JP2007018148A - Printing system, information processing apparatus, printing processing method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform scheduling processing, it is necessary for an operator to sequentially check the operation status of devices, which has been a burden on the operator.
In device scheduling for managing use reservations between a plurality of printing apparatuses and post-processing machines in order to efficiently perform printing processing, an optimal rendering method is selected according to a preset priority, and device scheduling is performed. A printing system characterized by a device scheduler that makes it possible to perform the above. This printing system expands the range of device options that can be scheduled.
[Selection] Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, an information processing apparatus, a printing processing method, a program, and a storage medium that enable scheduling of printing processing that includes post-processing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are commercial printers that generate printed materials upon request from customers such as individual users and companies. These printers provide printing data (originals) from customers, create printed materials in response to instructions such as print format, number of copies, and delivery date, and deliver them to customers. These printers use a large-scale apparatus such as an offset plate-making printing machine that has been known for a long time.

  In recent years, with the increase in the speed and image quality of electrophotographic printing apparatuses and inkjet printing apparatuses, “copy service”, “printing service”, “print on demand” (POD) that can be output and delivered in a short time. There is also a commercial printing business category called ")".

  Printing requests to these printing businesses are sent from the user to the service provider who provides the above-mentioned services, including the original document recorded on paper or electronic media, the number of copies printed, the bookbinding method, and the delivery date. (Order instructions) are sent by mail or directly to the printing company (trafficking).

  In addition, a system capable of placing an order / order for printing online via the Internet or an intranet has been put into practical use. For example, in “DotDoc.Web” sold by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., the user accesses the homepage provided by the supplier from his / her computer, and the orderer information (recipient, etc.), print format, By filling in necessary information such as the number of copies and sending it together with the document file, it is possible to place an order for printing the document. The printing company receives a request from the user, creates a printing instruction, and schedules printing processing. Then, according to the created schedule, printing and bookbinding operations are performed by a printer connected to the work computer, and the created printed matter is delivered to the customer to complete the work.

  In a printing company that executes such a printing process entrusted by a user, it is necessary to complete printing so as to be surely in time for a delivery date designated with stable quality. Further, in a large-scale printing center, it is necessary for a plurality of operators to process a large number of printing requests (orders) in parallel using a variety of printing apparatuses and work computers. Therefore, it is necessary to consider using resources such as people (operators) and devices as efficiently as possible.

In addition, in order for the printing company to perform the printing process efficiently, the printing apparatus functions in the same way as a printing apparatus with a higher processing speed. A printing control device is conceived that allows a printing device to function in the same way as a printing device with a higher processing speed by printing on a size paper and then cutting the paper into two (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-2127750

  However, in the conventional technique described above, in order to execute the scheduling process, it is necessary for the operator to sequentially check the operation status of the device, which is a burden on the operator.

  In addition, the print control apparatus presented in Patent Document 1 can also obtain a printed output faster than a normal printing using a specific printing apparatus using a specific printing apparatus. Considering the operating status of multiple printing devices and post-processing machines held at the site, it may be more desirable to use other available printing devices, but select the optimal printing device and post-processing machine. The determination to be made is not performed systematically and requires the judgment of a skilled operator, and device scheduling is not performed in conjunction with the system and requires judgment of a skilled operator, which is a burden on the operator.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points. In order to efficiently perform printing processing, device scheduling that manages reservations for use of a plurality of printing apparatuses and post-processing machines is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system, an information processing apparatus, and a printing processing method with a wide range of options.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has the following configuration. In a printing base having a plurality of printing apparatuses and a cutting machine as a post-processing machine, in order to obtain a print output result (A4 as an example) specified by the user, normal main printing parameters (A4 / 1 as an example) To set a plurality of sub print parameters (for example, A3 / 2 imposition + cutting) for imposition), set work man-hours required for post-processing for device scheduling, and obtain output results A setting application that sets the unit price for the print parameters to calculate the cost required for the device, and a device scheduler that reserves work for multiple printing devices and post-processing machines, and the delivery date and time specified by the user In order to obtain an output result, the available status of each device including the post-processing machine is searched, and multiple sub-marks that can be substituted for the main print parameters Calculated assuming that each device is reserved for rendering and printing with parameters, presenting a method with the earliest processing end time, and obtaining the output result by the delivery date and time specified by the user The cost of printing is calculated assuming that each device, including up to the post-processing machine, is searched, rendered with the main print parameters and multiple sub print parameters that can be substituted, and printed on each device. In order to obtain the output method by the delivery date and time specified by the user, the availability of each device including the post-processing machine can be searched and replaced with the main print parameters. Assuming that each device is rendered with multiple sub printing parameters and printed on each device, the number of man-hours required for handling the post-processing machine (han A device scheduler that makes it possible to make a device reservation by presenting a rendering method according to a plurality of priorities, and presenting information obtained from the device scheduler. A workflow manager that determines the flow of print processing based on the above, an order manager that processes orders from users in cooperation with the device scheduler, the workflow manager, and the like.

