JP2005100111A - Print management system and method, server device, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print management system which accurately and quickly limits the number of prints regardless of the hardware configuration of a printer. <P>SOLUTION: A server device 1 uses a user information storage means 11 to store user information and user-related print number limit information in association, and receives from a client device 4 a print job described in a page description language. The server device uses a limit information reading means 13 to refer to the user information storage means 11 and specify the user of the client device 4 which has sent the print job, and reads the print number limit information for the user. The server device then uses a print limit program creation means 14 and a limit information embedding means 15 to create a print limit program based on the print number limit information and embed the program in the print job to create a limited print job, which is transferred by a print job transfer means 16 to the printer 3. The printer 3 uses a control part to interpret the limited print job, and performs the print job for printing while limiting the number of prints according to the print number limitation described in the job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a print management system, method, server device, program, and recording medium, and more particularly to a print management system, method, server device, program, and recording medium capable of limiting the number of prints.

  In recent years, a network system has been developed as a matter of course, and printing apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multifunction peripherals (MFPs) are connected to a print server apparatus via a network and are shared and used as one of network resources. When printing is performed on the client device, the print job is temporarily stored on the client device and then transferred along with the print request to the print server device via the network. The transferred print job is ready for printing by the printing device. Is transferred to the printing apparatus at the time, and printed on a medium such as recording paper by the printing apparatus. Here, the print server apparatus is responsible for print processing in the printing apparatus in response to a print request from the client apparatus.

  Even in educational institutions such as universities and libraries, the above-mentioned printing system has been introduced while the information education environment is being developed, and the increase in the amount of printing accompanying the increase in electronic information sources such as the Web Unauthorized use of printers has become apparent. Therefore, it is important for the system administrator to, for example, prevent mass printing for the private purpose of the student / user, improve the cost awareness of the student / user, and effectively use the printer at the beneficiary's burden. It has become a challenge.

  In response to such a problem, the print logs accumulated in a printing apparatus such as a printer are used to count the number of printed sheets for each user in an arbitrary period such as monthly or yearly, and for each user or each printing apparatus. A print management system that manages the upper limit number of prints has been proposed.

  There has also been proposed a printing system capable of interrupting a print job by a number designated by the system side or the user side (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151867 discloses a developing unit that develops print data into image data that can be printed, a printing unit that prints an image indicated by the developed image data on a sheet, and a storage unit that stores the image data. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, there is a restriction unit that restricts the printing operation of the printing unit, and the printing unit is restricted when the printing unit includes a print job including a plurality of pages of print data. And control means for controlling the image data obtained by developing the print data of the subsequent pages to be stored in the storage means, printing is interrupted according to a predetermined condition, and printing is performed without trouble. There is described an image processing apparatus capable of resuming printing of image data obtained by expanding print data of pages after operation is restricted.

Patent Document 2 describes a printing system in which printing is restricted for each user and a virtual printer is provided on a server device in an environment where a plurality of users share a printing device connected to a network. In this printing system, the server device analyzes the received print job and authenticates the user who requested the print job execution based on the analysis result. When authenticated, the authenticated user compares the number of printable sheets with the number of sheets requested to be printed by the print job, and determines whether to permit printing. When printing is permitted, the address of the client device included in the print job is rewritten to the address of the server device, the user ID is rewritten to that of the printing device side, and is transmitted to the printing device.
JP 2002-44340 A JP 2003-150355 A

  However, the image processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is controlled using special hardware as described above although the number of prints can be limited, and is versatile for a printing system in which various printing apparatuses are connected to a network. There is no.

