JP2008152726A - Printing system, print control device, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system, a print control device, and a print control program which prevents the an error or an unintended printing result from being caused by sending a print job with unacceptable attributes to a printer. <P>SOLUTION: A print server 20 stores and manages one or more print jobs. The print server 20 compares attribute information of the stored print jobs with information of a printer 40 to determine whether each job can be printed as it is (a), can be printed after attribute change (b), or cannot be printed by the printer (c). A print operation terminal 30 displays a job list screen on the basis of the determination result. At this time, warnings are simultaneously displayed for print job requiring the attribute change and unprintable print jobs. When the user ignores the warning and instructs printing, printing is performed after the attribute is charged on the print server 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing control apparatus, and a printing control program.

  In offices, schools, open spaces, etc., after printing is suspended on the server, a desired printing device is selected from a plurality of printing devices, and printing is instructed from a terminal attached to the printing device. In addition, a printing environment called an on-demand printing system has been established to prevent unprinted printing.

  In such a printing environment, in order to respond to various printing needs, a plurality of printing devices having different capabilities are often provided, so a print job in which an attribute that can be handled only by a high-capacity printing device is designated. In some cases, it was accidentally sent to a low-capacity printing device. The operation on the printing device side when a print job with an unsupported attribute is sent will differ depending on the device. However, if an error occurs, the unsupported attribute is ignored or changed. Some print directly.

  For this reason, especially when an unsupported attribute is ignored or changed, and a print job in which the unsupported attribute is specified is mistakenly sent to a printing apparatus that performs printing as it is, it is contrary to the user's intention. Printing will be performed.

  Therefore, in order to deal with such a problem, for example, in Patent Document 1, when the print job attribute is changed or when the execution of the print job is stopped, the change contents and the reason are displayed to the user. A technology to inform is proposed.

Also, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for eliminating a mismatch between a print job attribute designated by a user and a print job attribute designated by a printing apparatus. Yes. In this method, printing is performed by automatically changing the attribute based on a pre-defined rule.
JP-A-2005-329624 JP 2006-142565 A

  The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing control apparatus that can avoid the occurrence of an error and the occurrence of a printing result against the user's intention due to a print job having an unsupported attribute designated being sent to the printing apparatus. And a print control program.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention of a printing system according to claim 1 includes a printing apparatus, a printing control apparatus that controls printing, and a printing operation apparatus provided corresponding to the printing apparatus, The print control device includes a storage unit that stores one or a plurality of print jobs, an attribute change unit that changes attributes of the print job stored in the storage unit, and a print instruction from the print operation device. A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job stored in the storage unit to a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the print operation device, and a print job that holds information related to attributes of the print job stored in the storage unit Held in the information holding means, the printing apparatus information holding means for holding information relating to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing apparatuses, the print job information holding means, and the printing apparatus information holding means. Based on the received information, a determination means for determining whether or not printing can be performed on the print job stored in the storage means in the printing apparatus provided corresponding to the print operation apparatus, and a result of determination by the determination means to the print operation apparatus. A determination result transmitting means for transmitting, wherein the print operation device notifies the user of whether or not printing is possible for each print job based on the determination result sent from the determination result transmitting means; and the storage means And a print instructing unit for instructing printing for the print job stored in the print job.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the determination unit is configured such that the print job stored in the storage unit can be printed as it is, can be printed after changing attributes, and cannot be printed by the printing apparatus. Judgment is made as to which case.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the attribute changing unit is instructed to perform printing for a print job determined to be printable after the attribute change by the determining unit without changing the attribute. In this case, the attribute of the print job is changed based on predetermined setting information.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus information collecting means for collecting information relating to the current state of the printing apparatus together with information relating to the capability of the printing apparatus from each of the plurality of printing apparatuses. The printing apparatus information holding unit holds the information collected by the printing apparatus information collecting unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system comprising: a printing apparatus; a printing control apparatus that controls printing; and a printing operation apparatus provided in correspondence with the printing apparatus. A storage unit that stores one or a plurality of print jobs, an attribute change unit that changes attributes of the print job stored in the storage unit, and a storage unit that stores the print job in response to a print instruction from the print operation apparatus. A print job transmission means for transmitting the print job to a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the print operation apparatus, a print job information holding means for holding information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage means, Printing apparatus information holding means for holding information related to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing apparatuses, and the printing operation apparatus includes the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding hand. A determination unit that determines whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage unit in a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the information stored in the storage unit, and a print job for each print job based on a determination result by the determination unit. Notification means for notifying the user of availability, and print instruction means for instructing printing for a print job stored in the storage means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores one or a plurality of print jobs; an attribute change unit that changes attributes of a print job stored in the storage unit; A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job stored in the storage unit in response to a print instruction to a printing apparatus provided in correspondence with the print operation device, and a print job attribute stored in the storage unit. Print job information holding means for holding related information, printing apparatus information holding means for holding information concerning the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing apparatuses, held by the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding means Judging means for judging whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage means in the printing apparatus provided corresponding to the printing operation apparatus based on the information; The determination result by the serial determination means and a determination result transmitting unit that transmits to the printing operation device.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the print control program according to the present invention, wherein the computer is stored in the storage unit in response to a print instruction from an attribute change unit that changes the attribute of the print job stored in the storage unit. A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job to a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the print operation device, a print job information holding unit that holds information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage unit, Printing apparatus information holding means for holding information relating to the capabilities of each printing apparatus, print job information holding means, and printing provided corresponding to the print operation apparatus based on information held in the printing apparatus information holding means Determination means for determining whether or not printing can be performed on the print job stored in the storage means in the apparatus; To function as a determination result transmitting unit that transmits device.

