JP2014235678A - Print system, print control device, control method of print control device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely notify a worker who is involved in a printing process whether or not trial printing is necessary, with a work instruction document that is created in conformity with an ordered product. In a print control apparatus that performs print processing on product information registered in accordance with a print order received by a management apparatus, the print instruction information associated with the product ordered from the management apparatus is acquired, and the acquired print It is determined whether or not an instruction to perform test printing is set in the instruction information. Here, when it is determined that an instruction to perform trial printing is set, a work instruction sheet for executing the trial printing process is created, and the created work instruction sheet is output. [Selection] FIG.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing control apparatus, a control method for the printing control apparatus, and a program.

There has been proposed a printing system that builds a print on demand (POD) environment on a network, receives a print order, and executes a print processing service. When producing a printed matter using such a printing system, it is necessary to check whether the printed matter is output in a desired state. Specifically, it may be necessary to check the correctness and color of print settings by performing test printing.
However, not all printed materials require trial printing, and it is difficult for the operator of the printing control apparatus to determine whether or not trial printing is necessary. In the following, inventions relating to determination of trial printing are disclosed. There is an invention in which it is determined that trial printing is necessary when the number of output sheets per copy is equal to or greater than a threshold (Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-198042 A

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since trial printing is not performed when the number of output sheets is less than the set threshold value, trial printing is performed as desired by the operator while a print order is received and printing processing is completed. There was a case where printing could not be executed.
Therefore, the operator who performs the print process cannot recognize that an appropriate test print request is necessary at the stage of creating the print instruction, and the presence or absence of the test print request can be confirmed before the start of the print job. There were cases where it was not possible. In addition, since there are various factors of the request for trial printing, there is a problem that the printing system cannot flexibly cope with it.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of surely notifying a worker engaged in printing processing whether or not trial printing is necessary.
Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of creating an industrial instruction sheet for performing a test print instruction adapted to the status of print setting information associated with a product managed by a management apparatus.

The printing system of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
A print control apparatus for registering product information to be printed in the management apparatus, and providing the registered product information to the information processing apparatus, managing print orders received from the information processing apparatus, and performing print processing in the print control apparatus The print control apparatus is configured to set an acquisition unit that acquires print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management apparatus, and an instruction to perform test printing on the acquired print instruction information. A determination means for determining whether or not an instruction has been set, a creation means for creating a work instruction for executing a test print process when it is determined that an instruction to perform the test print is set, and a created work instruction An output means for outputting a document, and the management device registers registration information for receiving product information received from the print control device, and requires trial printing based on the registered product information. Generating means for generating product management information set, providing means for providing the list information of registered product information to the information processing apparatus, order receiving means for receiving a print order from the information processing apparatus, and the printing Transmission means for transmitting print instruction information for creating an ordered product to the print control apparatus in accordance with a request from the control apparatus.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably notify the operator who is involved in the printing process whether or not the trial printing is necessary, with a work instruction sheet that is created in conformity with the ordered product.
In addition, it is possible to create an industry instruction sheet for giving a test print instruction adapted to the status of the print setting information associated with the product managed by the management apparatus.

It is a block diagram explaining the whole system configuration of a printing order receiving system. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the computer shown in FIG. 1, and each server. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a logical configuration of the print order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a printing order receiving system. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing company management table managed by the printing company illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper information management table. FIG. It is a figure which shows the template of a job ticket. It is a figure which shows an example of a work instruction document template. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table in a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows the example of the data model of the printed matter in a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table in a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table in a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows the example of a sequence of a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows an example of a product list screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an order list screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an order information management table. It is a figure which shows the flow of print ticket preparation. It is a figure which shows the example of the work instruction document with respect to a product. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows an example of an order detail screen. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of a printing order receiving system. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of a printing order receiving system. It is a flowchart explaining the example of a trial printing process of a printing order receiving system. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of a printing order receiving system. It is a figure which shows an example of a trial printing necessity judgment table. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the print control apparatus.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configurations.
<Overall system configuration of print ordering system>
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the overall system configuration of a print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. In the print order receiving system shown in this example, the orderer environment 1, the print order receiving service site 2, and the printing company 3 are connected via the Internet 4 so that they can communicate with each other. The system shown in FIG. 1 also corresponds to this embodiment and each embodiment. The computer 11 corresponds to an information processing apparatus in the orderer environment, the print order receiving server 22 corresponds to a management apparatus, and a computer 31. Corresponds to the print control device. Hereinafter, a print control apparatus for registering product information to be printed on the management apparatus, and providing the registered product information to the information processing apparatus, managing print orders received from the information processing apparatus, and printing on the print control apparatus An example of printing control by the printing system that instructs processing will be described in detail.

  In FIG. 1, an orderer environment 1 is an environment in which a customer orders printing of printed matter, and includes a computer 11 in which the orderer places a print order. The print order service site 2 is a site on which the print order receiving system operates, and responds to requests from the orderer, such as authentication of the orderer, presentation of a list of printed materials that can be ordered by the orderer, and acceptance of orders from the orderer. A print order receiving server 22 is included. The print order receiving server 22 also responds to management of information related to printing and order information and requests for the information from the printing company. The print order service site 2 includes a database server 23 for holding information relating to printing and information relating to orders, and a file server 24 for holding files relating to printing.

  The printing company 3 receives a print order from the orderer, manufactures the printed matter, and sends the printed matter to the orderer. The printing company 3 includes a computer 31 that is used by an operator of the printing company for acquisition, transmission, and control of a printing machine and a processing machine. This computer is a printing control apparatus that controls trial printing. Further, the printing company 3 includes a file server 32 for holding files related to printing, a printing machine 33 used for printing, and a processing machine 34 used for processing printed matter.

<Hardware configuration of computers and servers>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the computer 11 and each server shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, a central processing unit (CPU) 201 reads, interprets, and executes a computer program stored on a storage device 206 described later. The CPU 201 controls a later-described RAM 203 and display 204 connected to the bus via a later-described bus 209. A read only memory (ROM) 202 performs low-level input / output control with hardware connected to the bus.

  A random access memory (RAM) 203 temporarily stores information when the CPU 201 calculates, and a display 204 displays a calculation result by the CPU. The keyboard 205 receives input from the user, and the storage device 206 stores programs and data used for calculation. A network I / F (I / F: interface) 207 is connected to a network such as a local network, an intranet, or the Internet.

A pointing device 208 such as a mouse or a trackball receives coordinates designated on the screen by the user, and a bus 209 is a signal line to which the CPU 201, the pointing device 208, and the like are connected. The details of the computers and servers are not the main requirements in the present invention, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.
<Logical configuration of print ordering system>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a logical configuration of the print order receiving system shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, a program 301 that operates on a computer in the orderer environment includes an order information input unit 304 that accepts a print order and an ordering unit 305 that places an order based on the order information received by the order information input unit 304.

  A program 302 that operates on various servers of the print order service site includes a management unit 306 including a customer management unit 307 to an order management unit 316. The management unit 306 manages information related to information related to printing such as customer information, paper information, device information, print settings, printing processes, processing processes, product specifications, and products. Further, the management unit 306 also manages printing company information, a print job ticket template, a print ticket template, a processing job ticket template, a work instruction template, and order information.

Here, the print job ticket template is a template file describing work for manufacturing a printed material, specifications of the printed material, and the like. The print ticket template is a template file that describes settings to be set in the printing press in order to print a desired printed matter. The processing job ticket template is a template file describing settings to be set in the processing machine in order to perform desired processing. The work instruction template is a template file describing work for manufacturing a printed material, specifications of the printed material, delivery destination items, and the like.
Reference numeral 307 denotes a customer management unit that performs authentication based on information (customer information) related to a customer such as an ID and password of a customer who uses the print order receiving system, and the ID and password.

Reference numeral 308 denotes a paper management unit, which is information on paper (paper information such as name, ID, size, paper quality, paper color, standard unit price, manufacturer name, paper thickness, paper size, continuous weight, basis weight, etc. managed by the printing company. ). Here, the paper grain refers to the orientation of the fibers of the paper, and there are vertical eyes and horizontal eyes. The continuous amount is the weight per 1000 sheets of paper finished to a predetermined size. The basis weight is the weight of paper per 1 m ² .

