JP7185428B2 - print job management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a print job management device that allows a plurality of users to share information about print jobs, and more particularly to a print job management device that allows multiple users to share print job information of completion history.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a printing system in which a plurality of users use printing apparatuses connected on a network to perform print processing. In such a printing system, for example, each user uses a computer to log in to the printing apparatus, outputs a print job from the computer to the printing apparatus, and performs print processing.

JP-A-2002-351634

Here, in the printing system as described above, there is a case where, for example, the same distribution material is printed more than necessary without knowing that another user has already printed the same distribution material. In addition, printed materials may be wasted when it is found that the printed material is not suitable for the intended purpose after printing, or when it is found that the printed material cannot be used for the intended task as pointed out by others. rice field.

Although it is desirable to eliminate such wasteful printing, conventionally, there has been no known printing system equipped with a means for eliminating such wasteful printing.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a method for preventing duplicate printing by the same user, but the method described in Patent Document 1 does not assume that other users print the same print job at all. , cannot solve the problem of duplicate printing by other users described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a print job management apparatus capable of avoiding wasteful duplication of the same print job and wasteful printing of unsuitable printed materials.

A print job management apparatus according to the present invention includes an end history storage unit that, when a user performs print processing using a printing device, stores end history information of a print job targeted for the print processing in association with the user; An additional information input reception unit that receives input of additional information for the information of the end history by the user associated with the information of the end history, and the print job of the end history stored in the end history storage unit and the newly input print job. and determines whether or not a print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which additional information is added exists in the print jobs of the completion history. and additional information added to the same print job when the print job determination unit determines that there is a print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which additional information is added. and a continuation information reception unit that receives input of information regarding continuation of print processing of a newly input print job after presentation of the additional information.

According to the print job management apparatus of the present invention, input of additional information for a print job with an end history that has already been printed is accepted. Then, the newly input print job is compared with the print job in the completion history, and the print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which additional information is added is selected in the completion history. If present in the print job, the additional information added to the same print job is presented.

By presenting this additional information, it is possible to grasp the status of the printed material when the print job of the completion history was printed before. Then, according to the status of the printed material, input of information on continuation of the print processing of the newly input print job is accepted, so that the print process can be continued or canceled depending on the status of the printed material. printing can be avoided. That is, it is possible to avoid wasteful duplication of the same print job and wasteful printing of unsuitable printed matter.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing system using an embodiment of the print job management apparatus of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a print job management unit that is an embodiment of a print job management apparatus of the present invention; FIG. A diagram showing an example of a table in which user identification information and information on the user's affiliation are associated with each other. A diagram showing an example of a list display of termination history Flowchart for explaining processing for adding a comment to a print job of completion history A diagram showing an example of a comment input screen Figure showing another example of comment input screen A diagram showing an example of a comment display screen Diagram showing another example of the comment display screen Diagram showing another example of the comment display screen Flowchart for explaining the flow of print processing using the printing system shown in FIG.

A printing system using an embodiment of the print job management apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system 1 of this embodiment.

The printing system 1 of this embodiment includes a plurality of print job output devices 10 and a printing device 20, as shown in FIG. The plurality of print job output devices 10 and the printing device 20 are connected via a network line such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a communication line N such as the Internet line. Although three print job output devices 10 are connected to the printing device 20 via the communication line N in FIG. It is sufficient that the job output device 10 is connected to the printing device 20 , and four or more print job output devices 10 may be connected to the printing device 20 .

An IP (Internet Protocol) address of the printing device 20 is set in each print job output device 10, and each print job output device 10 recognizes the printing device 20 by this IP address, and is configured to be connectable. . Further, identification information of users who can use the printing device 20 is stored in the printing device 20 . The user logs in to the printer 20 by setting and inputting his/her own identification information (ID) and password on the login screen displayed on the monitor of each print job output device 10, thereby allowing the printer 20 to perform print processing. becomes. After logging in to the printing apparatus 20, the user displays the console screen on the monitor of each print job output apparatus 10. On the console screen, the status of the print job (printing, waiting, etc.) and the status of the printing apparatus 20 can be displayed. The consumables (remaining amount of ink, printing paper, etc.) can be checked, and various settings in the printing apparatus 20 can be made.

The print job output device 10 is, for example, a computer in which a printer driver for the printing device 20 is installed. In the print job output device 10, a user uses an arbitrary application to generate image data to be printed. When the printing apparatus 20 performs print processing, the printer driver installed in the print job output apparatus 10 is activated, and various printing conditions are set on the printer driver. The printing conditions include, for example, single-sided printing or double-sided printing, number of prints, number of copies, print density, type of print medium, and the like.

