JP2009044747A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system for recording document management information in a host device beforehand and managing printed documents by using the document management information, in particular, the system for automatically managing copy processing based on symbol information recorded on a document in copy processing. <P>SOLUTION: The printing system has constitution in which print control information is generated according to document management information or designation in printing, this information is printed on a printed material as symbol information, the symbol information is analyzed in copying the printed material, and print processing is automatically performed according to the print control information, for example, a designated area of a set page is masked and copied according to a designated form. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system in which a host device and a printing apparatus are connected via a network, and more particularly, to a printing system that records document management information in a host device in advance and manages the printed document using the document management information. .

  2. Description of the Related Art Today, a document is created by operating a computer or the like to perform electronic document format file processing when creating a target document (document) while correcting or adding a document. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for creating a new electronic document by changing or combining the configuration on a computer based on a plurality of electronic documents.

There has also been proposed a printing system that stores image data in association with an ID, adds an ID at the time of printing, performs printing processing, and calls up original information from the ID to perform printing processing at the time of reprinting.
Japanese Patent No. 3456411

  However, in the conventional print control method with ID, only one piece of management information is designated for one document, and print data is copied and automatically distributed, and the distributed paper is classified and stored. I can't.

  Further, in the conventional system, there is no proposal for including copy guard information in a printed material and masking an automatically designated portion by a designated method based on the copy guard information at the time of copying.

  Therefore, the present invention registers document management information in the host device in advance, transfers this document management information to the printing apparatus, and performs print processing according to the print data. For example, print control information based on the document management information is barcoded. When printing is performed in a format such as this, and the printed matter is copied, a printing process based on the print control information is automatically performed.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a printing system in which a host device, a printing apparatus, and a document management server are connected via a network, and the host device generates print data using an application. Means for transmitting the copy control information together with the print data to the printing apparatus, the printing apparatus generating symbol information for printing the copy control information together with the print data, and printing the symbol information together with the print information Print control means for printing data, and transmission means for transmitting the copy control information and device specific information to the document management server. The document management server uses the print control means based on the copy control information. This can be achieved by providing a printing system having management means for managing printed matter to be printed out.

  With this configuration, the copy control information can be automatically printed on a printed matter and managed by the document management server. For example, when copying the printed matter, the number of copies can be limited according to the permission conditions, and further copy guard can be performed.

  According to the printing system of the present invention, copy control information can be automatically printed on a printed matter and managed by a document management server, for example, the number of copies can be limited and copy guards can be managed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

  In this figure, this system connects a host device (for example, a personal computer (PC)) 1 and a printing apparatus 2 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and print data created in accordance with an application of the host device 1. In this configuration, the printing apparatus 2 supplies the data to the printing apparatus 2 via the network, and the printing apparatus 2 performs printing processing.

  The host device 1 stores document management information 4 created using the definition tool 3 in advance, and supplies print data created by an application to a printer driver (not shown). In this example, the printing apparatus 2 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral (hereinafter, referred to as an MFP (multifunction printing apparatus / multifunction printer)), and includes a scanner unit, an MFP control unit, and a printer unit.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the MFP 2. A display operation unit (operation panel) 5 is located at the upper front of the MFP 2, and performs various setting instructions such as setting of the number of printed sheets, density setting, size setting and the like. In addition, a plurality of stages of paper feed cassettes 6 are provided in the lower front portion of the MFP 2, and the paper feed cassettes 6 can be pulled out with the corresponding handles. The MFP 2 is also provided with a paper discharge unit 7, and a sheet (recording medium) that has been fed from the paper feed cassette 6 and on which an image has been formed is output to the paper discharge unit 7. In the figure, reference numeral 8 denotes a scanner unit.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the MFP 2 having the above-described external configuration. In FIG. 2, the MFP 2 includes the scanner unit 8, the MFP control unit 9, and the printer unit 10. The scanner unit 8 includes a reading mechanism unit 8 a, which reads a document image placed on a document table by driving the reading mechanism unit 8 a and transmits document data to the MFP control unit 9.

  The MFP control unit 9 includes an MFP main unit 12, a reading mechanism control unit 13, a display operation control unit 14, a FAX communication control unit 15, a LAN communication control unit 16, an Internet communication control unit 17, a storage device control unit 18, and a storage device. Section (HDD) 19.