  Also, the printing system described in Patent Document 2 does not execute the print job itself when the remaining printable number is exceeded, based on the user's printable number. In addition, when the remaining printable number of sheets is updated as the print job is executed, it is necessary to transmit the number of output sheets from the printing apparatus side to the server apparatus, and furthermore, print permission / non-permission for the print job itself. In order to allow printing of only the first few pages in a print job based on the remaining number of printable pages of the user without controlling the number of prints, the number of output sheets from the printing apparatus side to the server apparatus for each sheet output It is necessary to control the server apparatus by transmitting information, which increases the network load and the processing speed of the entire system.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a print management system capable of accurately and rapidly limiting the number of printed sheets regardless of the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus, and a server in the system An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus, a print management method, a program for causing a computer to function as the server apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  Further, the present invention provides a print management system capable of accurately and quickly limiting the number of printed sheets and charging a printing fee regardless of the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus. Another object is to provide a server device, a print management method, a program for causing a computer to function as the server device, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  The invention of claim 1 is a print management system comprising: a printing apparatus; a client apparatus used by a user; and a server apparatus that takes charge of printing processing in the printing apparatus according to an instruction from the client apparatus. Is connected to the server device via a network, and the printing device is connected to the server device via the network, and the client device includes a print job generation unit that generates a print job in a page description language. And a print job transmission means for transmitting the generated print job to the server apparatus via a network, and the server apparatus stores the user information related to the user and the print number limit information for the user in association with each other. User information storage means and description in page description language from the client device A print job receiving unit that receives the received print job, and the user information storage unit to identify the user of the client device that is the transmission source of the print job received by the print job receiving unit, and to print the number of prints for the user Restriction information reading means for reading the restriction information, print restriction program generation means for generating a print restriction program based on the read number limit information of the printed user, and embedding the generated print restriction program in the print job A restriction information embedding unit that generates a print job; and a print job transfer unit that transfers the generated restricted print job to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus transfers the print job by the print job transfer unit. Interprets the restricted restricted print job, and prints based on the number of copies printed in the restricted print job. It is obtained by further comprising a printing means for performing the execution and printing the print job to limit the number.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the print restriction program compares the step of counting the number of prints with the count of the printable number and the number of prints in the print number restriction information. A step of determining whether or not the number of printable sheets exceeds the printable number of sheets, and a step of performing a print cancel process when the number of prints exceeds the printable number of sheets as a result of the determination, It is a program for causing a control unit in a printing apparatus to execute.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the restricted print job including the print job and the print restriction program develops an image for one page in a memory in the printing device; A step of counting the number of prints, a step of comparing the printable number and the number of prints in the print number limit information by the count to determine whether or not the number of prints exceeds the printable number, and When the number of printable sheets has not been exceeded, the print job is executed, the developed one page image is printed by a printing unit in the printing apparatus, the process returns to the developing step, and the print is possible by the determination. A step of performing a print canceling process when the number of sheets has been exceeded. It is obtained by being a program for causing the row.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the user information storage means provides the number of prints per print job during printing to each user as the print number limit information. Any one or more of information, information on the limited number of sheets per print job at the time of color printing, and information on the limited number of sheets per print job at the time of monochrome printing are stored.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the user information storage unit stores information on a limited number of sheets per predetermined period for each user as the printed number limit information. It is characterized by that.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the user information storage means provides each user with information on a limited number of sheets per predetermined period and the information on the print number limit. Information indicating whether or not to take into account the limited number of sheets per print job is stored as information.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the print number limit information is print number limit information for a group of a plurality of users instead of information for a user. It is characterized by that.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, when the actual printing exceeds the limit number, the printing apparatus exceeds the limit number for the user who performed the printing. It is characterized by having an excess number notifying means for notifying the user client device via the network directly or via the server device.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the print job transfer unit causes the print device to accept a print job received by the print job reception unit instead of the restricted print job. The printing means further includes means for interpreting and printing the transferred print job.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the server device interprets the print job received by the print job receiving unit and assumes that the print job has been executed. Printing is performed by the restricted print job based on the requested number calculating means for calculating the number of prints as the requested number of prints, and the calculated print request number and the user print number limit information read by the limit information reading means. It is characterized by having a printed sheet number calculating means for calculating the number of sheets and a counting means for counting the calculated number of printed sheets for each user as a print log.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the print apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the printing apparatus generates a print log including at least a user name and the number of prints for each print job after printing is performed by the printing unit. Print log storage means for storing; transfer request receiving means for receiving a print log transfer request from the server apparatus; and print log providing means for providing a print log to the server apparatus based on the received print log transfer request And the server device includes a totaling unit that counts the number of printed sheets of paper used in the printing device for each user based on the print log provided by the print log providing unit. is there.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the client device includes a print request transmission unit that transmits a print request including a user name and print number information to the server device. The server device accepts a print request transmitted from the client device; and a billing unit for charging the print request based on the print number information for the received print request; The restriction information reading means reads the number of prints included in the print request as the number of prints restriction information.

  The invention of claim 13 is the invention of claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the server device has a charging means for charging the printing consideration for the number of prints for each user counted by the counting means. Is.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in a system including a printing apparatus, a client apparatus used by a user, and a server apparatus that handles printing processing in the printing apparatus according to an instruction from the client apparatus, the number of printed sheets is managed. A print management method, wherein the client device is connected to the server device via a network, and the printing device is connected to the server device via a network. Generated in a description language, and the generated print job is transmitted to the server device via a network, and the server device stores the user information related to the user and the print number limit information for the user in association with each other; A print job described in a page description language is received from the client device, and the recording With reference to the received user information and print number limit information, the user of the client apparatus that is the transmission source of the received print job is specified, the print number limit information for the user is read, and the read number limit of the read user is read Generating a print restriction program based on the information, embedding the generated print restriction program in the print job, generating a restricted print job, transferring the generated restricted print job to the printing apparatus, The printing apparatus interprets the transferred restricted print job, performs printing by executing the print job by restricting the number of prints based on the print number limit described in the restricted print job. It is a thing.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the fourteenth aspect, the printing restriction program compares the step of counting the number of prints with the count of the printable number and the number of prints in the print number restriction information. A step of determining whether or not the number of printable sheets exceeds the printable number of sheets, and a step of performing a print cancel process when the number of prints exceeds the printable number of sheets as a result of the determination, It is a program for causing a control unit in a printing apparatus to execute.

  The invention of claim 16 is the invention of claim 14 or 15, wherein the client device transmits a print request including a user name and print number information to the server device, and the server device receives the print request from the client device. The received print request is charged for the print request based on the print number information, and the restricted print job is included in the print request as the print number limit information. The print number information is read out and embedded in the print job.

  The invention of claim 17 is the server device in the print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

  An eighteenth aspect of the invention is a program that causes a computer to function as a server device in the print management system according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects.

  A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to the eighteenth aspect is recorded.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to limit the number of printed sheets accurately and at high speed regardless of the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to limit the number of printed sheets accurately and at high speed regardless of the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus, and to charge for the printing.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a server device, 2 is a network, 3a, 3b,. . . Are printing devices, 4a, 4b,. . . Is a client device, and 10 is a user information database (user information DB).

  A management system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present system) includes a server device 1 that manages the number of printed sheets, and includes one or a plurality of client devices 4a, 4b,. . . One or more printing devices 3a, 3b,. . . This is a system for managing the number of printed sheets (often represented by 3).

  The server device 1 in this system is a computer that takes charge of printing processing (including the number limit according to the present invention) in the printing device 3 in response to an instruction from the client device 4, and printing from the client device 4 to the printing device 3. Since the processing is undertaken and the number of printed sheets used in the printing apparatus is managed, it can be called a print server apparatus or a print server apparatus, and this system can also be called a print management system. The server device 1 is not only a server computer on which a Windows (registered trademark) server program (OS: Operating System or its kernel) is mounted, but also UNIX (registered trademark) such as LINUX (registered trademark). It is also possible to easily configure a server computer equipped with a server program or other server program.

  Each client device 4 in this system is often configured by a network-connected general-purpose computer such as a PC (personal computer) used by one or a plurality of users, a network-connectable mobile phone, and a mobile computer. Any computer that can transmit a print job to the apparatus 1 may be used. Since the server apparatus 1 is requested to perform a print process, it can also be called a print client apparatus. Further, the printing apparatus 3 in this system is applicable not only to a general-purpose printer but also to a copying machine or a multifunction machine (MFP: Multi-Function Product / Printer / Peripheral).

