JP2020052579A - Printing system, information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent a design for a print from being changed after the completion because of printing capabilities relating to printing means.SOLUTION: A printing system comprises: acquisition means which acquires printing capability information about printing means when a print accepted from a user is printed; and control means which performs control to prompt the user to create a design for the print, which satisfies a condition based on the printing capability information acquired by the acquisition means. Thus, in the printing system, the design for the print is prevented from being changed after the completion because of printing capabilities relating to the printing means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, an information processing device, and a program.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a headquarters computer creates print data including a printer control code and printer driver information generated from sales promotion print data, and the headquarters computer uses printer status information received in advance via a management computer. , Select a store computer on which the print data is to be printed, the headquarters computer sends the store designation information of the store computer, the printer designation information and the print data to the management computer, and the management computer designates the headquarters computer. It describes that the print data is transmitted to a store computer and printed.

JP 2006-235912 A

  By the way, when printing a printed matter, the user designs the printed matter. Here, for example, the printing unit that prints the printed matter may not have the ability to print the printed matter of the design created by the user. In such a case, it was necessary to re-design the printed matter so that printing could be performed by the printing means.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to suppress a re-execution of a design of a printed material for a printing capability of a printing unit after completion.

The invention according to claim 1, wherein, when printing a printed material received from a user, an acquiring unit that acquires printing capability information relating to a printing unit, and a condition based on the printing capability information acquired by the acquiring unit is satisfied. And a control unit that controls the user to create a printed matter design.
The invention according to claim 2 is the printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit prompts the user to select a model that satisfies the condition from among a plurality of design templates.
The invention according to claim 3 is the printing system according to claim 2, wherein the control means performs a list display for selecting the template satisfying the condition.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the user selects the template that does not satisfy the condition from the plurality of templates, the control unit notifies the user that the template does not satisfy the condition. A printing system according to claim 2.
The invention according to claim 5 is the printing system according to claim 4, wherein the control means indicates to the user a condition under which the template that has been notified that the condition is not satisfied can be selected.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the acquisition unit includes the printing capability information of one printing unit installed near the user and the printing capability information of another printing unit installed more remotely than the one printing unit. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system acquires printing capability information.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when a design that cannot be printed by the one printing unit is accepted, the control unit notifies that the design can be printed by the other printing unit. A printing system according to claim 6.
The control means may determine whether the design satisfies the condition by giving priority to the one printing means over the other printing means, and 7. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein when a design that cannot be printed by the means is received, a notification that the printing cannot be performed by the one printing means is performed.
The invention according to claim 9 is the printing system according to claim 6, wherein the obtaining unit obtains, as the printing capability information, information on a delivery date of the printed material when the other printing unit is used.
The invention according to claim 10 is the printing system according to claim 6, wherein the control unit notifies the user that the printing can be performed by the one printing unit by changing the design.
The invention according to claim 11, wherein the control unit is configured to generate the design of the printed matter within a period from when the user starts the design of the printed matter to when the printing unit is instructed to print the printed matter. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system performs prompting control.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the control unit notifies the user that the condition is not satisfied when the design that does not satisfy the condition is edited. It is a printing system of the description.
In the invention according to claim 13, the control unit issues a print instruction for the printed matter to the printing unit based on a user's desired delivery date of the printed matter and a print delivery date of the printed matter based on the printing ability. The printing system according to claim 11, wherein the printing system prompts the user to execute the printing system.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, when printing a printed material of a design received from a user, the obtaining unit obtains print capability information related to a printing unit, and the printing unit prints the printed material before the printing unit instructs the printing unit. An information processing apparatus comprising: a condition obtaining unit that obtains a printing condition of the printed matter; and a providing unit that provides a user with guidance information that satisfies the printing condition with respect to the printing capability information.
The invention according to claim 15 is a function of acquiring print capability information on a printing unit when printing a printed material received from a user on a computer functioning as an information processing device, and a condition based on the acquired print capability information. And a function of controlling the user to create a printed material design that satisfies the following.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer which functions as an information processing apparatus, a function of acquiring print capability information relating to a printing unit when printing a printed material of a design received from a user, This is a program for realizing a function of acquiring printing conditions of the printed matter before a print instruction is issued and a function of providing a user with guidance information that satisfies the printing conditions with respect to the printing capability information. .

According to the invention of claims 1, 14, 15 and 16, it is possible to suppress the re-execution after the completion of the design of the printed matter for the printing ability of the printing means.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the user selects a template, the user can be prompted to create a design that satisfies the condition based on the printing ability information.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to indicate to the user the option of the template that satisfies the condition based on the printing ability information.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the user can recognize that a template that does not satisfy the condition based on the printing ability information is selected, as compared with the case where only the template that does not satisfy the condition is displayed from the beginning.
According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to make use of the selection of the template by the user as compared with the case where the user is simply prompted to change to the template that satisfies the condition.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prompt the user to create a printed matter design based on the print capability information corresponding to the distance of the printing unit from the user.
According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to indicate to the user the option of printing using another printing unit.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to promptly propose the use of a printing unit having high distance convenience for the user.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to make a proposal in consideration of the delivery date of a printing unit that is relatively remote to the user.
According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to encourage the user to use one printing unit having high convenience based on the distance.
According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to suppress occurrence of a situation in which the user recognizes that printing is not possible when the user gives a print instruction.
According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to indicate to the user the editing elements that cannot be printed.
According to the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to prevent the user from failing to meet the desired delivery date when the user does not issue a print instruction.