The reading mechanism control unit 13 performs mechanism control of the reading mechanism unit 8 a provided in the scanner unit 8, and sends document data read by the scanner unit 8 to the MFP control unit 9.
The display operation control unit 14 outputs an operation signal based on an operation of a key or the like provided in the display operation unit 5 to the MFP main unit 12. The display data output from the MFP main unit 12 is displayed on the display operation unit 5. Further, the storage device control unit 18 performs data writing to the storage device unit (HDD) 19 and controls reading of data stored in the storage device unit (HDD) 19. Here, the storage unit (HDD) 19 stores, for example, a printing program and the document management information described above.

The LAN communication control unit 16 is an interface for connecting the MFP 2 to the LAN, and the FAX communication control unit 15 supplies facsimile data to the MFP main unit 12.
On the other hand, the printer unit 10 includes a printer control unit 20 and a printing mechanism unit 21. The printer unit 10 performs a printing process based on the control process of the printer control unit 20. And the printing result is output to the paper discharge unit 7 described above. The printing mechanism unit 21 includes a print head and other mechanism units such as an image forming unit, a developing unit, and a transfer unit. The MFP main unit 12 controls each unit of the MFP control unit 9 by a system program, and includes a CPU and a RAM (not shown).

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main part of the printing system according to the present embodiment. In the figure, in addition to print data, document management information, a notification control ID, and a print data ID list are input to the MFP 2 via the LAN communication control unit 16 described above. The document management information input to the MFP 2 and the notification control ID are stored in the storage unit (HDD) 19 described above. Further, the scanner 8 reads image data of a printed matter on which symbol information such as a barcode described later is printed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the basic processing operation of this example, and will be described in accordance with the progress of the processing in this specification. First, the document management information is set according to the figure (step (hereinafter referred to as W) 1).

  FIG. 6 is an example of document management information set in the host device 1. In the document management information, for example, data ID, name, folder name, file name, distribution destination, and basic operation information shown in the figure are registered. The document management information relates to management of student test results and the like at school.

  In the example shown in the figure, for example, “3A-001” is registered as the data ID, the name “Aoki”, the folder name “Aoki”, the file name “Aoki”, the distribution destination “teach @ aa”, Each information of basic operation "Folder + Distribution" is registered. As the data ID, information on the name “Inoue”, the folder name “Inoue”, the file name “Inoue”, the distribution destination “user @ aa”, and the basic operation “folder” is registered in “3A-002”. Yes. Hereinafter, it is as shown in FIG.

  The document management information is transferred to the MFP 2 via the LAN before printing processing, and stored in the storage device unit (HDD) 19 under the control of the MFP main unit 12 and the storage device control unit 18 (W2).

Next, processing during printing will be described.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining this processing. As described above, the host device 1 creates print data using an application and outputs it to the MFP 2. This print data includes the print data ID list and the notification control ID together with the drawing data. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the print data ID list is data ID information for performing print processing in the document management information described with reference to FIG. When printing with ID addition is selected from the document management information (W3). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1-No. 3 is selected.

  The notification control ID designates a document management method (S4), and a notification control ID is generated from the designated document management method and the document management information set by the host device (W5). For example, FIG. 9 shows an example of the generated notification control ID, in which instruction contents and detailed contents are set for each item of operation instruction, base folder, storage method, and file name designation. Here, the relationship between each item and the instruction content will be described as follows. The numerical value in parentheses indicates a control code.

  First, the item “operation instruction” instructs how to manage information obtained by scanning a printed material after printing. For example, “1” is an instruction according to the basic operation, and an instruction to operate according to the basic information defined in the document management information described above. On the other hand, “2” is an instruction according to the designation at the time of printing. When a folder storage, distribution, or both instructions are given at the time of printing, processing corresponding to the instruction is performed.

  Next, the item “base folder” designates the management location of the scanned data. For example, “1” is an instruction according to the document management information, and “2” is an instruction to specify a management location at the time of printing.

  Next, the item “storage method” is an instruction to specify a folder / file name of scanned data. For example, “1” is file designation, and a file having a designated name is created under a folder designated by document management information. On the other hand, “2” is a folder designation, and a file designated by the document management information is created under the designated folder.