  A device management unit 309 manages the name, ID, manufacturer, and digital printer of a device used for printing such as a printing machine or a processing machine managed by a printing company. Furthermore, information (device information) related to devices such as a printing surface (single-sided printing or double-sided printing), a paper orientation at the time of printing, a printing color, a finished size, and a corresponding paper is managed.

  A ticket management unit 310 manages templates such as a print job ticket template, a print ticket template, and a processed job ticket template. The ticket management unit 310 also manages tickets such as print job tickets, print tickets, and processing job tickets that are used during printing and processing.

A print setting management unit 311 prints a printed matter such as a finished size of the printed matter, a binding method, a printing surface, a paper orientation, a printing color, a paper tray to be selected for printing, and a paper size set in the paper tray. Information related to printing settings (print settings).

A print process management unit 312 manages information related to the print process, such as the name of a printing press used for printing, whether or not to correspond to a print job ticket, and the print job ticket name when corresponding to the print job ticket. Furthermore, the number of members (parts such as paper constituting the printed matter) constituting the printing process, names of members, sizes, and the like are also managed.
A processing process management unit 313 manages information related to the processing process such as the name, ID, processing classification, processing finish size, and processing standard unit price of the processing process.

Reference numeral 314 denotes a product specification management unit, which includes the name, ID, category (flyer, booklet, catalog, etc.) of the product specification, whether to enable the product specification to be used on the print order receiving system, Manage the printing and processing processes that make up product specifications. Depending on the product specifications, there may be only a printing process or a processing process. For example, in the case of a leaflet consisting of one sheet without processing, it has only a printing process.
A product management unit 315 manages information about the product such as the name, ID, product specifications of the product, and necessity of trial printing of the product. Reference numeral 316 denotes an order management unit that manages information related to orders such as the name, ID, order date / time, price, product related to the order, and print data.
The input unit 318 receives input of data from the printing company, and the search unit 319 searches for desired information from information relating to printing such as paper information and device information stored in the data holding unit 325.

The providing unit 320 arranges the printing process and the processing process constituting the product specification in the order of the processes, connects the related processes, and the operator of the printing company visually displays the configuration of the product specification via the information display unit 329 described later. Process and provide information for confirmation. The fee calculation unit 321 calculates a printing fee based on information relating to the order such as product specifications and the number of copies, and the order receiving unit 322 receives an order from the orderer.
The generation unit 323 generates information related to a method for manufacturing a printed material such as a print job ticket, a print ticket, and a work instruction based on the order received by the order receiving unit and various information managed by the management unit.

The output unit 324 outputs the information generated by the generation unit 323 according to a request from the printing company. The data holding unit 325 holds various information such as a customer, paper, device, ticket, print setting, printing process, processing process, product specification, product, order, and print data used by the management unit 306. The buffer memory 326 temporarily holds values being calculated.
A program 303 that operates on a computer of a printing company provides the following functions.

  The instruction input unit 327 receives input from an operator of the printing company, and the information processing unit 328 exchanges information and processes information with the print order receiving system, the printing machine, or the processing machine according to the input from the instruction input unit. Whether or not test printing is necessary is determined by the information processing unit 328.

  The information display unit 329 displays the information processed by the information processing unit on a display device. In addition, the information display unit 329 displays a test print instruction selection display that allows a test print to be selected, that is, a test print option when test print is necessary based on the result of the test print necessity determination obtained by the information processing unit 328. Is displayed on the display device.

The data holding unit 330 temporarily holds data such as a print job ticket and print data used in the production work of the printed material, and the printing unit 331 prints the print data instructed by the information processing unit with a printing machine. To do.
The processing unit 332 processes the member instructed by the information processing unit.
<Overall flow of printing>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. In the following, an overview of the overall work flow from printing initial setting to printing shipment using printing will be described.
In step S <b> 101, the worker of the printing company 3 registers information to be initially set such as paper and devices used for printing and printing specifications of the printed material in the data holding unit 325 of the print order receiving system.
In S102, the operator of the printing company 3 registers a product that can be sold in the printing order receiving system. In S103, the orderer accesses the print order receiving system using the computer 11 in the orderer environment, and places an order for the product registered in the data holding unit 325 in S102. In step S104, the print order receiving system accepts an order from the orderer and notifies the printing company that the order has been received.
In S105, the operator of the printing company 3 obtains a related file for manufacturing printed matter corresponding to the order from the print order receiving system. At that time, if necessary, information for trial printing is acquired.
In S106, the operator of the printing company 3 inputs print data to the printing machine 33 based on the related file, and prints and processes the printed matter. At that time, test printing is performed if necessary. After printing is completed, this is notified to the print order receiving system. In S107, the worker of the printing company 3 sends the printed material that has been printed and processed to the orderer. Through the above flow, the ordered printed matter is delivered to the orderer.
<Initial setting>

  Next, the process in S101 will be described. The information processing unit 328 transmits an input from the worker to the management unit 306, and the management unit 306 stores the received information in the data holding unit 325. The information registered in the data holding unit 325 by the print order receiving system will be described below. The information described below may be registered via a graphical screen, or text data describing the information may be transmitted to the print order receiving system. It doesn't matter. Information registered in the initial setting includes printing company information, customer information, paper information, device information, print job ticket template, print ticket template, processing job ticket template, print setting, printing process, processing process, and product specification. Each information will be described below.

<Printing company information>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a table managed by the printing company 3 shown in FIG. FIG. 5A shows a printing company management table for managing information related to printing companies subscribing to the print order receiving service. In this table, the printing company ID for identifying the printing company, the printing company name indicating the name of the printing company, the contact and location of the printing company, and the number of owned devices. Elements such as a device ID for identifying each device are stored. This device ID is an ID numbered by the device management unit 309 when registering a device information management table to be described later.
<Customer information>
FIG. 5B shows a customer information management table for managing information related to customers who use the print order receiving service. In this table, the customer ID for identifying the customer, the customer name indicating the customer's name or organization name, the contact address, the shipping destination to which the printed matter is shipped, and the printed matter in the past were ordered through the print order receiving service. Each element such as the number of times (number of orders) is stored.

<Paper information>
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a paper information management table for managing information related to paper used by the printing company shown in FIG. FIG. 6A shows a paper information management table for managing information related to paper used by the printing company 3. This table stores a sheet ID for identifying a sheet, a sheet name representing a sheet name, and a valid flag representing whether or not the sheet can be used in the print order receiving system. Here, the paper ID is an ID assigned by the paper management unit 308 when registering paper in the print order receiving system. Further, “1” is set when the valid flag is valid, and “0” is set when the valid flag is invalid. Hereinafter, it is assumed that “1” is valid and “0” is invalid.
In addition, this table includes a paper size representing the paper size. Base unit price that represents the unit price of paper. The paper quality, paper color, manufacturer name, paper thickness, paper grain, continuous weight, and basis weight elements representing the characteristics of the paper are stored.

<Device information>
FIG. 6B shows a device information management table for managing device information related to a device used by the printing company, a device ID for identifying the device, a device name representing the name of the device, a device manufacturer name, An effective flag indicating whether or not the device can be used in the print order receiving system and a digital printer flag indicating whether or not the device is a digital printer are stored. Here, the device ID is an ID assigned by the device management unit 309 when a device is registered in the print order receiving system. Further, the table stores a description of the device and print setting items that can be set for the device, and the number of print setting items indicating the number of items and detailed setting items.

The setting item represents a setting item ID for identifying the setting item, a classification indicating the classification of the setting item, a setting item name, a setting format, a setting format item, and whether or not to add an item to the print job ticket. A print job ticket field and a print setting field indicating whether or not to add an item to the print setting.
In the table, the corresponding paper stores a paper type representing the number of paper types supported by the device, and a paper ID representing the ID of each paper. Here, the paper ID is a paper ID managed by the paper information management table.
<Print Job Ticket Template>

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a job ticket template used in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7A shows an example of a print job ticket template.
In the present embodiment, the print job ticket template is described in an XML format, and setting items for manufacturing a printed material are described. There are items for which the values for the setting items are not described. At the time of registration, there is only information as a template. A value other than the number of copies is confirmed when the printing specification is confirmed, and after the order is placed by the orderer, the number of copies is confirmed.
Those values are added by the generation unit 323 to complete the print job ticket. Note that XML is a general-purpose markup language established by the standardization organization World Wide Web Consortium, and is an abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language.
In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the job type is printing and the binding method is case binding.
<Print ticket template>

FIG. 7B shows a print ticket template, and the print ticket template is also described in the XML format like the print job ticket template. The contents to be described are setting items for printing the printed matter. As with the print job ticket, there are items in which values for the setting items are not described, and at the time of registration, there is only information as a template. When the print setting is made, a value other than the number of copies is determined, and after the orderer places an order, the number of copies is determined. Those values are added by the generation unit 323 to complete the print ticket.
In the example of the print ticket template shown in FIG. 7B, the paper ID, the printing surface, and the paper orientation are undecided.
<Processing job ticket template>

  FIG. 7C shows a processed job ticket template. The processed job ticket template is also described in the XML format in the same manner as the print job ticket template. The contents to be described are information relating to a processing method when processing the printed matter. FIG. 7C shows an example of a processing job ticket template. In the example shown in FIG. 7C, the processing step name is case binding, and the width of the paper size before processing and the width of the paper size after processing are undecided.

