JP7624037B2 - Printing device, print server system, information processing device, and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device, a print server system , an information processing device, and a control method thereof.

A cloud print service that uses the cloud has been proposed (Patent Document 1). A print server defines a virtual printer that corresponds to a physical print device, and provides the virtual printer to an information processing device. The print server provides attribute information acquired from the print device to the information processing device as attribute information of the virtual printer.

JP 2020-35233 A

Some printing devices support a standard printing function that is included as standard in the operating system of the information processing device. Conventionally, the attribute information provided from the printing device to the print server did not include information indicating that the printing device supports the standard printing function. As a result, the information processing device cannot determine whether the virtual printer provided by the print server supports the standard printing function. As a result, the convenience of the information processing device having the standard printing function is impaired. Some aspects of the present invention aim to provide a technique for improving the convenience of an information processing device having a standard printing function.

According to some embodiments, there is provided a printing device comprising: a remote printing means for executing printing according to a print job sent from a print server system ; a local printing means for executing printing according to a print job sent from an information processing device connected to the same network as the printing device; and a transmission means for transmitting support information to the print server system indicating that the printing device supports standard printing functions that are included as standard in the operating system of the information processing device , wherein the transmission means transmits the support information to the print server system when a setting used to determine whether to transmit the support information is valid, and does not transmit the support information to the print server system when the setting is invalid .

According to some embodiments, the convenience of information processing devices having standard printing functions is improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional arrangement of a print server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an operation panel of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a network setting screen of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining an overall process of cloud printing according to the first embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining examples of printer attributes according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a method for generating printer attributes according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining the overall process of local printing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a method for searching for a printer according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a screen showing search results for printers according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a network setting screen of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams for explaining examples of printer attributes according to the fourth embodiment; FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a method for searching for a printer according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a method for processing a print job according to a fifth embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining examples of function specifying information according to the fifth embodiment;

The following embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

First Embodiment
[Example of printing system configuration]
An example of the configuration of a printing system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The printing system includes, for example, an information processing device 110, printing devices 120A to 120D, and a print server 130. The number of components of the printing system is not limited to the example in Fig. 1. In addition, the printing system may have components not shown in Fig. 1.

The information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D are connected to the same local area network (LAN) 101. The LAN 101 may be a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination of both. The LAN 101 is connected to a wide area network 103 (e.g., the Internet) through a firewall 102. A print server 130 is also connected to the wide area network 103. The information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D can communicate with each other within the LAN 101 (i.e., without going through the wide area network 103). The information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D can communicate with the print server 130 through the LAN 101, the firewall 102, and the wide area network 103. Alternatively or in addition, the information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D may be connected to the wide area network 103 through a cellular network (e.g., a network conforming to the fourth generation communication standard (4G) or the fifth generation communication standard (5G)).

The printing devices 120A to 120C are connected to the same LAN 105. The LAN 105 may be a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination of both. The LAN 105 is connected to the wide area network 103 through a firewall 104. The LAN 105 is a LAN different from the LAN 101. The printing devices 120A to 120C can communicate with the print server 130 through the LAN 105, the firewall 104, and the wide area network 103. Alternatively or in addition, the printing devices 120A to 120C may be connected to the wide area network 103 through a cellular network. The information processing device 110 can communicate with the printing devices 120A to 120C through the LANs 101, 105, the firewalls 102, 104, and the wide area network 103. In the example of FIG. 1, printing devices 120A to 120C are connected to the same LAN 105, but they may also be connected to separate LANs.

The printing devices 120A-120D have a printing function that prints based on a print job. In addition to the printing function, the printing devices 120A-120D may also include at least one of a scanner function and a fax function. A printing device having multiple functions in this way may be called a multifunction printer (MFP). Alternatively, the printing devices 120A-120D may be a dedicated machine (SFP: Single Function Peripheral) that has only a printing function. Printing may be printing on a sheet-like recording medium such as paper, or may be forming a three-dimensional object (so-called three-dimensional printing).

