JP2013125386A - Output management deice and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the certainty of selection of an optimal printer.SOLUTION: In a server device 201, a printer information obtaining portion 211 obtains printer information (print information indicating the performance or state of each printer 202) from each printer 202 on a network, and stores the information in a print information database 215. On the other hand, a print instruction from a client device 101 and a print object file are obtained by a print file obtaining portion 212, and interpreted by a print instruction interpreting portion 213. The printer information of each printer 202 is obtained from the print information database 215 and interpreted by the print instruction interpreting portion 213. A priority determining portion 214 produces a printer list (information) indicating each prioritized printer matching with a print condition, on the basis of the print condition included in the print instruction, the print object file and the printer information of each printer, and notifies that to the client device 101.

Description

  The present invention relates to an output management apparatus and a program for operating a computer as an output management apparatus.

When there are multiple printers (corresponding to image forming devices such as printers, digital copiers, digital multifunction devices, etc., also called “printing devices”) on the network, and the functions that can be used by each printer differ Therefore, it is necessary for the user to select an optimal printing machine each time printing (hereinafter also referred to as “image formation”) is performed.
Therefore, in order to eliminate such annoyance, priority is given to the optimum printing press according to the printing conditions, and the input by the user operation (actually generated by the user operation on the client) A technique for selecting a printing machine to be used for printing based on the signal) is conceivable and already known.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to determine the priority order of printing presses, the shortest standby time and the fastest predicted execution time for printing are calculated, and the printing press closest to the user is automatically determined. A configuration is disclosed in which a list of the printing presses is displayed and a printing press to be used for printing is selected from the list by input by a user operation.

However, in the conventional printing press as described above, the printing press and the setting information at the time of printing such as the status, location, printing speed, monochrome or color of the printing press are the criteria for determining the priority. By not including the status of the print file in the judgment criteria, for example, there are a plurality of files to be printed, and batch printing is performed without starting an application program corresponding to the file (hereinafter also simply referred to as “application”). If you have the following problems. That is, since the information of the print file is not obtained and determined, an appropriate priority order is not displayed. Therefore, it is not possible to reliably select an optimal printing press.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to increase the certainty of selection of an optimal printing press.

The present invention is an output management device having a client device for transmitting an electronic file to be printed and a printing target and a communication unit for communicating with a plurality of printing devices that respectively execute printing, and the following (a) to (d) ) Are provided.
(A) Print information acquisition means for acquiring print information relating to printing from the plurality of printing apparatuses (b) Print information storage means for storing print information acquired by the print information acquisition means

(C) Based on the print information stored in the print information storage unit, the print conditions received from the client device, and the electronic file, the plurality of prints are sequentially performed from the printing press with the earliest completion of printing of the electronic file. Prioritizing means for prioritizing devices (d) Information notifying means for notifying the client device of information indicating the plurality of printing devices prioritized by the prioritizing means.

  According to the output management apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to increase the certainty of selecting an optimal printing press.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the network structural example of the information processing system of embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a client device 101 and a server device 201 in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a printing machine 202 in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main software configuration example of a client device 101 and a server device 201 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of print conditions included in a print instruction generated by a print instruction generation unit 111 in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of printer information stored in a print information database 215 in FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process by the priority order judgment part 214 of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described.
The following embodiments have the following features when determining the optimum printing press.
In other words, considering the batch printing of multiple files, the optimal printing press with the print file size and set post-processing added as part of the criteria is displayed in a list in a ranking format. It has become.

Therefore, the feature will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.
[Network configuration example of information processing system]
First, an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a network configuration example of the information processing system.

  This information processing system includes two client apparatuses 101 (101a, 101b), a server apparatus 201, and five printing machines 202 (202a, 202b, 202c, 202d, 202e). These devices are connected via a network 104 such as a LAN (local area network), but serial connection based on the RS-485 standard, parallel connection based on the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) standard, etc. You may go by. The connection of the client device 101 is not limited to two. Further, the number of printing machines 202 is not limited to five.