<Work instruction template>
The work instruction template shown in FIG. 8 is a template for inputting information for manufacturing a printed material, information for shipping to an orderer, and the like. Specifically, the work instruction template includes information such as order information, products, product specifications, printing processes, processing processes, print settings, customer IDs, and shipping destinations.
In addition, information regarding trial printing is provided. By referring to the correspondence table between the elements of each information and the elements of the work instruction template, the elements of each information can be reflected in the corresponding elements of the work instruction template.
The work instruction template shown in FIG. 8 includes print items for setting whether or not trial printing is necessary, and items for inputting information regarding print specifications and orderer information. Here, the print specifications include items such as a product specification name, a printing process name, the number of members, a print setting name, a paper name, a processing process name, and a processing machine name. The orderer information includes items such as a shipping address and a contact address.

<Print ticket>
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management table used in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9A shows a print ticket management table for managing the print ticket template. This print ticket management table stores the following elements. Note that the management apparatus shown in the present embodiment receives an update notification in response to the print control apparatus executing trial print processing with reference to the print ticket information. Then, the management apparatus is configured to update the high and low levels (not shown) that specify the printing accuracy included in the print record information on the print ticket management table managed in accordance with the update notification so as to be the high level. Yes.
Stores the print ticket ID for identifying the print ticket template. Here, the print ticket ID is assigned by the ticket management unit 310 when a print ticket is created (print setting) in the print order receiving system. The table stores a print ticket name indicating the name of the print ticket template, a valid flag indicating whether the print ticket can be used in the print order receiving system, and a print ticket file name indicating the file name of the print ticket. . Further, the table stores a print ticket creation date representing the creation date of the print ticket and a print performance date representing the latest print performance date using the print ticket. Note that FIG. 9B will be described later.

<Data model of printed matter>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data model of printed matter in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment.
10A shows a data model of A4 color booklet, and FIG. 10B shows a data model of No. 4 color business card. Hereinafter, a data model of a printed matter of a four-color booklet according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 10A, 401 is a product specification representing an A4 color booklet composed of two printing steps 402 and 403 and two processing steps 404 and 405. A printing process 402 is a process for printing a cover of a booklet. The printed cover sheet represents delivery to the subsequent processing step 404. A printing step 403 is a step of printing the text of the booklet. The printed text represents passing to the subsequent processing step 404.

  The processing step 404 is a step of processing the cover and the text by case binding. The main processing step 404 represents that the text is wrapped with a cover by a case binding machine, and the case binding is performed from a size of 450 × 320 to a size of 225 × 320 (unit is mm). The case-bound booklet represents delivery to the subsequent processing step 405.

The processing step 405 is a step of cutting the cover and the main body that have been bound into a case. This processing step 405 represents cutting on three sides and cutting from a size of 225 × 320 to a size of 210 × 297. Three-way refers to the upper side (top), the lower side (ground), and the side on the side where the printed material is not bound (small edge). The process of cutting the three sides is called three-side cutting.
Reference numeral 406 denotes a print setting representing cover printing. This indicates that printing is performed in color on both sides of a paper having a device name of DEV1 and a paper name of SRA3 coated paper 110 kg.
Reference numeral 407 denotes print settings representing text printing. This indicates that a printer having a device name of DEV1 is used and color printing is performed on both sides of a 70 kg SRA4 coated paper sheet.
Hereinafter, the data model of the printed matter of No. 4 color business card showing the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 10B, reference numeral 408 denotes a print specification, which is a product specification representing a No. 4 color business card composed of one printing process 409 and one processing process 410. A printing step 409 is a step of printing a business card. The printed cover sheet is transferred to the subsequent processing step 410.
The processing step 410 is a step of cutting the four sides of the printed matter printed in the printing step 409. This processing step 410 represents cutting on all sides and cutting from 210 × 297 size to 91 × 55 size 10 sheets. Four-way refers to the top, bottom, left and right of the printed material. Note that the process of cutting the four sides is called a four-sided cutting. Reference numeral 411 denotes print settings representing business card printing. This indicates that a printer having a device name of DEV1 is used and color printing is performed on both sides of a paper having a paper name of A4 quality 90 kg.
The data structure for manufacturing the A4 color booklet and No. 4 color business card will be described below.

<Print settings>
FIG. 9B shows a print setting management table for managing print settings. The print setting management table stores print setting IDs for identifying print settings. Here, the print setting ID is assigned by the print setting management unit 311 when the print setting is registered in the print order receiving system. Further, this table stores a print process ID of a print process to which the print setting belongs, and a print ticket correspondence flag indicating whether or not the print setting corresponds. Further, in this table, when corresponding to a print ticket, a print ticket ID associated with a print ticket file reflecting a print setting item (described later) of the print setting, and a print indicating whether or not the print job ticket is supported. A job ticket correspondence flag is stored.

  Further, this table stores a print job ticket ID associated with a print job ticket file reflecting a print job ticket setting item (described later) of the print setting when corresponding to a print job ticket. Further, this table includes a device ID indicating the ID of the printing press used in the print setting, a paper ID indicating the paper ID used in the print setting, a print job ticket setting item indicating an item to be set in the print job ticket, Stores the number of setting items. In addition, this table includes the finish size width, height, binding method, print setting items indicating items to be set in the print ticket when the print ticket is supported, the number of setting items, the printing surface, the paper orientation, the print color, The width and height of the paper size and the paper ID are stored. Note that the print setting items are reflected in the print ticket template when the print ticket is supported in the print setting. When a print ticket does not support a print ticket, a work instruction sheet displaying the contents is created.

  The print ticket reflecting the print setting item is held in the data holding unit 325 as a print ticket (print setting completed). At that time, the date when the above operation is performed is set on the print ticket creation date in the print ticket management table of FIG.

<Printing process>
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management table in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11A shows a printing process management table for managing printing processes. This table stores a printing process ID for identifying the printing process.
Here, the printing process ID is an ID assigned by the printing process management unit 312 when the printing process is registered in the print order receiving system. Also, this table stores a printing process name indicating the name of the printing process, and a print setting ID of a print setting belonging to the printing process. Further, this table is information relating to the members constituting the printing process, and stores the number of members, the member name, the number of sheets, and the unit price.

<Processing process>
In FIG. 11B, a machining process ID for identifying the machining process is stored in the machining process management table for managing the machining process.
Here, the machining process ID is an ID that is numbered by the machining process management unit 313 when the machining process is registered in the print order receiving system. The table also stores a machining process name representing the name of the machining process, a machining machine name representing the name of the machining machine used in the printing process, and a unit price volume for calculating the machining unit price. Further, in this table, a processing cost category indicating a unit that can be processed by one processing is set per copy or per sheet. Further, this table stores the quantity that can be handled per process and the unit price per process.

<Product specifications>
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management table in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 12A shows a product specification management table for managing product specifications, and stores product specification IDs for identifying product specifications.
Here, the product specification ID for identifying the product specification is an ID numbered by the product specification management unit 314 when registering the product specification in the print order receiving system.
This table also includes a product specification name that represents the name of the product specification, a valid flag that indicates whether or not the print order system can be used, a product specification category that represents the product specification category, and a unit price for the use of the product. The reference unit price to be stored is stored. Further, this table stores the number of processes, process ID, and connection information, which are information related to processes (printing / processing) constituting the product specification. Here, the number of steps represents the number of steps constituting the product specification. Further, the process ID represents a printing process or a processing process that constitutes the product specification. Furthermore, connection information represents the connection state between each process, a left item is a pre-process and a right item is a back process.

