JP7250650B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of printing a document or the like on paper.

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimile machines, and printers are sometimes used by being connected to a plurality of terminal devices such as personal computers via a network. Each user performs work such as creating a document on his or her personal computer, sends data from the personal computer to the image forming apparatus, and sends a print instruction to the image forming apparatus to print the document on paper. do.

In recent years, there has been a demand for the recycling of printing paper for the purpose of cost reduction, and paper that has been used on one side (so-called back paper) is sometimes reused. In other words, the paper is reused by printing a document or the like on the opposite side of the used side of the backing paper. In this case, the user of the image forming apparatus decides whether to print on the reverse side of the paper or on unused paper that has not been reused, depending on the content to be printed. An operation was required to direct the forming apparatus.

In order to eliminate the need for such an operation and reduce the operational burden on the user, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses that the file name of an electronic file of a document includes information representing the attributes of the document data. An invention is disclosed in which a device reads information representing the attributes of document data based on the file name of an electronic file and determines whether the paper to be printed is the back side or unused paper based on this information. .

JP 2006-276057 A

According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, the image forming apparatus prints a document based on the file name of an electronic file without the user instructing whether to print on the back side of the paper or on unused paper. Information representing the attributes of the data is read, and based on this information, it is determined whether the paper to be printed is the back paper or the unused paper, and printing is executed. Therefore, the user does not need to perform an operation to instruct whether to print on the back paper or the unused paper, and the user only needs to perform an operation to instruct printing, so the operation is easy. .

However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. For example, although the content is usually printed on unused paper, it may be preferable to print on the back paper depending on the situation. For example, a document created to be submitted to an external party such as for a customer is originally printed on unused paper. It is preferable to print on the back paper, as the form will not be submitted to the outside world and the form will be discarded after verification. However, even in such a case, according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200000, the file name is used to select the paper, so that the printed image is printed on unused paper instead of the back paper. For this reason, there is a problem that it runs counter to the purpose of cost reduction.

In order to prevent such a problem, it is possible to change the file name when printing on the reverse side of the content that is normally printed on unused paper, but such work is troublesome and the user's tend to forget such tasks, and look at the paper after it is printed to remember. In other words, it is difficult to solve the problem that, in the end, printing is done not on the backing paper but on the unused paper, which goes against the purpose of cost reduction. Although the content is normally printed on the back paper, it may be preferable to print on unused paper depending on the situation.

Moreover, it is troublesome for the user to set not only the selection of the paper for printing but also other print settings each time printing is performed. Therefore, there is a problem that wasteful printing increases and goes against the purpose of cost reduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that reduces the burden on the user and can prevent erroneous printing.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes communication means for receiving an electronic file to which print setting information related to print settings is added, and printing for printing on paper based on the electronic file received by the communication means. means, setting storage means for pre-storing standard print setting information that is standard print settings when the printing means prints on paper, and said print setting comparison means for comparing print setting information with the standard print setting information stored in the setting storage means; notification means for notifying that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information when it is determined that the print setting information is different from the print setting information; and if it is determined that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, the printing means suspends the printing operation based on the electronic file , and the printing means prints the electronic file. If the print setting information added to the electronic file newly received by the communication means is the same as the standard print setting information, the print setting comparison means determines When determined, the printing means prints on paper based on the newly received electronic file .

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus, electronic files to which print settings (print setting information) different from preset standard print settings (standard print setting information) are added are printed without being printed. It notifies that print settings different from the standard print settings are made. As a result, the electronic file is printed after the desired print settings are set again, so that the printing is executed as intended by the user, and printing is prevented from being performed with unfavorable print settings. be. As a result, it is possible to prevent the problem of having to redo printing. Therefore, it leads to cost reduction. In addition, since reprinting is suppressed, the user's operation burden is reduced. In addition, since the user only needs to consider the preferable print settings when the notification is given, it is not necessary to consider the preferable print settings for all printing. It's easy. Also, if the print settings added to the electronic file are different from the standard print settings, there is a high possibility that the preferred print settings have not been made. Therefore, the user's operation burden is reduced, and erroneous printing can be suppressed. Further, according to the above image forming apparatus, even if printing of an electronic file to which print setting information different from standard print setting information is added is suspended, the print setting information added to the electronic file received later is If it is the same as the standard print setting information, the electronic file received later is printed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the printing process from being delayed, and to execute the printing process efficiently.