FIG. 1 is an overall view as an example of a printing system according to an embodiment. It is a figure showing the functional composition of the server device of this embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating a user management table, a store management table, and a printing device management table managed by an information management unit. FIGS. 4A to 4E are explanatory diagrams of a template used in the present embodiment. 6 is an example of an editing screen displayed on the terminal device by the print information management unit of the embodiment. 7A and 7B are examples of a design table and an object table managed by the print information management unit according to the present embodiment. 5 is an example of an operation flow of the printing system according to the embodiment. (A) and (B) are examples of a setting screen displayed on the screen when a template is selected. It is an example of guidance information displayed at the time of template selection. (A) and (B) are examples of guidance information displayed at the time of design editing. It is another example of the guidance information displayed at the time of design editing. (A) to (C) are examples of guidance information displayed at the time of a print instruction deadline.

Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Printing system 1]
FIG. 1 is an overall view as an example of a printing system 1 of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first terminal device 10A installed in a store A to which a user A belongs, and a first printing device 20A installed in the store A and performing printing. A second terminal device 10B installed in the store B to which the user B belongs, a second printing device 20B installed in the store B and performing printing, and a server device 30 performing various controls related to printing; It has.
Then, in the printing system 1, the first terminal device 10A, the first printing device 20A, the second terminal device 10B, the second printing device 20B, and the server device 30 can mutually communicate information via a network. .

  The network is not particularly limited as long as it is a communication network used for data communication between the devices, and may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, or the like. A communication line used for data communication may be used in combination regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. Each device may be connected via a plurality of networks or communication lines using a relay device such as a gateway device or a router.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the store A and the store B are, for example, branches of the same company and located apart from each other. However, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the store A and the store B cooperate. The first printing device 20A installed in the store A and the second printing device 20B installed in the store B are mutually permitted to print. That is, a printing device installed in one store is permitted to print from the other store.

  Although the first terminal device 10A and the second terminal device 10B use different users, the same configuration can be used as each device. Therefore, in the following description, the first terminal device 10A and the second terminal device 10B are collectively referred to as "terminal devices 10" unless otherwise distinguished. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, one terminal device 10 is illustrated in each store, but this is merely an example, and two or more terminal devices 10 are provided according to the number of users and the like. Is also good.

  Similarly, the first printing device 20A and the second printing device 20B are collectively referred to as "printing devices 20" unless particularly distinguished. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, one printing device 20 is illustrated in each store, but this is merely an example, and two or more printing devices 20 may be provided in each store. .

  Although two stores are illustrated in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, three or more stores may cooperate with each other.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, one server device 30 is shown, but the server device 30 is not limited to a single server machine. The server device 30 may be distributed to a plurality of server machines provided on a network to realize the functions of the server device 30 (a so-called cloud environment or the like).

In the following embodiment, an example will be described in which the user himself designs a printed matter and prints the printed matter using the printing apparatus 20 selected by the user.
For example, the user intends to print the designed printed matter using the printing device 20 arbitrarily selected by the user. In this case, depending on the printing capability of the printing device 20 arbitrarily selected by the user, the printed matter cannot be printed, and it is assumed that the user is required to recreate the design of the printed matter. Therefore, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, creation of a printed matter design is performed for the user so as to satisfy the condition based on the printing ability information on the printing ability of the printing apparatus 20 when printing the printed matter received from the user. To encourage me. Hereinafter, the printing system 1 to which the present embodiment is applied will be described in detail.

[Terminal device 10]
The terminal device 10 may be a stationary terminal device such as a desktop PC. The terminal device 10 may be a device that can be carried around by a user, such as a mobile phone such as a smartphone or a mobile terminal device such as a tablet terminal.

[First Printing Apparatus 20A]
The first printing device 20A of the present embodiment forms an image on a recording material such as a sheet based on the acquired image data. In particular, the first printing device 20A performs printing on a special paper such as a non-lamination paper that ensures water resistance without performing a laminating process, or performs printing using a special toner exhibiting a gold color, a silver color, or a transparent color. be able to.

[Second printing device 20B]
The second printing device 20B of the present embodiment forms an image on a recording material such as a sheet based on the acquired image data. However, as a printing capability of the second printing device 20B itself, the second printing device 20B cannot perform printing on special paper such as, for example, paper that does not require lamination, and printing using special toner.
As described above, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the first printing device 20A and the second printing device 20B have different device configurations.

  The configuration of the printing apparatus 20 described above is an example, and an image may be formed by an electrophotographic method, or an image may be formed by another printing method such as an inkjet method.

[Server device 30]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the server device 30 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the server device 30 includes an information management unit 31 that manages information on a user, a store, and a printing device in the printing system 1 and a template management that manages a template used when the user designs a printed material. A part 32. The server device 30 includes a capability information management unit 33 (an example of an acquisition unit) that manages printing capability information of a plurality of printing devices 20 connected to the network, and a printing device that manages print data of a printed material designed by a user. An information management unit 34 (an example of a condition acquiring unit) and a guide information display unit 35 (an example of a control unit and a providing unit) that displays guide information for guiding a user to the contents of a printed material design are provided. I have.