  The first product specification (product specification ID = SPC1) described in the first column is the product specification that defines the A4 color booklet described above, and the printing process ID is PRT1 and PRT2, and the processing process ID is It shows that it is comprised by the process of PRC1 and PRC2. The printing steps PRT1 and PRT2 are connected to the processing step PRC1, and the processing step PRC1 is connected to the processing step PRC2.

  The third product specification described in the third column is a product specification that defines the above-mentioned No. 4 color business card, and indicates that the printing process ID is PRT3 and the processing process ID is PRC3. The printing process PRT3 represents being connected to the processing process PRC3.

<Product registration>
Next, the process in S102 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
The information processing unit 328 transmits an input from the worker to the management unit 306, and the management unit 306 stores the received information in the data holding unit 325. Hereinafter, information stored in the data holding unit 325, that is, information registered in the print order receiving system will be described. Information set by product registration is product information. Hereinafter, the product information will be described with reference to FIG.

<Product information>
FIG. 12B shows a product information management table for storing product management information. This table stores product IDs for identifying products.
Here, the product ID is an ID assigned by the product management unit 315 when registering the product in the print order receiving system. In this table, a product name indicating the name of the product. The product specification ID of the product specification associated with the product, the revision number for managing the product version, the sales start date of the product, the sales end date scheduled to end sales, and the standard shipping days indicating the standard shipping days The maximum orderable number of copies indicating the maximum number of copies that can be ordered and a trial printing necessity flag indicating whether or not trial printing of the product is necessary are stored.

<Flow from ordering to ordering>
Next, the flow of processing from ordering to receiving an order will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a sequence example of the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13A shows a sequence from ordering to order receiving.
In FIG. 13A, in S200, the order information input unit 304 transmits a login request from the orderer to the customer management unit 307 of the management unit 306 and performs authentication.
In S201, when the authentication result in S200 is correct, the order information input unit 304 transmits a product list transmission request to the product management unit 315 (S203). The product management unit 315 acquires product information from the product information management table shown in FIG. 12B stored in the data holding unit 325 and transmits the product information to the order information input unit 304. The order information input unit 304 generates a product list information screen as shown in FIG. 14 based on the received product information and displays it on the orderer's display. The product list screen will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S <b> 203, the ordering unit 305 transmits order information for the product selected by the orderer to the order receiving unit 322. The order receiving unit 322 transmits the order information to the order management unit 316. When the worker receives an order, the operator issues an order information acquisition request to the information processing unit 328 via the instruction input unit 327. In S <b> 204, when the information processing unit 328 receives an order information acquisition request from the worker, the information processing unit 328 acquires the order information from the print order receiving server via the order management unit 316. In S205, the information processing unit 328 causes the information display unit 329 to display the order information on a display (not shown). Here, the operator of the printing company 3 browses the order information and examines whether or not to accept an order.

  In S <b> 206, when the information processing unit 328 receives the order determination from the worker, the information processing unit 328 transmits the order determination to the order management unit 316 of the print order receiving server. The order management unit 316 changes the status in an order information management table, which will be described later, to an order confirmation state. In step S207, the order receiving unit 322 transmits an e-mail indicating that the order has been confirmed to the orderer.

<Product list screen>
Next, a UI list shown in FIG. 14, for example, a product list screen displayed on the orderer's display will be described.
In FIG. 14, reference numeral 501 denotes a product list screen representing a product list and menu. Reference numeral 502 denotes a menu for switching the screen.
A product list button 504 is a button for calling a product list screen. An order history button 505 is a button for calling an order history screen. A logout button 506 is a button for calling a logout screen.
A product list 507 represents a list of products that can be ordered by the orderer. The first product information includes a product ID 508, a product name 509, a price 510, a delivery date 511, a size 512, a sheet 513, and a number of copies 514. The second product information includes a product ID 515, a product name 516, a price 517, a delivery date 518, a size 519, a sheet 520, and the number of copies 521.
The third product information includes a product ID 522, a product name 523, a price 524, a delivery date 525, a size 526, a sheet 527, and a number of copies 528. Note that reference numerals 529, 530, and 531 are selection columns for selecting the first to third products. Reference numeral 533 denotes an order button, which accepts input from an operator when ordering a product with the contents of each of the input items, and transmits a setting item to the order receiving unit 322.
Reference numeral 534 denotes a cancel button, which accepts an input from the operator when canceling the ordering procedure from the product list screen. The cancel button 534 is not a button for canceling an order after placing an order. The orderer inputs a check in the selection columns 529 to 531 of products desired to be ordered among the products displayed in the product list 507, and inputs a desired number of copies in the number of copies 514, 521, and 528.

<Flow from order receipt to printing>
Next, the flow of processing for printing a printed matter corresponding to an order will be described with reference to FIG.
In step S <b> 301, in the printing company 3, when the instruction input unit 327 receives an input of a login ID and a password from an operator, the instruction input unit 327 receives the login ID and a password. The information processing unit 328 transmits the delivered login ID and password to the management unit 306 of the print order receiving server 22 and transmits a login authentication request. The management unit 306 collates the login ID and password, and if the collation result is correct, transmits the order list to the information processing unit 328 of the printing company 3.

  In S302, the information processing unit 328 causes the information display unit 329 to display the order list screen acquired from the management unit 306 on a display (not shown). The worker selects a desired order from the order list screen, and inputs a request for acquiring a related file for printing a printed matter corresponding to the order. The order list screen will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S <b> 303, the information processing unit 328 of the printing company 3 transmits to the order management unit 316 a request for trial printing and a related file acquisition request. The related file acquisition request will be described later with reference to FIGS. In S304, the generation unit 323 generates a related file that has received the acquisition request. In step S <b> 305, the output unit 324 outputs the generated related file to the information processing unit 328.

In step S <b> 306, the information processing unit 328 acquires the related file output from the output unit 324 from the print order receiving server 22 and stores it in the data holding unit 330. At this time, it is determined whether the product is “necessary” for trial printing. Here, when the information processing unit 328 determines that the product is “necessary” for trial printing, a file for trial printing can be acquired.
In step S307, the printing unit 331 inputs the print job ticket and the print data into the HotFolder and prints them. After printing is completed, this is notified to the print order receiving system.

In S308, the processing unit 332 processes the printed matter printed in S307 on the processing machine 34 based on the processing job ticket. Specifically, first, the information processing unit 328 inputs a processing job ticket to a predetermined HotFolder based on an instruction from the worker.
Next, the information processing unit 328 acquires the input processing job ticket, converts it into a format that can be interpreted by the processing machine 34, and transmits the format to the processing machine 34. The processing unit 332 displays processing method options on a display panel provided in the processing machine 34 based on the received processing job ticket.
The processing unit 332 receives selection of a processing method from the operator. The processing unit 332 waits for the printed material to be processed to be placed on the printing machine 33 by the operator. When the processing unit 332 receives an input of processing start from an operator, the processing unit 332 performs predetermined processing based on the received processing job ticket.
The order management unit 316 stores the related file used for manufacturing the printed material corresponding to the order in the data holding unit 325 in association with the order. In S308, the operator of the printing company 3 sends the printed material that has been printed and processed to the orderer.
<Order list screen>
Next, the order list screen will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 15A, reference numeral 601 denotes an order list screen showing a list of orders received by the printing company 3. Reference numerals 602 to 609 are information relating to the first order.
Reference numeral 602 denotes an order ID for identifying an order. Reference numeral 603 denotes an order detail ID for identifying the order detail. Reference numeral 604 denotes a desired shipping date desired by the orderer.
Reference numeral 605 denotes a product name indicating the name of the product corresponding to the order. Reference numeral 606 denotes a business partner representing the ordering party. Reference numeral 608 denotes the number of copies of the printed matter corresponding to the order. Reference numeral 609 denotes a status indicating the progress of work on the order. Reference numerals 610 to 617 are information relating to the second order. Reference numerals 618 and 619 denote radio buttons for exclusively selecting the first and second orders, respectively. Reference numeral 620 denotes an order detail button, which is a button for calling up an order detail screen for displaying detailed information regarding the order selected by the radio button.
<Order details screen>
Next, an order detail screen displayed when the order detail button 620 is pressed will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 15B, reference numeral 701 denotes an order detail screen for displaying detailed information on the order selected on the order list screen. Reference numeral 702 denotes order basic information representing basic information related to an order. The basic information regarding the order includes an order ID 703, a business partner 704, a status 705, and a settlement method 706. Reference numeral 709 denotes order detail information representing detailed information related to the order.
Reference numerals 710 to 718 are detailed information regarding orders. Reference numeral 710 denotes an order detail ID. Reference numeral 711 denotes the number of orders. Reference numeral 712 denotes a product ID.
Reference numeral 713 denotes a submission status indicating a submission status. Reference numeral 714 denotes a desired receipt date that the orderer wishes to receive. Reference numeral 715 denotes a product name. Reference numeral 716 denotes a calibration status representing a calibration status.
Reference numeral 717 denotes a product specification ID. Reference numeral 718 denotes a work status representing the work status. Reference numeral 719 denotes an order related file representing a file related to the order. Reference numerals 720 to 729 are check boxes for selecting a file that the operator wants to acquire from among the files related to the order.