  Efficient printing processing at a printing base that has multiple printing devices and a post-processing machine that performs printing processing of data that has been submitted by the user specifying the output format and desired delivery date In order to obtain device-specific output results, multiple sub print parameters are set for the normal main print parameters when device scheduling is used to manage use reservations between multiple printing devices and post-processing machines. The ability to do so broadens the range of device options that can be scheduled.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present invention. It should be noted that the environment of the entire printing system in the following description is for facilitating understanding of the description of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these environments.

  In FIG. 1, a client 151 indicates that a general user is provided with a notebook PC 102 connected to the Internet at home and a business PC 101 connected to an in-house intranet.

  The center server 152 is a WEB server 103 that provides a user with a print request or a submitted content for submitting a manuscript, or stores the submitted print request as an order form (order form) or electronically submitted. 2 shows a server on which a DB server 104 for storing originals is deployed. Here, the WEB server and the DB server can be mixed in one housing, but in the present invention, the description will be divided into two housings for convenience.

  A plurality of printing bases 153 can exist with respect to the center server 152, and are distributed by the center server 152 based on information of printing apparatuses installed at the printing bases. The print base 153 periodically collects the order forms and originals stored in the center server 152 from the DB server 104, and at the same time, the print server 105 on which the printing system itself of the present invention operates, and various types provided by the print server 105. Work PCs 106 that operate using an easy-to-use GUI, monochrome printers 111 and color printers 112 that are actual output destinations, and post-processing machines such as a cutting machine 141 and a bookbinding machine 142 used for offline bookbinding are provided. ing. Of course, the configuration and environment of the printing base are not limited to the above.

  In the example of the present embodiment, the client and the server, and the server and the print base are connected to each other via the Internet / Internet 131. Usually, the client and the server are often connected via the Internet, and the server and the printing base are often connected via the Internet using a dedicated line. However, the present invention is not limited to such an environment. It can be applied even in an existing environment.

  First, the notebook PC 102 and the PC 101 of the client are equipped with a Web browser for browsing the submitted content provided by the WEB server. It is also possible to upload document data using the submitted content.

  The WEB server 103 is a WEB server that provides the submitted content. The submitted content includes print formats such as bookbinding, print settings such as the number of copies and paper size, delivery date, requester information, and delivery destination. Edit control to input etc., file specification control to upload manuscript data, etc. are equipped. Further, the WEB server 103 stores the confirmed print request in the order form (here, the contents of the print request and the file name of the original data are entered) and the original data file in the DB server 104.

  A general database is installed in the DB server 104, and a desired order form and document data can be transmitted in response to a data acquisition request from the print server 105 described later. The DB schema (not shown) is mainly a printing base master (having information such as location and contact information and a printing style master as a member), and a printing style master that can be ordered (paper size, color / monochrome, number of prints, options) Print format information and bookbinding information) table. By referring to this table, the print server 105 at the printing base 153 can receive an order assigned to the base.

  The print server 105 receives an order confirmation notification from the WEB server, collects an order form and a manuscript data file from the DB server, and in accordance with the collected order form, an order manager, a workflow manager, a job manager, a device to be described later A printing system composed of a manager, a device scheduler, etc. operates.

  The work PC 106 takes out a console for controlling various services provided by the print server 105 using an easy-to-use operation screen, and retrieves an original data file stored in the print server 105, starts a predetermined application, This is a working computer configured with a setting application that arranges the print style and prints based on designated print settings or sets the print server 105.

  Although the monochrome printer 111 and the color printer 112 have different installation configurations depending on the printing center, they are generally configured by a combination of a high-speed monochrome printer and a high-quality color printer. These are all scheduled by the device scheduler of the print server 105.

