JP7608907B2 - Printing system, printing method, information processing device, and program - Google Patents

Description

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

Image forming devices such as printers and multifunction devices may have an "interrupt printing" function. If there is a print job that needs to be printed quickly, the end user can specify interrupt printing on the operation panel to raise the print priority of the print job that was requested to be printed later, so that it can be printed first.

There are two types of interrupt printing: "page-based interrupt" and "job-based interrupt." Some models only support "job-based interrupt," and do not support "page-based interrupt." If "page-based interrupt" is not supported, for example, let's say the image forming device starts printing a 1,000-page print job. In this case, with "job-based interrupt," the next print job cannot start printing until the 1,000-page print job is finished.

Technology related to page-by-page interrupts has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, when an end user specifies a print job to be interrupted through a job management tool, a printer-specific output thread requests the system spooler to stop the print job currently being printed, and when a print completion page is received together with a notification that printing has been stopped from the printer control module, the print start page in the print control file is changed, the priority of the job description file is maximized, and the print order of the print jobs is rearranged and printing is performed.

However, the conventional technology had the problem that page-by-page interrupts were not possible unless a specific model of printer driver was used.

For example, the printer control module (print processor) described in Patent Document 1 determines "how many pages have been printed" by communicating with the physical printer. However, the standard print processor (winprint) for Windows (registered trademark) does not have such a function, so it can be said that a specific printer driver is required.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to reduce the restrictions imposed by models, printer drivers, etc. on page-by-page interrupt printing of a print job.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a printing system in which an information processing device prints a print job transmitted from an information processing terminal with an image forming device, the system comprising: a job storage means for converting print target data received from the information processing terminal and selected for use in printing by a real printer driver using a virtual printer driver into EMF data and storing the data in a first storage means as a print job; a print control means for dividing the EMF data stored in the first storage means into divided intermediate data of one or more pages, and storing each divided intermediate data in a second storage means in association with the print job; an acceptance means for displaying a list screen of the print jobs and accepting a change in the print order of the multiple print jobs displayed on the list screen ; and and a determination means for rearranging the divided intermediate data stored in the second storage means based on the change in the printing order received by the printing control means, and determining that the printing order of the second divided intermediate data of the second print job which has been rearranged to be the earliest in the printing order is to be the highest priority, wherein the print control means converts the first divided intermediate data of the first print job which is being printed into RAW data by the real printer driver, and when printing of the RAW data is completed by the image forming device, converts the second divided intermediate data of the second print job which has been determined to have the highest printing order by the determination means into RAW data by the real printer driver, and starts printing of the RAW data by the image forming device.

This reduces the restrictions imposed by printer models, printer drivers, etc. on page-by-page interrupt printing of print jobs.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configuration of an example of a printing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an example of a computer device. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a multifunction peripheral that is an example of a printer. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a client PC and a print server, divided into blocks. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a print setting screen of the virtual printer driver. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a property screen of a virtual printer driver. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for an end user of a web application. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a print job list screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an administrator screen displayed by the terminal device when a button to the administrator screen is pressed (login successful); 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of a real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) and a real printer driver group definition screen (part 2). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a real printer driver group definition screen (part 3). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen (part 1) for a real printer driver group. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen (part 2) for a real printer driver group. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a terminal device by dividing the functions into blocks. 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a procedure in which a printing system divides a print job, accepts interrupt printing on a page basis, and executes the print job. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of EMF data. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a print log management screen displayed on the terminal device.

Below, we will explain a printing system and a printing method in the printing system using examples as an example of a form for implementing the present invention.

<Outline of Operation of Printing System of the Present Embodiment>
In the printing system of this embodiment, a print server resident program, which will be described later, divides EMF data into units of pages or more between the virtual printer driver and the real printer driver, and has the real printer driver process the divided EMF data. As a result, depending on the printing order of the print jobs, the print server resident program temporarily suspends processing of the print job being printed and has the real printer driver process another print job with the highest priority. After processing is complete, the print server resident program has the real printer driver process the EMF data that follows the original print job, thereby realizing interrupt printing on a page basis. Because EMF data is not model-dependent, page interrupts are possible even if any printer driver is used.

<Terminology>
Page-by-page interrupt printing refers to temporarily interrupting printing of a print job that is already being printed (first print job), printing a print job that arrives later (second print job), and resuming printing of the interrupted print job after printing of the later print job is completed.

<Configuration example>
1 is a system configuration diagram of an example of a printing system 1. A printer 20, a print server 30, a client PC 10, and a terminal device 50 are connected to a network N. An OS such as a Windows (registered trademark) type OS (a server OS is installed on the server) is installed on the print server 30 and the client PC 10.

A client PC 10 (an example of an information processing terminal) can request printing from this print server 30 using the printer 20. In such a system, the client PC 10 must have the same printer driver installed as the print server 30. It would be very costly for an administrator or the like to install a printer driver on each client PC 10 on the network.

Point&Print solves this problem by making it possible to download and install a printer driver from the print server 30 onto the client PC 10. This is a standard feature of Windows (registered trademark)-based operating systems. In this embodiment, the virtual printer driver and real printer driver described below are installed onto the print server 30 using the Point&Print mechanism, and then installed onto the client PC 10.

The printer 20 is an image forming device that forms and outputs an image on cut paper or continuous paper. The printer 20 may be called a printing device. In addition, if the printer 20 has the functions of the printer 20, the printer 20 may be called an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral/Printer/Product), a multifunction device, a copier, a facsimile device, a scanner device, or the like.

The print server 30 may be any information processing device on which a specific OS runs. The print server 30 may have one or more information processing devices. In this case, each information processing device may provide the functions of the print server 30, or multiple information processing devices may provide the functions of one print server 30. The print server 30 may also be compatible with cloud computing. Cloud computing refers to a form of usage in which resources on a network are used without being aware of specific hardware resources. The print server 30 may be located on-premise or on the internet.

The client PC 10 is an information processing device on which a specific OS, application, and printer driver run. Various applications for creating documents to be printed run on the OS. An end user operates the client PC 10 to request printing from the print server 30. The client PC 10 is, for example, a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a wearable PC, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). In addition, as long as a specific OS, application, and printer driver run on it, it may also be a game console, a digital camera, etc.