(Information management unit 31)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the user management table 40, the store management table 50, and the printing device management table 60 managed by the information management unit 31.

The information management unit 31 manages information of a user, a store, and the printing apparatus 20 that use the printing system 1.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the information management unit 31 manages a user management table 40 relating to a user who uses the printing system 1.
In the user management table 40, items of a user ID, a name, and an affiliated store ID indicating an affiliated store to which the user belongs are managed in association with each other.
In the present embodiment, the user ID “User001” is associated with the name “UserA” and the affiliated store ID “Tenant001”. Further, in the present embodiment, the user ID “User002” is associated with the name “User B” and the affiliated store ID “Tenant002”.

Further, the information management unit 31 manages a store management table 50 regarding stores that use the printing system 1.
As shown in FIG. 3B, in the store management table 50, the store ID, the store name, the address where the store is located, the own device ID for specifying the printing device installed in the store, and the store in cooperation with the store. An associated store ID for identifying another store and a lead time information item indicating a time period from when a print instruction is issued to when a product is delivered are managed in association with each other.

  In the present embodiment, the store ID “Tenant001” is associated with the store name “StoreA”, the address “Minato-ku, Tokyo...”, The owned device ID “Device001”, and the associated store ID “Tenant002”. Further, the store ID “Tenant001” has lead time information “0 day” for special toner, “0 day” for plain paper, and “0 day” for non-laminated paper. It has been identified.

In the present embodiment, the store ID “Tenant002” is associated with the store name “StoreB”, the address “Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa ...”, the owned device ID “Device002”, and the linked store ID “Tenant001”. Further, the store ID “Tenant002” has lead time information “2 days” for special toner, “0 day” for plain paper, and “5 days” for non-laminated paper. It has been identified.
In the present embodiment, the second printing device 20B installed in the store B cannot perform printing using special toner or printing on paper that does not require lamination. Therefore, when printing using special toner or printing on paper that does not require lamination is received at store B, printing takes place outside store B, which requires more time than “0 day” of plain paper. Has become.

  In the above example, the lead time information is an example specified based on printing device information (described later) such as special toner and paper type, but is not limited to this. The lead time information can be specified based on print resource information (to be described later) such as paper stock and store information (to be described later) such as a store operation day.

Further, the information management unit 31 manages a printing device management table 60 regarding the printing device 20 in the printing system 1.
As shown in FIG. 3C, the printing device management table 60 includes a printing device ID, a device name that is the name of the device, a corresponding paper type that is a type of paper that can be printed by the device, and a paper type that can be printed by the device. The corresponding paper size, which is the size, and the corresponding toner, which is the toner that can be printed by the apparatus, are managed in association with each other.

In the present embodiment, the printing device ID “Device001” includes the device name “DeviceXXX”, the corresponding paper type “plain paper, lamination-free paper”, the corresponding paper size “B5, A4, A3”, and the corresponding toner “C (cyan). ), M (magenta), Y (yellow), K (black), gold, silver, and transparent colors.
The printing device ID “Device002” includes a device name “device YYY”, a corresponding paper type “plain paper”, a corresponding paper size “B5, A4, A3”, and a corresponding toner “C, M, Y, K”. The color is linked.

(Template management unit 32)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a template used in the present embodiment. FIG. 4A shows the template table 70. FIGS. 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E show specific examples of the template.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the template management unit 32 manages a template table 70 for managing templates.
In the template table 70, a template ID for specifying a template (model) for which a design has been created in advance, a template name as a specific name of the template, a paper size as a template, a paper type as a template, and a special toner are stored. An item of special toner indicating whether or not to use is managed in association with it.

  In the present embodiment, the template ID “Template001” is associated with the template name “Menu (Hinamatsuri)”, paper size “A4”, paper type “plain paper”, and special toner “none”. As shown in FIG. 4B, the template ID “Template001” is a menu template in which a plurality of dishes on the theme of the Hinamatsuri are arranged using plain A4 paper.

  The template ID “Template002” is associated with a template name “Spotter (Hinamatsuri)”, a paper size “A4”, a paper type “Laminate-free paper”, and a special toner “None”. As shown in FIG. 4C, the template ID “Template002” is a POP (Point of purchase advertising) template for sales promotion on the theme of the Hinamatsuri using A4 lamination-free paper.

  The template ID “Template003” is associated with a template name “Poster (Hinamatsuri)”, a paper size “A3”, a paper type “plain paper”, and a special toner “gold”. As shown in FIG. 4D, the template ID "Template003" is a template of a poster on the theme of the Doll's Festival using A3 plain paper.

  The template ID “Template004” is associated with a template name “Long size (Hinamatsuri)”, a paper size “Long size (297 mm × 1200 mm)”, a paper type “Plain paper”, and a special toner “None”. . As shown in FIG. 4E, the template ID “Template004” is a banner template that uses a long (297 mm × 1200 mm) sheet and has a theme of the Doll's Festival.

(Ability information management unit 33)
The capability information management unit 33 is a printing device 20 (in this example, a first printing device 20A and a second printing device 20B) that can be used by users (user A and user B in this example) in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment. ) Is used to manage printing capability information relating to printing capability when performing printing.