The print server 130 provides a print service that transmits a print job to one of the printing devices (e.g., the printing device 120A) according to the print job generated by the information processing device 110. For example, the print server 130 provides a logical printer to the information processing device 110 and accepts print jobs for the logical printer. A logical printer is a virtual printing device (e.g., a printer object) provided by the print server 130. A logical printer may also be called a cloud printer. The information processing device 110 can generate a print queue for the logical printer as well as for the printing device 120D. In contrast to a logical printer, a physical printing device such as the printing devices 120A to 120D may also be called a physical printer. In the following description, the logical printer and the physical printer are collectively referred to simply as a printer. A physical printer may also be called a local printer when it is connected to the same LAN as the information processing device that inputs the print job.

The print server 130 may be a server in an on-premise environment connected to the wide area network 103, or may be a server in a cloud computing environment (hereinafter simply referred to as cloud). The print service provided by the print server 130 in the cloud may be called a cloud print service (hereinafter referred to as CPS). One example of a cloud print service is Universal Print (registered trademark) provided by Microsoft Corporation. In the following explanation, the case where the print server 130 is in the cloud will be explained. However, the following explanation also applies to the case where the print server 130 is in an on-premise environment.

The information processing device 110 provides a printing function to the user of the information processing device 110. The information processing device may be a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, or another device. The information processing device 110 may specify a physical printer (e.g., the printing device 120D) connected to the same LAN 101 as the output destination, or may specify a logical printer provided by the print server 130 as the output destination. When a logical printer is specified as the output destination, a physical printer (e.g., the printing device 120A) associated with the logical printer performs printing. The information processing device 110 using the CPS may be called a client or a client terminal. Printing performed by submitting a print job to a logical printer may also be called cloud print, remote print, or remote printing. Printing by cloud print may be performed by the printing device 120D connected to the same LAN 101 as the information processing device 110, or may be performed by a printing device (e.g., the printing device 120A) not connected to the LAN 101. Printing that is performed by submitting a print job directly to a physical printer (i.e., within a LAN) can also be called local printing.

The information processing device 110 may have a printing function that is included as standard in the operating system (OS). Such a printing function is called a standard printing function. The standard printing function may also be called an OS standard printing function or a native printing function. An information processing device 110 that has the standard printing function does not require separate software (e.g., a driver) to use a printing device that supports the standard printing function. Examples of standard printing functions include AirPrint (registered trademark), which is included as standard in iOS, MacOS (registered trademark), and the like, and Mopria (registered trademark), which is included as standard in Android, and the like.

[Example of computer hardware configuration]
An example of the hardware configuration of a computer 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The computer 200 may be used as the information processing device 110 or as the print server 130. The computer 200 may have the components shown in Fig. 2.

The central processing unit (CPU) 201 is a general-purpose processing circuit that controls the overall operation of the computer 200. The random access memory (RAM) 202 is a volatile memory circuit that is used as a temporary storage area such as a work area for processing by the CPU 201. The read-only memory (ROM) 203 is a non-volatile memory circuit that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage device 204 may also be called a secondary storage device. The operation of the computer 200 may be realized by the CPU 201 executing a program read from the storage device 204 to the RAM 202.

The input interface (I/F) 205 is an I/F for exchanging signals with the input device 210. The input device 210 is a device that obtains input from a user of the computer 200. The input device 210 may be, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a microphone, a mouse, or any combination thereof. The output I/F 206 is an I/F for exchanging signals with the output device 220. The output device 220 is a device that provides information to a user of the computer 200. The output device 220 may be, for example, a display, a speaker, or any combination thereof. The network I/F 207 is an I/F for communicating with devices external to the computer 200. Each of the CPU 201, the RAM 202, the ROM 203, the storage device 204, the input I/F 205, the output I/F 206, and the network I/F 207 is connected to the system bus 208. In the example of FIG. 2, the input device 210 and the output device 220 are shown as devices separate from the computer 200. Alternatively, the computer 200 may include an input device 210 and an output device 220.