  This system will be described on the assumption that each client device 4 is connected to the server device 1 via the network 2 and each printing device 3 is connected to the server device 1 via the network 2.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of the print management system of FIG. 1, in which 11 is user information storage means, 12 is print job reception means, 13 is restriction information reading means, 14 is print restriction program generation means, 15 Is a restriction information embedding unit, 16 is a print job transfer unit, 31 is a printing unit, 32 is an excess number notification unit, 41 is a print job generation unit, and 42 is a print job transmission unit.

  The client device 4 includes a print job generation unit 41 and a print job transmission unit 42. The print job generation unit 41 generates a print job by using a printer driver or the like from some application software, for example. However, the print job generation unit 41 generates a print job in a page description language such as PostScript, HP-PDL, LIPS, ESC / Page, PRESCRIBE (hereinafter, registered trademark). However, the page description language here is not limited to a printer control code (language) for creating a page image in a page printer, but may be a printer control code that can be handled by a page printer. The print job transmission unit 42 transmits the generated print job to the server device 1 via the network 2.

  As will be described later in other embodiments, the client device 4 first sends the server device 1 a job number, for example. , Jobname, Username, Printmode, etc., a print request including a start command is obtained, the status on the printing device side is acquired, and if the printing device is in a stopped state and the alternative printing device is in a stopped state or not, An error of the printing apparatus is notified to the client apparatus 4 and the process is terminated. If there is an alternative printing device, this is notified and the user is allowed to select it. In response to the print request received from the client device 4, the server device 1 sends a print data (print job) transmission request notification to the client device 4 when the status of the printing device is in a printable state. A print job is transmitted from the client apparatus 4 and the print job is received.

  The server apparatus 1 includes a user information storage unit 11, a print job reception unit 12, a restriction information reading unit 13, a print restriction program generation unit 14, a restriction information embedding unit 15, and a print job transfer unit 16. In FIG. 1, as an example of the user information storage unit 11, the user information DB 10 is illustrated as being provided in a state accessible from the server device 1.

  In the user information storage means 11, in addition to user information relating to the user, for example, the user ID, the user name, the department to which the user belongs, etc., the print number limit information for the user is associated and stored. In the example of FIG. 1, at least the user information and the print number limit information are stored in the user information DB 10.

  The print job accepting unit 12 accepts a print job described in the page description language from the client device 4. As described above, it is also possible to return the state of the printing apparatus 3 after receiving a print request and then accept a print job.

  The restriction information reading unit 13 refers to the user information storage unit 11 to identify the user of the client device 4 that is the transmission source of the print job received by the print job reception unit 12 and reads the print number limit information for the user. . The print number limit information will be described later together with various examples thereof.

  The print restriction program generation unit 14 generates a print restriction program based on the user's print number restriction information read by the restriction information reading unit 13. Here, the print restriction program may be simply added by embedding the print number limit information, or may be embedded as a parameter in a program prepared in advance. The restriction information embedding unit 15 embeds the print restriction program generated by the print restriction program generation unit 14 in a print job and generates a restricted print job. In other words, the restriction information embedding unit 15 can be said to embed the number-of-print-limit information in a print job as a print restriction program.

  Further, the print job (also referred to as print job data) is not limited to the page description language, but may be a program language that can be read by the printing apparatus 3. In this case, the print restriction program generated by the print restriction program generation unit 14 is also the same. A program or the like that is described in a program language and that cancels printing when the number of prints in the printing apparatus 3 is viewed can be adopted. Further, although it is preferable in terms of processing that the print job and the print restriction program are also described in the same language, the number-limited print processing according to the present invention is possible even if they are described in different languages.

  The print job transfer unit 16 transfers the restricted print job generated by the restriction information embedding unit 15 to the printing apparatus 3 via the network 2.

  The printing apparatus 3 includes a printing unit 31. The printing unit 31 interprets the restricted print job transferred by the print job transfer unit 16 by its control unit, and prints the print by limiting the number of prints based on the print number limit described in the restricted print job. Perform the job and print. Therefore, the printing restriction program is a printing control program for controlling the printing unit of the printing apparatus 3 so that the control unit of the printing apparatus 3 limits the print job to the user's printing limit number.

  According to the present embodiment, by describing the print restriction program in a general-purpose page description language, it is possible to restrict the number of prints regardless of the hardware or firmware configuration of the printing apparatus 3. The printing apparatus 3 in this system has hardware independence, does not require special hardware, and may be hardware corresponding to at least the program language employed in the present invention. Further, according to the present embodiment, the print restriction program can restrict the number of prints accurately without depending on the restriction suitable for the user, and the server apparatus 1 can perform the print restriction regarding the print restriction. Since communication with the printing apparatus 3 is not performed except that a restricted print job is transmitted to the apparatus 3, processing time for the communication is completely eliminated, and control by the server apparatus does not have to be performed for each sheet. Since the processing can be performed at high speed and the load on the network 2 due to communication is reduced as compared with the prior art, the number limit printing process can be performed at high speed.

  As another embodiment, when the actual printing exceeds the limit number, the printing apparatus 3 may be provided with the number excess notifying unit 32 as shown in FIG. The number excess notification means 32 notifies the user who has performed printing that the limit number has been exceeded via the server device 1 or directly to the user client device 4 via the network. The notification here refers to, for example, a pop-up notification or an e-mail notification. A parameter for determining whether or not to perform a notification in consideration of a network load or the like (rgWinPopUse: whether to perform a pop-up notification, rgMailUse: an e-mail notification) It is preferable that the control is possible. In addition, it may be notified together with what kind of limit it has exceeded and what should be done (simply simply performing printing again, etc.).

  Further, the server apparatus 1 may generate a restricted print job in which the print job received from the client apparatus 4 has no restricted number. However, as another embodiment of the present invention, the server apparatus 1 Since it may be inconvenient to support only a print job, the print job transfer unit 16 transfers the print job received by the print job reception unit 12 to the printing apparatus 3 instead of the restricted print job. The printing unit 31 may further include a unit that interprets the transferred print job and performs printing.