  The client device 101 is a personal computer or the like used by the user, and creates or selects an electronic file in response to an input by a user operation, sets printing conditions for transmission as a print target file, and sets the printing conditions. The print instruction including the print target file is transmitted to the server apparatus 201 together with the print target file. As a result, a printing press list indicating the printing presses 202 with priorities is received from the server apparatus 201, and the printing press list is displayed on a display described later. Printing is performed by the printing machine 202 that performs printing (used for printing) from the displayed printing machine list selected by an input by a user operation. At this time, a print instruction (print command) is transmitted to the selected printer 202.

The server apparatus 201 is an output management apparatus that manages the output (printing) of each printing machine 202 on the network 104, and acquires and holds printing information regarding printing indicating the performance and status of each printing machine 202 on the network 104. doing. In addition, the printer 202 receives the print instruction and the print target file from each client apparatus 101, prioritizes the print machine 202 from the held print information, print instruction, and print target file, and the priority is given. A printing press list indicating the printing press 202 is returned to the client apparatus 101 that has given the instruction.
Each printing machine 202 is an image forming apparatus that can be selected from the client apparatus 101 and printed. The image forming apparatus includes a printer (monochrome printer or color printer), a digital copying machine (digital monochrome copying machine or digital color copying machine), a digital multifunction machine (digital monochrome multifunction machine or digital color multifunction machine), a production printer, a wide width. This applies to multifunction devices.

Each of the printing machines 202 receives a print instruction and a print target file from the client apparatus 101, and executes the print process. That is, image data is created based on a printing condition and a print target file included in the received print instruction, printed as a visible image on a recording medium such as paper, and output as a printed matter.
Here, when printing from the client apparatus 101, it is necessary to select an appropriate printing machine, set printing conditions, and print.

  On the network 104, the server apparatus 201 returns a printing machine list in which the optimum printing presses are prioritized to the client apparatus 101 based on a print target file from the client apparatus 101 and a printing instruction including printing conditions. The client apparatus 101 receives the returned printer list and displays it on the display. The user need only refer to the displayed printer list and select a more optimal printer.

[Hardware configuration example of client device and server device]
Next, a hardware configuration example of the client device 101 and the server device 201 in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the client device 101 and the server device 201.

  A client device (hereinafter also referred to as “device”) 101 and a server device (hereinafter also referred to as “device”) 201 are a CPU 11, a display interface (hereinafter referred to as “I / F”) 12, a RAM 13, and a chip set 14, respectively. , 15, a hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”) 16, a network I / F 17, a mouse 18, a keyboard 19, and a modem 20.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that comprehensively controls the entire device. The CPU 11 reads a program in the HDD 16 and installs it in the RAM 13, and then operates according to the program to control devices including the display I / F 12 and the HDD 16. Therefore, when the device including the CPU 11 and the like is the server apparatus 201, it can function as a print information acquisition unit, a print information storage unit, a priority ordering unit, and an information notification unit.
The display I / F 12 outputs a signal for displaying various information using a monitor (display) connected to the outside. Therefore, when the device provided with the display I / F 12 is the server device 201, a signal for displaying the device status and the printing press list can be output to the user.

The RAM 13 is a readable / writable memory used as a work memory for the CPU 11 to execute a program, an image memory for developing and storing (storing) image data, and the like.
The chip set 14 connects the CPU 11, the display I / F 12, and the RAM 13 with a high-speed internal bus, and also exchanges data with the external general-purpose bus 21.

The HDD 16 is a memory device (storage means) connected to the general-purpose bus 21 and stores various data including an OS (Operating System) and programs for realizing processing related to the present invention. Note that another nonvolatile memory (nonvolatile storage means) such as a flash memory may be provided and various data may be stored therein.
The network I / F 17 is a communication unit for exchanging data with an external device via the network 104.

The chip set 14, HDD 16, and network I / F 17 are connected by a general-purpose bus 21 that is slower than the internal bus.
The chip set 15 exchanges data with the chip set 14, the HDD 16, and the network I / F 17 and a lower-speed bus 22 and port.
In the mouse port and the keyboard port, an input by a user operation is received by a mouse 18 and a keyboard 19 which are input devices connected to the outside. The modem port can perform FAX communication or the like through a telephone line (public line) connected to the external modem 20.

[Hardware configuration example of printing press]
Next, a hardware configuration example of the printing machine 202 in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the printing machine 202.