Further, in the image forming apparatus described above, the notifying means not only notifies that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, It is also possible to notify the user to prompt the user to select one of these operations.

As a result, since the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, the user's operation is guided when the printing process is suspended, so that the user's operation burden is reduced.

Further, in the image forming apparatus described above, the communication means may transmit the content notified by the notification means to the terminal device that has transmitted the electronic file to which the print setting information is added.

As a result, the above-mentioned notification is made on the terminal device that performs work such as document creation and the printing instruction of the created document, so that the user can recognize the above-mentioned notification on the terminal device where the user normally performs work. Therefore, there is no need to go to the image forming apparatus for confirmation, which saves time and effort and eliminates complexity.

Further, the above-described image forming apparatus may further include printing status information storage means for storing printing status information regarding printing operations.

As a result, by analyzing the printing status information stored in the printing status information storage means, it is possible to derive printing trends and the like. For this reason, for example, it is possible to review the standard print setting information based on the printing trends obtained by analysis, etc., and to set the standard print setting information according to the actual situation. Differences from the print setting information added to the file are reduced. In other words, the number of times the printing is put on hold is reduced, and the printing process is executed efficiently.

Further, in the image forming apparatus described above, the communication means may transmit the printing status information stored in the printing status information storage means to the outside.

As a result, by analyzing the printing status information externally, it becomes possible to derive printing trends and the like. For this reason, for example, it is possible to review the standard print setting information based on the printing trends obtained by analysis, etc., and to set the standard print setting information according to the actual situation. Differences from the print setting information added to the file are reduced. In other words, the number of times the printing is put on hold is reduced, and the printing process is executed efficiently.

Further, in the image forming apparatus described above, the standard print setting information may include one print setting or a plurality of print settings.

As a result, printing is executed after confirming the print settings for the print contents, so that it is possible to reduce costs and reduce the user's operational burden.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that reduces the burden on the user and can suppress erroneous printing.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic external configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of display on the display section of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flow chart showing an example of control operations of the image forming apparatus and the terminal device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of a server included in the image forming apparatus system according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus system 500 includes an image forming apparatus 100 and a plurality of terminal devices 20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d). The terminal device 20 is, for example, a personal computer, and a plurality of users use the terminal device 20 to create documents. Each of the terminal device 20a, the terminal device 20b, the terminal device 20c, and the terminal device 20d, which are the plurality of terminal devices 20, is connected to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network NW. Note that in the first embodiment, each of the four terminal devices 20, ie, the terminal device 20a, the terminal device 20b, the terminal device 20c, and the terminal device 20d, is connected to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network NW. However, the number of terminal devices 20 connected to the image forming apparatus 100 is not limited to four, and may be one or a plurality of devices other than four. Also, the terminal device 20 may be a notebook computer, a tablet computer, or a smart phone. The terminal device 20 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network NW, and is only required to allow the image forming apparatus 100 to execute printing.

A user creates a document or the like using the terminal device 20 and sends an instruction from the terminal device 20 to the image forming device 100 to cause the image forming device 100 to print the created document. At this time, an electronic file that is print data such as a document is transmitted from the terminal device 20 to the image forming apparatus 100, and the image forming apparatus 100 executes printing based on the electronic file. The user creates an electronic file using a device other than the terminal device 20 and is not connected to the network NW, and transmits the created electronic file from the terminal device 20 to the image forming apparatus 100. You can print.

Next, the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the outline configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming apparatus main body 110 and a document reading device 120 .