The print job output apparatus 10 accepts input of various print condition settings on the printer driver, and then accepts input of a print instruction. Page Description Language) format print job is generated and output to the printing device 20 .

The printing device 20 performs print processing on a sheet-like print medium such as paper or film based on the print job output from the print job output device 10 . As the printing device 20, for example, an inkjet printing device, a laser printing device, a stencil printing device, or the like can be used.

The printing device 20 includes a control section 21, a print processing section 22 and an operation panel 23, as shown in FIG.

The control unit 21 controls the entire printing apparatus 20 to execute print processing, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk. Specifically, the control section 21 includes a print job management section 30 and an image processing section 31 . The print job management unit 30 corresponds to one embodiment of the print job management apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print job management unit 30 includes a user information storage unit 32, an end history storage unit 33, an additional information input reception unit 34, a print job determination unit 35, an additional information presentation unit 36, and a continuation information reception unit 37. It has A print job management program is installed in the storage medium of the control section 21, and each section of the print job management section 30 functions as the print job management program is executed by the CPU. The additional information input reception unit 34, the print job determination unit 35, the additional information presentation unit 36, and the continuation information reception unit 37 of the print job management unit 30 may be configured as programs, or may be partly configured as hardware. It may be realized by hardware.

The user information storage unit 32 is composed of a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and stores identification information of users who can use the printing apparatus 20 and passwords associated with the identification information. The print job management unit 30 accepts the input of the user identification information (ID) and password input in the print job output device 10 described above, and stores the accepted user identification information and password and the user information storage unit 32 in advance. The stored user identification information and password are compared to determine whether or not the user's login is permitted.

Further, the user information storage unit 32 stores the user's identification information in association with the user's affiliation information. Specifically, the user information storage unit 32 stores user identification information and user affiliation information as a table as shown in FIG. Note that the user's affiliation information is set and input in the print job output device 10, and when there is a change in the user affiliation, the changed affiliation is set and input in the print job output device 10, and the user information is stored. The affiliation information in section 32 is changed. Regarding the user's affiliation, setting input and change may be accepted on the operation panel 23 of the printing apparatus 20, which will be described later.

The end history storage unit 33 includes a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. memorize it. The print job end history stored in the end history storage unit 33 is output to the print job output device 10 by the print job management unit 30 and displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10 . A list of print job completion histories is displayed on the monitor. At this time, only the completion histories of users logged in to the printing apparatus 20 are displayed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a list display of end histories. FIG. 4 shows a console screen displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10. When the user (Mr. A) selects the "end (history)" button, Mr. A's printing as shown in FIG. A list of job completion histories is displayed. In the list display of the completion history, the name of the print job (document name/job name), the name of the user (owner), the number of copies or the number of prints, and the date and time when the print processing was performed are displayed.

The additional information input reception unit 34 receives input of additional information for the end history information by the user associated with the end history information. Processing for adding a user's comment as additional information to a print job with an end history will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this specification, additional information is information that is added to a job that has been printed, and that information that is useful to a person who prints the same job before printing. and

First, the user displays a login screen on the monitor of the print job output device 10, inputs identification information (ID) and a password on the login screen, and logs in to the printing device 20 (S10). Next, the user selects an end history button on the displayed console screen (S12), whereby the user's end history is displayed as a list. Next, the user selects a print job to which a comment is to be added in the list display of the completion history shown in FIG. 4 (S14). When the "comment input ON" button shown in FIG. 4 is selected (S16), the additional information input receiving unit 34 displays a comment input screen on the monitor of the print job output device 10 (S18).

6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of comment input screens. The user inputs a comment on the comment input screen shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 using an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse of the print job output device 10 (S20). For example, if confidential information is included in a print job in the completion history, the user who prints the same print job later is notified that confidential information is included and is urged not to carelessly print. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a comment "confidential information is present" is input.

Also, for example, if the user prints a print job with an end history and determines that the image quality is low and is not suitable for an exhibition, the user who prints the same print job later will be asked to print the same print job for the exhibition. In order to notify that the printer is unsuitable for exhibitions and to urge users to avoid unnecessary printing, as shown in FIG.

Note that comments to be input on the comment input screen are not limited to the above example, and various arbitrary contents to be notified to the user who prints the same print job later are input.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the additional information input reception unit 34 displays the comment input field, the name of the selected print job (job name/document name), the print job The name (name) of the user who performed the printing process and the affiliation (group name) of the user are displayed.

When the "OK" button is pressed on the comment input screen shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the additional information input receiving unit 34 receives the comment input in the comment input field, and stores the comment in association with the print job of the completion history. (S22).