A check box 720 is a check box for selecting submitted data. A check box 721 is a check box for selecting pre-calibration data. A check box 722 is a check box for selecting post-calibration data. A check box 723 is a check box for selecting a calibration result. A check box 724 is a check box for selecting print data (before RIP).
A check box 725 is a check box for selecting print data (after RIP). A check box 726 is a check box for selecting a work instruction.
A check box 727 is a check box for selecting a print job ticket. A check box 728 is a check box for selecting a print ticket. A check box 729 is a check box for selecting a processing job ticket. The information processing unit 328 performs display control of the following radio button 730 based on the trial print necessity flag of the product being ordered. Reference numeral 730 denotes a radio button which is used to exclusively select whether to perform trial printing or main printing.

  In the order details displayed on the order detail screen, the product (product ID = PRD1) is displayed. Since this product is a product whose trial printing necessity flag shown in FIG. 12A is “necessary”, the information processing unit 328 determines that the trial printing is “necessary”, and the information display unit 329 selects the selection. Possible radio buttons 730 are displayed. The radio button 730 is not displayed for a product whose test print necessity flag is “No”.

Reference numeral 731 denotes a button for receiving and storing a related file for printing. The selection state of each check box 720 to 729 and 730 of the order related file is acquired, a transmission request for the checked file is transmitted to the order management unit 316, and the received related file is stored. When trial printing is selected with the radio button 730, the generation unit 323 updates the number of print tickets. Specifically, one copy is designated as the number of print ticket outputs.
When the main printing is selected with the radio button 730, the number of copies received is designated as the number of copies of the print ticket by the generation unit 323.
The number of copies for the print ticket may be specified by subtracting the trial print from the number of copies received (that is, the number obtained by subtracting one copy) when the main print is selected when trial printing is possible.

Further, the selection of the trial printing and the main printing is not limited to the radio button, and any format may be used as long as it can be exclusively selected. For example, it is possible to divide the button into two and save it as test print storage and main print storage.
Reference numeral 732 denotes a close button 732 for closing the order detail screen.

<Order information>
FIG. 16 stores the following elements in an order information management table for managing information related to orders placed via the print order receiving system.
In this table, an order ID for identifying an order, an order name representing an order name, a customer, a status, a settlement method, an order detail ID representing an order detail ID, and an ID of a product associated with the order are represented. Product ID, number of printed copies. Stores the status of submission, proofreading, and work, and desired receipt date.
<Related file generation method>
The generation unit 323 illustrated in FIG. 3 refers to the order information management table illustrated in FIG. 6 stored in the data holding unit 325, and acquires the order ID. With reference to the product ID described in the order ID, product information corresponding to the product ID is acquired from the product information management table shown in FIG. Then, by referring to the product ID described in the product information, the product information corresponding to the product ID is acquired from the product information management table. With reference to the product specification ID described in the product information, the product specification information corresponding to the product specification ID is acquired from the product specification management table shown in FIG.

  With reference to the process ID described in the product specification information, the printing process information corresponding to the printing process ID is acquired from the printing process management table shown in FIG. Further, machining process information corresponding to the machining process ID is acquired from the machining process management table shown in FIG. With reference to the print setting ID described in the printing process information, the print setting information corresponding to the print setting ID is acquired from the print setting management table.

  When generating a print job ticket, refer to the print job ticket setting item described in the print setting, refer to the correspondence table between the setting item (not shown) and the element of the print job ticket, and set the value set in the setting item. Write to the corresponding element of the print job ticket. For example, in the case of the first print setting described in the print setting management table shown in FIG. 9B, the width value “210” of the finished size is written in the “FinalComponentSizeWidth” element of the print job ticket.

  When generating a print ticket, refer to the print setting items described in the print settings, refer to the correspondence table between the setting items (not shown) and the elements of the print ticket, and set the values set in the setting items to correspond to the print ticket. Write to the element to be. For example, in the case of the first print setting described in the print setting management table shown in FIG. 9B, the value “TwoSided” corresponding to “duplex” which is the value of the print surface is written in the Duplex element of the print ticket. . If the value to be written is not a numerical value, a correspondence table between a value in the print setting management table and a value to be written in the print ticket (not shown) is referred to. Alternatively, instead of providing the correspondence table, a value to be written in the print ticket may be described in the value of the print setting management table.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print ticket creation process in the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. This example corresponds to a print ticket creation process example created by the print order receiving server 22.
In FIG. 17, reference numeral 801 denotes a print ticket template. Reference numeral 802 denotes print settings. Reference numeral 803 denotes a print setting item. Reference numeral 804 denotes a print ticket (print setting completed). The print ticket template 801 reflects the print setting item 803 in the print setting 802 and creates a print ticket (print setting completed) 804.

The print ticket (print setting completed) 804 manages the print ticket ID and the print ticket file in association with each other using the (a) print ticket management table of FIG.
Further, the date when the setting is performed is set to the print ticket creation date in the print ticket management table of FIG. In the print setting management table shown in FIG. 9B, the print ticket ID associated with the created print ticket (print setting completed) 804 is held, and the print setting and the print ticket are associated and managed. The above is performed by the initial setting of S101 in FIG. Reference numeral 805 denotes related file creation. Reference numeral 806 denotes order information. Reference numeral 807 denotes a print ticket (completed form).

For the print ticket (print setting completed) 804, a print ticket (completed form) 807 reflecting the number of outputs from the order information 806 is created in the related file creation 805. The above is performed by acquiring the related file in S105 in FIG. Reference numeral 808 denotes a print result reflection. Reference numeral 809 denotes a print result input operation.
Reference numeral 810 denotes a print ticket (print setting completed) in which a print actual date (= 2012/08/10) is reflected on the print ticket (print setting completed) 804. When the completion of printing is notified to the order receiving system after printing, it is updated with the date of using the printing result of the print ticket used by reflecting the printing result. The above is performed by printing in S106 in FIG.
The creation date and the actual date may be managed by the management table as described above, or may be held in the print ticket file.

  When generating a modified job ticket, a value is written in the corresponding element of the modified job ticket based on information on various print specifications managed by the management unit 306. For example, the back thickness is calculated from the paper thickness described in the paper information management table and the number of sheets described in the printing process management table, and the back thickness is written in the corresponding element of the processing job ticket.

  In this embodiment, when generating a work instruction sheet, values written in various tables are written in corresponding items of the work instruction sheet based on information about various printing specifications. For example, in the case of the paper name item of the work instruction sheet, the members in the lower layer are traced in order from the order information, the paper name of the corresponding paper is obtained from the paper ID described in the print settings, and written in the paper name field of the work instruction sheet. . The example of FIG. 18 shows an example of a work instruction sheet for a product whose test print is “necessary” when the test print flag is “1” in the product information management table shown in FIG. Shown in (a). The generation unit 323 that creates the work instruction sheet displays “necessary” in the necessity / non-necessity column for trial printing in FIG.

  The reason column displays “product requiring test printing”, and the confirmation item column displays “confirm color”. When the trial printing is “No”, the generation unit 323 may display “No” in the necessity / non-necessity column, or may not display any information about the trial printing itself.

  Note that the generation unit 323 displays the information related to the trial print output in the work instruction sheet when “trial print” is designated by the radio button 730. When “real print” is designated by the radio button 730, information regarding trial printing may be output or may not be output.

