JP2006244520A - Printing management system, printing management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To intend to easily recognize which size of printing paper can be used for printing a desired image data to maintain sufficient printing quality when a user utilizes a printing service via a network. <P>SOLUTION: The printing management system compares the number of pixels of the image data the user desires to print with a necessary number of pixels of the printing paper, and produces a display screen with display data or distinguishing mark for warning depending on the comparison result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a print management apparatus, a print management method, and a program for receiving an image print order from a user's computer apparatus or the like via a network.

  In recent years, with the development of communication infrastructure and the development of information communication technology, information providing services and information using services using the Internet and the like have become possible. In particular, it has become possible to share information and provide information in a multimedia environment where all data such as text data, image data, and audio data has been digitized, and many information provision services have been born through the Internet and the like. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). At the same time, miniaturization of semiconductor devices has progressed smoothly, and the component sizes and costs of LSIs and solid-state image sensors that make up image input devices such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras have been scaled down. These image input devices have deeply penetrated among users as electronic devices for taking images.

  Image data taken by a user who purchased a digital camera or the like is stored in a memory in the digital camera and then transferred to a recording device represented by an HDD or the like in a personal computer owned by a customer and managed. It is generally stored or written and stored on an external recording medium such as a CD-R. With the spread of color scanners as well as digital cameras, it has become easier to create and store images as electronic data.

And as information usage & provision services using this communication infrastructure increase rapidly due to the rapid development of the Internet as described above, images taken by the user with image input devices in the storage area of the server on the Internet Printed materials by storing data and transferring application documents such as application service providers that provide services that allow users to view the image data again when they want it, or by using the Internet to transfer electronic documents such as New Year's cards, word processing documents, and images Print service providers that print out products and provide products are appearing.
JP-T-2001-509617

  From such a technical background, in the future, in a print service provider (hereinafter also referred to as a print management system) using the Internet, image data created by various image input devices and applications and having different display requirements are stored from a client PC. It is conceivable that services for determining printing conditions and the like depending on the printing object and printing with various printing devices will become widespread. However, since various image input devices such as digital cameras and scanners input images with different image formats and image sizes, in such a print management system, image data that the user requests to print is The user cannot recognize whether the printing device or the printing object requested by the printer satisfies the output requirements that can maintain the quality, and the user will know that the desired quality has not been obtained after obtaining the printed material. There may be a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when a user uses a print service via a network, the desired print data can be printed with any print paper size, and sufficient print quality can be maintained. The purpose is to make it easy to know what can be done.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a print management apparatus capable of communicating via a network, an acquisition unit that acquires image data, a reception unit that receives designation of a print paper size, and the acquired Comparing means for comparing the number of pixels of the image data with the required number of pixels of the designated printing paper size, and a creating means for creating display data according to the result of the comparison are provided.

  The invention of the present application is a print management apparatus capable of communicating via a network, wherein a first acquisition unit that acquires image data, a second acquisition unit that acquires a print paper size, and the number of pixels of the image data Comparing means for comparing the required number of pixels of the printing paper size, and generating means for generating a display screen to which a mark is given according to the result of the comparison.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the user can easily know which print paper size the desired image data can be printed to maintain sufficient print quality.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the entire system constituting the print management service in the present embodiment, and a description will be given using this diagram.

  Reference numeral 101 denotes an image input device, which corresponds to a digital still camera that can shoot a still image and record it as image data, a digital video camera that can shoot a movie and record it as moving image data, or a scanner, and is image information. An apparatus that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, performs predetermined image processing, and then records and reproduces the digital information. 102A and 102B are user personal computers (hereinafter referred to as user PCs or client PCs), and 116 is a data transfer interface for transferring captured image data between the image input apparatus 101 and the user PC 102A. It is. The data transfer interface 116 may be a wired interface typified by USB or IEEE1394, or a wireless interface typified by IrDA or Bluetooth.

