time required for delivery. However, as described above, delivery is not always quicker depending on the print waiting state.

If the user wants to deliver the print quickly, the user has to select a print station in consideration of the print waiting state and the time required for delivery, and request printing. Such a situation is not limited to a large-format printing service system using a large-format printer, but also applies to a printing system using a normal-size printer.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for selecting a printer to execute printing in accordance with the time required from a print request to delivery.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention performs the following processing. That is, at least information on the print data and the delivery location is received.
The received print data is printed by each of the plurality of printers, and the estimated delivery time when the printed matter is delivered to the delivery location is predicted. A printer to execute printing is determined based on the prediction result.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of a print service providing system including a print service management system according to the present invention. The system includes a management server 1, a plurality of printer servers 2, and a printer 3 connected to the printer server 2. The management server 1 and each printer server 2 are connected via a network 9. Each printer server 2 has one or more printers 3
Is connected. Note that the terminal 5 of the user who receives the print service can be connected to the management server 1 via a network.

A store that provides a printing service called a so-called print station includes the printer server 2 and one or more printers 3 connected to the printer server 2. The printer server 2 and the printer 3 of the same print station do not necessarily have to exist in the same store. For example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the printer server 2 and one or more printers 3 are connected to each other via a network 9 and are installed at remote locations. Further, the management server 1 may be installed in any store of the print station provided with the printer 3 or the like, or may be installed in a place other than the print station.

The management server 1 and the printer server 2
Each is configured by a computer system. Each configuration or each function described below is realized, for example, by executing a program. Also, the user terminal 5
Does not need to be a dedicated terminal, and can use a popular computer that is used personally and can be used for other purposes.

The management server 1 preferably has the following configuration. That is, the communication control unit 11, the print end time prediction unit 13, the delivery time prediction unit 14, the print cost calculation unit 15, the delivery cost calculation unit 16, the output printer determination unit 17, the display control unit 18, Buffer 19, printer information database 41, cost information database 4
2 is provided. In each of the above configurations, for example, the print end time prediction unit 13, the delivery time prediction unit 14, and the printer information database 41 can be omitted, or the print cost calculation unit 15, the delivery cost calculation unit 16, and the cost information database 42 can be omitted. Can be omitted. Other,
Only the components necessary to realize a certain function can be left, and other components can be omitted as much as possible.

The communication control unit 11 controls communication between each printer server 2 and each user terminal 5. For example, the communication control unit 11 transmits a print request 8 from the user terminal 5.
0 (see FIG. 5) is received and stored in the buffer 19. Further, according to an instruction from the output printer determining unit 17,
The print request 80 stored in the buffer 19 is transferred to the designated printer server 2.

Here, the print request 80 includes at least print data 83 to be printed and delivery destination information 85 as shown in FIG. The delivery destination information 85 is information indicating a delivery destination of a printed matter on which the print data 83 is printed. That is,
In the print service managed by this system, the delivery place of the printed matter is the delivery destination indicated by the delivery destination information 85. The user can specify a plurality of delivery destinations. In that case, the delivery destination information 85 is included in the print request 80 by the number of delivery destinations. Also, designation of the number of copies to be delivered to each delivery destination can be included.

The print end time estimating unit 13 is a user terminal 5
The print end time is predicted based on the print request 80 sent from. Since the schedule differs for each printer 3, the print end time is predicted for each printer 3.
For example, referring to the printer information database 41, the print end time when the print data 82 (see FIG. 5) included in the print request 80 is printed is predicted. In particular,
From the waiting time 413 (see FIG. 2) or the reservation status 416 (see FIG. 3) stored in the printer information database 41, a time at which each printer 3 can start a new print request is obtained. Then, from the print data 83, or preferably, from the print data 83 and the model 412 (see FIG. 2) or the print speed 415 (see FIG. 3) stored in the printer information database 41, each printer 3
To determine the time required for printing. From these, the expected printing end time is obtained for each printer 3. For example, the time required for printing may be obtained from the data size of print data, the size of printing paper, and the like.