Furthermore, a terminal device 50 is connected to the network as necessary. A web browser runs on the terminal device 50, and executes a web application provided by the print server 30. A web application is software or a mechanism that runs on a browser and operates through cooperation between a program written in a programming language (e.g. JavaScript (registered trademark)) that runs on the browser and a program on the web server side. In this embodiment, an end user operates the terminal device 50 to give an interrupt instruction. An administrator also operates the terminal device 50 to make various settings. A specific example of the terminal device 50 may be the same as the client PC 10.

<Hardware configuration example>
2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer device 500. The client PC 10, the print server 30, and the terminal device 50 have the hardware configuration of the computer device 500 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the computer device 500 includes a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a HD 504, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, an external device connection I/F (Interface) 508, a network I/F 509, a bus line 510, a keyboard 511, a pointing device 512, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and a media I/F 516.

Of these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the entire computer device. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501, such as IPL. The RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501.

HD 504 stores various data such as programs. HDD controller 505 controls the reading and writing of various data from HD 504 under the control of CPU 501.

The display 506 displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, text, or an image. The external device connection I/F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, the external device is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a printer 20.

The network I/F 509 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 2.

The keyboard 511 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, etc. The optical drive 514 controls the reading and writing of various data from the optical media 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that the optical media may be any type, such as a CD-ROM, DVD-RW, or Blu-Ray (registered trademark). The media I/F 516 controls the reading and writing (storing) of data from the recording media 515, such as a flash memory.

＜＜Equipment＞＞
3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral that is an example of the printer 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 20 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, and a network I/F 950.

Of these, the controller 910 has a CPU 901, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, a local memory (MEM-C) 907, which is a storage unit, a HDD controller 908, and a HD 909, which is also a storage unit, and is configured such that the NB 903 and the ASIC 906 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the printer 20. The NB 903 is a bridge that connects the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, SB 904, and AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

The MEM-P 902 is composed of a ROM 902a, which is a memory for storing programs and data that realize the various functions of the controller 910, and a RAM 902b, which is used for expanding the programs and data, and as a drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in the RAM 902b may be provided by recording them in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

SB904 is a bridge for connecting NB903 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC906 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing, and acts as a bridge connecting AGP bus921, PCI bus922, HDD controller908, and MEM-C907. This ASIC906 is composed of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of ASIC906, a memory controller that controls MEM-C907, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between scanner unit931, printer unit932, and facsimile unit via PCI bus922. In addition, ASIC 906 may have a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface and may be connected to these.

MEM-C907 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer. HD909 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HD909 controls the reading and writing of data from and to HD909 under the control of CPU901. AGP bus921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphic processing, and by directly accessing MEM-P902 with high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

The short-range communication circuit 920 also includes a short-range communication circuit antenna 920a. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The engine control unit 930 further includes a scanner unit 931, a printer unit 932, and a facsimile unit 933. The operation panel 940 includes a panel display unit 940a, such as a touch panel, that displays current settings and selection screens and receives input from the operator, and hard keys 940b, such as a numeric keypad that receives settings for image formation conditions such as density settings, and a start key that receives a copy start command. The controller 910 controls the entire printer 20, and controls, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 940. The scanner unit 931 or the printer unit 932 includes an image processing unit such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

The printer 20 can sequentially switch between the document box function, copy function, printer 20 function, and facsimile function using the application switching key on the operation panel 940. The printer 20 goes into document box mode when the document box function is selected, into copy mode when the copy function is selected, into printer mode when the printer 20 function is selected, and into facsimile mode when the facsimile mode is selected.

The network I/F 950 is an interface for data communication using the network N2. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I/F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

<About the function>
FIG. 4 is an example of a functional block diagram illustrating functions of the client PC 10 and the print server 30 by dividing them into blocks.

First, let me briefly explain the overall process.

(1) End user A inputs a print operation for the data to be printed (document file 12) into application 11. When performing the print operation, end user A selects the virtual printer driver 14. The virtual printer driver 14 is a name used to distinguish it from the real printer driver 16 that performs the actual printing, and although it appears to be a printer driver to the end user, it is used for linking with the real printer driver 16, etc. When end user A uses the real printer driver 16, printing begins without being spooled in the unique spool 41. The existence of the virtual printer driver 14 allows the print server resident program 33 to save EMF data in the unique spool 41.

(2) The GDI (Graphics Device Interface) 13 passes the EMF data to the virtual printer driver 14. EMF data is print data written in Windows (registered trademark) GDI commands. EMF data does not depend on the model of the printer 20. Since the EMF data is later converted into RAW data specific to the printer 20, it is sometimes called intermediate data.

(3) The virtual printer driver 14 (an example of a job storage means) stores the EMF data in the EMF spool (for client) 15 (an example of a first storage means).

(4) The EMF data stored in the EMF spool (for client) 15 is automatically (almost instantly) sent by Windows (registered trademark) to the EMF spool (for server) 32 using the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) protocol.

(5) The spooler of the print server 30 communicates with the spooler (a program that manages and controls the spool) of the client PC 10 via RPC, detects a print request, and calls the real printer driver 36 to request that the EMF data be printed. The virtual printer driver 31 does not have the ability to print by itself.

(6) Here, in this embodiment, the print server resident program 33 (an example of a print control means) receives the print request and saves the EMF data as a print job in the unique spool 41 (an example of a second storage means). The unique spool 41 is not a spool prepared by the OS, but is a spool prepared by the printing system 1 of this embodiment. Although it is called a spool, it can be any storage means that can be managed by the print server resident program 33.

The print server resident program 33 of this embodiment divides a print job into units of one or more pages, and saves one print job as multiple print jobs (an example of divided intermediate data).

In this way, the EMF data, which is not model-dependent, is divided, so interrupt printing in this embodiment can be achieved without depending on the printer driver or the model of the printer 20.

(7) The printing system 1 also provides a web application 34 (an example of a receiving means) that receives requests to change the print order of print jobs registered in the unique spool 41. End user B sets the change in the print order of print jobs stored in the unique spool 41 in this web application 34. The web application 34 records an operation log in the operation log DB 40. This records who performed interrupt printing.