  Image data captured by the image input device 101 and stored as digital information is transferred to a storage area of an information storage device represented by an HDD of the user PC 102A via the data transfer interface 116. Regarding the image data transfer from the image input apparatus 101 to the user PC 102A, the image input apparatus 101 is in accordance with an instruction from the OS or dedicated software (for example, corresponding to a digital camera driver or a scanner driver) installed in the user PC 102A. When the image data stored in the internal information storage device is transferred at once and the transfer command sent from the image input device 101, the OS or dedicated software of the user PC 102A sends data to the information recording unit of the user PC 102A. In some cases, a recording area is secured and image data is transferred. In this way, the image data transferred to the user PC 102A is uploaded to the image service provider 105, which is the print management apparatus of the present invention connected to the Internet 104, according to the following procedure. As will be described later, the image service provider 105 receives a print order from the client PC (user PC) 102A, generates a print request suitable for the print site using the image data held in its management unit, and prints the print site. The print request is sent to the printer to perform the print processing of the printed matter, and the same control processing as that of the conventional print service provider is realized.

  A browser having a standard protocol capable of transferring information on the Internet 104 operating on the user PC 102A accesses the image service provider 105 using a standard protocol such as the http protocol, and manages HTML, which is managed by the server PC of the image service provider 105, Information linked to multimedia information such as images and sounds created in a description language such as XML is displayed. With this operation, the user PC 102A can receive a service using the Internet 104 as a communication infrastructure provided by the image service provider 105.

  Next, the image data captured by the image input device 101 stored in the information storage area of the user PC 102A is transferred to the image service provider 105 at the request of the user of the user PC 102A. (Hereinafter, this transfer is referred to as image upload.) In the image upload, when the image data to be transferred is selected by the user from the browser described above and transferred in conjunction with the image upload request action, In some cases, the user selects image data using upload software or the like, and the image data is transferred directly from the image upload software described above without using a browser. In either case, it is executed based on a protocol available on the Internet such as http or ftp.

  A module for executing this series of operations by the image service provider 105 is a photo sharing module 106. The uploaded image data is a data format that can be used by the image service provider 105 in the photo sharing module 106 (in this embodiment, whether the image format is a JPEG image, a GIF image, or a TIFF or PDF file format). The image data uploaded from the client PC 102 to the server device of the image service provider 105 is stored in the image database 117. Then, the photo sharing module 106 of the image service provider 105 stores the attribute information of the stored image data in the database 118.

  At this stage, the photo sharing module 106 notifies the user PC 102A that the image data has been successfully uploaded as HTML format display information, and the user PC 102 displays the notified display information on the browser. In the information database 118 of the image service provider 105, in addition to the attribute information of the image data described above, user attribute information (user ID, password, name, address, credit card) previously registered in the image service provider 105 is stored. Number data) and various data such as print site attribute information that provides a print service for uploaded image data (print site user ID, password, order format for issuing print orders, etc.) It is managed. Then, the user can view the designated image data via the browser of the user PC 102A, from the image data uploaded to the image service provider 105 from the user PC 102A. Regarding this browsing, uploaded image data may be managed as an album with a plurality of pieces as one unit. Also, the user can share the image data uploaded by the user with other users, and the image service provider 105 can input the email address of the user who wants to share the album via the browser of the user PC. The URL and password of the album are controlled to be sent by e-mail to the inputted e-mail address, and the user who has received the e-mail accesses the path of the specified image service provider 105 via the browser and inputs the password. By doing so, it becomes possible to browse the album.

  Next, the flow of the print order for the uploaded image data will be described step by step. As described above, among the image data uploaded to the image service provider 105, the user of the user PC 102A can browse the image data uploaded by himself / herself via the browser. At this time, as a method of selecting image data to be browsed, when selecting images to be browsed sequentially in a single image unit, or registering a plurality of the above-mentioned images as one album, a plurality of album groups The user may select an album that he / she wants to browse and browse individual images managed by the selected album.