Each printing machine 202 (202a, 202b) includes an operation panel 31, which is an operation unit, a CPU 32, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 33, a RAM 34, a ROM 35, a network I / F 36, and an engine unit 37.
The operation panel 31 is an operation unit having various operation keys (also referred to as operation switches or operation buttons) for inputting a print instruction or the like to the engine unit 37 by a user operation and a display such as an LCD or a CRT.

  The CPU 32 is a central processing unit that performs overall control of the entire device according to a program in the ROM 35. The CPU 32 controls the input / output of the modules built in itself and various devices connected to the CPU 32 via the ASIC 33, and implements processing (print processing, scanner processing, etc.) by the engine unit 37 described later. You can also run an application for that.

  The ASIC 33 is a multi-function device board composed of a plurality of I / Fs and the like for connecting the CPU 32, RAM 34, ROM 35, network I / F 36, and operation panel 31, respectively. The ASIC 33 shares the devices to be controlled by the CPU 32. This is an IC that supports high efficiency development of applications and the like from the viewpoint of architecture. Here, the ASIC 33 includes hardware elements for image processing.

The RAM 34 is a readable / writable memory used as a work memory for the CPU 32 to execute programs and an image memory for developing and storing image data.
The ROM 35 is a read-only memory that stores various programs including the OS, data, and the like.
The network I / F 36 is an interface for exchanging data with an external device (client device 101 or server device 201) via the network 104.

  If the device is a printer device, the engine unit 37 is a printing mechanism unit (image forming unit) that prints print data as a visible image on a sheet (or other recording medium). In the case where the print data is a file to be printed composed of PDL (Printer Description Language), it is necessary to convert it into bitmap-like image data for printing a visible image on a recording medium. If the device is a digital copying machine or a digital multifunction machine, it includes an optical reading mechanism (image reading means) that optically reads an image of a document and a printing mechanism. For convenience of explanation, the printing machine 202 will be described as a printer device hereinafter.

[Example of main software configuration of client device and server device]
Next, main software configuration examples of the client apparatus 101 and the server apparatus 201 in FIG. 1 will be described. Note that the processing by the program (software) is actually executed by the CPU operating in accordance with the program, but for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the program executes the processing. Thereafter, the same applies to the case where the program is described as performing some processing.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a main software configuration example of the client apparatus 101 and the server apparatus 201 in FIG.

The server apparatus 201 constituting the system includes a printer information acquisition unit 211, a print file acquisition unit 212, a print instruction interpretation unit 213, a priority order determination unit 214, and a print information database 215 in its own nonvolatile memory (in the HDD 16 in FIG. 2). Equivalent).
The client device 101 constituting the system holds a print instruction generation unit 111, a print instruction transfer unit 112, and a printing press selection unit 113 in its own nonvolatile memory (corresponding to the HDD 16 in FIG. 2).

  In the client apparatus 101, an electronic file is created using an application based on an input by a user operation (an operation signal generated by a user operation using the input apparatus). Alternatively, an electronic file created in the past is selected. After that, the created or selected electronic file is sent as a file to be printed, and the printing conditions required for printing such as duplex mode, aggregation mode, staple mode, punch mode, and number of copies when outputting as a printed product are determined according to user input. The print instruction generation unit 111 generates a print instruction including the print conditions. Then, the print instruction transfer unit 112 transmits the generated print instruction to the server apparatus 201 together with the created or selected print target file. Since an electronic file created in the past is stored in the nonvolatile memory, it can be selected.

  In the server apparatus 201, the printer information acquisition unit 211 prints printer information (prints indicating the performance and status of each printing machine 202) with respect to each printing machine 202 on the network 104 at a predetermined timing (for example, every predetermined time). Print information), and the printer information sent from each printing machine 202 is acquired (received). The acquired printer information is stored in the print information database 215.

  On the other hand, a print instruction and a print target file sent from the client apparatus 101 are acquired (received) by the print file acquisition unit 212. Then, the print instruction interpretation unit 213 interprets the acquired print instruction and the contents of the print target file, and the print instruction is stored in its own memory (here, corresponding to the RAM 13 in FIG. 2), and the print target file is stored in its own memory. In the working folders (hereinafter simply referred to as “working folders”).