The delivery time estimating unit 14 estimates the time required for delivery based on the print request 80 sent from the user terminal 5. The delivery time depends on the distance from the location of the printer 3 to the location of the delivery destination. For this reason, the delivery time is predicted for each print server 2 or each printer 3. For example, from the location 412 of each printer 3 included in the printer information database 41 (see FIGS. 2 and 3),
The time required for delivery to the delivery destination indicated by the delivery destination information 85 (see FIG. 5) included in the print request 80 is predicted. Specifically, a relative distance between the printer location and the delivery destination is obtained from the delivery postcode included in the delivery destination information 85 and the postcode included in the location 412. Preferably, the relative distance may be a distance converted into a delivery time in consideration of a straight line distance, a traffic condition, or the like, or a distance between local blocks to which both points belong. Then, the estimated delivery time required for delivery is calculated. The expected delivery time is preferably calculated based on the relative distance, or the delivery time between two predetermined points is known from an empirical rule. The delivery time may be calculated based on the delivery time. Note that, instead of the postal code, the area code and the area code of the telephone number may be used.

The print cost calculator 15 estimates the cost required for printing based on the print request 80 sent from the user terminal 5. For example, the print data 82 (see FIG. 5) included in the print request 80 is analyzed, and the amount of consumables such as the paper size, the number of prints required for printing, and the amount of ink used is predicted. Then, information on the print medium (paper type) set in the printer, the estimated usage amount of each consumable, and the print medium type 421 and ink type 422 stored in the cost information database 42 (FIG. 4)
Estimate the printing cost from the unit price for each of the above.

The delivery cost calculator 16 estimates the cost required for delivery based on the print request 80 sent from the user terminal 5. Delivery costs depend on the delivery method. Further, some delivery means depend on the distance from the location of the printer 3 to the location of the delivery destination. For this reason, the delivery cost is estimated for each print server 2 or each printer 3. For example, based on the location 412 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) included in the printer information database 41, the print request 8
The cost required for delivery to the delivery destination determined by the delivery destination information 85 (see FIG. 5) included in 0 is calculated. Specifically, a relative distance between the printer location and the delivery destination is obtained from the delivery destination postal code included in the delivery destination information 85 and the postal code included in the location 412, and the distance between the printer location and the delivery destination is determined. Find the relative distance. This relative distance is
Preferably, either a distance converted into a delivery time in consideration of a straight line distance, a traffic condition, or the like, or a distance between local blocks to which both points belong may be obtained. The shipping fee is estimated from the unit price 423 for each delivery distance. Instead of unit price by delivery distance,
A price list of a distributor may be used. Note that, instead of the postal code, the area code and the area code of the telephone number may be used.

The output printer determining unit 17 converts the print data requested to be printed out of the printers 3 under management.
Which printer 3 is to be used for output is determined. further,
The output printer determination unit 17 sends a
An instruction to transfer the print request 80 to the printer server 2 to which the determined printer 3 is connected is issued. The output printer is determined based on the prediction results of the print end time prediction unit 13 and the delivery time prediction unit 14, that is, based on the predicted delivery completion time (time priority mode). There are a case where it is performed based on the estimation result of the delivery cost calculation unit 16, that is, a case where it is performed based on the estimated cost (cost priority mode), and a case where the user selects and determines (user selection mode). Selection of time priority mode, expense priority mode or user selection mode
The determination may be performed based on the designation from the user terminal 5 transmitted from the display control unit 18 or may be determined in advance.

For example, in the case of the time priority mode, the delivery completion time calculation unit calculates the delivery completion time by adding the estimated delivery time to the predicted printing end time, and outputs the printer 3 having the earliest delivery completion time. Decide on a printer. Further, in the case of the cost priority mode, the printer with the lowest sum of the printing cost estimated by the printing cost calculation unit 15 and the delivery cost estimated by the delivery cost calculation unit 16 is determined as the output printer. In the case of the user selection mode, as described later, a notification of the printer selected by the user is received from the display control unit 18 and the output printer is determined.

When a printer to be output is determined, address information 411 of the printer server 2 to which the printer 3 is connected is referred to by referring to the printer information database 41.
(See FIGS. 2 and 3). Then, it instructs the communication control unit 11 to transfer the print request 80 to the printer server 2.

The display controller 18 generates information for displaying a user interface screen, and
Output to the communication control unit 11 for transmission to the communication control unit 11. The user interface screen presents information to the user,
It is a screen for receiving an instruction from a user. The user interface screen is displayed on the user terminal 5. The user interface screen includes, for example, a priority mode selection screen 100 shown in FIG. 6, a printer selection screen 200 shown in FIG. 7, and a priority mode selection screen 3 shown in FIG.
00.