(8) The print server resident program 33 requests the GDI 35 to execute printing with the real printer driver 36 (an example of a printing means) based on the print order of the print jobs stored in the unique spool 41. Upon receiving the request, the GDI 35 extracts the print jobs from the unique spool 41 and stores them in the real printer driver spool 42 (an example of a third storage means). The real printer driver 36 converts the EMF data in the real printer driver spool 42 to RAW data and saves it back in the real printer driver spool 42.

(9) The spooler of the print server 30 passes the RAW data from the real printer driver spool 42 to the port monitor 37. When the port monitor 37 obtains the RAW data, it prints it on the printer 20.

<Explanation of each function>
4, the client PC 10 has an application 11, a GDI 13, a virtual printer driver 14, an EMF spool (client) 15, one or more real printer drivers 16, and a client PC resident program 17. The print server 30 has a virtual printer driver 31, an EMF spool (server) 32, a print server resident program 33, a Web application 34, a GDI 35, one or more real printer drivers 36, and a port monitor 37. Note that the setting information DB 38, external user information DB 39, and operation log DB 40 may be located in the print server 30 or on the network.

Below, we will mainly explain in detail the functions provided by the printing system 1 of this embodiment.

＜＜Application＞＞
First, the application 11 is software for editing a document file 12 that an end user instructs to print. The application 11 may be any type of application, such as a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, or a web browser application.

<<GDI>>
In the Windows (registered trademark) printing architecture, print settings and print instructions from the application 11 are notified to the GDI of the OS using an API. This GDI 13 is part of the OS. The GDI 13 is responsible for drawing-related processes such as drawing lines and curves, font rendering, and palette control. In this embodiment, the GDI 13 generates EMF data.

<<Virtual printer driver>>
The virtual printer driver 14 is installed in the client PC 10 when an end user uses the Point & Print function of Windows (registered trademark). The virtual printer driver 14 does not actually perform printing, but requests printing from the print server 30. On the print setting screen of the virtual printer driver 14, the end user specifies the real printer driver 16 that will actually perform printing.

Figure 5 is an example of the print settings screen 100 of the virtual printer driver 14. The print settings screen 100 in Figure 5 is displayed when end user A right-clicks on the icon of the virtual printer driver 14 and selects "Print Settings."

The printer name field 101 is a field where the end user selects the real printer driver 16 from a pull-down menu. The end user can specify any real printer driver 16, regardless of the model of the printer 20. The real printer drivers 16 that have been installed on the client PC 10 are displayed in the pull-down menu.

- The Settings button 102 is a button that allows the end user to display the print settings screen of the actual printer driver 16 currently selected in the printer name field 101.

When an end user prints using the virtual printer driver 14, the print server 30 performs the processing described in FIG. 4 on the EMF data, and the EMF data is passed to the real printer driver 36.

<< Actual printer driver >>
The real printer driver 16 is a printer driver used when actually printing from the client PC 10 to the printer 20, but is not used directly in this embodiment. However, not only the virtual printer driver 14 on the print server 30 but also all real printer drivers 16 used by the end user are installed as network printers on the client PC 10 (printer drivers installed by Point & Print). This allows the end user to display a specified screen by pressing the settings button 102.

<<Client PC resident program>>
The printing system 1 of this embodiment has a direct printing prohibition function. Direct printing means that an end user prints using the real printer driver 16 instead of using the virtual printer driver 14.

Figure 6 is an example of a properties screen for the virtual printer driver 14. The properties screen 110 in Figure 6 is displayed when the administrator right-clicks on the icon for the virtual printer driver 14 and selects "Printer Properties."

As shown in Figure 6, in the properties of the virtual printer driver 14, the administrator checks the checkbox "Prohibit printing using other printer drivers." This prevents end users from printing directly. In other words, an error message is displayed when an attempt is made to print directly using the real printer driver 16.

The client PC resident program 17 realizes the direct printing prohibition function by monitoring the end user's operations.

Note that if the end user has administrator privileges for Windows (registered trademark), this function may be disabled because the end user may be able to terminate the client PC resident program 17. Since this is a setting that can only be performed by a Windows (registered trademark) administrator, Figure 6 must be the properties screen, not the print settings screen.

<<Virtual printer driver on the print server>>
The virtual printer driver 31 of the print server 30 is the same as that of the client PC 10 .

<<Web Applications>>
As described below, the web application 34 can provide a print job list screen for end users, various administrator screens, and a print log management screen.

The end user can change the printing order of print jobs (actually EMF data) on the unique spool 41 on the print job list screen. The end user must log in to the web application 34 before using the web application 34.

This is so that the web application 34 can record the operation history for each end user in a log, making it possible to check later "who performed the interrupt printing."

The user information of the web application 34 is stored in the external user information DB 39. The user information in the external user information DB 39 may be managed by the web application 34 itself, or may be provided by LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) or the like.

The end user's operations on the web application 34 are recorded by the web application 34 in the operation log DB 40. In addition, the settings related to the control of the print server resident program 33 set on the web application 34 are stored in the setting information DB 38.

The web application 34 provides a function for viewing logs stored in the operation log DB 40. To protect personal information, only the administrator of the web application 34 can use the log viewing function. If an end user who has been "interrupted" by interrupt printing wants to know "who interrupted them," they must request the information from the administrator.

<<Original spool>>
On the unique spool 41, EMF data groups divided into units of one or more pages set by the administrator are managed together for each original print job. In other words, multiple EMF data divided from one print job are associated with the original print job. For example, in Fig. 4, the unique spool 41 has real printer driver group X and real printer driver group Y. Within real printer driver group X, divided jobs marked with A are divided from one print job, and divided jobs marked with B are divided from one print job.

In the web application 34, the administrator or end user's operations are directed to the original print job (the administrator or end user cannot see the split EMF data). In other words, the administrator or end user only recognizes that there are two print jobs, A and B, in the real printer driver group X.