Next, from the print information database 215 storing the printer information acquired by the printer information acquisition unit 211, the printer information of each printing machine 202 is acquired and interpreted by the print instruction interpretation unit 213 and stored in its own memory. Store.
Next, the priority determination unit 214 matches the printing conditions based on the printing conditions included in the printing instruction stored in the memory and the printer information of each printing machine 202 and the file to be printed stored in the work folder. A printing press list (information) indicating each of the prioritized printing presses 202 is generated and transmitted (notified) to the client apparatus 101.

  In the client device 101, the printing press selection unit 113 receives the printing press list sent from the server device 201, and displays a selection screen including the printing press list on its own display. The user refers to the printing machine list displayed on the display, and instructs the selection of the printing machine 202 to be used for printing among the prioritized printing machines 202, whereby the plurality of created or selected printing machines 202 are selected. Batch printing of the print target file from the optimum printing machine 202 is possible.

  Note that the client apparatus 101 can also transmit a plurality of electronic files as print target files to the server apparatus 201, obtain a printing press list corresponding to the plurality of electronic files from the server apparatus 201, and display the list. It is also possible to select an optimal printing machine 202 from the printing machine list, transmit a plurality of electronic files to the printing machine 202 as files to be printed, and output them collectively as printed matter.

[Printing conditions]
Next, the printing conditions included in the print instruction generated by the print instruction generation unit 111 in FIG. 4 will be described.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the printing conditions.
As print conditions included in the print instruction (print conditions specified by the print instruction), for example, as shown in the “Item” column in FIG. 5, the number of copies, color / monochrome, scaling, duplex, and aggregation , Staple, punch, Z-fold, and paper-fold modes. There may be various printing conditions other than those modes.
The contents of each of these printing conditions are described in the “Description” column in FIG. 5 and will be described briefly.

As the “number of copies”, the number of copies to be printed on the printing machine 202 by the user can be set within a range of 1 to 999.
The “color / monochrome mode” is a color mode in which the user uses the four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) to the printing machine 202 to print in full color. You can choose. It is also possible to select a monochrome mode for printing with one black color. If the printing machine 202 is a digital copying machine or a digital multifunction machine, when the monochrome mode is selected, an image read from the original is printed in one black color even when the original is a color original.

As the scaling mode, when the user wants the printing machine 202 to perform enlargement or reduction printing, the scaling factor can be set, or the paper size after scaling can be set.
The duplex mode can be set when the user wants the printing press to execute a process for printing on both sides of the sheet.
The aggregation mode can be set when the user wants the printing machine 202 to execute a process of printing a plurality of pages in a single page or a process of printing one page on a plurality of sheets.

The stapling mode can be set together with the stapling position and orientation when the user wants the printing machine 202 to execute the process of binding the printed sheets one by one with the stapler.
The punch mode can be set when the user wants the printing press 202 to execute a process of punching holes in the printed paper.
The Z-folding mode can be set when the user wants the printing press 202 to perform folding (outer trifolding) of the paper Z after printing.
The paper folding mode can be set when the user wants the printing machine 202 to execute paper folding in a specified method.

[Printing information database]
Next, the print information database 215 in FIG. 4 will be described.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of printer information stored in the print information database 215.

  The printer information stored in the print information database 215 includes, for example, the A0 speed, the A1 speed, and the A2 which are print speeds for each printer name, IP address, state, and paper size, as shown in the “Item” column in FIG. There are information on speed, A3 monochrome speed, A3 color speed, A4 monochrome speed, A4 color speed, duplex mode, aggregation mode, staple mode, punch mode, Z-fold mode, and paper-fold mode. There may be various information other than these.

The contents of each piece of printer information are described in the “Explanation” column in FIG. 6 and will be described briefly.
“Printer name” is information indicating the name of the printing press 202, “IP address” is information indicating the IP address assigned to the printing press 202, and “Status” is information indicating the status of the printing press 202.