Note that the comment added to the print job in the completion history may be temporarily stored, and then read, edited, and corrected by the user who added the comment of the print job again.

Next, the print job determination unit 35 compares the print job output from the print job output device 10 and newly input to the printing device 20 with the print job of the end history stored in the end history storage unit 33. Then, the print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which the comment as the additional information is added is included in the print jobs of the end history stored in the end history storage unit 33. Determine if it exists.

Specifically, the print job determination unit 35 of the present embodiment first extracts a print job to which a comment as additional information is added from among the print jobs of the end history stored in the end history storage unit 33. do. Regarding the method of extracting print jobs with comments added, for example, a flag is set for print jobs with an end history, the flag is set to "1" for print jobs with comments added, and printing without comments is performed. For jobs, the flag should be set to "0". Alternatively, information about whether or not there is a comment may be provided as header information of the print job in the completion history.

Next, the print job determination unit 35 compares the extracted print job to which the comment is added and the newly input print job. In the present embodiment, comparison is not made with all print jobs stored in the end history storage unit 33, but only print jobs to which comments have been added, thereby reducing the load of comparison processing. can be processed quickly.

Specifically, the print job determination unit 35 compares the name and update date and time of the print job to which the comment is added with the name and update date and time of the newly input print job, and determines whether or not they are the same. By determining whether the print jobs are the same, it is determined whether or not the print jobs are the same.

The reason for comparing the update date and time of the print jobs is to compare whether the versions of the print jobs are the same. This can improve the accuracy of determination of the same print job. Note that the method for determining whether or not the print jobs are the same is not limited to this, and it is possible to compare only the names of the print jobs, or to use a method of comparing other print job information. can be

When the print job determination unit 35 determines that there is a print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which a comment is added, the additional information presentation unit 36 performs Present the attached comment.

Specifically, if there is a print job that is the same as the newly input print job among the print jobs in the completion history, the additional information presentation unit 36 displays the comment added to the same print job. The data is output to the print job output device 10 and displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10 .

8 to 10 are diagrams showing examples of comment display screens displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the additional information presenting unit 36 displays comments added by the user on the comment display screen. In the example shown in FIG. 8, "confidential information" is displayed as a comment. With this comment, it is possible to inform other users who print the same print job later that confidential information is included, thereby preventing careless printing.

In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the comment "unsuitable for exhibition use due to low image quality" is displayed. With this comment, other users who print the same print job later can be notified that the print job is unsuitable for exhibitions, and wasteful printing can be avoided. In addition, it is possible to prompt the user to change the printing conditions.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, the comment "100 copies printed on Rev1.2 9/29 E" is displayed. "Rev1.2" in the comment shown in FIG. 10 is version information, "9/29" is the date and time when the printing process was performed, and "E" is the name of the user who performed the printing process. With this comment, other users who print the same print job later can be notified of the number of copies already printed, and it is possible to prevent the same print job from being printed unnecessarily. Also, as shown in FIG. 10, by entering the version information (Rev1.2) as a comment, it is possible to avoid printing a print job with the same name but before proofreading by mistake. can do.

In addition to the comment, the additional information presentation unit 36 displays the name of the print job (job name/document name), the name of the user who added the comment (full name), and the affiliation (group) of the user on the comment display screen. display. The additional information presenting unit 36 automatically acquires the name of the print job and the name of the user who added the comment from the end history storage unit 33, and the user information stored in association with the print job from the user information storage unit 32. to automatically acquire and display information on the affiliation of By displaying the name and affiliation of the user who added the comment in this way, other users who later print the same print job can grasp which affiliation and who printed the same print job before. .

Also, the number of copies (8 copies) of the newly input print job is displayed at the right corner of the comment display screen. By displaying the number of copies or the number of copies of the newly input print job on the comment display screen, it is possible to refer to the number of copies already printed (100 copies) described in the comment. This information can be used as information for determining whether or not it is necessary to continue the print process.

Note that the content displayed on the comment display screen is not limited to the above items, and other items may be displayed. Specifically, for example, other print conditions included in the print job may be displayed on the comment display screen.

Further, if there are a plurality of print jobs that are the same as the newly input print job and to which comments are added, the additional information presenting unit 36 adds comments to each of the plurality of print jobs. display the comment on the monitor. As a result, the user can check all the comments added to the same print job, and can appropriately determine the subsequent print processing. For example, when the number of copies to be printed is displayed as a comment, the number of copies to be printed can be grasped by adding the number of copies to be printed for each comment.