Furthermore, print jobs in the unique spool 41 are managed by real printer driver group. The Web application 34 displays the progress of each print job ("how many pages of a job have been printed") in a form such as "25/60 pages." A real printer driver group is a group of real printer drivers 36 that are different but have the same printer 20.

<<Print server resident programs and Web applications>>
The print server resident program 33 and the Web application 34 are closely related, so they will be described together.

7A and 7B show examples of end-user screens of the web application 34. FIG. 7A shows an example of a login screen 120 displayed by the terminal device 50.
The user name field 121 is a field where the end user enters a user name (or user ID).
The password field 122 is where the end user enters a password.

Figure 7 (b) is an example of the printer selection screen 130 displayed by the terminal device 50 when the login button 124 is pressed (login successful). The printer selection screen 130 has a real printer driver group name 131 and a corresponding radio button 132. Since the real printer drivers 36 in a real printer driver group all have the same destination printer 20, the end user can change the printing order on a real printer driver group basis. By selecting a real printer driver group, the end user selects a printer 20. The end user selects a printer 20 using the radio button 132 and presses the next button 133.

Figure 8 shows an example of the print job list screen 140. The print job list screen 140 displays a list of print jobs on the unique spool 41 that have been submitted to the actual printer driver group (printer 20) selected by the end user. Figure 8 shows the screen of the web application 34, which allows the end user to perform an interrupt on a page-by-page basis. Each item will be explained below.

- Document 141 is the name of the data to be printed. It is the same as the "Document Name" displayed on the print job screen of Windows (registered trademark). The print job in the unique spool 41 has been split, but the print job list screen 140 displays the print job before it is split.

-Paper 142 is the size of the paper used for printing.

- Job status 143 indicates the status of the print job.

A print job (multiple EMF data organized by original print job) on the unique spool 41 has one of the following states (status):

a. Waiting to print Waiting to print is a state in which transmission from the unique spool 41 to the real printer driver spool 42 is awaited.

b. Printing in progress During printing, EMF data is being sent from the unique spool 41 to the real printer driver spool 42 .

c. Spooling In spooling, registration to the unique spool 41 has started, but not all pages have been registered yet. In FIG. 13 described later, if the administrator selects "Register the job to the spool when the first page arrives," the status will change to "Spooling" when the first page is registered to the unique spool 41. Once registration of all pages is complete, the job status 143 will change to "Waiting to print." A job in "Spooling" cannot transition to "Printing." In other words, printing cannot start if not all pages have been registered in the unique spool 41. However, the printing order can be changed on the print job list screen 140. In this way, the print server 30 can reduce the risk of making other jobs wait.

d. Printing stopped Printing stopped is a state in which the printing order in the unique spool 41 remains unchanged, but printing is not performed. If a job is positioned next to the top-level "printing" job, when the "printing" job is completed, the "waiting to be printed" job further down moves to the top and becomes "printing". The "printing stopped" job remains in second place. It is envisioned that print jobs in the "printing stopped" state will be used, for example, in conjunction with a scheduler to automatically start printing during late night hours.

e. Stopped The stopped state is a temporary state that occurs when the end user presses the [Stop] button and the status changes from "Printing" or "Waiting to print" to "Printing stopped."

f. Deleting Deleting is a temporary state until the end user presses the [Delete] button and the print job deletion is completed.

- Printing completion pages 144 indicates the number of completed pages out of the total number of pages in the print job.

- The reception time 145 is the time when the print job was submitted (the time when spooling of the print job started in the unique spool 41).

The real printer driver 146 is the type of real printer driver 36 associated with the print job. It is the same as the real printer driver 16 that the end user associated with the virtual printer driver 14. The print job list screen 140 also has a back button 147, an up button 148, a down button 149, a stop button 150, a start button 151, and a delete button 152.

- The back button 147 is a button for returning from the print job list screen 140 to the printer selection screen 130.

- The Up button 148 is a button for the end user to use to raise the printing priority of the print job selected by the end user with the radio button 153. When the end user moves a print job above the currently top-level "Printing" job, the job status 143 of the previous "Printing" job changes to "Waiting to print", and the print job that was moved to the top becomes "Printing". When a print job changes from "Printing" to "Waiting to print", i.e. is "interrupted", the printed pages 144 is displayed as, for example, "25/60 pages", and the job status 143 changes to "Waiting to print". A print job whose job status 143 is "Waiting to print" and whose page display is not "0/xx pages (xx is an arbitrary page number)" is a print job that was "interrupted" by another print job after it started printing once.

- The Down button 149 is a button for lowering the printing priority of the print job selected by the end user with the radio button 153. When the end user presses the Down button 149 for the currently top-ranked "Printing" job, the job status 143 changes from "Printing" to "Waiting to print." Instead, the status 143 of the job that has become the top changes to "Printing."

- The stop button 150 is a button for stopping a print job currently being printed that the end user selected using the radio button 153. The stop button 150 can only be pressed when the status 143 of the job selected by the end user is "Waiting to print" or "Printing."

- The start button 151 is a button for changing the print job that the end user selected with the radio button 153 from stopped to waiting to be printed. The start button 151 can be pressed only when the status 143 of the job selected by the end user is "stopped."

- The Delete button 152 allows the end user to delete a print job. A confirmation dialog box for deleting the print job is displayed.

Next, we will explain some screens for administrators that are displayed by the web application 34. In FIG. 7(a), the administrator enters an administrator user name and password, and presses the button 123 to go to the administrator screen.

Figure 9 shows an example of an administrator screen 160 that is displayed by the terminal device 50 when the administrator screen button 123 is pressed (login successful). The administrator screen 160 displays a menu that the administrator can select.

- "View operation log" 161 is a menu that allows the administrator to view the history of print jobs, logged-in users, or logs of each operation.

- "Define real printer driver group" 162 is a menu that allows the administrator to define the printers 20 that are displayed on the printer selection screen 130. A "real printer driver group" is a grouping of one or more printer drivers that have the same actual printer 20 as the output destination.

- "Real printer driver group settings" 163 is a menu that allows the administrator to configure settings for each printer 20 displayed on the printer selection screen 130.

Here, we will explain what happens when the administrator presses the radio button associated with "Define actual printer driver group" 162 on the administrator screen 160 and then presses the Next button 164.