  The printing capability information includes printing device information on the capabilities of the printing device 20 itself, printing resource information that is a resource used for printing by the printing device 20, and store information on printing in a store that uses the printing device 20. .

  The printing device information includes printing color information that is information on a color that the printing device 20 can print, paper size information that is information on the size of paper that the printing device 20 can print, and information on the type of paper that the printing device 20 can print. Paper type information, post-processing information relating to processing of paper after printing by the printing apparatus 20, printing speed information of the number of printable sheets per unit time, and the like.

  The printing color information can be specified as toner color information when the printing apparatus 20 is an electrophotographic system using toner. In this case, the print information is used to reproduce gold toner, silver toner, transparent toner, corporate color, and the like in addition to commonly used toners such as Y color toner, M color toner, C color toner, and K color toner. Information on whether or not a special toner such as a special color toner can be used can be exemplified.

The paper size information can be specified by information on paper standards such as B5, A4, and A3, and numerical information on specific paper sizes.
Paper type information includes the name of the specific paper, such as plain paper and paper that does not require lamination, information about the thickness of the paper, such as the basis weight, information on the processing performed on the surface of the paper, information on the material of the paper, etc. Can be specified.
The post-processing information can exemplify, for example, whether stapling processing for binding a sheet bundle, folding processing for folding sheets, cutting processing for cutting a sheet bundle, and sorting processing for sorting sheets are performed.
The printing speed information can exemplify, for example, the number of prints per minute in the case of color printing or monochrome printing.

The print resource information includes toner amount information used by the printing device 20, paper amount information of paper used by the printing device, and the like.
As the toner amount information, for example, information on the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle mounted on the printing device 20 and the number of spare toner bottles reserved in stock at the store where the printing device 20 is installed may be used. it can.
As the paper amount information, for example, information on the remaining amount of paper loaded on the printing device 20 and the number of papers before printing, which are secured as stock in a store where the printing device 20 is installed, can be used.

  The store information includes operating day information on the operating day of the store where the printing device 20 is installed, personnel information on the work schedule of the person who operates the printing device 20, and the workload related to the workload on the printing device 20 contracted as the store. Information, lead time information on the delivery date using the printing device 20 and the like.

As the operating day information, information on the business days and business hours of the store can be used.
As the personnel information, information on attendance time such as personnel who directly handle printing using the printing apparatus 20 such as an operator of the printing apparatus 20 and personnel who are responsible for delivering printed matter printed by the printing apparatus 20 can be used.
As the work amount information, information on the number of prints that are undertaken by the store and need to be printed using the printing device 20 installed in the store can be used.
As the lead time information, it is possible to use information on the time required from receiving the design of the printed matter to printing the printed matter and delivering it to the request destination. As the lead time information, information of a predetermined time according to the print content of the printed matter, the distance to the delivery location, and the like can be used. Further, the lead time information may be calculated for each request based on the above-mentioned operating day information, personnel information, work amount information, print resource information, and the like.

(Print Information Management Unit 34)
FIG. 5 is an example of an edit screen 110 displayed on the terminal device 10 by the print information management unit 34 of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an example of the design table 80 and the object table 85 managed by the print information management unit 34 of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the user designs a printed matter, the print information management unit 34 displays an edit screen 110 on the screen 100 of the user's terminal device 10 (see FIG. 1).
The edit screen 110 displays a design image display unit 111 on which a design image to be edited by a user such as a selected template is displayed, and a tool display unit 112 on which an editing tool for editing the design image is displayed. I do.
On the editing screen 110, a print instruction button 113 for instructing printing of the edited design image and a save button 114 for saving the design image in an edited state are displayed.
When the print instruction button 113 is operated, an instruction to print the created design image on the printing device 20 is transmitted to the printing device 20. The save button 114 stores a design image when operated.

  The print information management unit 34 manages the number of copies of the printed matter, the desired delivery date, and information on the printing device 20 selected by the user in association with the design image. The print information management unit 34 acquires information on the number of copies of a printed matter, a desired delivery date, and information on the printing apparatus 20 selected by the user based on, for example, a user's input on a setting screen 120 described later. In the present embodiment, printing conditions determined by the user, such as information on the design of the printed matter, information on the number of copies, the desired delivery date, and information on the printing device 20 selected by the user are referred to as printing conditions. Then, the print information management unit 34 manages print condition information that is information on print conditions.

  Then, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the print information management unit 34 obtains the print condition information in a timely manner and obtains the print condition information in the guidance information display unit 35 before the user issues a print instruction for the printed matter. Print condition information is sent. For example, the print information management unit 34 determines when a template is selected, when a print delivery date is input, when a printing device is selected, when a design of a printed material is edited, and the like. Each time a new setting or change regarding the printing condition is performed, the printing condition information is acquired, and the acquired printing condition information is passed to the guidance information display unit 35.