  Here, the server apparatus, DB, client apparatus, printing apparatus, and network described in this specification, such as the above-described server apparatus 1, user information DB 10, client apparatus 4, printing apparatus 3, network 2, etc., will be supplementarily described. .

  The database such as the DB 10 may be physically included in the server device 1 or may be physically separated by connecting the DB 10 to the server device 1 via a network. Further, the DB 10 may be separate or integrated in structure, and may be any form that can function as a database. The server device 1 that manages the DB 10 is preferably provided with dedicated software (DB management system) for maintaining and operating the DB. This makes the data in the DB physically and logically independent from the program (application software) that implements each function according to the present invention, facilitating various application version upgrades and system construction, and data matching. (Security) and security of data can be easily secured. The server device 1 may be a server having a hierarchical structure corresponding to processing, such as a WWW server, a user authentication server, and a DB management server.

  Furthermore, the general information shown in FIG. 3 regarding the processing of various types of information in the above-described client device 4 and server device 1, such as a general-purpose computer such as a PC (personal computer), a server computer, and the control unit of the printing device 3. A description will be given with reference to a configuration example of the processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a general information processing apparatus. In the figure, 51 is a CPU, 52 is a RAM, 53 is a ROM, 54 is an input device, 55 is a display device, 56 is a communication device, 57. Is a bus.

  Information handled by the server device 1 in this system is temporarily stored in the RAM 52 at the time of the processing, then stored in various ROMs 53, and read out, corrected, and written by the CPU 51 as necessary. A program for causing a computer to function as the server device 1 in the present system is stored in the ROM 53 and is executed by being read by the CPU 51. This program when installed in the server device 1 is a program (a program for causing a computer to function) that controls the CPU 51 of the computer as each means of the server device 1 described above or later. Similarly, as a program when installed in the client device 4, a program for controlling a CPU of a computer or the like as each unit of the client device 4 described above or later, and a program installed in the control unit of the printing device 3. Is a program for controlling a printing unit, a display unit, and the like as each unit of the printing apparatus 3. However, the control units of the client device 4 and the printing device 3 can be configured without requiring a special program or circuit.

  In addition, the progress of the process and the result of the process are presented to the apparatus user through a display device 55 such as a CRT or LCD. All you need to do is enter the necessary parameters. This program is provided with a graphical user interface (GUI) for the display device 55 so that it can be easily used by device users (system administrators, users who perform printing on client devices). Good. The communication device 56 is a device such as a network board for performing communication by connecting to the network such as the network 2 described above, and may include an output device other than the communication device 56. The CPU 51, RAM 52, ROM 53, input device 54, display device 55, and output device 56 may be connected by a bus 57 or the like.

  Further, in the present system, as illustrated and assumed as a premise, the network between the client device 4 and the server device 1 and the network between the printing device 3 and the server device 1 may be common (accessible at appropriate times). You may make it comprise with an independent network, respectively. In the latter case, it is possible to easily prevent the print processing from the client device 4 to the printing device 3 directly.

  On the other hand, in the former case, although details are omitted, a print job is sent from the client device 4 to the server device 1, a restricted print job is generated by the server device 1, and the restricted print job is sent to the client device 4. In return, when the client device 4 directly sends the restricted print job to the printing device 3 to perform the printing process, or when the client device 4 sends a print request to the server device 1, the print control program Is transmitted from the server 1 to the client apparatus 4, and the client apparatus 4 generates a restricted print job by embedding the print restriction program in the print job, and directly sends the restricted print job to the printing apparatus 3 for print processing. It is difficult to execute processing such as

  Further, the network described in this specification such as the network 2 is configured by a network system such as an intranet or an extranet using a communication line (not limited to wired or wireless), and the present invention is applied to Web printing or the like. If so, it may be configured on the Internet. This network system is not limited to a LAN (Local Area Network) environment, but may be constructed in a WAN (Wide Area Network) environment or a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) environment depending on the installation location of each server device. In addition, it is preferable for this network to enhance security by various methods such as using a dedicated line, encrypting transmission data, and authenticating users who use each client device.

Next, details of the print restriction program will be described.
In the present invention, by embedding a special program (for example, a program written in the PostScript language) as a print restriction program in the print job, the print job itself (refers to a print job into which the program has been inserted and refers to the restricted print job described above). Grasps the number of printed sheets and, when the designated number of printed sheets is reached, enables the print job itself to interrupt printing. That is, in the present invention, a determination mechanism is added to the print job itself.

  As one form of the print restriction program, the step of counting (counting up / counting down) the number of prints and the printable number and the number of prints in the embedded print number limit information are compared by the count, and the number of prints is the number of printable sheets. The control unit in the printing apparatus 3 includes a procedure that includes a step of determining whether or not the number of prints exceeds a value and a step of performing a print cancel process when the number of prints exceeds the printable number as a result of the determination. A program to be executed is mentioned. Here, the print cancel process refers to canceling the remaining prints in the print job. As described above, the print restriction program includes a print job based on the user's print number restriction information (here, the print number restriction information stored in the DB 10) managed by the system. Information on the number of sheets that can be printed by the user is incorporated.

  When such a print restriction program is adopted, the restriction information embedding unit 15 in the server device 1 is a print restriction program generated by the print restriction program generation unit 14 (for example, a PostScript program for controlling the number of copies when generated by PostScript). A so-called print job is embedded in the head of a print job (for example, PostScript) to generate a restricted print job, and the print job transfer unit 16 transfers it to the printing apparatus 3 side. However, regarding the embedding position, if the number of printable sheets is 0, it should be considered that no sheet is printed.