On the administrator screen 160, the administrator selects the radio button "Define actual printer driver group" 162 and presses the Next button 164.

Figure 10 (a) is an example of a real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170. The real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170 is a screen that allows the administrator to select a printer 20 (i.e., a real printer driver group). The real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170 has a list of printers 20 171 and a radio button that corresponds to "Add a new printer" 172.

Figure 10 (b) is an example of a real printer driver group definition screen (part 2) 180 that is displayed by the terminal device 50 when the administrator selects printer A on the real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170 and presses the Next button 173.

- Table 181 contains a list of real printer drivers 36 (installed on the print server 30) that can be added to the real printer driver group.

- Table 182 contains a list of real printer drivers 36 that have been registered in the real printer driver group.

The administrator can add a real printer driver 36 to the real printer driver group by selecting the real printer driver 36 from the table 181 on the left and pressing the Add button 183. The administrator can also delete a real printer driver 36 from the real printer driver group by selecting the real printer driver 36 to be deleted in the table 182 on the right and pressing the Delete button 184.

Table 181 on the left shows real printer driver 36, which is not currently registered in any real printer driver group.

On the print server 30, an administrator installs the virtual printer driver 31 and all real printer drivers 36 used by end users. On the client PC 10, the virtual printer driver 31 on the print server 30 and all real printer drivers 36 are installed as network printers. By doing so, when the end user presses the settings button 102 on the print settings screen 100 of the virtual printer driver 14 on the client PC 10, the print settings screen of the real printer driver 36 can be displayed. On the print settings screen 100, real printer drivers 36 that do not belong to any real printer driver group may also be displayed.

Next, we will explain what happens when the "Add a new printer" 172 radio button is selected on the real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170 in Figure 10 (a) and the Next button 173 is pressed.

Figure 11 is an example of a real printer driver group definition screen (part 3) 190. The real printer driver group definition screen (part 3) 190 in Figure 11 has an input field 191 for "Name of the new real printer driver group to be defined" in comparison with Figure 10 (b). The configuration of tables 181 and 182 is the same as the real printer driver group definition screen (part 2) 180. However, no real printer drivers have yet been registered in table 182.

For example, assume that there are four real printer drivers 36 and their respective print ports are as follows: If the IP address of aa.bb.cc.com is 192.168.0.4, the four real printer drivers 36 associated with these print ports print to the same printer 20. In other words, the four real printer drivers 36 belong to a single real printer driver group. The administrator sets, for example, the actual printer name in the input field 191.
- aa.bb.cc.com (Port type: Standard TCP/IP Port)
- aa.bb.cc.com:LP1 (Port type: LPR Port)
- 192.168.0.4 (Port type: Standard TCP/IP Port)
- 192.168.0.4:LP1 (Port type: LPR Port)

For example, assume that one printer 20 installed in an office is capable of outputting using any of the following actual printer drivers.
Actual printer driver A
Actual printer driver B
Actual printer driver C
Actual printer driver D
Actual printer driver E
Actual printer driver F

When all of the above real printer drivers 36 are installed on one print server 30 and the print port points to the same printer 20, all of these printer drivers belong to the same real printer driver group. Based on this knowledge, the administrator sets the name of, for example, one printer 20 for this real printer driver group on the real printer driver group definition screen (part 3) 190.

By allowing the administrator to group real printer drivers 36 based on the print port, interrupt printing becomes possible even in cases where the real printer drivers are different but the printers 20 are the same.

By entering the name of the real printer driver group in input field 191, the administrator can display the real printer driver group on the real printer driver group definition screen (part 1) 170.

The administrator defines the real printer driver group and gives it a printer name on the real printer driver group definition screen (part 3) 190. For example, when the printer 20 in the office is replaced, the administrator redefines the real printer driver group.

Next, we will explain "Real printer driver group settings" 163 in Figure 9.

On the administrator screen 160, the administrator selects the radio button "Set actual printer driver group" 163 and presses the Next button 164.

Figure 12 is an example of a real printer driver group setting screen (part 1) 200. The real printer driver group setting screen (part 1) 200 is a screen that allows the administrator to select a printer 20 (i.e., a real printer driver group). The real printer driver group setting screen (part 1) 200 has a list 201 of printers 20 (real printer driver groups).

Figure 13 is an example of a real printer driver group setting screen (part 2) 210. The real printer driver group setting screen (part 2) 210 is a screen on which the administrator can configure various settings for the real printer driver group. Each item on the real printer driver group setting screen (part 2) 210 is explained below.

"Timing for registering a job in a unique spool" 211
An administrator can select whether to register the print job in the unique spool 41 after data for all pages is collected (the total number of pages for one job is included in the job information) or to register the print job in the unique spool 41 when the first page arrives.

"Unit of job division for which interrupt printing is possible" 212
The "job division unit for which interrupt printing is possible" 212 has a page number field 212a for dividing a print job, and a size field 212b for specifying the division unit by the data capacity (size) of EMF data.

If the number of pages field 212a is set to always divide into single page increments, the print speed may decrease. However, if the print job is divided into 100 page increments, for example, the start of interrupt printing will be delayed. For printers 20 with fast print speeds, dividing into several pages at a time will improve overall throughput. For printers 20 with slow print speeds, dividing into single page increments will not decrease throughput, and will increase the effectiveness of interrupt printing.

By setting the size field 212b, the print server resident program 33 can control the division unit by the amount of data, rather than the number of pages. If the administrator selects to divide the print job by data capacity, the number of pages of EMF data after division may not be constant. For pages that contain large image data, the print server resident program 33 divides them before and after the page.

The check box 212c allows the administrator to set whether to multiply the value in the page number column 212a or size column 212b by a coefficient. The coefficient can be, for example, "print speed [ppm] obtained from the actual printer driver 36 divided by 10". It is known that for a printer 20 with a fast print speed, splitting several pages at a time improves overall throughput. It is known that for a printer 20 with a slow print speed, splitting on a page-by-page basis does not reduce throughput and improves the effectiveness of interrupt printing. The above coefficient is based on 10 [ppm], and for a printer 20 with a faster print speed, the number of pages into which the print job is divided or the data capacity of the EMF data can be increased, and for a printer 20 with a slower print speed, the number of pages into which the print job is divided or the data capacity of the EMF data can be decreased. In other words, the administrator can change the number of pages or the data capacity according to the print speed of the printer to which the print job is output.