  The print information management unit 34 of the present embodiment configures design information as design condition information, information on the number of copies, a desired delivery date, and a design table 80 in which the printing apparatuses 20 selected by the user are collected, as the print condition information. It manages an object table 85 in which information of objects as image elements is put together.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the design table 80 manages a design ID, a design name that is a specific name of the design, and an original template ID that specifies the template that is the basis of the design in association with each other. ing. Further, the design table 80 includes a scheduled printing device ID that specifies the printing device 20 that is selected by the user and that is to issue a design printing instruction, a user desired delivery date that is a delivery date desired by the user, and a printed material desired by the user. Are managed in association with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the object table 85 includes an object ID, a type indicating the type of the object, a specific name of the object, a value indicating the attribute of the object, and a relation specifying the design to which the object corresponds. A design ID and an item of a color designated to an object are stored in association with each other.

Then, the print information management unit 34 acquires a design image being edited by the user and receives a print instruction for the design image.
Further, the print information management unit 34 stores a design image in the middle of the completion of the design, or stores a completed design image for which a print instruction has not been issued. As described above, the print information management unit 34 stores the print condition information by managing the design table 80 and the object table 85.

(Guidance information display section 35)
The guide information display unit 35 is provided to prevent the user from performing the design creation of the design image again when the design image is printed by the printing device 20 when the design image is created. , The guidance information for guiding the creation of the design image is displayed. In the present embodiment, the guide information display unit 35 satisfies the printing condition with respect to the printing capability information within a period from when the user starts the design of the printed matter to when the printing apparatus 20 is instructed to print the printed matter. The user is presented with guidance information that prompts the user to do so. That is, the guide information display unit 35 displays the guide information before the design is completed, not at the stage after the design image is completed and the printing instruction of the completed design is actually given to the printing apparatus 20. By doing so, the user is notified.

  The guidance information display unit 35 of the present embodiment acquires the printing capability information of the printing device 20 that can be used by the user from the capability information management unit 33. Further, the guide information display unit 35 acquires the print condition information from the print information management unit 34. The guide information display unit 35 prompts the user to create a design of a printed material that satisfies each condition based on the printing capability information and the printing condition information before the user issues a design printing instruction. Is displayed.

  The guide information display unit 35 of the present embodiment displays the guide information at a plurality of timings before the design is actually printed by the printing device 20. Specifically, the guide information display unit 35 displays the guide information at the time of “template selection” where the user selects a template, and at the time of “print condition setting” where the user sets the print condition information. To present. Further, the guidance information display unit 35 displays the “print instruction deadline” at the time of “design editing” in which the design image is edited by the user and the “print instruction deadline” in which the deadline of the print instruction based on the user's desired delivery date and lead time is imminent. At this time, guidance information is presented to the user. Hereinafter, the display of the guidance information performed at each timing will be described.

"Select Template"
At the time of template selection, the guide information display unit 35 allows the user to select a template that satisfies the condition based on the print capability information from a plurality of design templates based on the print capability information of the printing device 20 available to the user. Prompt.
In the present embodiment, the guide information display unit 35 displays a list of templates that can be actually printed by the printing device 20 as guide information. Specifically, the guide information display unit 35 allows the user to select a template that can be printed by the printing device 20 that can be used by the user at the time of template selection. The user cannot select a template that cannot be printed.
Note that a template that cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 20 refers to a template that can be used by the user regardless of which printing apparatus is used as the printing apparatus 20 or how other conditions are set. A template that cannot be printed as its own printing ability.

  The guide information display unit 35 of the present embodiment is configured such that, when a template is selected, a template that cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 20 is not displayed in a list in which a plurality of templates are displayed side by side, or is displayed as a list. Even if is displayed, it is removed from the operation target by displaying it in grayout.

  For example, both the first printing device 20A of the store A and the second printing device 20B of the store B cannot print a long image (279 mm × 1200 mm). Therefore, in the printing of the present embodiment, when the user A and the user B each select a template, it is not possible to select “Long (Hinamatsuri)” as a template.

  In the case where a candidate including a template that cannot be printed by the printing apparatus 20 is displayed, or when the template is changed by the user, the condition based on the printing capability information is satisfied in relation to other printing conditions. None of the templates may be selected by the user. In such a case, the guidance information display unit 35 notifies that the template selected by the user does not satisfy the condition. Further, the guidance information display unit 35 shows the user information on the printing conditions that allow the user to select a template for which the notification that the conditions are not satisfied has been given.

"Print Condition Settings"
The guide information display unit 35 displays guide information for prompting a user to change a print condition or to change a design of a design image based on print capability information of the printing apparatus 20 that can be used by a user when setting print conditions. Display.
For example, when one template is already selected by the user, the guidance information display unit 35 of the present embodiment sets the number of copies of the printed matter, the desired delivery date, and the printing condition information of the printing apparatus 20 selected by the user. In response to this, guidance information is displayed that prompts a change to another print condition, a change to another template, or a design change even when using the same one template.

"Edit Design"
The guide information display unit 35 displays guide information for prompting the user to change the printing conditions or changing the design of the design image based on the printing capability information of the printing device 20 available to the user at the time of design editing. I do.
For example, when one printing device 20 is already selected by the user, the guide information display unit 35 of the present embodiment changes the design of the design image based on the printing capability information of the printing device 20 available to the user. Alternatively, a display prompting a change to another printing apparatus 20 is performed.