The priority mode selection screen 100 shown in FIG.
Mode display areas 110, 120, and 130, an order button 140, and a cancel button 150 are arranged. In the mode display areas 110, 120, and 130, information on the time priority mode, the expense priority mode, and the user selection mode are displayed, respectively. The information displayed in the display areas 110 and 120 in the time priority mode and the cost priority mode is displayed by the display control unit 18 by the print end time prediction unit 13, the delivery time prediction unit 14, and the print cost calculation unit 15.
And the information acquired from the delivery cost calculation unit 16. That is, the scheduled delivery time and the cost are calculated for the case where the delivery is completed the earliest and the case where the service can be provided at the lowest cost. The user selection mode display area 130 displays a list of scheduled delivery times and expenses for all printers, and indicates that selection is possible therefrom.

Each mode display area 110, 120, 130
Are provided with check boxes 111, 121, and 131 for selecting each mode. The user can check the check box of the mode to be selected. When the user presses the order button 140, information indicating which mode is selected is transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the display controller 18. When the time-priority mode or the cost-priority mode is selected, the display control unit 18 transmits information indicating the selection mode to the output printer determination unit 17. When the user selection mode is selected, a process for displaying the printer selection screen 200 shown in FIG. 7 is performed.

On the other hand, in the mode selection screen 300 shown in FIG. 8, the scheduled delivery time and cost are not displayed in the display areas 310 and 320 of the time priority mode and the expense priority mode. That is, after calculating the scheduled delivery time and cost for each printer, the mode is not selected, but is used when selecting the mode first.

As shown in FIG. 7, a scheduled delivery time / cost list display area 210, an order button 220, and a cancel button 230 are arranged on the printer selection screen 200. In the scheduled delivery time / cost list display area 210, a scheduled delivery time 213 and a cost 214 are displayed for each printer 212, and a check box 211 for selecting the printer 212 is displayed in association with the printer 212. When the user checks one of the check boxes 211 and presses the order button 220, information indicating the selected printer is transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the display control unit 18. The display control unit 18 notifies the output printer determination unit 17 of the selected printer as an output printer. In the user selection mode, the user can request printing from a printer desired by himself after seeing the scheduled delivery time and cost.

The printer information database 41 stores information on print schedules, information on locations, and information on print processing capabilities of all the printers 3 managed by the management server 1.

The printer information database 41 stores information on each printer 3. Examples are shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the data items include address information 411 of the printer server 2, a location 412 of the printer 3, a printer model 413, and a waiting time 414 before starting.

Address information 411 of the printer server 2
Is address information for the management server to access the printer server 2. The location 412 indicates a location where the printer 3 is installed, and preferably stores a postal code and an address. Alternatively, the telephone number including the area code and the area code may be stored. From the printer model 413, the print processing capability of the printer can be known. The waiting time 414 until the start of the job indicates a time until a process related to the print request can be started when a print request is received at the present time. Waiting time 414
0 hours indicates that the printing can be started immediately upon receiving the printing request.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the data items include address information 411 of the printer server 2, a location 412 of the printer 3, a printing speed 415 of the printer, and a reservation status 416.

The printing speed 415 indicates the time required for each printer 3 to perform printing in a predetermined unit.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the time required when each printer 3 prints on A0 size paper at 720 dpi × 720 dpi (dot per inch) may be stored.
From this, the print processing capacity can be known. The reservation status 416 is
When each printer 3 accepts a reservation for printing, it indicates the degree of the reservation. For example, the reservation status shown in FIG. 3 indicates, in predetermined time units, a time zone in which a reservation is made (filled in black) and a time zone in which no reservation is made (open). If the reservation is canceled, the reservation may be arranged and rearranged to secure continuous printing time.

The cost information database 42 stores information for calculating the unit price of each consumable item and the delivery cost.
For example, as shown in FIG.
A unit price 422 for each ink type and color, a unit price 423 for each distance to the delivery destination, and the like are stored.

Next, a processing procedure from a print request to an output printer determination in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the first processing procedure.

First, the management server 1 receives a print request from the user terminal 5 (S101). Prediction of delivery time of printed matter based on this print request (S102, S103)
Then, the service cost is estimated (S104, S105). Either prediction of the delivery time of the printed matter or estimation of the service cost may be performed first.

That is, the print end time prediction section 13 predicts the print end time (S102). Delivery time prediction unit 14
Predicts the delivery time (S103). It should be noted that the order of S102 and S103 may be reversed, and the delivery time may be predicted, and then the print end time may be predicted.

Further, the printing cost calculation section 15 calculates the printing cost (S104), and the delivery cost calculation section 16 calculates the delivery cost (S105). Note that S104 and S1
It is also possible to change the order of 05 and calculate the delivery cost and then calculate the printing cost.