The document reading device 120 is provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 110 and includes a document table 121 , a document reading section 122 and an automatic document feeder 123 . Document reader 120 reads an image of a document placed on document table 121 by document reader 122 , or reads an image of a document automatically fed by automatic document feeder 123 by document reader 122 . It reads and transmits image data of the read document to the image forming apparatus main body 110 . The document reader 120 discharges the document conveyed by the automatic document feeder 123 and read by the document reader 122 to the document discharge tray 123a.

The image forming apparatus main body 110 has a sheet containing portion 111 , a sheet conveying portion 112 , an image forming portion 113 , a sheet discharging portion 114 and an operating portion 115 . The image forming apparatus main body 110 accommodates paper, which is a recording sheet such as recording paper, in the sheet accommodation unit 111 , conveys the paper accommodated in the sheet accommodation unit 111 by the sheet conveying unit 112 , and conveys the paper by the sheet conveying unit 112 The image forming unit 113 forms a color image or a monochrome image on the conveyed paper based on the image data transmitted from the document reading device 120 or the outside, and the image forming unit 113 forms the image on the paper and discharges the sheet. The sheet is discharged to a sheet discharge tray 114 a in the section 114 . Further, the image forming unit 113 can print a document or the like on paper based on an electronic file which is print data transmitted from the outside.

The sheet storage unit 111 includes paper feed cassettes 111a to 111d, and different types of paper are stored in these paper feed cassettes 111a to 111d. For example, paper of different sizes such as A4 size paper and A3 size paper, unused paper, so-called reverse paper with one side used, etc. are stored separately in the paper feed cassettes 111a to 111d. It is For example, the paper feed cassette 111a contains unused A4 size paper, the paper feed cassette 111b contains A4 size reverse paper, and the paper feed cassette 111c contains unused A3 size paper. , unused B5 size paper is accommodated in the paper feed cassette 111d.

The operation unit 115 includes a display unit 161 and has an operation member 165 . The display unit 161 is a touch panel display, which not only displays images related to operations, but also enables input by touching the screen of the display unit 161 . The display unit 161 can also display previews of documents, images, and the like to be printed. In addition, the display unit 161 can also display information for the user. Specifically, the content to be notified to the user is displayed on the display unit 161, so that the user recognizes the content of the notification.

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 further includes a control section 180 and a communication section 166 as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the configuration described above.

The control unit 180 includes a processing unit 181 including a microcomputer such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a print setting comparison unit 182, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a rewritable non-volatile memory, and the like. and a storage unit 184 including a storage device of .

The processing unit 181 also loads a control program stored in advance in the ROM of the storage unit 184 onto the RAM of the storage unit 184 and executes it, thereby controlling the operation of various components. The RAM of the storage unit 184 provides the processing unit 181 with a work area for working and an area as an image memory for storing image data.

The storage unit 184 stores in advance standard print setting information, which is information about standard print settings when the image forming unit 113 prints on paper. Note that print settings are settings related to print modes, such as number-of-copies settings, single-sided/double-sided settings, layout settings, finishing settings, print orientation settings, color mode settings, paper settings, advanced settings, and special function settings. , job handling settings and watermark settings.

Although the above print settings are general, each print setting will be briefly described below. The number of copies setting is a setting for the number of copies of a document to be printed. Single-sided/double-sided setting is a setting as to whether to print on only one side of the paper or to print on both sides. The layout setting is a so-called N-UP setting, and is a setting for the number of pages to be laid out on one sheet of paper. The order of pages to be laid out can also be set. The finishing settings are settings for the binding position and binding margin on the paper. In addition, when printing multiple copies of multiple sheets, the so-called offset function that shifts the position of each copy and ejects the paper, and the settings for stapling and punching holes for each copy are also finished. included in the settings.

The print orientation setting is a setting as to whether the orientation of the paper for the print content is vertical, horizontal, 180° rotation, or the like. Also, the color mode setting is about color printing, grayscale printing, or setting for automatically selecting these. Paper settings are settings for paper size, zoom, poster printing, paper feed method, paper discharge tray, and the like. Here, the setting of the paper size also includes the setting of whether to print on the back side of the paper or on unused paper.