Specifically, for example, when a design that cannot be printed by the first printing device 20A is received, the guidance information display unit 35 notifies the user that the design can be printed by the second printing device 20B. I do.
In addition, when a design that does not satisfy the condition based on the printing capability information is edited, the guide information display unit 35 notifies the user that the condition is not satisfied.
Furthermore, the guide information display unit 35 of the present embodiment notifies the user that printing can be performed by the printing device 20 that is closer to the user, for example, by changing the design.

"Print instruction deadline"
The guidance information display unit 35 guides the user to instruct the printing apparatus 20 to instruct the printing device 20 to print the printed matter based on the user's desired delivery time of the printed matter and the printed delivery time of the printed matter based on the printing capability information. Present information.
In addition, at the time of the print instruction deadline, the guide information display unit 35 displays guide information for prompting the user to change the print condition or to change the design of the design image based on the print condition of the user. For example, when one template has already been selected by the user, the guide information display unit 35 of the present embodiment changes the printing conditions, changes to another template, or displays the same one template according to the desired delivery date. Even in the case of using the information, guidance information that prompts the user to change the design is displayed.

[Operation of Printing System 1]
Subsequently, an operation example of the printing system 1 of the present embodiment will be specifically described.
FIG. 7 is an example of an operation flow of the printing system 1 of the present embodiment.
When the user starts designing a printed material, the user logs in to the printing system 1. When the user logs in, an editing screen 110 (FIG. 5) is displayed on the screen 100 of the terminal device 10 used by the user.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the user has performed an operation to select a selected template from a plurality of template candidates (step 101). When the user performs an operation to select a template (YES in step 101), a list of templates printable by the printing device 20 is displayed on the screen based on the printing capability information of the printing device 20 available to the user. 100 is displayed (step 102).
If the user does not perform a template selection operation (NO in step 101), the process proceeds to step 108. For example, a case where the user designs a printed matter from a blank sheet without using the prepared template corresponds to a case where the process proceeds from step 101 to step 108.

  Then, after the template list is displayed in step 102, it is determined whether or not one template has been selected by the user (step 103). If one template is not selected by the user (NO in step 103), the determination is continued until a template is selected.

If the user specifies one template (YES in step 103), the printing apparatus 20 selected by the user can print the template selected by the user (hereinafter, referred to as a selected template). Is determined (step 104). If the selected printing device 20 can print the selected template (YES in step 104), the process proceeds to step 108. On the other hand, if the selected printing device 20 cannot print the selected template (NO in step 104), it is determined whether there is another printing device 20 that can print the selected template (step 105). If there is another printing device 20 that can print the selected template (YES in step 105), guidance information for prompting selection of another printing device 20 that can print the selected template is displayed (step 106). In the present embodiment, when determining the printing device 20 that can print the selected template, the determination is made with a temporal priority on the printing device 20 that is closer to the user.
On the other hand, if there is no other printing device 20 that can print the selected template (NO in step 105), the user is prompted to select another template (step 107).

Here, the image displayed up to step 107 described above will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is an example of a setting screen 120 displayed on the screen when a template is selected.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, a setting screen 120 displays a template selection field 121 for selecting a template and a delivery date input field 122 for a desired delivery date of the user. Further, the setting screen 120 displays a copy number input column 123 for the number of print copies desired by the user and a device selection column 124 of the printing device 20 by the user.

The setting screen 120 shown in FIG. 8A shows an example in which the user A belonging to the store A has selected “spotter (Hinamatsuri)” as a template. In the present embodiment, the printing device 20 of the store to which the logged-in user belongs is selected by default. Since the user A belongs to the store A, the first printing device 20A is selected. The relationship between the user and the printing device 20 is specified based on the user management table 40 (see FIG. 3A) and the store management table 50 (see FIG. 3B).
The “spotter (Hinamatsuri)” is designed to use lamination-free paper, whereas the first printing device 20A is capable of printing using lamination-free paper. Therefore, in this case, the guidance information is not displayed in the template selection.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, an example is shown in which the user B belonging to the store B has selected “spotter (doll festival)” as a template. Since the user B belongs to the store B, the second printing device 20B is selected by default.
The “spotter (Hinamatsuri)” has a design that uses paper that does not require lamination, whereas the second printing device 20B cannot perform printing that uses paper that does not require lamination. In this case, a warning display 125 for prompting a change to another printing device 20 is displayed as guidance information in a selection column of the printing device 20. In this example, in the warning display 125, "This printing device cannot print" lamination-free paper ". Please select another printing device. "

FIG. 9 is an example of guidance information displayed when a template is selected.
In the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, when the template is actually taken in, guidance information may be displayed to prompt the user to change to another printing apparatus 20 or to change the template.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a template that cannot be printed by the printing device 20 selected by the user is selected, a warning dialog 310 is displayed on the screen as guidance information. The warning dialog 310 displays a message display 311 indicating that the selected template cannot be printed by the printing device 20 selected by the user. The message display 311 includes the reason why the selected template cannot be printed by the printing device 20.
Then, in the example of the warning dialog 310 shown in FIG. 9, a confirmation message display 312 for capturing the selected template is displayed. As a result, the printing system 1 of the present embodiment prompts a change to another template.
Note that the warning dialog 310 may prompt a change to another printing device 20 that can print the selected template, or may specifically display another printing device 20 that can print the selected template.