  According to the present invention, by comparing the print job attribute and the printing apparatus information in advance, an error occurs due to a print job having an unsupported attribute specified being sent to the printing apparatus, or the user's Occurrence of unintended printing results can be avoided.

  In addition, according to the present invention, after notifying the user of the necessity of changing the attribute of the print job, printing is performed with the user's consent, so whether printing is performed according to the purpose of printing and the situation. Since it is possible to select whether or not, a printing result according to the user's intention is obtained.

  Embodiments of a printing system, a printing control apparatus, and a printing control program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present invention.

  In this printing system, a client terminal 10, a print server 20, a printing operation terminal 30, and a printer 40 are connected via a network configured by a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like. Yes. The print operation terminal 30 and the printer 40 are provided in a one-to-one correspondence. Also, a plurality of client terminals 10, print server 20, print operation terminal 30, and printer 40 may be provided.

  The client terminal 10 is a general-purpose computer or the like handled by a user. When the user performs a predetermined operation from the client terminal 10 to instruct printing, a print job based on the instruction is created and sent to the print server 20. This print job is finally sent to the printer 20 for printing. Note that it is not necessary to individually specify the printer 40 when a print instruction is issued from the client terminal 10. Although details will be described later, the print instructed from the client terminal 10 is once stored and managed in the print server 20. This is because the printing is performed by the printer 40 provided corresponding to the terminal based on the instruction from the printing operation terminal 30.

  The print server 20 manages and controls printing in this printing system. Specifically, a print job is received from the client terminal 10 and is temporarily stored and managed in a print pending state, and transmitted to any one of a plurality of printers 40 managed by the own apparatus to execute printing.

  The print operation terminal 30 is a computer including a display unit and an input unit, and displays a list of print jobs stored in the print server 20, prints instructions, and deletes them. It should be noted that when a print instruction or deletion is performed on a print job from the print operation terminal 30, user authentication may be performed by requesting the user to input a user ID or password.

  The printer 40 receives a print job sent from the print server 20 and performs printing based on the job. As described above, each printer 40 is provided with a corresponding print operation terminal 30. When printing is performed by the printer 40, printing is performed from the print operation terminal 30 provided corresponding to the printer 40. I will tell you.

  Each of the devices such as the client terminal 10, the print server 20, the print operation terminal 30, and the printer 40 described above includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a main control unit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) as a storage unit, a RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc., keyboard, mouse, display, etc. as an input / output interface, network card as a communication interface, etc. are connected by a bus. Control is performed by the program stored in the storage means being executed by the main control means.