Here, the display control unit 18 transmits information for displaying the mode selection screen 100 to the user terminal 5. On the user terminal 5, a mode selection screen 100 is displayed, and the user selects a mode (S106).

Here, when the user selection mode is selected, the display control section 18 further causes the printer selection screen 20 to be displayed.
The information for displaying 0 is transmitted to the user terminal 5. At the user terminal 5, a printer selection screen 200 is displayed, and the user selects a printer (S111, S11).
2). The output printer determining unit 17 determines an output printer based on the user's selection result (S107).

When either the time priority mode or the expense priority mode is selected, the output printer determining section 17 determines an output printer (S107).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the second processing procedure.

When the management server 1 receives a print request from the user terminal 5, the display controller 18 causes the mode selection screen 30
The information for displaying 0 is transmitted to the user terminal 5. On the user terminal 5, a mode selection screen 300 is displayed,
The user selects a mode (S202).

When the time priority mode is selected, the print end time predicting section 13 predicts the print end time (S21).
1), the delivery time prediction unit 14 predicts the delivery time (S2)
12). It should be noted that the order of S211 and S212 can be changed, as in the first processing procedure.

When the cost priority mode is selected, the print cost calculator 15 calculates the print cost (S221), and the delivery cost calculator 16 calculates the delivery cost (S22).
2). It should be noted that the order of S221 and S222 can be switched, as in the first processing procedure.

If the user selection mode is selected, the process goes to S2
Steps S31 to S234 are the same as steps S102 to S105 of the first processing procedure. S235 and S236 are the first
Are the same as S111 and S112 of the processing procedure.

Whichever mode is selected, the output printer deciding unit 17 finally decides the output printer (S203).

According to this embodiment, any one of the time priority mode, the expense priority mode, and the user selection mode can be selected by the user. That is, the user can select whether to minimize the time required for delivery, to reduce the cost, or to consider the balance between the delivery time and the cost.

In the time priority mode, printing can be performed by a printer that completes the delivery after the earliest printing.
In the cost priority mode, the printing service can be provided at the lowest cost. In the user selection mode, the user himself can designate a printer in consideration of the balance between delivery time and cost.

According to the second processing procedure, the mode is selected before the processing time is estimated or the cost is estimated, so that the processing time can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a print service management system according to the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, a management server 1, a printer server 2, a printer 3, a user terminal 5, a network 9 are provided. The management server 1 includes a communication control unit 11, an output printer determination unit 17, a display control unit 18, and a printer server information database 12.

The printer server information database 12 stores the address information of the printer server 2.

Upon receiving the print request 80, the communication control unit 11 transfers the print request to each printer server 2 based on the printer server information 2. Output printer determination unit 1
7 receives information about the estimated time of completion of delivery from the printer server 2 and determines an output printer based on the information. Specifically, it is as described in the first embodiment.

The printer server 2 has a communication control unit 21
, A print end time prediction unit 13 and a delivery time prediction unit 14
, A print cost calculator 15 and a delivery cost calculator 16
, A printer information database 41 and a cost information database 42.

The printer information database 41 stores information on the printer 3 connected to itself.
The address information 411 of the printer server and the location 412 of the printer 3 need not be held. The unit price 423 by distance of the delivery destination in the cost information database 42 stores the unit price in the case of delivery from the printer 3 connected to itself.

The communication control unit 21 receives the transfer of the print request 80 from the management server 1, and
The processing results of the delivery time prediction unit 14, the printing cost calculation unit 15, and the delivery cost calculation unit 16 are output for transmission to the management server 1.

The print end time predicting section 13, delivery time predicting section 14, print cost calculating section 15, and delivery cost calculating section 16 have described the printer 3 connected to itself in the first embodiment. Perform processing.

According to the second embodiment, the information can be held in a distributed manner in each printer server 2 and distributed processing can be performed, so that information and processing do not concentrate on the management server 1. In the present embodiment, all the printer servers 2 may have the above-described configuration,
Some printer servers 2 do not have the above configuration, and the management server 1 may predict the delivery completion time, estimate the service cost, and the like, as in the first embodiment. Further, only one of the processing time estimation and the cost estimation may be performed by the management server 1, and the other may be performed by the printer server 2.

In each of the first and second embodiments, a plurality of management servers 1 may be provided, and the processes performed by the management server 1 may be distributed.