Advanced settings are settings for print mode, graphic mode, bitmap compression, tab sheet setting, overlay, font setting, and the like. The special function settings are settings for paper insertion, OHP interleaving, carbon copy, tab sheet printing, paper folding, and the like. Job handling settings are settings for retention, document filing, user authentication, and the like. Watermark settings are settings for watermarks, texts, image stamps, position adjustments, and the like.

The storage unit 184 stores information on these print settings in advance. Note that the print setting may be one of the print settings described above, or may be set by combining an arbitrary plurality of print settings. The print setting information stored in advance in the storage unit 184 in this way is the standard print setting information. This standard print setting information is information about standard print settings in printing of the image forming apparatus 100 . For example, in the image forming apparatus 100, as the standard print setting information, it is assumed that printing is performed on the reverse side of A4 size paper. Specifically, this setting is a paper size setting, and it is set that paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 111b and printing is performed.

The standard print setting information may be set by, for example, an administrator of the image forming apparatus system 500, and it is preferable to make it difficult for anyone other than the administrator to set it. For example, the administrator of the image forming apparatus system 500 determines standard print settings based on the operation status of the image forming apparatus 100 and the work content of each user, and stores them in advance in the storage unit 184 as standard print setting information. It should be memorized.

The print setting comparison unit 182 determines whether the print setting information added to the electronic file for which the print instruction is issued from the terminal device 20 and the standard print setting information stored in the storage unit 184 are the same or different. do. Here, the user creates a document or the like as an electronic file using the terminal device 20 or the like, and in order to print the document on paper, the electronic file of the document is sent to the image forming apparatus 100 and instructed to be printed. , print setting information, which is print settings for printing the document, is added to the electronic file. For example, the user may be able to save to the properties of the electronic file.

Usually, this electronic file is added with the same print setting information as the standard print setting information, and the user can change the content of the added print setting information as necessary. . For example, the print setting information added to the electronic file usually includes the print setting for printing on the reverse side of A4 paper, but the user can change this setting and add it to the electronic file. It is possible to change the print settings so that the print setting information includes printing on unused A4 paper.

The communication unit 166 receives a print instruction signal and an electronic file to be printed, which are transmitted from the terminal device 20 to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network NW. When receiving the print instruction signal and the electronic file, the communication unit 166 notifies the control unit 180 that the print instruction signal has been sent from the terminal device 20, and also transmits the electronic file to the control unit 180. do. The electronic file sent to control unit 180 is stored in storage unit 184 .

When communication unit 166 receives a print instruction signal and an electronic file to be printed, the electronic file is sent to control unit 180 as described above. The print setting comparison unit 182 compares the print setting information added to the electronic file with the standard print setting information stored in the storage unit 184 and determines whether they are the same or different.

As described above, the standard print setting information is set to print on the reverse side of A4 size paper. If printing on unused A4 paper is set in the print setting information attached to the electronic file, the print setting comparison unit 182 compares the standard print setting information and the print attached to the electronic file. It is determined that it is different from the setting information. Further, if the print setting information attached to the electronic file specifies printing on the reverse side of A4, the print setting comparison unit 182 compares the standard print setting information and the print settings attached to the electronic file. information is the same.

As described above, a plurality of print settings may be set as standard print setting information. If different print settings are made, it is determined that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are different. Then, if the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are the same for all of the plurality of print settings, the print setting comparison unit 182 determines whether the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are the same. is the same as the existing print setting information.

In response to the print instruction signal from the terminal device 20 received by the communication unit 166, the processing unit 181 determines that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are the same. If it is determined, the image forming unit 113 is instructed to print the electronic file. However, when the print setting comparison unit 182 determines that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are different, the processing unit 181 determines to suspend the print instruction, and performs image formation. The printing operation is suspended without issuing an instruction to the unit 113 .