  Here, for example, it is assumed that the user instructs printing from the client terminal 10. Then, the client terminal 10 creates a print job based on the instruction and transmits it to the print server 20. The print server 20 accumulates and manages print jobs received from the client terminal 10.

  In order to print the print job stored in the print server 20, it is necessary to instruct printing from the print operation terminal 30, so the user goes to the print operation terminal 30 and performs a predetermined operation from the terminal. Then, the print operation terminal 30 that has received this operation transmits a print permission inquiry request to the print server 20.

  Upon receiving this request, the print server 20 compares the accumulated attribute information of the print job with the information of the printer 40 provided corresponding to the print operation terminal 30 of the request transmission source. A determination is made as to whether a) printing is possible as it is, b) printing is possible after changing the attribute, or c) printing is not possible with the printer, and the determination result is returned to the printing operation terminal 30.

  Upon receiving this response, the printing operation terminal 30 displays the job list screen shown in FIG. 2 based on the sent determination result. With this job list screen, the print operation terminal 30 displays a list of print jobs stored in the print server 20. Note that warnings are simultaneously displayed for print jobs that require attribute changes when printing with the printer 40 and print jobs that cannot be printed with the printer 40. For example, in the job list screen of FIG. 2, warnings are displayed for job 3, job 4, job 5, and job 6, and among them, job 3 and job 4 require attribute changes. 5. Job 6 cannot be printed by the printer 40. In the job list screen, as shown in FIG. 3, print jobs can be classified and displayed according to the determination result in the print server 20.

  Here, when the user selects a print job that is determined to be printable after the attribute change from the job list screen and instructs printing, a print job detail screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. In this case, since the printer 40 not equipped with a finisher is instructed to print a print job in which stapling or punching is specified, it is displayed that the attribute of the print job needs to be changed. Further, the print job detail screen shown in FIG. 4 may be configured to be displayed by giving an instruction to refer to the status of each job displayed on the job list screen shown in FIGS.

  When the user who refers to this display presses a “reset attribute” button in the print job details screen in order to change the attribute, a print job attribute change screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. In this print job attribute change screen, the setting contents are limited so that only the change to attributes that can be handled by the printer 40 can be performed.

  When the attributes of the print job are changed and the user instructs printing again, the print job is transmitted from the print server 20 to the printer 40 provided corresponding to the print operation terminal 30, and printing based on the job is performed. Done. At this time, the print job confirmation screen shown in FIG. In the print job confirmation screen shown in FIG. 6, a warning is issued for job 3 and job 4, even though print attributes not supported by the printer 40 are specified for job 3 and job 4. This is because the printing is instructed as it is without changing it. In this case, the attribute change is performed on the print server 20 side based on predetermined setting information.

  The above is the description of the overall configuration of the printing system according to the present invention. However, the configuration of the printing system described above is merely an example, and for example, the printing operation terminal 30 may be mounted as a part of the printer 40. If the print job can be directly read by the printer 40 using an external recording medium, the client terminal 10, the print server 20, and the network can be omitted as shown in FIG.

  Here, a part of the functional configuration of the print server 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The print server 20 includes, as its functional configuration, a job content analysis unit 21, a job attribute information holding unit 22, a printer information collection unit 23, a printer information holding unit 24, a job printability determination unit 25, and an inquiry request reception. A unit 26, a printability information transmission unit 27, a job storage unit 28, a job attribute change unit 29, a job transmission unit 51, a job reception unit 52, and a communication unit (print server) 53. Is done.

  The job content analysis unit 21 has a function of analyzing the content of a print job sent from the client terminal 10. Here, the job contents are information such as whether the attribute specified for the print job is monochrome or color, whether finishing is specified, double-sided or single-sided.

  The job attribute information holding unit 22 functions to hold information related to print job attributes. The information related to the attributes of the print job is obtained by analysis by the job content analysis unit 21. The job attribute information holding unit 22 uses the job attribute information table shown in FIG. 9 to hold information related to print job attributes. In this job attribute information table, information indicating whether monochrome or color is specified corresponding to the job ID assigned to each print job, information indicating whether double-sided or single-sided is specified, Information indicating whether finishing is designated, information indicating which PDL (Page Description Language) format is configured, information indicating the paper size, the number of sheets, and the like are held. Here, referring to the job attribute information table shown in FIG. 9, for example, job 1 is designated as black and white and double-sided as print attributes, and from page A4 and page 3 configured by PDL1 (page description language). It can be seen that this is a print job.