In addition, the generation unit 323 may specify one copy as the number of copies of the work instruction sheet created at the time of trial printing. At that time, the number of copies received may be indicated. The generation unit 323 may display the number of received copies as the number of output copies of the work instruction document created at the time of actual printing. If the trial printing is “necessary”, the trial printing is considered. The number of copies obtained by subtracting one copy from the number of received orders may be displayed as the number of output copies.
According to the present embodiment described above, whether or not trial printing is necessary is determined from the definition of a product (product), and when it is determined as “necessary”, trial printing can be performed. In addition, since information related to the trial printing is output to the work instruction sheet, it is easy to understand the purpose of the trial printing, the reason for the trial printing, and the items to be confirmed in the trial printing.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the information processing unit 328 determines whether test printing is necessary from the definition of a product (product). Here, when the information processing unit 328 determines that the test print flag is “necessary (1)” in the definition of the product (product), the test print may be determined as “necessary” and the test print may be selected. It becomes possible.
On the other hand, when the information processing unit 328 determines that the test print flag is “No” in the definition of the product (product), the test print is determined as “No”. If it is determined that the test printing is “NO”, the option of the test printing is not displayed on the screen, so that the operator does not have to see unnecessary information. In this case, information about trial printing is not output in the work instruction sheet. Therefore, the operator can recognize at a glance whether test printing is necessary.
[Second Embodiment]

  Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to the first embodiment, and the logical configuration of the print order receiving system corresponds to FIG. The logical configuration of the print order receiving system in the second embodiment will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, the information processing unit 328 in FIG. 3 becomes the information processing unit 333 in FIG. The information processing unit 333 will be described in detail later.

  In the first embodiment, the trial printing necessity flag in the product (product) definition is used to determine the trial printing and output the information about the trial printing to the work instruction sheet. Further, the case where a print ticket is used in print settings has been described. In contrast to the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, a case will be described in which trial printing is required even when the trial printing necessity flag in the product (product) definition is “No”.

This is a case where a print process that does not use a print ticket is provided in the print setting.
The reason why the print ticket is not used is that the print ticket cannot be used depending on the model of the printing machine, or that the print ticket corresponding printing machine is defined not to use the print ticket.
The following three reasons for not using a print ticket in a print ticket-compatible printing machine are as follows.
The first reason is that there is a policy of unifying the workflow in a printing shop having a plurality of printing machines, and a printing ticket-compatible printing machine and an incompatible printing machine are mixed. The second reason is the case where the reliability of the print ticket of the printing shop manager or operator is low and the use is avoided.
The third reason is a case where even a print ticket-compatible printing machine performs special settings that exceed the print settings that can be set by the print ticket. The reason why the print ticket is not used in the printing machine corresponding to the print ticket has been described above. However, the reason why the print ticket is not used is not limited to this.

When a print ticket is not used, it is necessary for an operator to manually input print settings based on a work instruction document created when producing printed matter. It is necessary to check the correctness of the print settings because there is a possibility that an error will occur when inputting manually. In order to eliminate mistakes in print settings, there is a possibility that mistakes remain even if checks and confirmations are made when inputting print settings. Therefore, in a printing process that does not use a print ticket, it is necessary to perform test printing in order to confirm print settings.
A printing process that does not use a print ticket will be described using the print setting management table shown in FIG. In FIG. 9B, the print setting ID = “SET3” indicates that the print ticket is invalid (= 0). Therefore, the printing process does not use a print ticket. In this case, since the print ticket is not used, the print setting management unit 311 does not create a print ticket (print setting completed) from the print ticket template. The print setting item of the print setting outputs the contents of the work instruction sheet.

An example of receiving an order for a product associated with a product specification composed of a printing process having the print settings will be described with reference to an order detail screen shown in FIG.
The order detail screen shown in FIG. 20 is a screen example in which the print ticket column and the check box 728 are hidden from the order detail screen shown in FIG.
FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the information processing unit 333 determines whether a print ticket is used. If the information processing unit 333 determines that the print ticket is not used, the information display unit 329 displays the order detail screen shown in FIG. 20 in which the print ticket field and the check box 728 are not displayed.
When the print ticket is not used, the print ticket field and the check box 728 may be hidden, and the check box may be displayed in a state where the check is disabled, for example, grayed out.
Further, the information processing unit 333 performs display control of the radio button 730 depending on whether or not a print ticket is used. Reference numeral 730 denotes a radio button for exclusively selecting test printing or main printing.

In the order details displayed on the order detail screen, the product (product ID = PRD3) is displayed. This product is a product for which the test print necessity flag is “No”. However, since the print ticket is not used in the printing process of the product, the information processing unit 333 determines that trial printing is “necessary”. When it is determined that the trial printing is “necessary”, the information display unit 329 displays a selectable radio button 730. When it is determined that the test printing is not possible, the information display unit 329 does not display the selectable radio button 730.
FIG. 18B shows an example of a work instruction for printing that does not use a print ticket. The generation unit 323 that creates the work instruction sheet outputs “necessary” in the necessity / non-necessity column for the trial printing in FIG. The generation unit 323 displays “no print ticket” in the reason column and “confirm print setting” in the confirmation item column. When the trial printing is “No”, the generation unit 323 may display “No” in the necessity / non-necessity column, or may not display any information about the trial printing itself.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the necessity of trial printing is determined based on whether or not a print ticket is used. If the print ticket is not used, the trial printing is determined to be “necessary” and the trial printing is selected. Is possible. If it is determined that the test printing is “NO”, the option for the test printing is not displayed on the screen, so that the operator does not have to see unnecessary information. In this case, information about trial printing is not output in the work instruction sheet. Therefore, the operator can recognize at a glance whether test printing is necessary.

[Third Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to the first embodiment, and the logical configuration of the print order receiving system corresponds to FIG. The logical configuration of the print order receiving system in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing unit 328 in FIG. 3 becomes the information processing unit 334 in FIG. The information processing unit 334 will be described in detail later.

  In the first embodiment, a case has been described in which trial print necessity flags in the definition of a product (product) are used and output control of information related to trial printing on a work instruction sheet is performed. In the second embodiment, the control for determining the trial printing and outputting the information related to the trial printing to the work instruction using the presence or absence of the use of the print ticket in the printing process has been described. On the other hand, there is a case where the trial printing necessity flag in the definition of the product (product) is “No” and the trial printing is necessary even in the printing process using the print ticket.

  It may be necessary depending on the status of the print ticket. For example, this occurs when a print ticket has never been produced. If there is a print ticket, there is no need for manual print settings, so no mistakes will occur in the print settings that are made when producing printed matter. However, if there is an error in the input of the print setting item 803 in FIG. 9B, an error is set in the setting contents of the print ticket (print setting completed) 804 to be output in the print setting 802. In other words, print setting items are set in the print setting management table shown in FIG. 9B to create a print ticket. At this time, there is a case where the print setting item itself has an error due to an input error.

Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the correctness of the print settings by actually printing once with the print ticket. In this embodiment, the determination of the necessity of trial printing in such a case will be specifically described.
The ticket management unit 310 manages the print ticket creation date and the print record date in the print ticket management table of FIG. If the print ticket creation date is earlier than the actual print date, printing is performed after the print ticket is created. If there is no input value on the actual print date or the print ticket creation date is later than the actual print date, printing is not performed after the print ticket is created.
In FIG. 21, the information processing unit 334 compares the print ticket creation date and the print record date, and performs display control of the radio button 730 in FIG. Reference numeral 730 denotes a radio button for exclusively selecting test printing or main printing.

The information processing unit 334 compares the print ticket creation date with the print record date, and if there is no input value on the print record date or the print ticket creation date is later than the print record date, the test print is “required”. " When it is determined that the trial printing is “necessary”, the information display unit 329 displays a selectable radio button 730. When it is determined that the test printing is not possible, the information display unit 329 does not display the selectable radio button 730.
FIG. 18C shows an example of a work instruction sheet when trial printing is “necessary” because there is no print ticket printing record. The generation unit 323 displays “necessary” in the necessity / non-necessity column for the trial printing in FIG. The generation unit 323 displays “no print ticket print record” in the reason column, and “confirm print settings” in the confirmation item column. When the trial printing is “No”, the generation unit 323 may display “No” in the necessity / non-necessity column, or may not display any information about the trial printing itself.