  Finally, the item “file name designation” is a designation of a method for determining the file name of scanned data. For example, “1” is a designation of a file name and date, and “2” is an assignment designation of a number that does not overlap with the file name.

  FIG. 9 is an example of the notification control ID created in accordance with the above conditions, for example, a data ID “3A-001”. In this example, the operation instruction is “2”, the base folder is “2”, the storage method is “2”, and the file name is “1”. Therefore, in this case, “basic operation” is an instruction at the time of printing, “base folder” is also an instruction at the time of printing, “storage method” is also an instruction at the time of printing, and the item “file name designation” is the aforementioned document. This is an instruction according to the management information.

The notification control ID having the above configuration is created for each selected ID list and transferred to the MFP 2 together with the print data (drawing data) and the print data ID list (W6, W7).
The MFP 2 generates a printing control ID based on the supplied notification control ID under the control of the MFP control unit 9 (MFP main unit 12). That is, with reference to the document management information stored in the storage device (HDD) 19, the print control ID is generated according to the information of the notification control ID (W8). FIG. 10 shows the configuration of a printing control ID generated according to the above-described notification control ID. FIG. 11A shows the basic structure of the printing control ID, and FIG. 11B shows a specific example thereof.

  The basic structure of the print control ID is the number of items, the offset values of items 1 to n, and the data length and data details of each item 1 to n. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, in this example, the number of items is “6”, the data ID item is “3A-001”, and the detailed information offset is “52”. is there. As described above, the operation instruction is “2”, the detailed information offset is “63”, the base folder instruction is “2”, and the detailed information offset is “68”. An instruction, a file name designation instruction, a page number designation, and a detailed information offset of the corresponding item are sequentially described.

  Next, based on the print control ID, the information tabulated as described above is converted into a symbol image such as a barcode. Then, it is transmitted to the printer unit 10 together with the print data (drawing data), and, for example, is combined and printed at a predetermined position (outside the print area) on the upper right of the paper (W9).

  Next, the symbol image is added, and the printed material printed is placed on the scanner unit 8 to perform a reading process (W10). As described above, the image data read by the scanner unit 8 is analyzed by the MFP main unit 12, and if the print control ID described above is included, information necessary for document management is acquired. (W11, W12). If the printing control ID is not included, the storage location is designated (W13).

Thereafter, storage processing in a folder, which will be described later, or mail delivery processing is performed according to the print control ID (W14). Hereinafter, the processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the MFP main unit 12 determines whether the operation instruction item is a printing instruction (step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1). In the above example, the operation instruction is “2” (designation at the time of printing) (YES in S1), and information is acquired from the printing control ID (S2). In this case, the storage (Ox01) processing in the folder shown in FIG. If the operation instruction is “1”, it is not a printing instruction (S1 is NO), and information is acquired from the document management information (S3).

  Next, a folder storage instruction is determined (S4). In this case, if it is a folder storage instruction as described above (YES in S4), a file generation process is executed (S5). Also, a distribution instruction is determined (S6), and if there is a distribution instruction (S6 is YES), a mail transmission process is executed (S7). Hereinafter, the file generation process and the mail transmission process will be specifically described.

  First, the file generation process is performed as follows. First, it is determined whether the item of the base folder is a printing instruction (S8). In the above example, the instruction of the base folder is “2”, which is an instruction at the time of printing (YES in S8), and information is acquired from the printing control ID (S9). In this case, a folder “\\ Local \ Data2” is designated as shown in FIG. If the instruction of the base folder is “1”, information is acquired from the document management information (S10) instead of the instruction at the time of printing (S8 is NO).

  Next, the storage method is determined (S11). In the above-described example, the storage method instruction is “2”, which is designated at the time of printing. The file name (Aoki) information is read from the document management information shown in FIG. 6 (S12), and the printing is shown in FIG. Information of “2nd semester term test” is read from the control ID (S13). On the other hand, if the storage method is specified as “1”, the information of “2nd semester term test” specified in FIG. 10 is read under the folder “Aoki” specified in the document management information shown in FIG. (S14, S15).