  The printer information collection unit 23 performs a function of collecting information about capabilities and states from each printer 40. Here, the information related to the capability of the printer 40 is, for example, information such as whether color is supported, what kind of finishing is supported, whether both sides are supported, and what is the printing speed. Further, the information related to the status of the printer 40 is, for example, information indicating whether printing is in progress or the paper is out of paper.

  The printer information holding unit 24 functions to hold information related to the capabilities and states of each printer 40. The information related to the capability and state of each printer 40 is obtained by collecting information by the printer information collecting unit 23. The printer information holding unit 24 uses the printer capability / status information table shown in FIG. 10 to hold information related to the printer capability and status. This printer capability / status information table includes information indicating whether black and white or color is supported in correspondence with the printer name assigned to each printer, information indicating whether both sides are supported, and which Information indicating whether such finishing is supported, information indicating what PDL is supported, information indicating the current printer status, and the like are stored. Referring to the printer capability / status information table shown in FIG. 10, the printer C is compatible with color, double-sided, and stapling, and has the capability of being able to interpret page description languages in PDL1 format and PDL2 format. It can be seen that In addition, it can be seen that the printer is currently out of A4 paper and the remaining number of A3 papers is 50.

  The job printability determination unit 25 performs a function of determining whether a print job can be printed in each printer 40. This print permission determination is made based on the job attribute information table and the printer capability / state information table. The determination result in the job printability determination unit 25 is, for example, a list of printability information as shown in FIG. 11, and this corresponds to a printability inquiry request from the print operation terminal 30, and the print operation terminal 30 that is the request transmission source. Is responded to. As shown in FIG. 11, the print permission information includes information indicating a print job that can be printed as it is, information indicating a print job that can be printed after changing attributes, and printing that cannot be performed by the printer. Information indicating a print job is set. For example, although the printer 1 can print the job 1 as it is, it does not support stapling, color, punching, etc., so the job 2, job 3, job 4, and job 5 cannot be printed unless the attributes are changed. Is set.

  The inquiry request receiving unit 26 functions to receive a print permission inquiry request from the print operation terminal 30, and the print permission information transmitting unit 27 prints a determination result by the job print permission determination unit 25 as a print permission inquiry request transmission source. The function to transmit to the operation terminal 30 is fulfilled.

  The job storage unit 28 functions to store one or a plurality of print jobs. The print job sent from the client terminal 10 is temporarily stored in the job storage unit 28.

  The job attribute changing unit 29 functions to change the attributes of the print job accumulated in the job accumulation unit 28. The print job attribute change by the job attribute change unit 29 is performed based on an instruction from the print operation terminal 30 or predetermined setting information. The predetermined setting information includes, for example, 1) a rule for instructing to change the print job attribute according to the printer capability and status, and 2) change the print job attribute to the predetermined attribute. Regulations for instructing to do so are set.

  The job transmission unit 51 functions to transmit the print job stored in the job storage unit 28 to the printer 40. The transmission of the print job to the printer 40 is performed based on a print instruction from the print operation terminal 30. The transmission destination of the print job is the printer 40 provided corresponding to the print operation terminal 30.

  The job receiving unit 52 has a function of receiving a print job sent from the client terminal 10. The print job received by the job receiving unit 52 is transferred to the job content analysis unit 21 and stored in the job storage unit 28 after the job content analysis is completed.

  The communication unit (print server) 53 functions as a communication interface that connects the print server 20 and the network. In the print server 20, various information is exchanged with the client terminal 10, the print operation terminal 30, and the printer 40 via the communication unit (print server) 53. This completes the description of the various processing functions that make up the print server 20.