Next, the operation flow after step 108 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not a design image such as a selected template has been edited (step 108). If there is no editing for the design image (NO in step 108), the process proceeds to step 111.
On the other hand, if the design image has been edited (YES in step 108), it is determined whether the design image edited by the selected printing device 20 can be printed (step 109). ). If printing cannot be performed by the selected printing device 20 (NO in step 109), a change to a design that can be printed by the selected printing device 20 is prompted, or another printable design is requested. The guidance information of the content that prompts a change to the printing apparatus 20 is displayed (step 110).

FIG. 10 shows an example of guidance information displayed at the time of design editing.
As shown in FIG. 10A, for example, when the user selects a special color that requires the use of a special toner in a design editing operation, the user is prompted to change to another printing device 20 or to change the template. Display guidance information that prompts a change. In this example, the user has edited a special color “silver” that cannot be printed by the selected printing device 20 as a design. In the warning dialog 410 as guidance information, a warning message display 411 indicating that the selected special color design cannot be printed by the selected printing apparatus 20 is displayed. In this example, the warning message display 411 includes the reason why the design of the selected special color cannot be printed by the printing device 20.

Then, in the example of the warning dialog 410 of FIG. 10A, a message display 412 indicating that another printing apparatus 20 needs to be selected when the design of the special color is not changed is presented. In the present embodiment, the display of the message display 412 prompts a change to another printing apparatus 20 and a change in design.
Further, in the example of the warning dialog 410 of FIG. 10A, a device selection column 413 for selecting another printing device 20 is displayed. In this example, the device selection column 413 in a state where the first printing device 20A (device XXX) capable of printing the special color is displayed as a candidate is displayed.

The example shown in FIG. 10B is an example in which the user selects a long paper size (279 mm × 1200 mm) in the design editing work, for example. In the example of the present embodiment, there is no printing device 20 that can print a long document (279 mm × 1200 mm) as a printing device 20 that can be used by the user. In this case, a warning message 511 indicating that the design of the selected paper size cannot be printed by the selected printing apparatus 20 is displayed in the warning dialog 510 as guidance information. The warning message display 511 includes the reason why the design of the selected paper size cannot be printed by the printing device 20.
In the example of the warning dialog 510 in FIG. 10B, a confirmation message display 512 for selecting a long (279 mm × 1200 mm) paper size is displayed. In the present embodiment, the confirmation message display 512 prompts the user not to set the paper size to be long, and further to change the design to another paper size.

FIG. 11 is another example of guidance information displayed at the time of design editing.
Next, guidance information is provided to the user when the user has previously selected one printing device 20 and the design is changed so that printing on another printing device 20 becomes possible. An example will be described.

  Here, for example, a case where the user B selects the “poster (Hinamatsuri)” which is a template using a special color while the first printing device 20A of the store A is selected. In this case, the user B edits to delete the object using the special color included in the design image. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, a confirmation dialog for notifying that the design image can be printed using the second printing device 20B by deleting the object is displayed on the screen 100 of the second terminal device 10B of the user B. 610 is displayed.

  The confirmation dialog 610 displays a confirmation message 611 that the object to be deleted is actually deleted. In addition, the confirmation dialog 610 displays a notification message 612 that notifies that printing can be performed by the second printing device 20B installed in the store B, which is the store of the user B. Further, in the confirmation dialog 610, a selection column 613 of the printing device 20 for changing the printing device 20 from the first printing device 20A to the second printing device 20B is displayed. In this example, the second printing device 20B (device YYY) of the own store is displayed as a candidate in the device selection field 413.

Next, an operation flow after step 111 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not there is a print instruction for a printed matter of the design created by the user (step 111). If there is no print instruction (NO in step 111), the process returns to step 108. On the other hand, if there is a print instruction (YES in step 111), a print instruction for the printing device 20 selected by the user is transmitted (step 112).

  As described above, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the user is prompted to set the printing conditions including the design of the printed matter so as to satisfy the conditions based on the printing capability information.

Next, the guidance information displayed at the time of the print instruction deadline will be specifically described.
FIG. 12 is an example of guidance information displayed at the time of the print instruction deadline.
Here, the user sets a desired delivery date in advance, selects one template, edits the design image using the selected template, and thereafter, does not issue a print instruction for the design image and reaches a print instruction deadline. An example will be described in which guidance information is provided to the user in the event that this happens.

For example, it is assumed that the desired delivery date is set to May 28 by the user on May 23. Then, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the user tries to select a template on the setting screen 120 as of May 23, the template list in the template selection field 121 has a lead time of 0 days to The 5 day template is displayed.
Then, the user selects a template whose lead time is four days, and designs a printed material using the selected template.

Thereafter, when May 24 is reached without a print instruction for the design image being issued, a deadline warning dialog 710 is displayed as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12B, the lead time for printing the template selected by the user is four days. Therefore, unless the design is instructed by May 24, the user cannot meet the desired delivery date. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when, for example, the editing screen is activated on the user's terminal device 10, a time limit warning dialog 710 is displayed on the screen.
The deadline warning dialog 710 displays remaining date and time information 711 up to the desired delivery date of the user, desired delivery date information 712 set by the user, and an instruction message 713 indicating when printing must be instructed. .

  As another example of a deadline warning dialog 810, as shown in FIG. 12C, the user may be prompted to change the template according to the desired delivery date and lead time. In the deadline warning dialog 810, a confirmation message display 811 for prompting a change to another template in time for the delivery date is displayed.