“A0 speed” indicates the number of sheets output per minute when A0 paper is printed, “A1 speed” indicates that A1 paper is printed, and “A2 speed” indicates that A2 paper is printed. Information.
“A3 monochrome speed” indicates that A3 paper is printed in monochrome, “A3 color speed” indicates that A3 paper is printed in color, and “A4 monochrome speed” indicates that A4 paper is printed in monochrome. “Color speed” is information indicating the number of sheets output per minute when A4 paper is printed in color.

“Duplex mode” is information indicating the type of duplex mode that can be used, “Aggregation mode” is information indicating the type of aggregation mode that can be used, and “Staple mode” is information indicating the type of staple mode that can be used It is.
“Punch mode” is information indicating the type of punch mode that can be used, “Z folding mode” is information indicating the type of Z folding mode that can be used, and “Paper folding mode” is the information of the paper folding mode that can be used Information indicating the type.

[Processing by priority determination unit]
Next, processing by the priority order determination unit 214 in FIG. 4 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the priority order determination unit 214.
The priority order determination unit 214 generates a printer list that matches the printing conditions according to the printing conditions included in the printing instructions stored in the memory by the printing instruction interpretation unit 213 and temporarily stores them in the memory ( Hold. At this time, the printing presses 202 are sorted in order from the printing press 202 with the earliest completion of printing according to the printing speed for each size of the file to be printed (the number of prints per predetermined time) and prioritized.

That is, first, the process proceeds to step S1, and the paper size (printing paper size) at the time of outputting all the files to be printed is acquired.
In the next step S2, it is determined whether or not the double-side mode is included in the printing condition (the double-side mode is specified in the print instruction). If the double-side mode is included, the double-side mode is set to step S3. If not included, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, the printer 202 for which the duplex mode cannot be set is deleted from the printer list held in the memory.
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the aggregation mode is included in the printing condition (the aggregation mode is specified in the print instruction). If the aggregation mode is included, the aggregation mode is included in step S5. If not, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S5, the printer 202 for which the aggregation mode cannot be set is deleted from the printer list held in the memory.
In step S6, it is determined whether or not the stapling mode is included in the printing conditions (the stapling mode is specified in the printing instruction). If the stapling mode is included, the stapling mode is included in step S7. If not, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S7, the printing press 202 for which the staple mode cannot be set is deleted from the printing press list held in the memory.
In step S8, it is determined whether or not the punching mode is included in the printing conditions (the punching mode is specified in the printing instruction). If the punching mode is included, the punching mode is included in step S9. If not, the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S9, the printing press 202 for which the punch mode cannot be set is deleted from the printing press list held in the memory.
In step S10, it is determined whether or not the printing condition includes the Z-folding mode (the Z-folding mode is specified in the print instruction). If the Z-folding mode is included, the process proceeds to step S11. If no mode is included, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S11, the printer 202 that cannot set the Z-folding mode is deleted from the printer list held in the memory.
In step S12, it is determined whether or not the paper folding mode is included in the printing conditions (the paper folding mode is specified in the print instruction). If the paper folding mode is included, the process proceeds to step S13. If no mode is included, the process proceeds to step S14.
In step S13, the printer 202 for which the paper folding mode cannot be set is deleted from the printer list stored in the memory.

  In the next step S14, the printing paper size acquired in step S1 and the printer information of each printing machine 202 acquired from the printing information database 215 and held in its own memory are referred to, and the printing held in the memory is checked. The printing machines (printing targets) 202 on the machine list are sorted based on the printing speed for each printing paper size of the printing machine 202. That is, sorting is performed in the order of printing presses that complete printing first (priority is given). Note that the state of the printing machine 202 is not considered in the sorting.

In the next step S15, the state of the printing machine 202 in the printing machine list is added to the printing machine list indicating the sorted result, and the printing machine list is transmitted (notified) to the client apparatus 101.
In some cases, the printer 202 that matches the printing conditions does not remain in the printing machine list. In such a case, it is determined that printing is impossible, and that there is no printing machine that matches the printing conditions. Can also be transmitted to the client apparatus 101.

  In the client device 101, the printing press selection unit 113 receives the printing press list sent from the server device 201, and displays a selection screen including the printing press list on its own display. At this time, the status of the printing press 202 is not taken into consideration, and the status is displayed on the prioritized printing press list so that the user can take into account the status of the printing press and finally execute printing on which printing press. Let them choose what to do. It is also possible to receive from the server apparatus 201 information indicating that printing is not possible or indicating that there is no printing machine that matches the printing conditions, and display that information on its own display.