In this way, in addition to explicitly specifying the number of pages and data capacity, the print server resident program 33 can automatically determine the above coefficients and change the number of pages and data capacity by taking into account the "printer's printing speed."

・"Spool management of actual printer driver" 213
As a condition for the print server resident program 33 to send a print job from the unique spool 41 to the real printer driver spool 42, there is an input field 213a for inputting the number of print jobs in the print queue of the real printer driver spool 42 (the default is, for example, 2).

Only when the number of divided jobs in the print queue of the spool for real printer driver 42 is equal to or less than the number set in the number input field 213a, the print server resident program 33 sends the EMF data (already divided) from the unique spool 41 to the spool for real printer driver 42. A spool for real printer driver 42 is prepared for each real printer driver.

The smaller the value the administrator specifies here, the more effective the interrupt printing will be, but the printing speed may decrease. If the administrator specifies a larger value, the printing speed will increase, but there is a possibility that the user will have to wait until the interrupt printing actually begins (i.e. several pages of the current job will continue to be printed even after the interrupt printing is specified).

For example, suppose the administrator specifies "0". In this case, the print server resident program 33 passes EMF data to the real printer driver 36 only when the print queue of the real printer driver spool 42 is empty. This has the advantage that interrupt printing starts sooner, since multiple print jobs do not accumulate in the print queue of the real printer driver spool 42. On the other hand, it has the disadvantage that the overall printing speed is slower, since the printer 20 prints one print job and then the print server resident program 33 sends the next print job to the real printer driver spool 42.

Conversely, if the administrator specifies a large value, the overall printing speed will be faster. However, the disadvantage is that the timing at which interrupt printing actually occurs will be delayed.

<Functions of terminal device>
14 is an example of a functional block diagram explaining the functions of the terminal device 50 by dividing them into blocks. The terminal device 50 has a communication unit 51, a display control unit 52, and an operation reception unit 53. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 501 executing instructions contained in one or more programs installed in the terminal device 50. Note that this program is assumed to be a web browser, but it may also be dedicated software for communicating with the print server 30.

The communication unit 51 receives screen information written in HTML, XML, CSS (Cascade Style Sheet), JavaScript (registered trademark), etc., provided by the print server 30. The web application 34 is realized by this JavaScript (registered trademark), etc. The communication unit 51 transmits information input by an administrator or end user to the terminal device 50 to the print server 30.

The display control unit 52 interprets the screen information of various screens and displays it on the display 506. The operation reception unit 53 receives various operations by the administrator or end user on the various screens displayed on the display 506.

<Flow of Printing System 1>
The process of the printing system 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which the printing system 1 divides a print job, accepts interrupt printing on a page basis, and executes the print job.

S1: An end user uses a virtual printer driver 14 on a client PC 10 to print a document file 12 generated by an application 11.

S2: The GDI 13 passes the job data (EMF data) generated from the document to the virtual printer driver 14 of the client PC 10. The EMF data is saved in the EMF spool (client) 15.

S3: The virtual printer driver 14 of the client PC 10 sends the EMF data to the virtual printer driver 31 of the print server 30 (moving from the EMF spool (for client) 15 to the EMF spool (for server) 32 using RPC).

S4: The virtual printer driver 31 on the print server 30 stores the EMF data in the EMF spool (server) 32.

S5: The virtual printer driver 31 requests the print server resident program 33 to execute the print job. The print server resident program 33 splits the print job stored in the EMF spool (server) 32.

The print server resident program 33 adds a job header and a job trailer to each piece of EMF data after it has been divided into page units, etc. In this way, the print server 30 can print each piece of divided EMF data as an independent print job.

The division does not necessarily have to be in units of pages. The print server resident program 33 may divide multiple pages into a single group depending on the characteristics of the print job or the printer 20.

Moreover, EMF data has a structure as shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 16(a) shows an example of the structure of EMF data.

The print server resident program 33 divides the EMF data in FIG. 16(a) to create n pieces of EMF data in FIG. 16(b). FIG. 16(b) shows the case where the data is divided on a page-by-page basis. Each piece of EMF data after division is treated as an independent print job and is printed.

S6: Returning to FIG. 15, the print server resident program 33 saves the EMF data (which is also a print job) divided into page units, etc., in the unique spool 41. Since the real printer driver 36 selected by the end user is set in the print job, the print server resident program 33 saves the divided EMF data in association with the real printer driver group to which this real printer driver 36 belongs.

The timing for registering a job in the unique spool 41 is selected by the administrator for each real printer driver group on the real printer driver group setting screen (part 2) 210 (Figure 13). The print server resident program 33 obtains the settings from the setting information DB 38, and the print server resident program 33 uses them to manage the unique spool 41.

Let's say that the first page of the print job is spooled in the EMF spool (server) 32 on the print server 30. At this time, the print server resident program 33 refers to the above settings of the real printer driver group to which the print job belongs.

If "Register the job in the spool after all pages of data are available" is set, the print server resident program 33 will not immediately register the EMF data in the unique spool 41. Instead, it will register the EMF data in the unique spool 41 after all pages have been spooled in the EMF spool (server) 32.

If "Register job in spool when first page arrives" is set, the print server resident program 33 immediately registers the EMF data of the first page in the EMF spool (server) 32 to its own spool 41.

In this way, being able to configure settings for each real printer driver group allows for flexible operation tailored to the characteristics of each printer 20. For example, in an operation in which print jobs of over 200 pages per print job are frequently printed on a relatively slow printer 20, the administrator can select "Register the job in the spool once all pages' worth of data are available" to avoid situations in which it is "difficult to predict when printing of other jobs will begin."

This is because if "Post job in spool when first page arrives" is set, jobs over 200 pages long will remain in "Spooling" status for a long time, second from the top of the print job list screen (i.e. directly below the "Printing" job), making it difficult to predict when spooling will finish and printing will begin.