  Next, the file name designation is determined (S16). In the above example, the designation of the file name is “1”, and the file name and date information are added (S17). In this case, file name and date information is acquired from the print control ID (S18), and a temporary path is generated (S19). If the file name instruction is “2”, the file name and serial number are added, so information is acquired from the document management information (S20, S21), and a temporary path is generated (S19). Thereafter, a file name is generated, and the process ends (S22, S23).

In order to obtain the serial number, the counter is opened, the count number is read (S24), the count value is incremented by 1 (S25), and the counter value is updated (S26).
Through the above processing, for example, in the above-described example of “Aoki”, the following information is recorded in the folder.
List No. 1 (Aoki) // Local / Data2 / 2 End of term test / Aoki_20051107091630. tif
Thereafter, the same processing is performed for the data IDs “3A-002” and “3A-003” in lists 2 and 3, and the following data is stored in the folder.
List No. 2 (Inoue) // Local / Data2 / 2 semester test / Inoue_20051105111510. tif list No. 3 (Kato) // Local / Data2 / 2 Final Exam / Kato _20051107091420. tif
As another example, if the storage method is the folder name of the document management information and the file specification specified at the time of printing (second term test), and the file name specification information is set to file name and serial number addition, the result is as follows: It is as follows.
List No. 1 (Aoki) // Local / Data2 / Aoki / 2 End of term test 00001.tif
List No. 2 (Inoue) // Local / Data2 / Inoue / 2 End of term test 00001.tif
List No. 3 (Kato) // Local / Data2 / Kato / 2 term-end test 00001.tif
On the other hand, for mail transmission, transmission processing is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, a temporary folder for generating an attached file is acquired (step (hereinafter referred to as ST) 1). Next, the storage method is determined (ST2). In this process, as described above, the storage method instruction is “2” and printing is designated, and the file name (Aoki) information is read from the document management information shown in FIG. 6 (ST3). Information of “second semester term test” is read from the printing control ID shown (ST4). If the storage method is specified as “1”, the “second term end-of-term test” information specified in FIG. 10 is read under the folder “Aoki” specified in the document management information shown in FIG. (ST5, ST6).

  Next, the file name designation is determined (ST7). In this process as well, if the file name item is “1”, the file name and date are added (ST8), the file name and date information is acquired from the print control ID (ST9), and the temporary path is set. Is generated (ST10). On the other hand, if the file name instruction is “2”, the file name and serial number are added, so information is acquired from the document management information (ST11, ST12), and a temporary path is generated (ST10). Thereafter, an attachment file is generated (ST13), mail transmission information is generated (ST14), and mail is transmitted (ST15).

As in the case described above, the serial number is acquired by opening the counter, reading the count number (ST16), incrementing the count value (ST17), and updating the counter value (ST18).
In the case of the above example, it is as follows.
List No. 1 (Aoki) Second semester test-Aoki_20051107091630. tif
List No. 2 (Inoue) 2nd semester test-Inoue_20051105111510. tif
List No. 3 (Kato) Second semester test-Kato_20051107091420. tif
As another example, as described above, when the file name designation information is set to the file name and serial number addition, the information is as follows.
List No. 1 (Aoki) Aoki-2 Final Exam 00001.tif
List No. 2 (Inoue) Inoue-2 semester test 00001.tif
List No. 3 (Kato) Kato-2 final exam 00001.tif
As described above, according to this example, when copying a printed matter, information on subsequent processing operations is printed, and document management after copying can be easily performed. That is, document management after copying can be automatically performed based on the result of analyzing a symbol image such as a barcode.

In addition, by setting a mail transmission instruction as the document management information, the information of the printed matter read by the scanner 8 can be automatically transmitted to the designated transmission destination.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 14 is a system configuration diagram of the printing system of this example. In this figure, this system connects a host device 31, a printing device 32, and a document management server 33 via a network such as a LAN, and adds copy control information to print data (drawing data) created according to the application of the host device 31. Are output to the printing device 32, and the printing process is performed by the printing device 32, and the above-described copy control information and document management ID are added to the print data (drawing data) and output to the document management server 33. The print data (drawing data), copy control information, and document management ID supplied to the document management server 33 are stored in a storage device such as a hard disk (HDD).