  Next, a part of the functional configuration of the print operation terminal 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The print operation terminal 30 has, as its functional configuration, a communication unit (print operation terminal) 31, a print availability inquiry unit 32, a print instruction unit 33, an attribute change instruction unit 34, a display control unit 35, and a display unit 36. And an input unit 37.

  The communication unit (print operation terminal) 31 functions as a communication interface that connects the print operation terminal 30 and the network. The print operation terminal 30 exchanges various information with the print server 20 and the printer 40 via the communication unit (print operation terminal) 31.

  The print permission / inquiry inquiry unit 32 performs a function of inquiring whether or not printing is possible for one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the print server 20. This inquiry is made by sending a print availability inquiry request from the print availability inquiry unit 32 to the print server 20.

  The print instruction unit 33 has a function of transmitting a print instruction to the print server 20. This print instruction is performed based on a user operation from the input unit 37 described later.

  The attribute change instruction unit 34 has a function of transmitting a print job attribute change instruction to the print server 20. This attribute change instruction is performed based on a user operation from the input unit 37 described later.

  The display control unit 35 has a function of controlling display of various types of information on the display unit 36 described later. For example, the above-described job list screen, print job detail screen, print job attribute change screen, and the like are displayed on the display unit 36 by display control by the display control unit 35.

  The display unit 36 has a function of displaying various information to the user, and the input unit 37 has a function of inputting a user operation. This completes the description of the various processing functions that make up the print operation terminal 30.

  Here, the operation of the printing system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the operation on the print server 20 side when a print job sent from the client terminal 10 is received will be described with reference to FIG.

  When a print job is sent from the client terminal 10 to the print server 20, the print server 20 receives this at the job receiving unit 52 (YES in step S101). The print job is analyzed by the job content analysis unit 21 (step S102), and the analysis result is set in the job attribute information table (step S103) and then stored in the job storage unit 28 (step S102). S104).

  When the print job is stored, the printer information collection unit 23 collects the capabilities and states of the printer 40 from each printer 40 (step S105). When this information collection is completed, the collected information is set in the printer capability / state information table (step S106), and this process is terminated.

  In FIG. 13, a case has been described in which capabilities and states are collected from each printer 40 in response to the reception of a print job, and the results are set in the printer capability / state information table. You may make it implement in.

  Next, referring to FIG. 14, the print server 20 side when a print permission inquiry, print instruction, or attribute change instruction is issued from the print operation terminal 30 side while a print job is accumulated in the print server 20. Will be described.

  The print server 20 is on standby until a print permission inquiry request, a print instruction, or an attribute change instruction is sent from the print operation terminal 30 (NO in step S201, NO in step S202, step NO in S203).

  If a print permission inquiry request is sent from the print operation terminal 30 during this standby (YES in step S201), the print server 20 receives the request at the inquiry request receiving unit 26, and also receives a job. In the printability determination unit 25, the print job attribute information stored in the job storage unit 28 is compared with the information of the printer 40 provided corresponding to the print operation terminal 30 of the request transmission source. However, it is determined whether a) printing is possible as it is, b) printing after attribute change is possible, or c) printing is not possible with the printer (step S204). The determination of whether or not printing is possible is performed based on the job attribute information table and the printer capability / status information table as described above.

  When this determination is completed, the printability information transmitting unit 27 returns the printability information to the print operation terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the printability inquiry request (step S205), and the process ends.

  When a print instruction is sent from the print operation terminal 30 during standby in steps S201 to S203 (NO in step S201, YES in step S202), the print server 20 changes the print job attribute. Determine whether it is necessary. That is, it is checked whether the print job destination printer 40 corresponds to the attribute specified for the print job. If the printer 40 is not compatible, the attribute needs to be changed. If the printer 40 is compatible, the attribute is changed. Judge that no change is required.

  If the result of this determination is that there is no need to change the attribute of the print job (NO in step S206), the process proceeds directly to the next process, but if the attribute change of the print job is necessary (YES in step S206), the job The attribute changing unit 29 changes the attribute of the print job based on predetermined setting information (step S207).

  Then, the job transmission unit 51 takes out the print job specified by the instruction from the job storage unit 28, and transmits the print job to the printer 40 provided corresponding to the print operation terminal 30 that is the instruction transmission source. Is performed (step S208). Then, this process ends.