According to the present embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not the trial printing is necessary based on the print record of the print ticket. If there is no “necessary” print record, the test print is determined to be “necessary” and the test print can be performed at the time. . If it is determined that the test printing is “NO”, the option for the test printing is not displayed on the screen, so that the operator does not have to see unnecessary information. In this case, information about trial printing is not output in the work instruction sheet. Therefore, the operator can recognize at a glance whether test printing is necessary.
[Fourth Embodiment]

  The fourth embodiment will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to the first embodiment, and the logical configuration of the print order receiving system corresponds to FIG. The logical configuration of the print order receiving system in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing unit 328 in FIG. 3 becomes the information processing unit 335 in FIG. The information processing unit 335 will be described in detail later.

The present embodiment is an embodiment in which the first embodiment and the second embodiment are combined. The condition for determining whether or not the trial printing is necessary (product definition printing necessity flag) in the first embodiment and the condition for determining whether or not the trial printing is necessary (non-use of the print ticket) in the second embodiment are not mutually exclusive conditions. Accordingly, there may be a case where the product (document) definition print necessity flag is “necessary” and the print ticket is not used. In order to cope with such a case, in the fourth embodiment, this problem is solved by combining the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a test print process of the print order receiving system according to the present embodiment. In the following, a description will be given of information regarding trial printing necessity determination and trial printing output to a work instruction sheet when there is a combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
23 is determined by the information processing unit 335, and based on the determination result, the information display unit 329 displays the (b) order detail screen of FIG.

First, in S901, initial processing is performed. As initial processing, “No” is set in the test print flag, and “0” is set in the counter value i. In step S <b> 902, the information processing unit 335 determines whether the trial print necessity flag on the product definition is “required” or “not required”. If the information processing unit 335 determines that the trial printing necessity flag on the product definition is “necessary”, the process advances to step S903.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 335 determines that the trial print necessity flag on the product definition is not “necessary”, the process advances to step S904.
In step S903, the trial printing flag is set to “required”, “product requiring trial printing” is set as the reason (i-th), “confirm color” is set as the confirmation (i-th), and “1” is added to i. . Here, the reason and confirmation (i-th) represent array management that allows a plurality of reasons and confirmations to be held. When S903 ends, the process proceeds to S904.
In step S904, the information processing unit 335 determines whether the print ticket is “present” or “not present”. If the information processing unit 335 determines that the print ticket is not “present”, the process advances to step S905. If the information processing unit 335 determines that the print ticket is “present”, the process advances to step S906.
In step S905, the information processing unit 335 sets the trial print flag to “required”, “no print ticket” as the reason (i-th), and “confirm print setting” as the confirmation (i-th).
When S905 ends, this flowchart ends. In step S906, a print ticket creation date is compared with a print record date. When the information processing unit 335 determines that the creation date ≧ the printing actual date, the process proceeds to S907. When the information processing unit 335 determines that the creation date <the printing actual date, this flowchart is ended.
In step S <b> 907, the information processing unit 335 sets the trial print flag to “required”, “no print ticket printing record” as the reason (i-th), and “confirm print setting” as the confirmation (i-th). When S907 ends, this flowchart ends. Information regarding trial printing to be output to the work instruction sheet and determination of whether or not trial printing is necessary are set according to the above flowchart.

  In the flowchart executed by the information processing unit 335, when the test print flag becomes “necessary”, the information display unit 329 displays the radio button 730 of FIG. When the test print flag is “NO”, the information display unit 329 does not display the radio button 730 in FIG.

In this embodiment, since it is a combination of the first and second embodiments, “Yes” goes to S903 in S902 in FIG. In S904, if “NO”, the process goes to S905 to end the process.
At the end of the flowchart in FIG. 23 executed by the information processing unit 335, “necessary” is set in the test print flag.
The reason (0) is set to “product requiring trial printing”, and the reason (1) is set to “no print ticket”. “Confirm color” is set for confirmation (0), and “Print setting confirmation” is set for confirmation (1). An example of a work instruction sheet based on the result of the flowchart shown in FIG. 23 executed by the information processing unit 335 generates the work instruction sheet shown in FIG. 18D. The generation unit 323 performs test printing in FIG. In the necessity / non-necessity column, “necessary” is output. The reason column displays “product requiring trial printing” and “no print ticket”. In the confirmation item column, “confirm color” and “confirm print settings” are displayed. The combination is not limited to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and there is also a combination of the first embodiment and the third embodiment. Similarly, two reasons and confirmation items are displayed on the work instruction sheet. . Note that the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not combined because they are mutually exclusive conditions.

According to the present embodiment described above, when trial printing is “necessary”, the product (product) definition and the presence / absence of use of the print ticket or the print ticket printing result information are judged, and the trial printing is judged as “necessary”. When it is done, trial printing becomes possible. When it is determined that the trial printing is “necessary” for a plurality of reasons, information on the plurality of reasons is displayed in the work instruction sheet. As a result, the operator can confirm at a glance the contents of test printing for a plurality of reasons.
[Fifth Embodiment]

  Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment will be described. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to the fourth embodiment, and the logical configuration diagram of the print order receiving system in the fourth embodiment is FIG. The logical configuration diagram of the print order receiving system in the fifth embodiment uses FIG. The information processing unit 335 in FIG. 22 becomes the information processing unit 336 in FIG. The information processing unit 336 will be described in detail later.

  In the fourth embodiment, the determination performed by the information processing unit 335 has been described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the fifth embodiment, a determination method using another method will be described. This is a method of using the trial printing necessity determination table shown in FIG. By issuing a conditional statement for each of the conditions 1 to 3 in the trial printing necessity determination table shown in FIG. 25, it is possible to identify one line that matches the condition and take out that line.

Condition 1 in the trial printing necessity determination table shown in FIG. 25 is that the product definition trial printing necessity flag is “necessary”. Condition 2 is whether to use a print ticket. Condition 3 is print ticket creation date <print result date.
“Y” or “N” is set in the column values of conditions 1 to 3. “Y” is a positive condition, and “N” is a negative condition. In the column value of the result, information on necessity / unnecessity of trial printing, reason, and confirmation is set.
The information processing unit 336 issues a conditional statement to the trial printing necessity judgment table shown in FIG. 25 to obtain judgment on necessity of trial printing, the reason for display in the work instruction sheet, and confirmation contents.
In addition, when the information processing unit 336 searches the test print necessity determination table shown in FIG. 25 under the search conditions where the condition 1 is “Y”, the condition 2 is “Y”, and the condition 3 is “N”, the following result is obtained. Return.
-Trial printing = Necessary-Reason (0): "Product requiring trial printing"
・ Reason (1): “No print ticket”
・ Check (0): “Check the color”
-Confirmation (1): “Confirm print settings”
That is, in the fourth embodiment, the same processing as the determination executed in the flowchart of FIG. 23 can be executed in the search process for the test print necessity determination table of FIG.
According to the fifth embodiment described above, trial printing can be determined by searching for data without using conditional branching.
[Sixth Embodiment]

The sixth embodiment will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to that of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the necessity of trial printing is determined based on the trial printing necessity flag of the product being ordered. However, if there is no trial printing necessity flag in the product definition, it is not always possible to determine trial printing. For example, in the definition of a product, there is an example in which there are a color / black and white classification (a classification in which printed matter distinguishes between color and black and white) and a product category. In this case, if the color / monochrome classification is “color” and the product category is “photo album”, it may be determined that trial printing is necessary. If the product category is “photo album” but the color / monochrome classification is “black and white”, it may be determined that the test printing is not allowed.
[Seventh Embodiment]

The seventh embodiment will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to that of the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, whether or not trial printing is necessary is determined based on the print record of the print ticket. However, if there is a print ticket printing record, trial printing is not necessarily unnecessary. When the target device of the print ticket is updated due to maintenance or the like, even if there is a print record, trial printing may be necessary for the first printing after the update.
[Eighth Embodiment]

The eighth embodiment will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to that of the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, whether or not trial printing is necessary is determined based on the print record of the print ticket. However, if there is a print ticket printing record, trial printing is not necessarily unnecessary. The print ticket may have an expiration date, and test printing may be necessary for the first printing after the expiration date. Setting an expiration date on the print ticket is effective when trial printing is required again when the device has changed over time. If there is a printing record, it is also preferable to extend the expiration date accordingly.
[Ninth Embodiment]

  The ninth embodiment will be described below. The configuration of this embodiment conforms to that of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, whether or not trial printing is necessary is determined, and trial printing can be selected when trial printing is necessary. In this case, it is assumed that trial printing can be selected only when necessary. However, it is assumed that the trial printing can be selected in all cases, and the same can be achieved by the control that disables the selection of the trial printing when the necessity of the trial printing is not necessary.