  The cutting machine 141 is a cutting machine for cutting the paper output from the printer, and the bookbinding machine 142 is an offline bookbinding machine for binding the paper output from the printer. Similarly, a stapler, a puncher, There may be post-processing machines such as a case binding machine and a ring binding machine. Status status can be collected by connecting to the network. Similarly to the printer, the installation configuration differs depending on the printing center.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the WEB server 103, DB server 104, print server 105, and work PC 106.

  The CPU 200 executes an application program, a printer driver program, an OS, a network printer control program, and the like stored in an HD (hard disk) 205, and temporarily stores information, files, and the like necessary for executing the program in the RAM 202. I do. The ROM 201 stores various data such as a program such as a basic I / O program, font data used for document processing, and template data. A RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 200. Reference numeral 203 denotes an external storage drive, which can load a program or the like stored in the medium 204 into the computer system. Reference numeral 204 denotes a medium which stores a program and related data described in this embodiment, and the configuration of the stored contents is shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes an HD, which stores application programs, printer driver programs, OS, control programs, related programs, and the like. A keyboard 206 is used by the user to instruct the client computer to input device control command instructions and the like. A display 207 displays a command input from the keyboard 206, a printer status, and the like. A system bus 208 controls the data flow in the client computer. Reference numeral 209 denotes a network interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F), which is a communication interface for connecting to a local area network (LAN) or the Internet.

  FIG. 3 shows a memory map in a state in which the program of the present invention is loaded into the RAM 202 and becomes executable.

  In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which a program and related data are directly loaded from the medium 204 to the RAM 202 and executed. However, every time the program of the present invention is operated from the medium 204, the program is loaded from the HD 205 to the RAM 202. You may do it. The medium for recording the program of the present invention may be an FD, a CD-ROM, a DVD, an IC memory card, or the like. Furthermore, it is possible to record the program of the present invention in the ROM 201, configure it as a part of the memory map, and execute it directly by the CPU 200.

  Reference numeral 301 denotes a basic I / O program, which has an IPL (Initial Program Rotating) function or the like that reads the OS from the HD 205 into the RAM 202 and starts the operation of the OS when the control device is turned on. This is the area that contains the program. 302 is an OS, 303 is a control program, 304 is associated data, and 305 is a work area where the CPU 200 executes this program.

  In FIG. 4, 400 is the data content of the media 204, 401 is volume information indicating data information, 402 is directory information, 403 is a program described in this embodiment, and 404 is its related data.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the printing system of the present invention for each functional module.

  Reference numeral 501 denotes an order manager as software for managing submitted orders. Print information is extracted from the order book collected from the WEB server 103 or the DB server 104 in the server 152 via the Internet / Intranet 131, and an order information file necessary for printing is created. FIG. 9 shows an example of contents stored in the order information file. The meaning of each value to be set is described on the list, so the explanation here is omitted.

  The operation screen of the order manager 501 is equipped with a list display screen that shows the general status of the order based on the order information and a display screen for the detailed information of the order. The operator can view the order while viewing the operation screen. You can check the progress. Furthermore, by uploading the same order information to the WEB server 103 at any time when the status changes, the same information can be provided to the user using HTML on the processing status content screen (not shown) provided by the WEB server 103. Can do. This order information is kept confidential until it is printed and delivered, but is erased after delivery.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation screen of the order manager, but it may be HTML-based WEB content. The upper list screen displays an ID for identifying an order, an outline of a person in charge, and a processing status. When one order is selected, the details of the order information are displayed using the tab screen at the bottom. The displayed contents include the print settings shown in FIG.

  The operator creates a workflow according to the order information managed by the order manager 501. The workflow here refers to the flow of print processing for an order, and the creation corresponds to workflow information processed by the workflow manager 502 that is software for managing the print workflow. When creating the workflow, the operator refers to the order information in a device scheduler 503, which will be described later, to obtain a rendering and printing method that matches the optimal device scheduling, and creates the workflow according to the obtained rendering and printing method. .

  The operator reads the created workflow into the workflow manager 502, and manages the operation and progress of the workflow. On the workflow manager 502, the progress of the workflow is visually displayed. Based on the status information, the operator performs an operation determined for each process. The status of the completed process is changed by the operator himself. However, depending on the process, the status may be automatically changed. For example, in an online printing device, the status is changed by a print end notification from the job manager 510.

  In order to perform large-scale printing work as scheduled, the shared printer must be operated efficiently and systematically. For this reason, it is necessary for the operator to use a schedule system or the like to avoid conflicting use and plan operation. Reference numeral 800 in FIG. 8 is an example of a schedule system (device scheduler) capable of managing the schedules of a plurality of printers and simultaneously displaying the schedule status of each printer.