  If an attribute change instruction is sent from the printing operation terminal 30 during standby in steps S201 to S203 (NO in step S201, NO in step S202, YES in step S203), job attribute change The unit 29 changes the attribute of the print job based on the sent attribute change instruction (step S209). Then, this process ends.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 15, an operation when the print operation terminal 30 instructs to print a print job stored in the print server 20 will be described.

  In the print operation terminal 30, first, the print availability inquiry unit 32 transmits a print availability inquiry request to the print server 20 side (step S301). Then, print permission information is sent from the print server 20 as a response, and the print operation terminal 30 receives it (step S302).

  Upon receiving this, the display control unit 35 controls the display of the job list screen shown in FIG. 2 on the display unit 36 based on the print availability information (step S303). At this time, a warning is simultaneously displayed for a print job that requires attribute change when printing with the printer 40 and a print job that cannot be printed with the printer 40.

  Along with the display of the job list screen, the print operation terminal 30 waits for a user operation. In other words, the process waits until the user who refers to the job list screen displayed on the display unit 36 instructs printing or changes the attribute (NO in step S304 and NO in step S305). ).

  Here, when the user instructs to change the attribute of the print job via the input unit 37 (NO in step S304, YES in step S305), the attribute change instructing unit 34 that has received this is instructed to change by the user. An attribute change instruction for the print job is transmitted to the print server 20 (step S307). Thereafter, the print operation terminal 30 waits again until the user instructs printing or changes the attribute.

  When the user designates a print job from the print job list screen via the input unit 37 and instructs printing for the job during the standby in steps S304 and S305 (YES in step S304), The received print instruction unit 33 transmits a print instruction to the print server 20 (step S306). Then, this process ends.

  Although the above is an example of typical embodiment of this invention, this invention is not limited to the Example shown to the said and drawing, It can implement suitably deform | transforming within the range which does not change the summary. .

  For example, when it is determined that printing is possible after attribute change and printing is not possible with the printer, a screen that notifies the user of the reason may be displayed on the print operation terminal 30.

  In the above-described embodiment, the print server 20 is provided with the job printability determination unit 25, and the print server 20 is configured to determine whether the print job can be printed. The operation terminal 30 may be provided, and the print operation terminal 30 may determine whether the print job can be printed. In this case, the print operation terminal 30 receives information set in the job attribute information table and the printer capability / state information table from the print server 20 when determining whether or not printing is possible, and determines whether or not printing is possible based on this information. It will be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the print availability inquiry unit 32 is provided in the print operation terminal 30 and the print server 20 is inquired about the print availability information. However, the print availability inquiry unit 32 is omitted, and the print server The print enable / disable information may be transmitted from the 20 side to the print operation terminal 30 at a predetermined timing. Examples of the predetermined timing include a time point when a print job is newly accumulated and every predetermined time interval.

  In the above embodiment, a printer capability / status information table is arranged in the printer information holding unit 24 so as to hold the printer capability and status information. The information held here is the printer capability information. It may be only. In this case, since it is not necessary to acquire the printer status, the printer information collecting unit 23 may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a screen (job list screen) is displayed on the display unit based on the printability information to notify the user of printability of a print job. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The user may be notified by voice or the like.

  Further, the processes in the print server 20 and the print operation terminal 30 described in the above embodiments may be implemented by programs installed in a computer. This program can be provided not only by a communication means such as a network but also by storing it in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  The printing system, the printing control apparatus, and the printing control program of the present invention can be applied to a printing system that includes a printing control apparatus, a printing control apparatus, and a printing control program that causes a computer to execute processing in the printing control apparatus. .