  The printing apparatus 3 performs page creation, printing on paper, and the like while interpreting a restricted print job (for example, PostScript). Here, the print restriction program embedded in the restricted print job (also referred to as restricted print job data) is called immediately before printing on paper by the printing apparatus 3, and (1) counts up the number of printed sheets ( (Countdown), (2) Determine whether the number of embedded printable pages is exceeded, (3) If exceeded, perform the print cancel process at that time, and (4) If not, print one sheet as usual To return to (1). As a result of this determination / processing, the printing apparatus 3 prints only the limited number of pages and does not print subsequent pages.

  For example, the PostScript program for controlling the number of sheets to be embedded may redefine the showpage operator so as to perform a countdown (/ countup) / determination process each time the printpage operator of the print job data is called. As a sample of the PostScript program for controlling the number of sheets to be inserted at the head of the print job data, the following can be exemplified. However, in practice, it is necessary to consider various printing conditions (number of copies, double-sided, etc.), but the following example program (countdown program) is an excerpt of only essential parts excluding them. Moreover, it is intended to convey a conceptual image and does not operate normally as it is.

/ limitpage ### LIMIT ### def (definition of the number of printable pages)
/ showpage_limit {(function called each time the showpage operator)
limitpage 0 eq {quit} if (Cancel printing if the remaining number is 0)
showpage (print one page otherwise)
/ limitpage limitpage 1 sub def (count down the number of sheets)
} bind def
/ showpage / showpage_limit load def (redefine showpage operator)

  As another form of the print restriction program, there is a program that can be incorporated into a print job and control the printing apparatus 3 as a restricted print job. A restricted print job including a print job and a print restriction program includes a step of developing an image for one page in a memory in the printing apparatus 3, a step of counting (counting up / counting down) the number of prints, and a print number limit. A step of comparing the printable number and the number of prints in the information by counting to determine whether the number of prints exceeds the number of printable sheets, and when the determination does not exceed the number of printable sheets, the print job is executed. A procedure comprising printing a developed image for one page at the printing unit in the printing apparatus 3 and returning to the developing step, and performing a print canceling process when the printable number of sheets is exceeded by determination. This is a program for causing the control unit in the printing apparatus 3 to execute.

  In a system such as this system in which the client device 4 issues a print instruction to the printing device 3 via the server device 1, the server device 1 throws such a restricted print job to the printing device 3, and the printing device 3 Printing is performed while interpreting the restricted print job (program). Actually, the print job itself in the printing apparatus 3 (1) expands the image for one page in the memory, (2) counts up (/ counts down) the number of prints, and (3) enables embedded printing It is determined whether or not the number exceeds the number. (4) When the number exceeds, the print cancel process is performed at that time. When the number does not exceed (5), one sheet is printed as usual and the process returns to (1). . As a result of this determination / processing, the printing apparatus 3 prints only the limited number of pages and does not print subsequent pages.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the number-limited print processing in the print management system of FIG. 1, and is also a flowchart for explaining an example of the print management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the client device 4 generates a print job (step S1) and transmits the print job to the server device 1 (step S2).

  In the server device 1, the user information and the print number limit information are stored in the DB 10 in advance or in a timely manner (step S3). The print number limit information will be described later. Then, the server device 1 determines whether a print job has been received (step S4), and if received, accepts the print job (step S5).

  Subsequently, the server apparatus 1 refers to the DB 10 to identify the user of the print job, reads the print number limit information of the user (step S6), and generates a print limit program based on the read print number limit information. (Step S7). Then, the server apparatus 1 embeds the generated print restriction program in the print job, generates a restricted print job (step S8), and transfers the restricted print job to the printing apparatus (step S9).

  The printing apparatus 3 receives the restricted print job (step S10), interprets the restricted print job, and starts printing (step S11). In the printing apparatus 3, first, the number of printed sheets is counted (step S12). When the number of printed sheets becomes larger than the number of printable sheets for the user (YES in step S13), a print canceling process is performed (step S16). If the number of prints is not larger than the printable number of the user, the one page is printed (step S14), and it is determined whether or not all the print jobs have been printed (step S15). If not, the process returns to step S12, and if completed, the printing process is terminated. In addition, the process of step S12-S15 should just be the procedure in which such a judgment is made regardless of before and after.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating the number limit method applied in the print management system of FIG. 1 and the print management method of FIG. 4, and shows user information and print number limit information stored in the print management system of FIG. It is a figure which shows some examples.

  The administrator of this system controls the number limit for one print job by setting the following parameters as the number-of-print limit information from the server device 1 or the client device of the administrator connected to the server device 1 over the network. Can do. Further, the number-of-print limit information may be set collectively for a group as the number-of-print limit information for a group of a plurality of users, instead of information for the user.

  The user information storage means 11 provides (I) uniform limit number of information for one print job at the time of printing, and (II) one print job at the time of monochrome printing as print number limit information for each user (or each group). One or more of the information on the limit number per page and (III) information on the limit number per print job during color printing may be stored. Of course, it is necessary to be able to determine from which client device (4, which user) the print job is sent. For (II) and (III), the print job is color print. It is necessary to be able to judge whether it is monochrome printing or monochrome printing.

  In the case of (I), as shown in FIG. 5, for the users whose user IDs are 1, 2, 3 and 4, for example, 10 sheets, 12 sheets, 10 sheets and 10 sheets are set as the limited number of prints. Enter it. In the case of setting in a group, it is preferable to set and input the information such that the users with user IDs 1, 2, 3, and 4 belong to group A and the limited number of group A is 10. The uniform limit number of information per print job at the time of printing refers to the limit number of prints set uniformly when a user or a group of users executes one print job. Further, when the value of the uniform limit number is empty or −1 (<0), it is sufficient that the uniform limit is not applied. Its default value may be left empty.

  In the case of (II), as shown in FIG. 5, for the users whose user IDs are 1, 2, 3 and 4, for example, 5 sheets, 7 sheets, 9 sheets, and 8 sheets are set as the limited number of monochrome prints, respectively.・ It is good to input. In the case of setting in a group, it is preferable to set and input the information such that the users with user IDs 1, 2, 3, and 4 belong to group A, and the limit number of group A is seven. The information on the limited number of sheets per print job at the time of monochrome printing refers to the monochrome print limit number set uniformly when a user or a user of a group executes one print job. Further, when the value of the uniform limit number (for example, the rgPrintEachLimitMono parameter) is empty or −1 (<0), the uniform limit may not be applied. The default value of the rgPrintEachLimitMono parameter may be left empty. In the case of (II), it is preferable to set the information of (III) at the same time.