[0061]

According to the present invention, a printer to execute printing can be selected according to the time required from a print request to delivery.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a print service management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of storage contents of a printer information database in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of storage contents of a printer information database in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of storage contents of a cost information database in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data format of a print request in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a priority mode selection screen in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a printer selection screen in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a priority mode selection screen in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a first processing procedure in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second processing procedure in the print service management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a print service management system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Management server 2 ... Printer server 3 ... Printer 5 ... User terminal 9 ... Network 11 ... Communication control part 12 ... Printer server information database 13 ... Printing end time prediction part 14 ... Delivery time prediction part 15 ... Printing cost calculation part 16 ... Delivery cost calculation unit 17 Output printer determination unit 18 Display control unit 19 Buffer 41 Printer information database 42 Cost information database 100 Priority mode selection screen 200 Printer selection screen 300 Priority mode selection screen

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 HH03 HJ08 HK04 HK19 HK21 HQ14 HQ17 HR08 5B021 AA01 DD00 EE03 EE05 5B049 BB00 CC11 CC32 CC36 DD05 EE01 FF02 FF03 FF04 FF09 GG04 GG13 KB04 GG07 BB07

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A system for managing a print service provided by using a plurality of printers, comprising: a printer schedule storing print schedules of the plurality of printers; and location information on locations of the plurality of printers. A storage unit, at least, a receiving unit that receives print data and delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of a printed matter on which the print data is printed, and, when the printing of the print data is executed for each of the printers, A first prediction unit that predicts a print end time for each printer based on the print schedule; and, based on the location information and the delivery destination information of the printer, for each of the printers, A second prediction unit for predicting a delivery time required for delivery to a delivery destination; Based on the measurement result, the printing service management system comprising: a, a determination unit for determining one of whether to execute printing of the print data of the plurality of printers. 2. The print service management system according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit predicts at a printing end time of each printer predicted by the first predicting unit, A print service management system comprising: adding the delivery time when each corresponding printer is used; and deciding to cause the printer whose delivery is completed at the earliest time to print the print data. 3. The print service management system according to claim 1, wherein the printer information storage unit further stores information on print processing capabilities of the plurality of printers, and The print service management system according to claim 1, wherein the prediction unit predicts the print end time based on the print data, the print schedule, and a print processing capability of the printer. 4. The print service management system according to claim 1, wherein the print service management system is connected to the plurality of printers via a network, and is transmitted to the printer determined by the determination unit. A print service management system further comprising: an output unit configured to output the print data and the delivery destination information received by the reception unit to the network. 5. The print service management system according to claim 1, wherein the print schedule includes a time at which each of the printers can start printing the print data. A print service management system, characterized in that the information is information to be displayed. 6. A management server for managing a plurality of printers, comprising: a receiving unit that receives at least print data and delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of a printed matter on which the print data is printed; An output unit that outputs the print data and the delivery destination information for transmission, the print data is printed by each of the printers, and the printed printed matter is delivered to the delivery destination indicated by the delivery destination information. A receiving unit that receives information about an estimated time at which delivery of the printed matter is completed; and determining which of the plurality of printers to execute printing based on the information about the expected time received by the receiving unit. And a determining unit that performs the determination. 7. The management server according to claim 6, wherein the information relating to the estimated time at which the delivery is completed includes an estimated time at which the delivery of the printed matter is completed, or an estimated time at which the printing is to be completed, and a time required for delivery of the printed matter. A management server, which is an estimated delivery time. 8. A printer server for managing a print schedule of a printer, comprising: a receiving unit that receives print data and delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of a printed matter on which the print data is printed; A first storage unit that stores, based on the print data received by the reception unit and a print schedule stored in the storage unit, a print end time when a print of the print data is executed by the printer; A second prediction unit that predicts a time required for delivery of a printed matter printed by the printer based on the delivery destination information received by the reception unit; and a first and second prediction unit. And an output unit for outputting the prediction result predicted by the printer server for transmission. 9. The printer server according to claim 8, wherein the delivery of the printed matter is performed based on a print end time predicted by the first prediction unit and a required time required for delivery predicted by the second prediction unit. A delivery completion time calculation unit that calculates a time when the delivery completion time is calculated by the delivery completion time calculation unit instead of the prediction result predicted by the first and second prediction units. A printer server for outputting a time at which delivery of a printed matter is completed. 