  As described above, the server apparatus 201 serving as an output management apparatus acquires print information regarding printing from a plurality of printing machines (printing apparatuses) 202, and stores the acquired print information in a memory. Then, based on the print information stored in the memory, the print condition received from the client apparatus 101, and the print target file, priority is given to the plurality of print apparatuses 202 in order from the printer 202 with the earliest completion of printing of the print target file. The client apparatus 101 is notified of information indicating the plurality of printing apparatuses 202 that have been ranked and prioritized.

As a result, the client apparatus 101 can display information indicating the plurality of printing apparatuses 202 with priorities and can select a printing machine to be used for printing from the plurality of printing apparatuses 202. The certainty can be increased.
Note that when determining the priority order of the plurality of printing machines 202, the information (paper size) from the print target file is also included in the determination criteria, so that the optimum priority order can be set even when batch printing of the plurality of print target files is performed. Display can be made, and the certainty of selection of the optimum printing press can be increased.

[Program in this embodiment]
This program is a program for causing a CPU of a server device (computer) to operate as an output management device to realize functions as a print information acquisition unit, a print information storage unit, a priority ordering unit, and an information notification unit. By causing a computer to execute such a program, the above-described effects can be obtained.

  Such a program may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM provided in the server device from the beginning, a nonvolatile memory (flash ROM, EEPROM, etc.), or an HDD (hard disk device), but is a recording medium. Recorded on a CD-ROM or a non-volatile recording medium (memory) such as a memory card, flexible disk, MO, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD + R, DVD + RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, or DVD-RAM It can also be provided. Each procedure described above can be executed by installing a program recorded in the recording medium in the server device and causing the CPU to execute the program.

Furthermore, it is also possible to download from an external device that is connected to a network and has a recording medium that records the program, or an external device that stores the program in the storage means, install it in the server device, and cause the CPU to execute it.
In addition, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, It cannot be overemphasized that all the technical matters contained in the technical idea described in the claim are object.

11, 32: CPU 12: Display I / F 13, 34: RAM
14, 15: Chipset 16: HDD 17, 36: Network I / F
18: Mouse 19: Keyboard 20: Modem 21: General-purpose bus 22: Bus 31: Operation panel 33: ASIC 35: ROM
36: Network I / F 37: Engine unit 101 (101a, 101b): Client device 104: Network 201: Server device 111: Print instruction generation unit 112: Print instruction transfer unit 113: Printer selection unit 202 (202a, 202b, 202c, 202d, 202e): Printing machine 211: Printer information acquisition unit 212: Print file acquisition unit 213: Print instruction interpretation unit 214: Priority order determination unit 215: Print information database

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-200215

Claims (2)

An output management device having a client device that transmits an electronic file to be printed and a printing target and a communication unit that communicates with each of a plurality of printing devices that execute printing,
Print information acquisition means for acquiring print information relating to printing from the plurality of printing devices;
Print information storage means for storing print information acquired by the print information acquisition means;
Based on the print information stored in the print information storage unit, the print condition received from the client device, and the electronic file, the electronic device prints the electronic file in order from the printer with the earliest completion of printing. A prioritization means for prioritizing and
An output management apparatus comprising: information notifying means for notifying the client apparatus of information indicating the plurality of printing apparatuses prioritized by the prioritizing means. A program for operating a computer as an output management device having a communication unit that communicates with a client device that transmits printing conditions and an electronic file to be printed and a plurality of printing devices that respectively perform printing,
In the computer,
A print information acquisition function for acquiring print information related to printing from the plurality of printing devices;
A print information storage function for storing print information acquired by the print information acquisition function;
Based on the print information stored by the print information storage function, the printing conditions received from the client device, and the electronic file, the electronic device prints the electronic file to the plurality of printing devices in order from the earliest printing completion. A prioritization function to prioritize and
A program for realizing an information notification function for notifying the client device of information indicating the plurality of printing devices prioritized by the prioritization function.

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