  Here, in the present embodiment, printing conditions such as a paper size, a paper type, and a special toner are determined according to the design content of the template (see FIG. 4A). Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a printing device 20 that can print each template is specified according to the printing conditions related to the template (see FIG. 3C). Then, in the present embodiment, the lead time is specified according to the printing device 20 used by the user (see FIG. 3B). Therefore, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the lead time according to the template is specified.

  Then, in the example shown in FIG. 12 (C), another template candidate having a sufficient schedule for the desired delivery date is displayed in the template selection field 121. In this case, a specific lead time is displayed for each template in the template list display. In this example, the deadline warning dialog 810 displays a template list in which the lead time is 0 to 3 days to the user in the template selection field 121.

In this manner, guidance information such as a template that prompts the user to change the design may be displayed based on the user's desired delivery date as a printing condition.
In the above case, when the user does not change the design image such as another template, the display of guidance information of the content for changing the desired delivery date or changing the selected printing device 20 is displayed. May be performed.

  Further, in the above-described example, when the print instruction period has expired, the period warning dialog 710 and the period warning dialog 810 are displayed when the user starts the editing screen, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when the instruction deadline is approaching, a message having contents corresponding to the deadline warning dialog 710 may be transmitted to the user by e-mail.

Subsequently, a hardware configuration of the server device 30 of the present embodiment will be described.
The server device 30 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as arithmetic means, a memory as main storage means, a magnetic disk device (HDD: Hard Disk Drive), a network interface, a display mechanism including a display device, It has an audio mechanism and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse.
The magnetic disk device stores OS programs and application programs. Then, these programs are read into the memory and executed by the CPU, thereby realizing the function of each functional unit in each of the server devices 30 of the present embodiment.
Further, the program for realizing a series of operations in the printing system 1 of the embodiment in the server device 30 may be provided by, for example, communication means, or may be provided by being stored in various recording media.

  The configuration for realizing a series of functions performed in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment is not limited to the above-described example. For example, all the functions realized by the server device 30 in the above-described embodiments need not be realized by the server device 30. For example, the terminal device 10 may realize some or all of the functions.

Reference Signs List 1 printing system, 10 terminal device, 10A first terminal device, 10B second terminal device, 20 printing device, 20A first printing device, 20B second printing device, 30 server device, 31 Information management unit, 32: template management unit, 33: ability information management unit, 34: print information management unit, 35: guidance information display unit

Claims (16)

Acquiring means for acquiring printing capability information on a printing means when printing a printed matter received from a user;
A control unit that satisfies a condition based on the printing capability information obtained by the obtaining unit, and that performs control to prompt the user to create a design of a printed matter;
A printing system comprising:   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit prompts the user to select a model that satisfies the condition from a plurality of design templates.   The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit displays a list for selecting the template that satisfies the condition.   3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein when the user selects a template that does not satisfy the condition from the plurality of templates, the control unit notifies the user that the template does not satisfy the condition. 4.   The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit indicates to the user a condition under which the template that has been notified that the condition is not satisfied can be selected.   The said acquisition means acquires the said printing ability information of one printing means installed near a user, and the said printing ability information of another printing means installed remote from the said one printing means. 2. The printing system according to 1.   The printing system according to claim 6, wherein, when a design that cannot be printed by the one printing unit is received, the control unit notifies that the other printing unit can print the design.   The control unit determines whether the design satisfies the condition by giving priority to the one printing unit over the other printing unit, and a design that cannot be printed by the one printing unit is received. 7. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein when the printing is performed, a notification that printing cannot be performed by the one printing unit is issued.   The printing system according to claim 6, wherein the obtaining unit obtains information regarding a delivery date of the printed matter when the other printing unit is used, as the printing capability information.   7. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein the control unit notifies that the design can be printed by the one printing unit by changing the design. 8.   2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control for prompting creation of the design of the printed material within a period from when a user starts the design of the printed material to when an instruction to print the printed material is given to the printing unit. Printing system.   The printing system according to claim 11, wherein the control unit notifies the user that the condition is not satisfied when the design that does not satisfy the condition is edited.   The control unit, based on a user's desired delivery date of the print product and a print delivery date of the print product based on the printing ability, prompts the user to execute a print instruction of the print product to the print unit. Item 12. The printing system according to item 11. Acquiring means for acquiring printing capability information on a printing means when printing a printed matter of a design received from a user;
Before a print instruction for the printed material is issued to the printing unit, a condition obtaining unit that obtains printing conditions for the printed material,
Providing means for providing a user with guidance information that satisfies the printing conditions with respect to the printing capability information;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A computer that functions as an information processing device
A function of acquiring printing capability information about a printing unit when printing a printed matter received from a user;
A function of performing a control for prompting the user to create a design of a printed material that satisfies a condition based on the acquired printing capability information,
The program that realizes. A computer that functions as an information processing device
A function of acquiring printing capability information on a printing unit when printing a printed material of a design received from a user;
Before a print instruction for the printed matter is issued to the printing unit, a function of acquiring printing conditions of the printed matter,
A function of providing guidance information to the user for satisfying the printing condition with respect to the printing capability information,
The program that realizes.