  When the image service provider 105 receives an album browsing request from the user PC 102, the image service provider 105 generates a thumbnail list of image data of the requested album as HTML format display data and returns it to the user PC 102. In the display data, an “execute real image display” execution button and a “put into print order basket” execution button are displayed on the browser of the user PC in the vicinity of the thumbnail of the image data. The execution button for “order printing of the image in the basket” is displayed on the browser at the position. When the user presses the “execute real image display” execution button via the browser, a display request for the actually registered image data is transmitted from the user PC 102 to the image service provider 105, and accordingly. The image service provider 105 reads the requested image data from the image DB 117, generates preview display data in HTML format, and returns it to the user PC. Further, when the user presses the “put into the print order basket” execution button via the browser, the corresponding image ID and the instruction information to put into the print order basket are sent from the user PC to the image service provider 105. In response, the image service provider 105 registers the image ID in the print order DB corresponding to the user ID of the user PC 102. In addition, when the user presses the “execute print order of image in basket” execution button via the browser, an instruction to request the print order of the image in the basket is transmitted from the user PC to the image service provider 105. Accordingly, the image service provider 105 recognizes image data to be printed from the image ID in the basket, and outputs an output condition for allowing the user to input an output condition on how to print each image data. A form is generated in the HTML format and returned to the user PC 102. Then, on the output condition input form displayed on the browser of the user PC 102, the user inputs output conditions such as a print paper size, a print paper type (generally called a media type), the number of printed sheets, a fee payment method, etc. When the user presses an “OK” button to give an instruction, the value of the output condition input in the output condition form is transmitted from the user PC 102 to the image service provider 105. Based on the output condition received from the user PC 102, the image service provider 105 reads the order format of the print order for the output destination print site from the information database 118, and generates the print order for the output destination print site. Then, the image service provider 105 requests the print order of the image data uploaded from the user from a print site that provides a printout of the image data as a solution. This print provider is the print site 109A, 109B, 109C. Although there are about three print sites on the relationship of the drawings, there are cases where the number of print sites is more than this, and the number is not limited. Further, the image service provider 105 and the print site 109A may be services of the same site.

  Further, when the user of the user PC 102A selects image data desired to be printed out as a product from the browse screen of the uploaded image, the user can provide the print site 109A that can be provided by the image service provider 105 via the same browser. , 109B, 109C, the print site that the user wants to order is selected. The user can select a print site to be ordered in consideration of services provided by each print site, price, delivery date, and the like. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the description will be made assuming that the user has selected the print site 109A. However, even if the user selects the print site 109B and the print site 109C, the basic flow of information is as follows. Are the same. However, when the image service provider 105 and the print site 109A are services of the same site, it may not be necessary to select a print site. A user who wants to place a print order selects image data that he / she wants to place a print order on from the browsing screen, and notifies the image service provider 105 of the image data.

  Here, specific print request processing in the image service provider 105 will be described. The image service provider 105 generates a temporary print order related to the image data requested to be printed out from the user PC 103, and sends an estimate request to the print site 109 </ b> A via the Internet 104. The print site 109A that has received the provisional print order from the image service provider 105 calculates the price from the contents of the provisional print order with the billing 2 module 110A, which is a billing means, and calculates the estimated price via the Internet 104 as an image. The service provider 105 is notified. The image service provider 105 receives the estimated price information in real time, transfers it to the user PC 102A as information, and can dynamically present the price presented by the print site 109A to the user who places the print order. When the user of the user PC 102A who made the print order accepts the purchase at the presented price and returns an approval action to the image service provider 105, the settlement means 107 accepts this and performs settlement processing. When the settlement is completed, the image service provider 105 sends a formal print order to the print site 109A. The print site 109A receives this official print order, and acquires image data necessary for printout from the database of the image service provider 105. The image data acquired in this way is printed out using the printing means 111A owned by the print site 109A and output as a printed matter 112A. The printed matter 112A that has been printed out is delivered to a delivery destination designated by the user of the user PC 102A who requested the printout by some sort of transportation means.

  The above is the description of the browsing and print order service of the image service provider 105 provided by uploading the image data captured by the image input apparatus 101 via the user PC 102A. However, when the image service provider 105 and the print site 109A are services of the same site, it is not necessary for the image service provider 105 and the print site 109A to exchange information via the Internet 104.

  As an example of the photo service realized in the system as described above, details of the following print service are mainly described in the present embodiment. Of course, the services and functions realized by the photo service system in the present embodiment are not limited to the above.

<Print order>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of processing among the client PC 102A, the image service provider 105, and the print site 109A when the user performs a print order using the image service provider. When the user issues a print order to the image service provider, a print order for obtaining a printed image of the image in the image service provider 105 can be executed.