In this case, the developer could add a "Spooled pages completed" column to the print job list screen and display, for example, "50/200," to make it easier to predict how long it will take to complete spooling.

S7: Next, end user B operates the web application 34 to instruct interruption. When the end user logs in to the web application 34, the printer selection screen 130 is displayed first (Figure 7 (b)). When the end user selects the printer 20 for which interrupt printing is to be performed and presses the Next button 133, a print job list screen 140 (Figure 8) is displayed that lists the print jobs scheduled to be printed on that printer 20. The end user can instruct interrupt printing by changing the print order of the print jobs on the print job list screen 140 using the Up button 148 or Down button 149.

S8: The web application 34 accepts the interrupt. The web application 34 instructs the print server resident program 33 to interrupt.

S9: The order (printing order) of the EMF data that the print server resident program 33 passes to the real printer driver 36 is usually determined by the order in which the print jobs are registered in the unique spool 41 for each real printer driver group. If the end user changes the printing order of the print jobs using the web application 34, the web application 34 saves the change information and notifies the print server resident program 33. The print server resident program 33 changes the printing order of the EMF data on the unique spool 41 in accordance with the change information. The print server resident program 33 rearranges the divided data stored in the unique spool 41 in response to an interrupt instruction.

S10: When the print server resident program 33 finishes printing part of the EMF data of the print job that had the highest priority and was being printed before the interrupt, it starts printing the EMF data with the highest priority in its own spool 41 after the interrupt.

S11: The print server resident program 33 requests the GDI 35 to print the EMF data with the real printer driver 36. Upon receiving the request, the GDI 35 extracts the EMF data from the unique spool 41 and stores it in the spool 42 for the real printer driver.

S12: The real printer driver 36 converts the EMF data in the real printer driver spool 42 into RAW data and re-stores it in the real printer driver spool 42.

S13: The spooler of the print server 30 passes the RAW data from the real printer driver spool 42 to the port monitor 37.

S14: The port monitor 37 inputs the RAW data to the printer 20. This enables the printer 20 to execute the print job and print the RAW data. Note that when printing of all EMF data of the print job with the highest priority in the unique spool 41 has been completed after the interruption, the print server resident program 33 starts printing the remaining EMF data of the print job interrupted in step S10.

This allows end users to perform page-by-page interrupt printing regardless of the printer model.

<<Log management>>
17 is an example of a print log management screen 220 displayed by the terminal device 50. The print log management screen 220 is displayed when the administrator presses the view operation log 161 on the administrator screen 160 of FIG.

The print log management screen 220 has the following items:

- Document 221 is the document name of the print job.

- Paper size 222 is the size of paper specified in the print job.

- Number of pages 223 is the total number of pages printed in the print job.

- The reception date and time 224 is the date and time when the print job was registered in the unique spool 41.

- User name 225 is the user ID or name of the end user who changed the print order. Therefore, the end user who instructed the interrupt printing becomes clear.

- The interrupted document 226 is the file name of the interrupted document.

- The interruption page 227 indicates at which page the interruption destination document was interrupted when the document was interrupted on a page-by-page basis. For example, if it is page 5, this indicates that the printer 20 printed up to page 5 of the daily sales report when the meeting material was interrupted.

<Major Effects>
As described above, in the printing system 1 of this embodiment, the print server resident program 33 divides the EMF data into page units between the virtual printer driver 31 and the real printer driver 36, and has the real printer driver process the divided EMF data. As a result, in accordance with the printing order of the print jobs, the print server resident program 33 temporarily suspends processing of the print job being printed and has the real printer driver 36 process another print job with the highest priority. After processing is complete, the print server resident program 33 has the real printer driver 36 process the EMF data that follows the original print job, thereby realizing interrupt printing on a page basis. Because EMF data is not model-dependent, interrupts on a page basis are possible even if any printer driver is used.

In addition, conventionally, the method of operating interrupt printing differed depending on the model of printer or multifunction device, but in this embodiment, interrupt printing is performed on EMF data that is model-independent, so end users can interrupt using the same interrupt printing procedure regardless of the model.

In addition, in the past, it was sometimes impossible to know who performed the interrupt printing, but in this embodiment, who performed the interrupt printing is recorded in the log operation, so the end user can know who performed the interrupt printing.

<Other application examples>
The above describes the best mode for carrying out the present invention using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples in any way, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in this embodiment, the roles of the end user and the administrator are clearly stated, but either the end user or the administrator may perform all of the operations described in this embodiment.

The configuration examples in FIG. 4 and other figures are divided according to the main functions to make it easier to understand the processing by the client PC 10 and the print server 30. The method of dividing the processing units or the names of the processing units does not limit the present invention. The processing by the client PC 10 and the print server 30 can be divided into even more processing units depending on the processing content. It can also be divided so that one processing unit includes even more processes.

Furthermore, the devices described in the examples are merely illustrative of one of several computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the print server 30 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including a network, shared memory, etc., and perform the processes disclosed herein.

Furthermore, the print server 30 can be configured to share the processing steps disclosed in this embodiment, such as FIG. 15, in various combinations. For example, a process executed by a specific unit can be executed by multiple information processing devices possessed by the print server 30. Furthermore, the print server 30 may be integrated into a single server device, or may be divided into multiple devices.

Each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each function described above.