Note that the additional information presentation unit 36 is configured to be able to switch between display and non-display of comments. That is, the comment display by the additional information presenting unit 36 can be turned off according to the user's request. As a result, for a user who finds the display of comments to be troublesome, the printing process can proceed smoothly without displaying the comments. The presence/absence of comment display may be switched, for example, on the console screen displayed on the monitor.

Further, the comment display by the additional information presenting unit 36 is performed only when a print instruction for a new print job is issued as described above. This is because, for example, there is a security problem if comments can be referred to by other users before printing is instructed.

Next, when a comment is presented by the additional information presenting unit 36 as described above, the continuation information accepting unit 37 accepts input of information regarding continuation of print processing of the newly input print job. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the continuation information receiving unit 37 displays a "Continue" button, a "Cancel" button, and a "Change" button on the comment display screen. When the user selects the "Continue" button, the continuation information accepting unit 37 accepts the information and continues the print processing of the newly input print job. Further, when the user selects the "stop" button, the information is accepted and the print processing of the newly input print job is stopped.

Further, when the "change" button is selected, the continuation information accepting unit 37 accepts a change in the printing conditions of the newly input print job, and continues the printing process under the changed printing conditions. To change the printing conditions, the user increases or decreases the number of copies (number of prints) of the newly input print job according to, for example, the number of copies (number of prints) of the comments on the comment display screen. Also, the user may improve the image quality, for example by changing the print density or resolution, if a reduction in image quality is commented. Changes to the printing conditions are not limited to these, and other changes can be appropriately received according to the functions of the printing apparatus 20 . By accepting changes in printing conditions in this way, it is possible to continue appropriate printing processing without wasting the previous operations.

Returning to FIG. 1, the image processing unit 31 performs various processes on the print job determined to continue the print processing by the print job management unit 30, and generates print data for driving the print processing unit 22. do. Specifically, for example, when the print processing unit 22 performs print processing using an inkjet head, the image processing unit 31 first performs RIP (Raster Image Processor) processing on the print job to generate an RGB format image. Generate data.

Next, the image processing unit 31 converts the RGB format image data into CMYK format image data using a color conversion table or the like, performs halftone processing on the CMYK format image data, and produces drop data of each color. is generated as print data. As halftone processing, error diffusion processing and dither mask processing are used. When the print processing unit 22 performs laser printing processing or stencil printing processing, processing corresponding to these printing methods is applied to the print job.

The print processing unit 22 performs print processing on the print medium based on the print data output from the image processing unit 31 . The print processing unit 22 includes, for example, a transport unit that transports a print medium and an inkjet head that ejects ink onto the print medium transported by the transport unit.

The operation panel 23 is composed of, for example, a touch panel having a liquid crystal display, and accepts various setting inputs related to print processing and various user instruction inputs.

Next, the flow of print processing using the print system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, after a print job is created in the print job output device 10, a login screen for the printing device 20 is displayed on the monitor. Then, the user sets and inputs the identification information (ID) and password on the login screen, and is checked against the identification (ID) and password stored in the user information storage unit 32 to permit login (S30).

Next, when the user inputs a print instruction to the printer driver of the print job output device 10 , the print job is output from the print job output device 10 to the printing device 20 and input to the print job management section 30 of the printing device 20 . (S32).

Then, when receiving the input of a new print job, the print job management unit 30 extracts the print job to which the comment is added among the print jobs stored in the end history storage unit 33, and extracts the extracted print job. is compared with the newly input print job, and it is determined whether or not the same print job as the newly input print job exists in the extracted print jobs (S34).

If it is determined that the same print job as the newly input print job exists in the extracted print jobs (S34, YES), the comment added to the same print job is output as the print job. It is displayed on the monitor of the device 10 (S36).

Then, the user refers to the comment displayed on the monitor and determines whether or not to continue the printing process. "Continue" button is selected, thereby starting the printing process for the newly input print job (S40). On the other hand, as a result of referring to the comment displayed on the monitor, if the user determines that the printing process is not necessary (S42, Cancel), he/she selects the "Cancel" button on the comment display screen and ends the process. When the user refers to the comment displayed on the monitor and decides to change the printing conditions for printing (S42, change printing conditions), the user clicks the "Change" button on the comment display screen. select. When the user selects the "change" button, a screen for accepting changes in the printing conditions is displayed on the monitor, and the user sets and inputs the changed printing conditions (S44). After that, when the user selects the "Continue" button, print processing is started for the newly input print job based on the changed print conditions (S40).

If it is determined in S44 that there is no print job that is the same as the newly input print job among the extracted print jobs (S44, NO), the comment is not displayed and is displayed as it is. A print process is started (S40).