  The operator can start the device scheduler from the work PC 106 and check the usage period 802 of the printer and the cutting machine in a rectangular form on the screen displaying a list 801 of printers and post-processing machines as shown in FIG. It becomes.

  The information stored in the print format information storage device 505, the manhour information storage device 506, and the unit price information storage device 507 managed by the device scheduler 503, which is a feature of the present invention shown in FIG. Information set by the application 520 is stored.

  The setting application 520 has a plurality of sub print parameters (as an example) with respect to a normal main print parameter (as an example, A4 printing / 1 imposition) in order to obtain an output result specified by the user (as an example, A4). , A3 printing / 2 imposition + cutting) in the print appearance information storage device 505, and the manhour in the work information storage device 506 for setting the work manpower required for post-processing for device scheduling. An input function 522 and a unit price input function 523 for setting a unit price for the print parameter in the unit price information storage device 507 for calculating the cost necessary for obtaining the output result.

  FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing the contents of the print format information storage device 505 of FIG. 5, and is information set by the operator using the print format setting function 521 of the setting application 520. In order to obtain “A4” which is the print output result desired by the user and specified by the user and stored in the order information of the order manager 501, the main rendering / printing method is “A4, 1 page attachment in the printer 111. ”Indicates that there are a plurality of sub-rendering / printing methods for obtaining the same result:“ A3, 2-sided by printer 112. Once cutting by cutting machine 141 ”. Yes.

  In the priority setting 803 of the device scheduler screen 800 shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to set the priority for device scheduling, and to link the processing in the post-processing machine in order to obtain a desired print output result When there are a plurality of rendering methods including the above, within the range that fits within the delivery date desired by the user, the device availability information of the schedule information storage device 504 and the information obtained from the print format information storage device 505 are processed to the post-processing machine. The method with the earliest processing end time when rendering and printing are taken into consideration (fastness priority), or the processing cost including the post-processing machine calculated from the information in the unit price information storage device 507 Is cheaper (priority is given priority), or the operator's hand processing from the information in the man-hour information storage device 506 The operator can set which of the plurality of methods (preferability for ease of processing) as much as possible to give priority to processing, so that it is possible to make an optimal print processing reservation in the entire printing base 153 and make a reservation. Information is managed by schedule information 504, and print information indicating the selected rendering method and the like is linked to order information managed by the order manager 501.

  The device scheduler 503 determines from the print information obtained from the order information of the order manager 501 and the information stored in the print format information storage device 505, the manhour information storage device 506, and the unit price information storage device 507, and is specified by the user. In order to obtain the output result, scheduling is possible when multiple rendering methods including the post-processing machine can be selected, and output and reserved with an A4 compatible machine within the range that can be scheduled in time for the scheduled delivery date “Aprility priority” is selected when the process is completed earlier among a plurality of reservable candidates when an output is made by an A3-compatible machine + cutting machine and a reservation is made, and when an A4-compatible machine is outputted, and an A3-compatible machine + "Low priority" is selected when the cost is cheaper when printing with the cutting machine, and when outputting with A4 compatible machine and A3 The priority in the device scheduler screen 800 of FIG. 8 is selected in advance from among a plurality of device schedule candidates of “Easy priority”, in which the one with less operator hand processing is selected from the output by the machine + cutting machine According to the priority set in the setting 803, an optimal rendering method is selected and device scheduling is performed. However, when the priority setting 803 in the device scheduler screen 800 of FIG. The output destinations are determined step by step in the order described below, and settings are made in consideration of a plurality of device schedules.

  The executable device is determined based on the print setting included in the order information of the submitted order. A device to be processed is determined from the schedule of the device determined to be executable and the delivery date of the order, and the device is scheduled in the schedule information 504. When the device cannot be determined, when different print settings including the print settings included in the order information of the order to the processing of the post-processing machine are searched from the print appearance information 505 and the output results are the same. In addition, device scheduling is performed in the schedule information storage device 504 and the print settings included in the order information of the order are modified.

  In the setting application 520, it is possible to set a case where rendering of “imposition + post-processing cutting” is not permitted. If the device scheduler 503 determines that the case does not permit, “ A rendering method including “imposition + post-processing trimming” is not selected. Cases where permission is not allowed are: when the cutting machine is in an unusable state, when the submitted data is paper mixed data including a plurality of paper size data, and when the number of copies is one, the cutting machine is in charge. A case where the operator is an inexperienced operator in cutting processing is assumed.