  In the case of (III), as in the case of (II), as shown in FIG. 5, for users with user IDs 1, 2, 3, 4 for example, 4, 5, 3, and 3 respectively. It is better to set and input the number of color prints to be restricted. In the case of setting in a group, it is preferable to set and input the information such that the user IDs 1, 2, 3, and 4 belong to group A, and the group A has a limited number of three. In general, the limited number of sheets for color printing is set smaller than the limited number of sheets for monochrome printing in consideration of the unit price. In addition, the information on the limit number of sheets per print job at the time of color printing indicates the limit number of color prints that is set uniformly when a user or a group of users executes one print job. Further, when the value of the uniform limit number (for example, the rgPrintEachLimitColor parameter) is empty or −1 (<0), the uniform limit may not be applied. The default value of the rgPrintEachLimitColor parameter may be left empty. In the case of (III), it is preferable to set the information of (II) at the same time.

  One print job may basically include a color page and a monochrome page. In this case, the printing method on the printing apparatus 3 side (whether the monochrome page is printed as color or separately as monochrome; that is, The content of the restricted print job differs depending on whether the unit price for color printing is necessary or the unit price for monochrome printing is sufficient. For example, as the information on the uniform limit number when the printing apparatus 3 is a color printer, (III) is applied as it is, and as the information on the uniform limit number when the printing apparatus 3 is a monochrome printer, (II ) May be applied as it is.

  As another setting method, the user information storage unit 11 provides information on the limited number of sheets (remaining number of prints allowed to be rewritten in a countdown) per predetermined period such as one month or one year for each user as the print number limit information. May be stored. However, as described later together with other embodiments, it is necessary to read the print job transmitted from the client device 4 on the server device 1 side to grasp the number of prints, or to communicate from the printing device 3 side to the server device 1. However, it is necessary to grasp the number of printed sheets by the server apparatus 1 by transmitting a print result log from the printing apparatus 3 side.

  In this setting method, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the user ID is limited to 100 sheets, 120 sheets, 100 sheets, and 100 sheets, for example, within a certain period for users 1, 2, 3, and 4, for example. It is good to set and input the number of prints. In the case of setting in a group, it is preferable to set and input the information such that the user IDs 1, 2, 3, and 4 belong to group A and the group A has a limit number of 400. The uniform limit number of information per one print job at the time of printing indicates the limit number of prints within a predetermined period when a user or a group of users executes one print job. Further, when the value of the uniform limit number is empty or −1 (<0), it is sufficient that the uniform limit is not applied. Its default value may be left empty. The settings for color printing and monochrome printing can be applied in the same manner, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Further, when the value of the uniform limit number is empty or −1 (<0), the user information storage unit 11 does not limit the uniform limit for each user. The information on the number of sheets and information indicating whether or not the information is added to the limit number of sheets per print job (for example, rgOneJobLimit parameter) may be stored. If the value of the rgOneJobLimit parameter is empty or 0, the remaining number of users is not limited. If this value is 1 (> 0), the remaining number of users may be limited (not shown). ) The default of the rgOneJobLimit parameter may be set to 1.

  When the above-described information on the limited number of prints overlaps, if both the uniform limit and the limit based on the remaining number of users are valid, the smaller one may be adopted as the limit number. It should be noted that when only a uniform limit is effective, a uniform limit number is adopted as the limit number, and when only a restriction by the remaining user number is effective, the remaining user number may be adopted as the limit number.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 17 is a requested sheet number calculating unit, 18 is a printed sheet number calculating unit, 19 is a counting unit, and 20 is a billing The other components that are the same as or similar to those in FIG.

  A print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present system) is a tabulation of the number of printed sheets for the print processing from the client apparatus 4 in the system of each embodiment described with reference to FIGS. Or it is a system which enabled totaling and billing, and description of the same part and application form as the system mentioned above is also omitted including description of the effect.

  The server apparatus 1 in this system further includes a requested number calculating unit 17, a printed number calculating unit 18, and a totaling unit 19. The requested number calculating unit 17 interprets the print job received by the print job receiving unit 12 and calculates the number of printed sheets on the assumption that the print job has been executed as the requested number of prints. That is, the print job is interpreted also in the server apparatus 1. The print number calculation means 18 calculates the number of sheets to be printed by the restricted print job based on the requested print number calculated by the requested number calculation means 17 and the user print number restriction information read by the restriction information reading means 13. .

  The totaling unit 19 totals the calculated number of printed sheets for each user as a print log. There are various aggregation methods, and the number of printed sheets may be simply counted, or the number of printed sheets may be counted by the number of color prints and the number of monochrome prints. Or may be grouped by project). In addition, there is a totaling unit that counts not only the number of printed sheets but also the number of sheets that are not printed due to printing restrictions. In this system, the totaled result can be used even when the number of all jobs is uniformly limited for a certain period by user or group.

  The server device 1 may further include an accounting unit 20. The billing means 20 charges the printing consideration for the number of prints for each user counted by the counting means 19. The unit price per print may be stored in advance for each color or monochrome, and simply charged to the client device 4 or the like that is frequently used by the user or group. It may be disclosed as possible.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to limit the number of prints accurately and at high speed regardless of the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus, and to charge for printing. By applying the billing system as described above, this system will not only be applied to the system for limiting the maximum number of prints operated in companies and universities, but will be introduced in the future, for example, in convenience stores. It can also be adopted as an implementation method such as “print billing system”.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which 21 is a counting unit, 22 is a charging unit, 33 is a print log storage unit, and 34 is a transfer request reception unit. Means 35 is a print log providing means, and the other components that are the same as or similar to those in FIG.