1 Printing system 10 Client PC
20 Printer 30 Print server 50 Terminal device

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-353132

Claims (16)

A printing system in which an information processing device prints a print job transmitted from an information processing terminal using an image forming device,
a job storage means for converting print target data received from the information processing terminal and selected by a real printer driver to be used for printing into EMF data using a virtual printer driver , and storing the EMF data as a print job in a first storage means;
a print control means for dividing the EMF data stored in the first storage means into divided intermediate data of one or more pages, and storing each divided intermediate data in a second storage means in association with the print job;
a receiving unit for receiving a change to a print order of the plurality of print jobs displayed on the list screen ;
a determination means for rearranging the divided intermediate data stored in the second storage means based on the change in the printing order received by the reception means, and determining that the printing order of the second divided intermediate data of the second print job that has been rearranged to be the earliest in the printing order is to be given the highest priority;
The printing control means converts first divided intermediate data of a first print job that is being printed into RAW data using the real printer driver, and when printing of the RAW data is completed by the image forming device, converts the second divided intermediate data of the second print job that has been determined by the determination means to have the highest printing priority into RAW data using the real printer driver, and starts printing of the RAW data by the image forming device. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing control means starts printing the remaining divided intermediate data of the first print job divided into the first divided intermediate data when the image forming device has finished printing the second print job divided into the second divided intermediate data. A plurality of real printer drivers for the same image forming device as the output destination of the print job are grouped together,
3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print control means stores each divided intermediate data divided from the print job in the second storage means for each printer driver group to which the real printer driver specified by the print job belongs. The information processing device provides a web application to a terminal device;
the terminal device displays a screen for accepting settings related to the printer driver group via the Web application, and accepts registration and settings of the printer driver group or registration of a real printer driver in the printer driver group from an administrator;
The printing system according to claim 3 , wherein the settings relating to the printer driver group are transmitted to the information processing device. 5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print control means divides the EMF data into the divided intermediate data for each predetermined number of pages. 5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print control means divides the EMF data into the divided intermediate data so that the divided intermediate data does not exceed a predetermined data capacity. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein the print control means changes the number of pages depending on the print speed of the image forming device to which the print job is output. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein the print control means changes the data capacity according to the print speed of the image forming device to which the print job is output. the print control means stores the divided intermediate data in a third storage means provided for each image forming apparatus, and requests the image forming apparatus as an output destination to print the divided intermediate data;
A printing system described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the printing control means stores the divided intermediate data of the second storage means in the third storage means when the number of the divided intermediate data stored in the third storage means is less than or equal to a predetermined number. The print control means includes the following predetermined settings:
The setting that the print job is registered in the second storage means after data for all pages is collected in the first storage means, or
In response to the setting that the print job is to be registered in the second storage means when the first page arrives in the first storage means,
10. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein each divided intermediate data is stored in the second storage means in association with the print job. The information processing device provides a web application to a terminal device;
the terminal device displays a screen for accepting the setting of the number of pages via the web application, and accepts the setting of the number of pages from an administrator;
The printing system according to claim 5 , wherein the setting of the number of pages is transmitted to the information processing device. The information processing device provides a web application to a terminal device;
the terminal device displays a screen for accepting the setting of the data capacity via the web application, and accepts the setting of the data capacity from an administrator;
The printing system according to claim 6 , wherein the setting of the data capacity is transmitted to the information processing device. The information processing device provides a web application to a terminal device;
the terminal device displays, via the Web application, a screen for receiving a setting of a predetermined number to be compared with the number of the divided intermediate data stored in the third storage means, and receives the setting of the predetermined number from an administrator;
The printing system according to claim 9 , wherein the predetermined number of settings is transmitted to the information processing device. A printing method performed by a printing system in which an information processing device prints a print job transmitted from an information processing terminal using an image forming device, comprising:
a step in which a job storage means converts data to be printed, for which a real printer driver to be used for printing has been selected and which is received from the information processing terminal, into EMF data using a virtual printer driver , and stores the data in a first storage means as a print job;
A print control means divides the EMF data stored in the first storage means into divided intermediate data of one or more pages, and stores each divided intermediate data in a second storage means in association with the print job;
a step of accepting a change in the print order of the plurality of print jobs displayed on the list screen by a receiving means ;
a determining step of rearranging the divided intermediate data stored in the second storage step based on the change in the printing order received by the receiving step, and determining that the printing order of the second divided intermediate data of the second print job that has been rearranged to be the earliest in the printing order is the highest priority;
a step in which the print control means converts first divided intermediate data of a first print job being printed into RAW data by the real printer driver, and when printing of the RAW data is completed by the image forming device, converts the second divided intermediate data of the second print job determined by the determination means to have the highest printing priority into RAW data by the real printer driver, and starts printing of the RAW data by the image forming device;
A printing method comprising the steps of: An information processing apparatus that prints a print job transmitted from an information processing terminal by an image forming apparatus,
a job storage means for converting print target data received from the information processing terminal and selected by a real printer driver to be used for printing into EMF data using a virtual printer driver , and storing the EMF data as a print job in a first storage means;
a print control means for dividing the EMF data stored in the first storage means into divided intermediate data of one or more pages, and storing each divided intermediate data in a second storage means in association with the print job;
a receiving unit for receiving a change to a print order of the plurality of print jobs displayed on the list screen ;
and a determination means for rearranging the divided intermediate data stored in the second storage means based on the change in the printing order accepted by the acceptance means, and determining that the printing order of the second divided intermediate data of the second print job which has been rearranged to be the earliest in the printing order is to be the highest priority, wherein the print control means converts the first divided intermediate data of the first print job which is being printed into RAW data by the real printer driver, and when printing of the RAW data is completed by the image forming device, converts the second divided intermediate data of the second print job which has been determined to have the highest printing order by the determination means into RAW data by the real printer driver, and starts printing of the RAW data by the image forming device. An information processing apparatus that prints a print job transmitted from an information processing terminal using an image forming apparatus,
a job storage means for converting print target data received from the information processing terminal and selected by a real printer driver to be used for printing into EMF data using a virtual printer driver , and storing the EMF data as a print job in a first storage means;
a print control means for dividing the EMF data stored in the first storage means into divided intermediate data of one or more pages, and storing each divided intermediate data in a second storage means in association with the print job;
a receiving unit for receiving a change to a print order of the plurality of print jobs displayed on the list screen ;
a determining unit that rearranges the divided intermediate data stored in the second storage unit based on the change in the printing order received by the receiving unit, and determines the printing order of the second divided intermediate data of the second print job that has been rearranged to be the earliest in the printing order as a top priority;
The printing control means is a program that converts first divided intermediate data of a first print job that is being printed into RAW data using the real printer driver, and when printing of the RAW data is completed by the image forming device, converts the second divided intermediate data of the second print job that has been determined by the determination means to have the highest printing priority into RAW data using the real printer driver, and starts printing of the RAW data on the image forming device.

Images