  When a print order instruction (print request) is issued from the user PC 102 to the image service provider 105 in step S201, the server apparatus of the image service provider 105 displays the print site selection screen 300 shown in FIG. 3 in step S202. Is generated and transmitted to the user PC 102.

  In step S <b> 203, the user PC 102 displays the received display data on the browser display screen on the selection screen 300 and allows the user to select a print site from the print site selection area 301. When the OK button 302 is pressed while the print site is selected, the user PC 102 transmits an instruction of the selected print site to the image service provider 105, and the process proceeds to step S204. Although not shown, it is obvious that the process is interrupted when the user presses the cancel button 303 in step S203. When the site explanation button 304 is pressed, information about the currently selected print site is displayed. Specifically, the identification ID of the selected print site and a detailed request instruction are sent from the user PC 102 to the image service provider 105, and the detailed information on the print site, for example, the print site is provided from the image service provider 105. Information such as a list of available services and the location of the print shop is transmitted, and the user PC 102 displays the received information on the display screen of the browser to notify the user of the description of the print site.

  In step S204, the server device of the image service provider 105 performs the input condition input process using the user PC 102 and the output condition form as described above, and according to the notified output condition, the output destination print site (here, for convenience) A temporary print order is issued to print site 109A). When the temporary print order issuance is notified, the print site 109A generates display data for displaying the image selection screen 400 shown in FIG. 4 and transmits it to the image service provider 105 in step S205. In 105, the received display data is changed by inserting a thumbnail of the album image data. The image selection screen 400 is a print order image selection screen created by the print site. A selection area 401 for selecting a print type (with or without borders) at the time of printing, an area 402 for displaying thumbnail images in the album, and a print A selection area 403 for selecting a size, an input area 404 for specifying the number of prints, an estimate request button 405, and a cancel button 406 are provided. Note that there are as many thumbnail image display areas 402, size selection areas 403, and print number input force areas 404 as the number of image data included in the temporary order. The display process of the image selection screen 400 and the image selection process when the estimate request button 405 is pressed will be described later. Here, it has been described that the print site generates a form of the image selection screen and the thumbnail of the image data in the actual screen is added by the image service provider 105. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The thumbnails of the image data in the album may be acquired, and the display data of the image selection screen may be completed in the print site.

  In step S206, the display data of the image selection screen 400 is received from the print site via the image service provider 105, and the order screen 400 (the image selection screen 9 is displayed on the display screen of the browser. After selecting the image and inputting the size and the number of sheets, the browser of the user PC determines whether or not the estimate button 405 is pressed, and if the estimate button 405 is pressed, in step S207. The server device of the print site 109A performs an estimate calculation process, and when the estimate calculation is performed in step S207, the information is notified to the server device of the image service provider 105. In the case where no estimate request is made in step S206, that is, Cancel button 406 is pressed on screen 400 And the temporary print order of the print site 109A at step S218 are deleted when. Image service provider at step S219 that the print request has been canceled is informed to the image service provider 105 interrupts the temporary print order processing.

  When the estimated data is notified from the print site 109A in step S207, the server device of the image service provider 105 adds or subtracts the value-added information in the image service provider to the estimated price in step S208, and displays the result to the user. FIG. 5 shows an estimation screen displayed at that time.

  When the estimate screen is displayed, the user performs purchase review processing in step S209. In FIG. 2, the purchase review is collectively performed in step S209, but at the time of purchase review, the credit information shown in FIG. 6 and the delivery destination shown in FIG. 7 are input between the server device of the image service provider 105 and the user. If the cancel buttons 503, 602, and 702 are pressed during that time, the process proceeds to the order cancellation approval process in step S216. In this embodiment, since the shipping fee for delivery is a flat fee, the flow is as described above. However, if the fee varies depending on the delivery destination, the input of the delivery destination shown in FIG. This is performed at the print site 109A before the estimate calculation process is performed in step S207.

  When the user places an order, payment processing is performed by the server device of the image service provider 105 in step S210, and a formal print order is generated for the print site in step S211 and a formal order is issued. The formal print order is an order generated from the information database 118 based on the order format. However, when the previously issued temporary print order is generated in the same manner, the temporary print order is the official print order. It is possible to substitute only by informing the effect.