If the processing unit 181 decides to withhold the print instruction, the processing unit 181 causes the display unit 161 to display that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information. In addition, the display unit 161 also displays information suggesting future operations by the user. Specifically, a plurality of operations are displayed, and a display prompting the user to select one of them is executed. That is, the display unit 161 notifies that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, and prompts the user to select one of a plurality of operations. conduct.

Display for notification on the display unit 161 will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of display on the display section of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

If the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are different and the printing operation is suspended, the display unit 161 displays "Printed content and administrator There is a discrepancy in the print settings.", "This file is set to prohibit backing paper.", "Please select the printing method." Execute the display of "print with user settings" and "retry settings". The "administrator setting" is the print setting in the standard print setting information, and the "user setting" is the print setting in the print setting information added to the electronic file.

When the user selects the “print with administrator settings” key, a signal is sent from the operation unit 115 to the processing unit 181 . Specifically, the user makes an input by touching the display portion of “print with administrator setting” on display unit 161 with a finger, and the input signal is sent from operation unit 115 to control unit 180 . Thus, when the user selects "print with administrator settings", the processing unit 181 instructs the image forming unit 113 to print based on the print settings in the standard print setting information. . That is, an instruction is given to print on the A4 back paper, and the image forming unit 113 executes printing on the A4 back paper based on the electronic file.

When the user selects the "print with user settings" key, the processing unit 181 causes the image forming unit 113 to print based on the print settings in the print setting information added to the electronic file. to do so. That is, an instruction is given to print on unused A4 paper, and image forming unit 113 executes printing on unused A4 paper based on the electronic file.

Further, when the user selects the "retry setting" key, the processing unit 181 cancels the pending print instruction. That is, the print instruction is deleted. Therefore, in order to print, the user needs to issue a print instruction again.

As described above, since the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a plurality of terminal devices 20, while the processing unit 181 is holding a print instruction, another terminal device 20 newly issues a print instruction. A signal may be sent to the image forming device 100 . In this case, the print setting comparison unit 182 compares the print setting information added to the electronic file of the new print instruction and the standard print setting information while the print instruction that is on hold by the processing unit 181 remains on hold. Compare and judge whether they are the same or different. Then, if the print setting comparison unit 182 determines that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file of the new print instruction are the same, the processing unit 181 creates the electronic file of the new print instruction. The image forming unit 113 is instructed to execute printing related to . In other words, printing is not performed based on the electronic file for which the print instruction is pending, but is performed based on the electronic file for which the print instruction is newly issued from the other terminal device 20 . Note that if the print setting comparison unit 182 determines that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file of the new print instruction are different, it is decided to suspend the new print instruction as well. , the image forming unit 113 is not instructed, and the printing operation is suspended.

Next, the control operation of the image forming device 100 and the terminal device 20 in the image forming device system 500 will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of control operations of the image forming apparatus and the terminal device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the operation of the terminal device 20 will be described. A print setting is made for an electronic file, which is a document created by the terminal device 20 (step S1001). In other words, the terminal device 20 creates an electronic file to which the print setting information is added. Next, a print instruction signal for the electronic file to which the print setting information is added is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 (step S1002). This completes the operation of the terminal device 20 .

Next, operations in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. The image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not a print instruction signal has been received from the terminal device 20 (step S2001). If no print instruction signal has been received (step S2001: No), step 2001 is performed again. If a print instruction signal has been received (step S2001: Yes), the standard print setting information is compared with the print setting information added to the electronic file (step S2002). It is determined whether or not the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are the same (step S2003). If there is (step S2003: Yes), printing is executed based on the electronic file (step S2004), and the operation ends.

If the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are different (step S2003: No), the fact that the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file are different is displayed ( Step S2005), it is determined whether change of print settings is selected (step S2006). That is, in the display in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the "retry setting" key has been selected. If change of the print settings is selected (step S2006: Yes), the process returns to step S1001 and the terminal device 20 makes print settings.

If change of print settings is not selected (step S2006: No), it is determined whether printing with administrator settings is selected (step S2007). That is, in the display in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the "print with administrator setting" key has been selected. If printing with administrator settings is selected (step S2007: Yes), printing is executed with administrator settings (step S2008), and the operation ends.