In the above embodiment, the login screen, console screen, print job completion history, comment input screen, and comment display screen are displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10 . to display them. At this time, the user logs in to the printer 20 by setting and inputting identification information (ID) and a password on the login screen displayed on the operation panel 23 of the printer 20 . Then, an end history is selected on the console screen displayed on the operation panel 23, a print job to which a comment is to be added is selected from the print jobs of the end history, and a comment is set and input on the comment input screen.

Then, when the user inputs a print instruction for a new print job on the operation panel 23 of the printing apparatus 20, the above-described print job determination unit 35 performs determination, and the same print job is included in the print jobs of the completion history. To display a comment added to a print job of an end history together with a comment display screen when there is a print job to which a comment is added among jobs. Note that the comment display screen may be displayed on the monitor of the print job output device 10 instead of the operation panel 23 .

When a print instruction for a new print job is input on the operation panel 23 of the printer 20, for example, a print job saved in a box on a storage medium such as a hard disk of the printer 20 is read out and printed, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory is connected to the printer 20, and a print job saved in the USB memory is read out and printed. User authentication is also performed on the operation panel 23 of the printing apparatus 20 when a security job, which is a print job output from the print job output apparatus 10 and limits the users who can print, is printed by the printing apparatus 20 . , a print instruction is input.

Further, in the above embodiment, the print job stored in the end history storage unit 33 may be deleted when a preset period has passed. In this case, it is preferable to set the retention period of the print job to which the comment is added longer than the retention period of the print job to which the comment is not added. Note that it is preferable that only a user having administrator authority can set the storage period.

Further, in the printing system 1 of the above-described embodiment, the print job management unit 30 is provided in the printing device 20, but all or part of the print job management unit 30 may is a different device, and may be provided in another device connected to the communication line N.

Regarding the print job management apparatus of the present invention, the following additional notes are disclosed.
(Appendix)

The print job management apparatus of the present invention can have a user information storage unit that stores identification information of users who can use the printing apparatus. , and the additional information presenting unit can present the user's information and the user's affiliation information together with the additional information.

Further, in the print job management apparatus of the present invention, the print job determination unit extracts a print job to which additional information is added from among the print jobs of the end history stored in the end history storage unit, and extracts the print job. A new print job can be compared with a new input print job.

Further, in the print job management apparatus of the present invention, the additional information presenting section can switch whether or not to present the additional information.

Further, in the print job management apparatus of the present invention, when there are a plurality of print jobs determined to be the same print job as the newly input print job, the additional information presentation unit A plurality of additional information added to the can be presented.

Further, in the print job management apparatus of the present invention, the continuation information reception unit can receive an input of a change in printing conditions regarding print processing as information regarding continuation of print processing.

1 printing system 10 print job output device 20 printing device 21 control unit 22 print processing unit 23 operation panel 30 print job management unit 31 image processing unit 32 user information storage unit 33 end history storage unit 34 additional information input reception unit 35 print job determination Unit 36 Additional information presentation unit 37 Continuation information reception unit N Communication line

Claims (8)

an end history storage unit that, when a user performs print processing using a printing device, stores end history information of a print job targeted for the print processing in association with the user;
an additional information input reception unit that receives an input of additional information for the end history information by a user associated with the end history information;
In response to the input of a new print job, the newly input print job is compared with the print job included in the end history information stored in the end history storage unit, and the newly input print is performed. a print job determination unit that determines whether or not a print job that is the same as the job and to which the additional information is added exists in the print jobs of the completion history;
When it is determined by the print job determination unit that there is a print job that is the same as the newly input print job and to which the additional information is added, the additional information added to the same print job is determined. an additional information presentation unit that presents information;
and a continuation information reception unit that receives input of information regarding continuation of print processing of the newly input print job after presentation of the additional information. The print job determination unit extracts the print job to which the additional information is added from among the print jobs of the completion history stored in the completion history storage unit, and extracts the extracted print job and the newly input print job. 2. The print job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print job is compared with the print job. 3. The print job management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuation information receiving unit receives an input of a change in printing conditions regarding the printing process as the information regarding the continuation of the printing process. 4. The print job management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the print job determination unit compares print job names and update dates. 5. The print job management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the additional information presentation unit displays the number of copies of the newly input print job. 6. The print job management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the additional information presentation unit presents the additional information only when a print instruction for the newly input print job is issued. 7. The print job management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a print job stored in said end history storage unit is deleted when a preset period has elapsed. 8. Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the retention period of the print job to which the additional information is added is longer in the end history storage unit than the retention period in the end history storage unit of the print job to which the additional information is not added. A print job management device according to any one of the preceding claims.

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