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the basic processing operation of this example.
First, copy control information is designated (step (hereinafter referred to as U) 1). FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the contents of the copy control information output from the host device 31 together with the print data. This copy control information is print control for the print data output together, and is composed of permission conditions and copy information.

  The permission condition is a setting that makes a difference in the number of copies and the copy contents depending on whether the user is a specific user, etc. Owner (original document print performer), Other (copy person other than the owner or the user permitted to print), It is classified by User1, User2 (specific user), Admin, and 22Kai (authorized user), and default indicates a specified value when the above permission condition is not set.

  Further, the copy information designates restriction contents relating to monochrome, multi-column, double-sided, information printing, and copy guard. Here, the information printing is to print the user name and date and time on the copy result, and the copy guard is a process for masking the designated area by the designated method. This copy guard is processed based on the copy guard information shown in the figure, and mask processing is performed from the area specified by the position information of the page to which the head address points according to the page list. For this reason, the page, the number of lists, and position information are stored in the table. As shown in the figure, the position information is stored as rectangular coordinate information of xy, and the drawing method is designated by shading or the like.

  Also, “Yes” specified in each item of monochrome, multi-column, double-sided, information printing, and copy guard is an instruction to forcibly perform the corresponding processing, and “No” is specified forcibly. Although no instruction is given, a person who performs copying can arbitrarily set it.

Note that the number of copies per user shown in the figure is a limit value that allows the maximum copy processing based on the permission conditions.
The copy control information having the above configuration is supplied to the printing apparatus 32 as described above (U2). When the print data is input, the printing device 32 creates a document ID from the information of the reception time and the serial number of the host device (U3). The printing device 32 draws the document management ID generated together with the drawing data, for example, on the upper right side of the paper, and transmits the drawing data, copy control information, and document ID to the document management server 33 (U4, U5).

  The document management server 33 manages drawing data and copy control information using the document ID as a key. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, execution information is added to drawing data and copy control information, and managed as document management information.

  18A to 18C are data configuration examples of execution information. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, there are a total number of copies, a number of user information items, and a user information recording area, and a user list head address is recorded in the user information recording area. FIG. 5B shows a table indicated by the user list head address, in which user name, control flag, user copy number, copy information number, and copy information data are recorded. In the example shown in the figure, “User1” is registered as the user name, and information such as the number of copies is currently “0”.

  FIG. 6C is a table showing the head address of the copy information list specified by the copy information area, and records information on the copy execution device, copy date / time, number of copies, and result information. In the example of FIG. 6C, the serial number “12345678” of the apparatus is recorded as the copy execution apparatus, and “2005/11/15 10:15:20” is recorded as the copy date and time. As the result information, copy information at the time of copying or the reason for refusal is recorded.

Next, the operation when performing the copying process will be described.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the printing result is copied by the MFP 2. First, a printed matter is placed on the scanner 8 of the MFP 2, image information is read, drawing data and a document ID are acquired, and transferred to the document management server 33.

  The document management server 33 acquires document management information from the input document ID (step (hereinafter referred to as STP) 1), and sets information such as a user name, serial number, date and time, designated copy number, and user name ( STP2). Next, the user information is checked, and if it is not currently registered, an additional process is performed (STP3).

  Next, the document management server 33 performs user authentication based on the input user information (STP4). If the user authentication fails (STP4 fails), the copy information result is set, information indicating that the user authentication has failed is added to the copy information, and the copying process is not executed (STP5).

  On the other hand, if the user authentication is OK, it is determined whether the user name corresponding to the copy control information exists (STP6). If the corresponding user name does not exist (no STP6), the above-mentioned Other is permitted to be copied. (STP7). In this example, since “0” is set for the number of copies per user shown in FIG. 14 described above, the setting is not permitted, and information indicating the rejected user is added to the copy information, and the copy process is not executed (STP8).

  On the other hand, if there is a user name corresponding to the copy control information (there is STP6), the copy information is acquired by referring to the copy control information of the corresponding user (STP9). Then, referring to the execution information, the total copy number of the user is acquired (STP10), and when the permitted copy number is exceeded from the current total copy number, information indicating the number of copies is added to the copy information, Copy processing is not executed (STP11, STP12).