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen layout of a job list screen (pattern 1). It is a figure which shows an example of the screen layout of a job list screen (pattern 2). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen layout of a print job details screen. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen layout of a print job attribute change screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen layout of a print job confirmation screen. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the whole structure of the printing system concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of functional structure of the print server 20 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the table layout of a job attribute information table. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table layout of a printer capability / state information table. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing permission judgment information. It is a figure which shows a part of functional structure of the printing operation terminal 30 shown in FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation on the print server 20 side when a print job sent from the client terminal 10 is received. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation on the print server 20 when an inquiry about whether printing is possible, a print instruction, or an attribute change instruction is issued from the print operation terminal 30 while a print job is accumulated in the print server 20. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a print instruction is issued from the print operation terminal 30 to a print job stored in the print server 20.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Client terminal 20 Print server 21 Job content analysis part 22 Job attribute information holding part 23 Printer information collection part 24 Printer information holding part 25 Job print availability judgment part 26 Inquiry request reception part 27 Print availability information transmission part 28 Job accumulation part 29 Job Attribute change unit 51 Job transmission unit 52 Job reception unit 53 Communication unit (print server)
30 Print operation terminal 31 Communication unit (print operation terminal)
32 Print availability inquiry section 33 Print instruction section 34 Attribute change instruction section 35 Display control section 36 Display section 37 Input section 40 Printer

Claims (7)

A printing device;
A print control device for controlling printing;
A printing operation device provided corresponding to the printing device,
The print control device includes:
Storage means for storing one or more print jobs;
Attribute changing means for changing attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Print job transmission means for transmitting a print job stored in the storage means in response to a print instruction from the print operation apparatus to a printing apparatus provided for the print operation apparatus;
Print job information holding means for holding information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Printing device information holding means for holding information related to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the information held in the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding means, it is determined whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage means in a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the printing operation apparatus. Judgment means,
A determination result transmission means for transmitting a determination result by the determination means to the print operation device;
The printing operation device includes:
Notification means for notifying the user of the possibility of printing for each print job based on the determination result sent from the determination result transmission means;
A print instructing unit for instructing printing of the print job stored in the storage unit. The determination means includes
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein a determination is made as to whether the print job stored in the storage means can be printed as it is, can be printed after changing attributes, or cannot be printed by the printing apparatus. The attribute changing means is
The printing job attribute that is determined to be printable after the attribute change by the determining unit is instructed without changing the attribute, and the attribute of the print job is changed based on predetermined setting information. 2. The printing system according to 2. Printing device information collecting means for collecting information on the current state of the printing device together with information on the capability of the printing device from each of the plurality of printing devices;
The printing apparatus information holding means is
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein information collected by the printing apparatus information collecting unit is held. A printing device;
A print control device for controlling printing;
A printing operation device provided corresponding to the printing device,
The print control device includes:
Storage means for storing one or more print jobs;
Attribute changing means for changing attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Print job transmission means for transmitting a print job stored in the storage means in response to a print instruction from the print operation apparatus to a printing apparatus provided for the print operation apparatus;
Print job information holding means for holding information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Printing device information holding means for holding information relating to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing devices,
The printing operation device includes:
Determining means for determining whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage means in the printing apparatus provided correspondingly based on the information held in the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding means;
Notification means for notifying the user of whether or not printing is possible for each print job based on the determination result by the determination means;
A print instructing unit for instructing printing of the print job stored in the storage unit. Storage means for storing one or more print jobs;
Attribute changing means for changing attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Print job transmission means for transmitting a print job stored in the storage means in response to a print instruction from the print operation apparatus to a printing apparatus provided for the print operation apparatus;
Print job information holding means for holding information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Printing device information holding means for holding information related to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the information held in the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding means, it is determined whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage means in a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the printing operation apparatus. Judgment means,
And a determination result transmitting unit configured to transmit a determination result by the determination unit to the print operation device. Computer
Attribute changing means for changing the attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Print job transmission means for transmitting a print job stored in the storage means in response to a print instruction from the print operation apparatus to a printing apparatus provided in correspondence with the print operation apparatus;
Print job information holding means for holding information relating to attributes of the print job stored in the storage means;
Printing device information holding means for holding information related to the capabilities of each of the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the information held in the print job information holding means and the printing apparatus information holding means, it is determined whether or not printing is possible for the print job stored in the storage means in a printing apparatus provided corresponding to the printing operation apparatus. Judgment means,
The printing control program for functioning as a judgment result transmission means which transmits the judgment result by the said judgment means to the said printing operation apparatus.

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