If printing is not selected by administrator setting (step S2007: No), it is determined whether printing is selected by user setting (step S2009). That is, in the display in FIG. 4, it is determined whether the "print with user settings" key has been selected. If printing with user settings is selected (step S2009: Yes), printing is executed with user settings (step S2010), and the operation ends. If printing is not selected in the user setting (step S2009: No), the process returns to step S2006.

The first embodiment has been described above. As described above, in the image forming apparatus 100, if the standard print setting information stored in the image forming apparatus 100 is different from the print setting information added to the electronic file to be printed, the image forming apparatus 100 does not print and executes printing with the print settings in the standard print setting information, prints with the print settings in the print setting information added to the electronic file, or changes the print settings in the electronic file. to confirm. As a result, printing is not performed in a manner unintended by the user, and redoing of printing can be prevented. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 100, it is possible to reduce the operational burden without increasing unnecessary work on the user. In addition, since unnecessary printing can be suppressed, costs can be reduced.

(Second embodiment)
The image forming apparatus system according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which the image forming apparatus system 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention further includes a server. The image forming apparatus system according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals will be given to the same members as in the image forming apparatus system 500 according to the first embodiment, and the description will be omitted. .

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus system according to the second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration of a server included in the image forming apparatus system according to the second embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, an image forming apparatus system 500a according to the second embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 100, a plurality of terminal devices 20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d), and a server 200. FIG. Server 200 is connected to image forming apparatus 100 via network NW, and data can be transmitted and received between server 200 and image forming apparatus 100 . In image forming apparatus 100 , data transmission/reception from the server is performed by communication unit 166 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the server 200 includes an analysis section 210, a server storage section 220, and a server communication section 230. FIG. Note that the analysis unit 210 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer such as a CPU. Also, the server storage unit 220 is configured by a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, or a rewritable non-volatile memory, for example.

Server communication unit 230 receives print status information from image forming apparatus 100 . Here, the printing status information is information on the printing status in the image forming apparatus 100 and is stored in the storage unit 184 . Specifically, in the image forming apparatus 100, the storage unit 184 stores information about whether the print setting information added to the electronic file is the same as the standard print setting information, which is determined by the print setting comparison unit 182. The judgment result is memorized at any time. Further, the operation selected by the user when the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information is also stored. In this way, the information stored by the storage unit 184 with respect to the printing status is the printing status information.

As described above, the print status information is information related to print settings in the print operation of the image forming apparatus 100, and by analyzing this information, it is possible to derive print trends and the like.

The print status information accumulated and stored by storage unit 184 of image forming apparatus 100 is transmitted from communication unit 166 to server communication unit 230 via network NW.

The analysis unit 210 obtains preferable print settings (standard print setting information) in the image forming apparatus 100 based on the print status information. For example, by analyzing the printing status information, it is possible to derive the printing tendency and the like, and it is possible to review the standard print setting information based on the printing tendency and the like. In other words, it derives preferable print settings according to the actual printing situation. Specifically, if the user often selects "print with user settings" rather than "print with administrator settings", printing based on the standard print setting information is less likely to be performed. Therefore, the standard print setting information is reviewed to derive print settings that are often used in actual printing operations. Analysis unit 210 incorporates the derived preferable print settings into the standard print setting information and transmits it from server communication unit 230 to image forming apparatus 100 .

The server storage unit 220 stores the print status information received by the server communication unit 230 and the preferred standard print setting information derived by the analysis unit 210 .

Note that the image forming apparatus 100 that has received the preferred standard print setting information from the server 200 may store this preferred standard print setting information in the storage unit 184 and update it as new standard print setting information.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus system 500a according to the second embodiment, the preferred standard print setting information is obtained from the server 200 in consideration of the printing status of the image forming apparatus 100, and the preferred standard print setting information is used. By updating, preferable standard print setting information according to the printing status of the image forming apparatus 100 can be stored. As a result, the number of differences between the standard print setting information and the print setting information added to the electronic file is reduced, and the number of times the printing is put on hold is reduced, and the print processing is executed efficiently.