  When the official order is notified, the print site performs an order receiving process in step S212, acquires image data from the image service provider in step S213, and prints the data in step S214. In step S215, a delivery instruction is issued and the process is terminated. Although not shown, when the processes from step S212 to step S215 are performed, the status of the print site is returned to the image service provider, and the information is stored in a database on the image service provider.

  If the server apparatus of the image service provider 105 performs order cancellation approval in step S216, the print site is requested to delete the temporary order. In step S217, the print site deletes the temporary order according to the request.

<Processing when the request for quotation button is pressed>
When the estimate button 405 is pressed from the order screen 400 displayed in step S206 in FIG. 2, an estimate calculation process is performed at the print site in step S207, and the value-added information additional price is added by the image service provider 105 in step S208. Along with the display process, the print order is checked to see if the print quality can be guaranteed. Checking whether the print quality can be guaranteed and notifying the user are characteristic features of the present invention.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing for determining whether or not the image service provider 105 can guarantee the print quality in step S208 in FIG.

  In step S801, the image service provider 105 substitutes N for the number of order images and 1 for the work image number counter I.

  In step S802, the image service provider 105 determines whether I <= N. While I <= N, it is possible to check all images registered in the print order by performing the processing from step S803 to step S806.

  In step S803, the image service provider 105 acquires image data related to the I-th image described in the print order file.

  In step S804, the image service provider 105 acquires setting information of a print target related to the I-th image described in the order file. The setting information is information such as printing paper size, media type, and color setting.

  In step S805, the image service provider 105 performs a quality check described later based on the information acquired in steps S803 and S804. If it is determined that the quality can be guaranteed according to the result of the quality check, the process in step S806 is performed to change the reference of the image, and then the process in step S802 is continued.

  If it is determined in step S805 that the quality cannot be guaranteed, the image service provider 105 generates display data to display the warning screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10 and transmits it to the user PC 102 in step S807. . Then, when the OK button 1001 is pressed on the user PC 102, the processing is stopped. Although not shown, in step S208, the image service provider 105 displays display data for redisplaying the order screen 400 shown in FIG. 4 based on the information generated by the processing in step S205 of the print site. Generate.

<Quality check>
FIG. 9 is a flowchart in the image service provider 105 showing the contents of the process for determining whether or not the print quality can be guaranteed in step S805.

  In step S <b> 901, the image service provider 105 acquires the display requirements for the image data designated by the print order file from the image database 117. In this embodiment, the number of pixels, the vertical and horizontal sizes, and the number of colors are acquired. That is, the image service provider 105 acquires the number of pixels in the vertical direction, the number of pixels in the horizontal direction, and the number of colors.

  In step S <b> 902, the image service provider 105 acquires the output requirements of the print target (information such as the print site, the output paper size of the print target, and the color setting) specified in the order file of the print order. In this embodiment, the number of pixels, the vertical and horizontal sizes, and the number of colors are acquired from the output paper size, that is, the necessary number of vertical pixels, the number of horizontal pixels, and the number of colors are acquired.

  In step S903, the image service provider 105 compares the display requirements with the output requirements. Returns the comparison result. In this embodiment, a comparison is made between the number of pixels in the vertical direction and the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image to be printed, the required number of vertical pixels calculated from the print paper size and resolution, and the required number of horizontal pixels; Then, the number of colors of the image is compared with the number of colors of the print setting. If the number of pixels in each direction of the image to be printed is 70% or more of the required number of pixels in each direction, it is determined that the print quality can be guaranteed, and if it is 40% or more and less than 70%, the print quality is too low. If it is less than 40%, display data is generated to display a warning indicating that the print quality is poor. Also, there are 24-bit True color, 16-bit High color, 256 color, and 16 colors as the number of colors. If there is a difference between the number of colors in the image and the number of colors in the print settings, the print quality cannot be guaranteed. A warning is displayed to the effect that quality cannot be guaranteed.

  Of course, the items of display requirements and output requirements in the present embodiment are not limited to the above. If only one of the items of the image is one level lower, the print quality is not limited to the above. Needless to say, it can be determined that the above can be guaranteed. In addition, in the comparison, it is needless to say that not only a simple size comparison of each item but also a margin can be included by setting a range where quality can be guaranteed.