10. A printing system comprising a plurality of printers, wherein one of the plurality of printers executes printing, and provides a printing service for delivering printed printed matter to a delivery destination. A printer information storage unit that stores a print schedule of the printer and location information about each location of the plurality of printers; a cost information storage unit that stores information for calculating a cost of the print service; and A receiving unit that receives data and delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of the printed matter; and a printer based on the print data received by the receiving unit and the print schedule stored in the printer information storage unit. A first predicting unit for predicting, for each printer, a scheduled printing end time when printing is performed by the printer; The delivery destination information received by the unit, and the estimated delivery time from the location of each printer to the delivery destination indicated by the delivery destination information based on the location information stored in the printer information storage unit. A second estimation unit for estimating the cost of the printing service when each printer performs printing with reference to the cost information storage unit for each printer; and A determination unit that determines a printer that can be delivered earliest based on the prediction result of the first and second prediction units, and determines a printer that can provide the cheapest service based on the estimation result of the estimation unit; Receiving a selection instruction for selecting one of the earliest deliverable printer determined by the determination unit and the cheapest printer capable of providing service; A receiving unit that outputs the print data received by the receiving unit and the delivery destination information for transmission to a printer determined by the selection instruction received by the selection receiving unit. A printing system, characterized in that: 11. The printing system according to claim 10, wherein the scheduled delivery time is indicated for the printer that can be delivered the earliest and the printer that can provide the cheapest service determined by the determination unit. A printing system, further comprising: a display output unit that outputs information and information indicating the cost of the printing service estimated by the estimating unit for display. 12. The printing system according to claim 11, wherein the display output unit includes information indicating a scheduled delivery time and a cost of the print service estimated by the estimation unit for all of the plurality of printers. And information for displaying the information for display. 13. The printing system according to claim 10, wherein the estimating unit refers to the cost information storage unit and performs printing required for printing the print data. A printing system which calculates a cost, calculates a delivery cost required for delivery of a printed matter on which the print data is printed for each of the printers, and estimates a cost of the print service. 14. A system for managing a print service for causing any one of a plurality of printers to execute printing and delivering a printed matter, comprising: a print request including at least print data and information on a delivery place; A receiving unit that receives the data, prints the print data on each of the printers, and predicts a scheduled delivery time when the printed matter is delivered to the delivery location; and prints based on a prediction result of the prediction unit. A print service management system, comprising: a determination unit that determines a printer to execute the print service. 15. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program to be executed by a server managing a plurality of printers, the program comprising: a print schedule of the plurality of printers; A process of storing location information about each location; a process of receiving at least print data and delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of a printed matter on which the print data is printed; and a process of printing the print data for each of the printers. When executed, a first prediction process of predicting a print end time for each of the printers based on the print schedule; and for each of the printers, based on the location information of the printer and the delivery destination information. Predicting the delivery time required for delivery from the location of the printer to the delivery destination. A second prediction process, on the basis of the prediction result of said first and second prediction process,
A process for determining which of the plurality of printers executes printing of the print data. 16. A method for managing a plurality of printers, comprising: processing for storing print schedules of the plurality of printers and location information on locations of the plurality of printers; A process of receiving delivery destination information indicating a delivery destination of a printed material on which the print data is printed; and, in a case where the printing of the print data is executed for each of the printers, the print end time of each of the printers is set to the print schedule. Based on the location information of the printer and the delivery destination information,
For each of the printers, a process of estimating a delivery time required for delivery from the location of the printer to the destination, and printing of the print data on any of the plurality of printers based on the prediction result And a process for determining whether or not to perform the operation. 17. A printing system comprising a plurality of printers, wherein one of the plurality of printers performs printing and provides a print service for delivering printed printed matter, comprising: a user interface screen; A first predicting unit that predicts a printer that minimizes the time from ordering a print service to delivery of a printed material; and a second predicting unit that predicts a printer that minimizes the cost of the print service. And an output unit for outputting print data to any one of the plurality of printers, wherein the user interface screen receives a selection of a time priority mode for shortening a delivery time as much as possible. A first selection area, a second selection area for receiving selection of a cost priority mode for reducing costs as much as possible, and the printing service. An instruction receiving area for receiving an instruction for ordering, wherein the first predicting unit is configured to deliver a printed material when the instruction receiving area receives an instruction in a state where the first selection area is selected. The second prediction unit predicts a printer such that the time until the print service becomes the shortest, and when the instruction reception area receives an instruction while the second selection area is selected, the second prediction unit A printing system which predicts a printer with the lowest cost, and wherein the output unit outputs the print data for transmission to the printer predicted by the first or second prediction unit.