  When the workflow manager 502 enters a status for performing printing processing, the operator activates the print component 508 from the work PC 106.

  The print component 508 acquires the print data registered and linked from the order information of the order manager 501 and the print information obtained from the device scheduler 503, and downloads the data to the work PC. The operator selects the print data of the corresponding order on the work PC 106 and starts printing. When printing is started, a job manager 510, which is software for managing print jobs, communicates with the printers 111, 112, etc., and monitors print jobs.

  A device manager 509, which is software for managing devices used for various printing processes, manages installation information (network address, administrator) of each printer. Then, it periodically communicates with the printer to acquire and manage the status (operation status, error / warning occurrence status). Further, the device manager 509 periodically communicates with the printer to obtain information on the capability of the printer (processing speed per unit time, finishing function such as bookbinding / stapling / punch), and consumable information (paper / toner / staple needle, etc.). Holds device information.

  The device manager 509 has a function of sequentially notifying device information in accordance with requests from the order manager 501, workflow manager 502, and job manager 510.

  The workflow manager 502 returns a status in accordance with the status acquisition request from the order manager 501. Accordingly, the order manager (501) can display the status for the order on the order manager 501.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the printing system as shown in FIG. 1, there are a plurality of rendering methods including the case where the processes in the printer and the post-processing machine are linked in order to obtain a desired printing result. When the rendering and printing take into account the availability of the device to the finishing machine within the range that meets the order delivery date of the orderer, the processing end time is the earliest or calculated from the set unit price table Depending on the setting application, which one of the processing methods including the post-processing machine is the least costly, or the easy method that does not include the post-processing processing that is the operator's hand processing as much as possible, is prioritized by the setting application. Can be set, and device scheduling is performed according to the set priority, so that the optimal print processing at the entire printing site About is possible.

  Also, according to the present embodiment, device scheduling considering a plurality of print style settings can be performed in order to obtain a user's desired result. If any abnormality is detected by monitoring the job, the print format information management device 505 managed by the device scheduler searches for device candidates that can obtain a print result equal to the print format of the corresponding print job, and the schedule information management device 504 By searching for a printing device that is currently free, it is possible to easily switch to another rendering / printing method to obtain a print output result, and to improve the possibility of avoiding a printing device device trouble. It becomes possible.

  In the present invention, a storage medium (or recording medium) storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores it. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to the storage medium provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU of the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  In addition, the present invention distributes the program code of software that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments via a network, so that storage means such as a hard disk or memory of a system or apparatus, CD-RW, CD-R, etc. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage means or the storage medium. Absent.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system of the present embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the client computer in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a memory map when a program is expanded from the FD shown in FIG. 4 to the RAM in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the memory map showing the data inside FD in FIG. It is a module block diagram of the printing system in FIG. It is the figure which showed the image of the printing style management apparatus in FIG. It is the figure which showed the interface of the software which manages an order. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating software that performs device scheduling illustrated in FIG. 5. It is the schematic which showed the structural example of the order information file.

Explanation of symbols

101 PC
102 notebook PC
103 WEB server 104 DB server 105 Print server 106 Work PC
111 Monochrome printer 112 Color printer 121-123 LAN
131-132 Internet / Intranet 141 Cutting machine 142 Bookbinding machine 151 Client

Claims (11)