<Display processing at the print site>
In the above-described embodiment, the processing for determining whether the image service provider 105 can guarantee the print quality has been described. However, here, when the print site creates the screen of the order screen 400 in step S205 in FIG. A process for displaying a mark by checking a combination of each image data and a print target to ensure the quality of the image will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of the print image selection screen display process at the print site in step S205.

  In step S <b> 1101, the print site 109 obtains a temporary print order file from the image service provider 105.

  In step S1102, the print site 109 substitutes N for the number of images to be printed specified in the temporary print order file, and 1 for the work image counter I.

  In step S1103, the print site 109 determines whether I <= N. By performing the processing from step S1104 to step S1107 while I <= N, all the images registered in the temporary print order can be displayed on the order screen.

  In step S1104, the print site 109 acquires a thumbnail image from the image service provider 105 or receives image data from the image service provider 105 and generates a thumbnail image. At this time, the print site 109 obtains image data display requirements (the number of pixels in the vertical direction, the number of pixels in the horizontal direction, and the number of colors) from the image service provider 105 via the Internet, or from the image service provider 105. Receives image data and generates display requirements.

  In step S1105, the print site 109 displays a thumbnail image as the I-th image.

  In step S1106, the print site 109 creates an input area for the order quantity and order size, and sets the order quantity as one as an initial value. The order size is set with an initial value which will be described later.

  In step S1107, the print site 109 adds 1 to I, and proceeds to the determination in step S1103. If I> N in step S1103, the process ends.

<Order size initialization>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the initial value creation process of the order size at the print site 109 described in step S1106.

  In step S1201, the print site 109 substitutes N for the number of printable sizes and 1 for the work image counter I.

  In step S1202, the print site 109 acquires the image data and display requirements prepared in step S1104.

  In step S1203, the print site 109 determines whether I <= N. By performing the processing from step S1204 to step S1208 while I <= N, all sizes that can be printed can be checked.

  In step S1204, the print site 109 acquires information on the I-th print target. This information is output requirements (print paper size, resolution, number of colors) that can be prepared at the print site 109.

  In step S1205, the print site 109 performs the print quality check described above based on the information (output requirements and display requirements) acquired in steps S1202 and S1204. If the quality can be guaranteed according to the result of the quality check, step S1206 is performed. If the quality cannot be guaranteed, step S1207 is performed.

  In step S1206, the print site 109 sets the marked size as an initial value as shown in FIG.

  In step S1207, the print site 109 sets a size that is not marked as an initial value because quality cannot be guaranteed.

  In step S1207, 1 is added to I, and the determination proceeds to step S1203. If I> N in step S1203, the process ends.

  In this embodiment, the mark is attached to the size that can guarantee the print quality, but it goes without saying that the mark may be attached to the size that cannot guarantee the print quality or both may be attached.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of the size list initialized in this embodiment, and shows that the quality can be guaranteed in the printing of A5, B5 (JIS), and A4. In the present embodiment, the mark is given by the initialization of the print size, but it goes without saying that it may be replaced with the setting of the print object such as a T-shirt or a mug instead of the setting of the print size.

  In the present embodiment, when the print site generates the image selection screen 400 to be displayed on the user PC, a mechanism for setting a size with a mark that can guarantee quality as an initial value has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the image service provider 105 has the above configuration as it is, and when the image service provider 105 generates the image selection screen 400 displayed on the user PC, a size with a mark that can guarantee quality is set as an initial value. It is also possible to do. The present application regards an image service provider including the above configuration as an invention.

<Other embodiments>
Instead of marking the designation of the print object, it is also possible to display the print quality by using an indicator near the thumbnail display. FIG. 14 is an example showing an indicator, and an indicator relating to print quality is displayed as indicated by 1401.