In each embodiment, the work instruction sheet is not limited to paper, but can be displayed on an electronic terminal such as a large screen, a notebook PC, a projector, or a tablet. Further, the work instruction sheet can be notified not only by display but also by voice output.
Hereinafter, a control method of the print control apparatus applied to each of the above embodiments will be described with reference to flowcharts.
FIG. 26 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the print control apparatus according to the present embodiment. This example is an example of print control executed by the computer 31 shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to the print control device, and includes the hardware resources shown in FIG. 2, and the CPU 201 of the computer 31 stores it in the storage device 206 or the like. This is realized by executing the control programs. Here, the control program corresponds to the information processing unit 328, the information display unit 329, etc. of the program 3 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the control will be described with a program executed by the CPU 201 as a main subject.
In step S2601, the information processing unit 328 determines whether or not the test print flag shown in the first embodiment is set to “1” in the print instruction information received from the print order receiving server 22 shown in FIG. Here, when it is determined that the test print flag in the print instruction information is “1”, the information processing unit 328 has test print so that the radio button 730 for the test print of the print instruction document to be created is displayed. (S2602), in S2610, the information display unit 329 displays a test print instruction button and a main print instruction button as the radio buttons 730 shown in FIG. 20, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 328 determines in S2601 that the trial print flag shown in the first embodiment is not set to “1”, the print order shown in FIG. 1 is used to correspond to the second embodiment. It is determined whether a print ticket is included in the print instruction information received from the server 22 (S2603). If the information processing unit 328 determines that a print ticket is included, the information processing unit 328 sets the presence of trial printing to display the radio button 730 for trial printing of the generated print instruction (S2604). In step S2610, the information display unit 329 displays a test print instruction button and a main print instruction button as the radio buttons 730 shown in FIG. 20, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 328 determines in step S2603 that the print ticket is not included, the print ticket is included in the print instruction information received from the print order receiving server 22 shown in FIG. 1 to correspond to the third embodiment. In step S2605, it is determined whether there is a print record. If it is determined that there is a print ticket but there is no print record, the information processing unit 328 sets test print to be present so that a radio button 730 for test print of the print instruction to be created is displayed. In step S2606, in step S2610, the information display unit 329 displays a test print instruction button and a main print instruction button as radio buttons 730 illustrated in FIG. 20, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 328 determines that the print ticket is not included in S2605, the print instruction information received from the print order receiving server 22 shown in FIG. 1 and the print instruction information shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the printed product requires trial printing by comparing information with the trial printing suspect judgment table shown (S2607). If the information processing unit 328 determines that the print product requires test printing, the information processing unit 328 sets test print to be present so that a radio button 730 for test printing of the print instruction to be created is displayed ( In step S2608), in step S2610, the information display unit 329 displays a test print instruction button and a main print instruction button as the radio buttons 730 shown in FIG. 20, and the process ends.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 328 determines in S2607 that the print product does not require test printing, in S2609, the information display unit 329 displays only this print instruction button as the radio button 730 shown in FIG. This process ends.
In (B) of FIG. 26, in the process shown in (A) of FIG. 26, it is determined on the displayed screen shown in FIG. 20 that test printing is necessary, and then the work instruction document output process shown in FIG. Transition.
Here, the information processing unit 328 outputs a work instruction sheet as shown in FIG. 18 (S2611). Here, the information processing unit 328 outputs information indicating whether or not trial printing is necessary, the reason why the trial printing is “necessary”, confirmation items, and the like.
In step S2612, the information processing unit 328 determines whether there is a print ticket in the print instruction information. If the information processing unit 328 determines that there is no print ticket, the processing ends.
On the other hand, if the information processing unit 328 determines that there is a print ticket in S2612, the number of print ticket copies is set to 1 and this processing ends.

  Each process of the present invention can also be realized by executing software (program) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a personal computer (computer).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

1 Ordering environment 2 Print order service site 3 Printing company 4 Internet

Claims (16)

A print control apparatus for registering product information to be printed in the management apparatus, and providing the registered product information to the information processing apparatus, managing print orders received from the information processing apparatus, and performing print processing in the print control apparatus A printing system for instructing
The print control device includes:
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether or not an instruction to perform test printing is set in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the instruction to perform the trial printing is set, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the trial printing process;
Output means for outputting the created work instruction,
The management device
Registration means for registering product information received from the print control device;
Generating means for generating product management information in which necessity of trial printing is set based on registered product information;
Providing means for providing the information processing apparatus with list information of registered product information;
Order receiving means for receiving a print order from the information processing apparatus;
In accordance with a request from the print control apparatus, a transmission unit that transmits print instruction information for creating an ordered product to the print control apparatus;
A printing system comprising: A print control apparatus for registering product information to be printed in the management apparatus, and providing the registered product information to the information processing apparatus, managing print orders received from the information processing apparatus, and performing print processing in the print control apparatus A printing system for instructing
The print control device includes:
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether print setting information is included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the print setting information is not included, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test print process;
Output means for outputting the created work instruction,
The management device
Registration means for registering product information received from the print control device;
Generating means for generating product management information in which necessity of trial printing is set based on registered product information;
Providing means for providing the information processing apparatus with list information of registered product information;
Order receiving means for receiving a print order from the information processing apparatus;
In accordance with a request from the print control apparatus, a transmission unit that transmits print instruction information for creating an ordered product to the print control apparatus;
A printing system comprising: A print control apparatus for registering product information to be printed in the management apparatus, and providing the registered product information to the information processing apparatus, managing print orders received from the information processing apparatus, and performing print processing in the print control apparatus A printing system for instructing
The print control device includes:
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
Determining means for determining whether or not trial printing is necessary from the printing result information of the print setting information included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the test printing is to be executed, a creating unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test printing process;
Output means for outputting the created work instruction,
The management device
Registration means for registering product information received from the print control device;
Generating means for generating product management information in which necessity of trial printing is set based on registered product information;
Providing means for providing the information processing apparatus with list information of registered product information;
Order receiving means for receiving a print order from the information processing apparatus;
In accordance with a request from the print control apparatus, a transmission unit that transmits print instruction information for creating an ordered product to the print control apparatus;
A printing system comprising: The management device
Receiving means for receiving an update notification of print setting information from the print control device;
Updating means for updating the print setting information associated with the product information in accordance with the received update notification;
The printing system according to claim 3, further comprising:   The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the updating unit updates a high and low level specifying a printing accuracy included in the print setting information to a high level.   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print instruction information is generated from order information and print setting information.   4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit creates a work instruction sheet including an item for specifying necessity of trial printing, a reason for the trial printing, and a confirmation item. 5. .   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit displays a work instruction sheet.   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit prints a work instruction sheet. A print control device that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management device,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether or not an instruction to perform test printing is set in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the instruction to perform the trial printing is set, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the trial printing process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A printing control apparatus comprising: A print control device that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management device,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether print setting information is included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the print setting information is not included, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test print process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A printing control apparatus comprising: A print control device that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management device,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
Determining means for determining whether or not trial printing is necessary from the printing result information of the print setting information included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the test printing is to be executed, a creating unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test printing process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A printing control apparatus comprising: A control method of a print control apparatus that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management apparatus,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether or not an instruction to perform test printing is set in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the instruction to perform the trial printing is set, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the trial printing process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A control method for a print control apparatus, comprising: A control method of a print control apparatus that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management apparatus,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
A determination means for determining whether print setting information is included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the print setting information is not included, a creation unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test print process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A control method for a print control apparatus, comprising: A control method of a print control apparatus that performs print processing on product information registered according to a print order received by a management apparatus,
Acquisition means for acquiring print instruction information associated with a product ordered from the management device;
Determining means for determining whether or not trial printing is necessary from the printing result information of the print setting information included in the acquired print instruction information;
If it is determined that the test printing is to be executed, a creating unit that creates a work instruction for executing the test printing process;
An output means for outputting the created work instruction;
A control method for a print control apparatus, comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the print control apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15.

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