A printing system in which a computer and a printing device are connected to each other via a network,
A print server with a print management function that accepts print settings such as the number of copies and paper size from the client terminal via the network, order information such as delivery date and delivery destination specification, and manuscripts received, and the received orders are processed in sequence. In a printing system composed of work clients that perform processing according to the flow, a device in which a plurality of rendering methods including not only the printing apparatus but also the post-processing machine can be selected in order to obtain a desired printing result A printing system comprising a device scheduler that enables device scheduling by selecting an optimal rendering method according to a preset priority in scheduling. The priority set at the time of the device scheduling is a method with the earliest processing end time when rendering and printing are performed in consideration of the device availability to the post-processing machine,
Or, the method that calculates from the set unit price table and the cost is the cheapest among the processing methods including post-processing machines,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of types can be set, such as a method that does not include processing as much as possible by hand processing by an operator.   An information processing device as a server that performs printing processing where a computer and printing device are connected to each other via a network, and via the network, print settings such as the number of copies, paper size, etc., delivery date, and destination specification from the client terminal Desired information on an information processing device consisting of a print server that has a print management function that accepts order information and submitted manuscripts and processes the received orders in sequence, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow In order to obtain a result, when a plurality of rendering methods including not only a printing apparatus but also a post-processing machine can be selected, an optimal rendering method is selected according to a preset priority, and device scheduling is performed. Device schedule that allows you to The information processing apparatus characterized by having a La.   A print processing method implemented by a configuration in which a computer and a printing apparatus are connected to each other via a network. The print settings such as the number of copies, the paper size, and the delivery date, delivery destination designation, etc. from the client terminal via the network In a print processing method implemented by a print server having a print management function that accepts order information and a manuscript for submission, and sequentially processes received orders, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow, When scheduling a plurality of rendering methods including not only a printing apparatus but also a post-processing machine in order to obtain a printing result, an optimal rendering method is selected according to a preset priority. Devices that can be scheduled Print processing method comprising scheduling.   A program for causing an information processing apparatus to function as a server that performs a printing process in which a computer and a printing apparatus are connected to each other via a network, and from the client terminal via the network, print settings such as the number of copies and paper size, and delivery An information processing device consisting of a print server that has a print management function that accepts order information such as due date and delivery destination specification, and submitted manuscripts, and that sequentially processes received orders, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow In order to obtain a desired print result, the device scheduling is optimized according to a preset priority when a plurality of rendering methods including not only a printing apparatus but also a post-processing machine can be selected. The rendering method is selected and the device Program for functioning as an information processing apparatus characterized by having a device scheduler that allows to perform the scheduling.   6. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 5 in a computer-readable manner.   A printing system in which a computer and a printing device are connected to each other via a network. From the client terminal via the network, print settings such as the number of copies, paper size, etc., order information such as delivery date and destination specification, and submitted manuscript In order to obtain a desired print result, a print server with a print server having a print management function that sequentially receives and processes received orders and a work client that executes processes according to the flow is used only by the printing apparatus. By using information managed by a print format information management apparatus that manages a plurality of rendering methods including a post-processing machine and a schedule information management apparatus, other rendering / printing methods can be used in the event of a device trouble of the printing device. Enables proxy printing to obtain print output results by switching to Printing system, characterized in that.   An information processing device as a server that performs printing processing where a computer and printing device are connected to each other via a network, and via the network, print settings such as the number of copies, paper size, etc., delivery date, and destination specification from the client terminal Desired information on an information processing device consisting of a print server that has a print management function that accepts order information and submitted manuscripts and processes the received orders in sequence, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow In order to obtain a result, when using a printing device information management device that manages multiple rendering methods, including not only the printing device but also the post-processing machine, and information managed by the schedule information management device, when there is a device trouble in the printing device When switching to other rendering / printing methods, etc. The information processing apparatus characterized by enabling proxy printing to obtain a result.   A print processing method implemented by a configuration in which a computer and a printing apparatus are connected to each other via a network. The print settings such as the number of copies, the paper size, and the delivery date, delivery destination designation, etc. from the client terminal via the network In a print processing method implemented by a print server having a print management function that accepts order information and a manuscript for submission, and sequentially processes received orders, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow, In order to obtain print results, not only the printing device but also the post-processing machine can be used to manage multiple rendering methods, and the information managed by the print format information management device and the schedule information management device can be used to troubleshoot the printing device. Switch to another rendering / printing method at times Print processing method characterized by allowing the proxy printing to obtain a print output result.   A program for functioning an information processing apparatus as a server for performing a printing process in which a computer and a printing apparatus are connected to each other via a network, and print settings such as the number of copies and paper size from a client terminal via the network, and Information processing consisting of a print server with a print management function that accepts order information such as delivery date, delivery destination specification, and submitted manuscripts, and sequentially processes the received orders, and a work client that performs processing according to the flow In a program for causing the apparatus to function, it is managed by a print format information management apparatus and a schedule information management apparatus that manage a plurality of rendering methods including not only the printing apparatus but also the post-processing machine in order to obtain a desired printing result. By using information, such as when there is a printer device trouble Saishi, the program for operating the information processing apparatus characterized by enabling proxy printing to obtain a print output results to switch to other rendering / printing method.   A storage medium storing the program according to claim 10 in a computer-readable manner.