  A print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present system) is a tabulation of the number of printed sheets for the print processing from the client apparatus 4 in the system of each embodiment described with reference to FIGS. Or it is a system which enabled totaling and billing, and description of the same part and application form as the system mentioned above is also omitted including description of the effect.

  The printing apparatus 3 in this system further includes a print log storage unit 33, a transfer request receiving unit 34, and a print log providing unit 35. The server apparatus 1 in this system further includes a totaling unit 21. The print log storage unit 33 stores a print log including at least a user name and the number of prints for each print job after printing by the printing unit 31. The print log preferably includes the date and time of printing. The transfer request receiving unit 34 receives a print log transfer request from the server device 1, and the print log providing unit 35 provides the print log to the server device 1 based on the received print log transfer request.

  The totaling means 21 in the server apparatus 1 counts and manages the number of printed sheets used in the printing apparatus 3 based on the print log provided by the print log providing means 35 for each user for a predetermined period such as monthly or yearly. In this system, the totaled result can be used even when the number of all jobs is uniformly limited for a certain period by user or group.

  Also in this system, it is also possible to provide the server device 1 with a billing means 22 for billing the counting results as in the system described with reference to FIG. The effect of this system on counting, counting, and billing is basically the same as that of the system described in FIG. 6, but the counting in this system differs from the counting described in FIG. 6 from the printing device 3 side to the server device. 1 is required to provide a print log.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which 24 is a charging unit, 23 is a print request receiving unit, 43 is a print request transmitting unit, and others The same or similar components as those in FIG.

  A print management system according to another embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present system) charges the number of printed sheets for print processing from the client device 4 in the systems of the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. The description of the same parts and application forms as those of the system described above will be omitted including the description of the effect. Further, the present system can be applied to a system having the counting means 19 and 21 described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, but the charging means 20 and 22 are not necessary.

  The client device 4 in this system further includes a print request transmission unit 43. The print request transmission unit 43 transmits a print request including a user name and print number information (which may include color or monochrome information) to the server apparatus 1. As a print request, for example, Job No. , Jobname, Username, Printmode, and the like.

  The server device 1 in this system further includes a print request receiving unit 23 and a charging unit 24. The print request accepting unit 23 accepts a print request transmitted from the client device 4. The billing unit 24 charges a fee for printing based on the number-of-printing information for the received print request. At this time, the restriction information reading unit 13 in the server apparatus 1 reads out the print number information included in the print request as the print number restriction information. Therefore, in addition to the same effect as the accounting system described with reference to FIG. 6, the accounting effect is less in the server device 1, and the user can make a prepayment (advance electronic payment in advance). Since it is possible to control according to the present invention so that printing cannot be performed if the number of print requests is larger than the number of print requests, advance electronic settlement at the time of a print request can be employed.

  As processing in this system, first, the client device 4 first issues a print request to the server device 1 to obtain the status on the printing device side, whether the printing device is in a stopped state and whether an alternative printing device is also in a stopped state. If not, the client apparatus 4 is notified of an error in the printing apparatus and the process is terminated. If there is an alternative printing device, this is notified and the user is allowed to select it. In response to the print request received from the client device 4, the server device 1 sends a print data (print job) transmission request notification to the client device 4 when the status of the printing device is in a printable state. A fee for the print request is charged, the print job is transmitted from the client apparatus 4, and the print job is received. Then, the server device 1 generates a restricted print job using the information on the number of prints included in the print request sent from the client device 4 as print number limit information, and transfers the print job to the printing device 3. The printing apparatus 3 can execute printing of the settled number of sheets, and does not need to execute an extra number of printings.

  As described above, the embodiments have been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 focusing on the system and method of the present invention. However, the present invention is a form of the printing apparatus 3 or the server apparatus 1 in the above-described embodiments. Further, as described in the description of the server device 1 in each embodiment described above, a program for causing a computer to function as the system or the server device 1 in the system, or the computer in the system or system. The processing procedure of the server apparatus and the program for executing these methods may be used, or the form of a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded is also possible.

  An embodiment of a recording medium storing a program and data for realizing the print number management function according to the present invention will be described. Specifically, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a DVD-ROM, an FD, a flash memory, and other various ROMs and RAMs can be assumed as the recording medium, and the functions of the system according to each embodiment of the present invention described above. Is executed by a computer, and a program for realizing the electronic voting function is recorded on these recording media and distributed, thereby facilitating the realization of this function. Then, the information processing apparatus such as the computer illustrated in FIG. 3 is loaded with the recording medium as described above, and the program is read by the information processing apparatus, or the program is loaded on the recording medium included in the information processing apparatus. By storing the data and reading it out as necessary, the print number management function according to the present invention can be executed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows the detail of the printing management system of FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a general information processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a print number limiting printing process in the print management system of FIG. 1, and is also a flowchart for explaining an example of a print management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating a number limiting method applied in the printing management system of FIG. 1 and the printing management method of FIG. 4, and some examples of user information and printing number limitation information stored in the printing management system of FIG. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the printing management system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the printing management system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the printing management system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server apparatus, 2 ... Network, 3a, 3b, 3 ... Printing apparatus, 4a, 4b, 4 ... Client apparatus, 10 ... User information database (user information DB), 11 ... User information storage means, 12 ... Print job reception Means, 13 ... Restriction information reading means, 14 ... Print restriction program generation means, 15 ... Restriction information embedding means, 16 ... Print job transfer means, 17 ... Requested number calculation means, 18 ... Number of prints calculation means, 19, 21 ... Aggregating means 20, 22, 24 ... billing means, 23 ... print request accepting means, 31 ... printing means, 32 ... excess number notifying means, 33 ... print log storage means, 34 ... transfer request accepting means, 35 ... providing a print log Means 41... Print job generation means 42... Print job transmission means 43. Print request transmission means 51... CPU, 52. RAM, 53. , 55 ... display, 56 ... communication device, 57 ... bus.