  2, 8, 9, 11, and 12 in this embodiment are performed by the user PC 102, the image service provider 105, and the print site 109, respectively, by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to a host computer from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, DVD, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a configuration diagram of an entire system showing a connection relationship between an image owner user, an image service provider that stores images, and a print site that prints images according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing among a client PC, an image service provider, and a print site when performing a print order using an image service provider in the present embodiment. It is an example of print site selection in the present embodiment. It is an example of the order screen in this Embodiment. It is an example of the estimation screen in this Embodiment. It is an example of the credit card information setting screen in this Embodiment. It is an example of the delivery destination setting screen in this Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of print order quality check in the image service provider according to the present embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of print order quality check in the image service provider according to the present embodiment. It is an example of a warning screen when the printing quality in this embodiment is not guaranteed. It is a flowchart at the time of preparation of the order screen in the print site in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart of initialization of the order size in the print site in this Embodiment. It is an example regarding the display of the order size with a mark shown by the order size in this Embodiment. It is an example regarding the display of the indicator shown by the order size in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

102 User PC
104 Internet 105 Image Service Provider 106 Photo Sharing Module 109 Print Site 117 Image Database 118 Information Database

Claims (21)

A print management apparatus capable of communicating via a network,
Acquisition means for acquiring image data;
Accepting means for accepting designation of the print paper size;
Comparing means for comparing the number of pixels of the acquired image data with the number of required pixels of the designated printing paper size;
A print management apparatus, comprising: a creation unit that creates display data according to the comparison result.   The print management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison unit compares whether the ratio of the number of pixels of the image data to the required number of pixels of the printing paper size satisfies a threshold value. A print management apparatus capable of communicating via a network,
First acquisition means for acquiring image data;
A second acquisition means for acquiring a print paper size;
Comparison means for comparing the number of pixels of the image data and the required number of pixels of the printing paper size;
A print management apparatus comprising: a generation unit configured to generate a display screen to which a mark is given according to the comparison result.   The print management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the print paper size is displayed as a list on the display screen.   The print management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the print paper size is displayed as an indicator on the display screen.   The print management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mark is added to a print paper size and displayed on the display screen.   7. The print management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising setting means for setting a printing paper size to which the mark is added as an initial value. A communication step of communicating via a network;
An acquisition step of acquiring image data;
A reception step for accepting designation of the print paper size;
A comparison step of comparing the number of pixels of the acquired image data with the required number of pixels of the designated printing paper size;
A printing management method comprising a creation step of creating display data according to the comparison result.   9. The print management method according to claim 8, wherein in the comparison step, a comparison is made as to whether a ratio of the number of pixels of the image data to a required number of pixels of the printing paper size satisfies a threshold value. A communication step of communicating via a network;
A first acquisition step of acquiring image data;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a print paper size;
A comparison step of comparing the number of pixels of the image data and the required number of pixels of the printing paper size;
A printing management method comprising a generation step of generating a display screen to which a mark is given according to the comparison result.   The print management method according to claim 10, wherein a list of the print paper sizes is displayed on the display screen.   The print management method according to claim 10, wherein the print paper size is displayed as an indicator on the display screen.   The print management method according to claim 10, wherein the mark is added to a print paper size and displayed on the display screen.   The print management method according to claim 13, further comprising a setting step of setting a printing paper size to which the mark is added as an initial value. A communication step of communicating via a network;
An acquisition step of acquiring image data;
A reception step for accepting designation of the print paper size;
A comparison step of comparing the number of pixels of the acquired image data with the required number of pixels of the designated printing paper size;
A program causing a computer to execute a print management method including a creation step of creating display data according to the result of the comparison.   16. The program according to claim 15, wherein in the comparison step, it is compared whether or not a ratio of the number of pixels of the image data to a required number of pixels of the printing paper size satisfies a threshold value. A communication step of communicating via a network;
A first acquisition step of acquiring image data;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a print paper size;
A comparison step of comparing the number of pixels of the image data and the required number of pixels of the printing paper size;
A program for causing a computer to execute a print management method including a generation step of generating a display screen to which a mark is given according to the comparison result.   18. The program according to claim 17, wherein the print screen size is displayed as a list on the display screen.   The program according to claim 17, wherein the print paper size is displayed as an indicator on the display screen.   18. The program according to claim 17, wherein the mark is displayed with a mark added to a printing paper size on the display screen.   21. The program according to claim 20, further causing a computer to execute a print management method further comprising a setting step of setting a printing paper size to which the mark is added as an initial value.

Images