  Next, when the number of copies of the corresponding user is obtained from the execution information, and copying of the number of copies exceeds the total number of copies, information indicating the number of copies is added to the copy information, and the copying process is not executed (STP14, STP12). ). On the other hand, if it is determined that the total number of copies does not exceed the number of copies, the copy process is executed according to the acquired copy information, and the number of copies is added to the total number of execution information (STP15, STP16). Thereafter, the result of the copy information is set (STP 17), and the copy information is added (STP 18).

The execution information changed by the above processing is added to the document ID, drawing data, and copy control information (U6), user information to be copied next is input (U7), and the copy processing is executed according to the copy control information.
Therefore, by executing the above process, the copying process according to the permission condition can be automatically performed. In other words, the document ID is automatically added at the time of printing, and is managed by the document management server 33 together with the copy control information. At the time of copying, the copy information is limited to copy information such as monochrome, multi-column, double-sided, information printing, and copy guard. It is possible to automatically perform the processing according to the above. Also, the copy guard information can be used to specify the page to be masked, the position, the mask drawing method, and partially hide the copy image.

  In the above description of the embodiment, the MFP 2 has been described as an example of the printing apparatus. However, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the reading apparatus (scanner) 40 and the printing apparatus 41 are configured separately to form a reading apparatus (scanner) 40. The user ID may be obtained from the user management server 42 by inputting the document ID and the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the copy control information is managed by the document management server 33. However, the copy control information itself is printed as a control ID, and the printed matter 44 printed by the printer 35 as shown in FIG. When copying the user, the copy person information is input, and based on the printed control ID and the copy person information, copy control such as monochrome printing, multi-column printing, and copy guard copying may be performed.

  Furthermore, as symbols used in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, it can be added to a printed matter in various formats such as a barcode, a two-dimensional code, a stealth barcode, and digital watermark printing. Also, the printing position is not limited to the upper right of the paper.

It is a figure explaining the principal part of the printing system of this embodiment. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system according to an embodiment. 1 is an external view of a multifunction machine. FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the multifunction machine. It is a flowchart explaining a basic processing operation. It is a figure which shows the example of the document management information previously memorize | stored in a host apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining processing of the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ID list of print data. FIG. It is a figure explaining the instruction | indication content and detailed content of document management information. It is a figure explaining the structure of control ID for printing produced | generated according to notification control ID. (A) shows the basic structure of the printing control ID, and (b) shows a specific example thereof. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating basic processing operations according to the second embodiment. It is a figure explaining the content of the copy control information output with print data from a host apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of document management information. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the data structural example of execution information. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a processing operation of the second embodiment. It is a system block diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 2. It is a system block diagram which shows the modification of Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows the example of symbol printing, and the example of a printing position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Host apparatus 2 ... Printing apparatus 3 ... Definition tool 4 ... Document management information 5 ... Display operation part 6 ... Paper feed cassette 7 ... Paper discharge part 8 ... Scanner unit 9... MFP control unit 10 .. Printer unit 12 .. MFP main unit 13 .. Reading mechanism control unit 14 .. Display operation control unit 15 .. FAX communication control unit 16 .. LAN communication control unit 17.・ Internet communication controller 18 ・ ・ Storage device controller 19 ・ ・ Storage device (HDD)
31. Host device 32. Printing device 33 Document management server 40 Reading device (scanner)
41..Printer 42..User management server 44..Printed material

Claims (4)

A printing system in which a host device, a printing device, and a document management server are connected via a network,
The host device is
Print data generation means for generating print data using an application; and transmission means for transmitting copy control information to the printing apparatus together with the print data;
The printing apparatus includes:
Symbol information for printing the copy control information together with the print data is generated, print control means for printing the print data together with the symbol information, and transmission for transmitting the copy control information and device specific information to the document management server Means,
The document management server includes a management unit that manages a printed matter printed out by the print control unit based on the copy control information.   2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein a copying apparatus is also connected to the network, performs a reading process of a printed matter on which the symbol information is printed, and transmits the reading result to the document management server.   The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus and the copying apparatus are a single composite apparatus.   4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the copy control information includes copy guard information, and a designated area of a set page is masked by a designated method.

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