Claims (19)

In a print management system comprising: a printing apparatus; a client apparatus used by a user; and a server apparatus that handles printing processing in the printing apparatus according to an instruction from the client apparatus, the client apparatus connects a network to the server apparatus. And the printing device is connected to the server device via a network,
The client device includes a print job generation unit that generates a print job in a page description language, and a print job transmission unit that transmits the generated print job to the server device via a network.
The server device stores user information related to the user and print number limit information for the user in association with each other; a print job reception unit that receives a print job described in a page description language from the client device; With reference to the user information storage unit, a user of a client apparatus that is a transmission source of the print job received by the print job reception unit is specified, and a limit information reading unit that reads out the print number limit information for the user, and the reading A print restriction program generating means for generating a print restriction program based on the user's print number restriction information; a restriction information embedding means for generating the restricted print job by embedding the generated print restriction program in the print job; The generated restricted print job is transferred to the printing apparatus. A print job transfer means, and
The printing apparatus interprets the restricted print job transferred by the print job transfer unit, and performs the print job by executing the print job by limiting the number of prints based on the print number limit described in the restricted print job. A printing management system comprising printing means for performing   The printing restriction program counts the number of prints, and compares the printable number and the number of prints in the print number restriction information with the count, and determines whether or not the number of prints exceeds the printable number And a step of performing a print canceling process when the number of prints exceeds the printable number as a result of the determination, a program for causing the control unit in the printing apparatus to execute a procedure comprising: The print management system according to claim 1.   The restricted print job including the print job and the print restriction program includes a step of developing an image for one page in a memory in the printing apparatus, a step of counting the number of prints, and the print number restriction information. Comparing the printable number of sheets with the number of printable sheets based on the count and determining whether the number of prints exceeds the printable number of sheets; and when the determination does not exceed the number of printable sheets, the print job is Printing the developed image for one page with a printing unit in the printing apparatus and returning to the developing step, and performing a print cancel process when the printable number of sheets is exceeded by the determination; A program for causing a control unit in the printing apparatus to execute a procedure including Print management system according to claim 1.   The user information storage means provides, as the print number limit information, information on the limit number per print job at the time of printing, information on the limit number per print job at the time of color printing, The print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein any one or a plurality of pieces of information on a limited number of sheets per print job is stored.   5. The print management according to claim 1, wherein the user information storage unit stores, as the print number limit information, information on a limit number of sheets per predetermined period for each user. system.   The user information storage means, for each user, information on the limit number of sheets per predetermined period, information indicating whether or not to add the information to the limit number of sheets per print job as the print number limit information; The print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the print management system is stored.   7. The print management according to claim 1, wherein the print number limit information is print number limit information for a group of a plurality of users instead of information for a user. system.   When the actual printing exceeds the limit number, the printing device notifies the user who has performed the printing that the limit number has been exceeded to the client device of the user via the server device or directly. The print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising means for notifying the number of sheets over a network.   The print job transfer unit further includes a unit that transfers the print job received by the print job reception unit to the printing apparatus instead of the restricted print job, and the print unit transfers the transferred print job. 9. The print management system according to claim 1, further comprising means for interpreting and printing a job.   The server device interprets the print job received by the print job reception unit, and calculates a requested number of sheets as a requested number of prints when the print job is assumed to have been executed, and the calculated print request. Based on the number of copies and the user's print number limit information read by the limit information reading means, a print number calculation means for calculating the number of prints by the restricted print job, and the calculated print number as a print log 10. The print management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a totaling unit that tabulates for each user.   The printing apparatus receives a print log storage unit that stores, for each print job, a print log including at least a user name and the number of prints after printing is performed by the printing unit, and a print log transfer request from the server apparatus. A transfer request receiving unit; and a print log providing unit that provides a print log to the server device based on the received print log transfer request. The server device provides a print log provided by the print log providing unit. 11. The print management system according to claim 1, further comprising a totaling unit that totalizes the number of printed sheets of the paper used in the printing apparatus for each user based on a log.   The client device has a print request transmission unit that transmits a print request including a user name and print number information to the server device, and the server device accepts a print request transmitted from the client device. A request receiving unit; and a charging unit that charges a charge for printing based on the print number information for the received print request, and the limit information reading unit includes the print request as the print number limit information in the print request. The print management system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the print number information included is read out.   12. The print management system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the server device includes a charging unit that charges a printing fee for the number of printed sheets for each user counted by the counting unit. A print management method for managing the number of prints in a system comprising a printing device, a client device used by a user, and a server device that is responsible for printing processing in the printing device according to an instruction from the client device, The client device is connected to the server device via a network, and the printing device is connected to the server device via a network;
The client device generates a print job in a page description language, sends the generated print job to the server device via a network,
The server device stores the user information related to the user and the print number limit information for the user in association with each other, accepts a print job described in a page description language from the client device, and stores the stored user information and print The user of the client device that is the transmission source of the accepted print job is identified with reference to the copy limit information, the print limit information for the user is read, and the print limit is based on the read print limit information of the user Generating a program, embedding the generated print restriction program in the print job, generating a restricted print job, transferring the generated restricted print job to the printing device,
The printing apparatus interprets the transferred restricted print job and performs the print job to perform printing by limiting the number of prints based on the print number limit described in the restricted print job. Print management method.   The printing restriction program counts the number of prints, and compares the printable number and the number of prints in the print number restriction information with the count, and determines whether or not the number of prints exceeds the printable number And a step of performing a print canceling process when the number of prints exceeds the printable number as a result of the determination, a program for causing the control unit in the printing apparatus to execute a procedure comprising: The print management method according to claim 14.   The client device transmits a print request including a user name and print number information to the server device, and the server device accepts a print request transmitted from the client device, and in response to the accepted print request The charge for printing is charged based on the print number information, and the limited print job reads out the print number information included in the print request as the print number limit information and is embedded in the print job. The print management method according to claim 14 or 15,   The server apparatus in the print management system of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 13.   A program that causes a computer to function as a server device in the print management system according to claim 1.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 18.

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