According to the second embodiment, the preferred standard print setting information is analyzed by the analysis unit 210, but the preferred standard print setting information is managed based on the printing status information stored in the server storage unit 220. It may be stored in the storage unit 184 upon request by a person or the like.

In particular, without providing the server 200 , the controller 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 may derive preferable standard print setting information based on the print status information and store it in the storage unit 184 . In particular, without providing the server 200, the administrator or the like derives preferable standard print setting information based on the printing status information stored in the storage unit 184 of the image forming apparatus 100, and stores it in the storage unit 184. may

(Other forms)
In the above-described first and second embodiments of the present invention, the print setting information added to the electronic file and the standard print setting information are different, and one operation is selected from a plurality of operations. Although the notification of prompting the user to do so is performed by the display unit 161 of the image forming apparatus 100 , the notification may be performed by means other than the display unit 161 .

For example, this notification may be made by the terminal device 20 of the user who issued the print instruction. For example, when the processing unit 181 decides to suspend the print instruction, the print setting information and the standard print setting information added to the electronic file are sent from the communication unit 166 to the terminal device 20 that transmitted the print instruction signal. and that the user is prompted to select one of a plurality of operations, and the content of this notification is displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 20. good. Specifically, the display screen of the terminal device 20 may be displayed as shown in FIG. In addition, it is sufficient to enable the terminal device 20 to select the operation of “print with administrator settings”, “print with user settings”, and “redo settings”.

Thereby, the user can recognize the notification while continuing the work using the terminal device 20 . Further, in such a case, instructions can be given through the terminal device 20 without using the display unit 161 of the image forming apparatus 100, so that the operation load is reduced and the operation can be performed easily.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be implemented in various other forms. Therefore, this embodiment is merely an example in all respects and should not be construed in a restrictive manner. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims and is not restricted by the text of the specification. Furthermore, all modifications and changes within the equivalence range of claims are within the scope of the present invention.

20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) Terminal device 100 Image forming apparatus 110 Image forming apparatus main body 111 Sheet storage units 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d Paper feed cassette 112 Sheet conveying unit 113 Image forming unit (printing means)
114 sheet ejection portion 114a sheet ejection tray 115 operation portion 120 document reading device 121 document placing table 122 document reading portion 123 automatic document feeder 123a document ejection tray 161 display portion (informing means)
166 communication unit 165 operation member 180 control unit 181 processing unit 182 print setting comparison unit 184 storage unit (setting storage means, printing status information storage means)
200 server 210 analysis unit 220 server storage unit 230 server communication unit 500, 500a image forming apparatus system NW network

Claims (6)

a communication means for receiving an electronic file to which print setting information related to print settings is added;
printing means for printing on paper based on the electronic file received by the communication means;
setting storage means for pre-storing standard print setting information that is standard print settings when the printing means prints on paper;
print setting comparison means for comparing the print setting information added to the electronic file received by the communication means with the standard print setting information stored in the setting storage means;
When the print setting comparing means determines that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, the print setting information added to the electronic file and the standard print setting and a notification means for notifying that the information is different,
when the print setting comparing means determines that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, the printing means suspends the printing operation based on the electronic file ;
Even if the printing means suspends the printing operation based on the electronic file, the print setting information added to the electronic file newly received by the communication means is the same as the standard print setting information. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when said print setting comparing means determines that there is, said printing means prints on paper based on said newly received electronic file. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The notifying means not only notifies that the print setting information added to the electronic file is different from the standard print setting information, but also prompts the user to select one of a plurality of operations. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication means transmits the content notified by the notification means to the terminal device that has transmitted the electronic file to which the print setting information is added. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
1. An image forming apparatus, further comprising: print status information storage means for storing print status information relating to printing operations. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 ,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the communication means externally transmits the printing status information stored in the printing status information storage means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the standard print setting information includes one print setting or a plurality of print settings.

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