[Example of print server functional configuration]
An example of the functional configuration of the print server 130 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The print server 130 may have the functional units shown in Fig. 3. The print server 130 may have functional units not shown in Fig. 3. Each functional unit in Fig. 3 may be realized by the CPU 201 executing a program read into the RAM 202. Alternatively, some or all of the functional units in Fig. 3 may be realized by a dedicated processing circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

The registration control unit 301 performs processing for registering a logical printer. For example, in response to a registration start request from a printing device, the registration control unit 301 generates a logical printer associated with a physical printer and registers it in the printer information 311. A logical printer registered in the printer information 311 is recognized as a printer by the information processing device 110. A physical printer associated with a logical printer may be a physical printer that prints according to a print job submitted to the logical printer. A logical printer may be associated with only one physical printer. A physical printer may be associated with only one logical printer, or with multiple logical printers.

The print control unit 302 performs processing related to print jobs for a logical printer. For example, the print control unit 302 receives a print job for a logical printer from the information processing device 110, and based on this, transmits the print job to a physical printer associated with the logical printer. The print control unit 302 may also control events related to print jobs. Events related to print jobs may include, for example, receiving a print job. In response to receiving an event request from a physical printer, the print control unit 302 may respond with an event related to the physical printer.

The printer management unit 303 manages information about the logical printers registered in the print server 130 as printer information 311. The printer information 311 includes information about the capabilities of the physical printer associated with the logical printer, a cloud printer ID uniquely assigned to the logical printer, and information about the print queue in which print jobs are spooled.

The job management unit 304 manages information about the print job received from the information processing device 110 as job information 312. The job information 312 includes information and status of the print job, print data specified in the print job, etc.

The storage control unit 310 stores information in the RAM 202 or the storage device 204, and reads information from the RAM 202 or the storage device 204, according to instructions from other functional units. According to this embodiment, the storage control unit 310 stores printer information 311 and job information 312.

[Example of functional configuration of information processing device]
An example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 110 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The information processing device 110 may have the functional units shown in Fig. 4. The information processing device 110 may have functional units not shown in Fig. 4. Each functional unit in Fig. 4 may be realized by the CPU 201 executing a program read into the RAM 202. Alternatively, some or all of the functional units in Fig. 4 may be realized by a dedicated processing circuit such as an ASIC.

The input acquisition unit 401 acquires input from a user of the information processing device 110 using the input I/F 205. The information output unit 402 outputs information to the user of the information processing device 110 using the output I/F 206.

The registration control unit 403 performs processing for registering a logical printer in the print server 130. The print control unit 404 performs processing related to printing by the printer. For example, the print control unit 404 may send a print job to a logical printer registered in the print server 130 in accordance with a print instruction from a user of the information processing device 110. The print control unit 404 may send a print job directly to a physical printer (i.e., within the same LAN) in accordance with a print instruction from a user of the information processing device 110.

The printer management unit 405 manages information about printers to which the information processing device 110 can submit print jobs as printer information 411. The printer information 411 includes printer capability information and the like. The printer management unit 405 may search for printers to which the information processing device 110 can submit print jobs.

The storage control unit 410 stores information in the RAM 202 or the storage device 204, or reads information from the RAM 202 or the storage device 204, according to instructions from other functional units. According to this embodiment, the storage control unit 410 stores printer information 411 and an operating system 412. The operating system 412 is installed as standard on the information processing device 110 (i.e., when the information processing device 110 is shipped). The operating system 412 may be updated. The operating system 412 has functions for basic management and control of the information processing device 110. As described above, the operating system 412 may include a standard printing function.

[Example of Hardware Configuration of Printing Device]
An example of the hardware configuration of a printing device 500 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The printing device 500 may be used as any of the printing devices 120A to 120D. The printing device 500 may have the components shown in Fig. 5. Since the printing device 500 is a physical printing device, it may also be called a physical printer.

The CPU 501 is a general-purpose processing circuit that controls the overall operation of the printing device 500. The RAM 502 is a volatile memory circuit that is used as a temporary storage area such as a work area for processing by the CPU 501. The ROM 503 is a non-volatile memory circuit that stores programs and data used in the processing by the CPU 501. The storage device 504 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data (e.g., print jobs, image data, setting information) used in the processing by the CPU 501. The storage device 504 may be, for example, an HDD or SSD. The storage device 504 may also be called a secondary storage device. The operation of the printing device 500 may be realized by the CPU 501 executing a program read from the storage device 504 to the RAM 502.

The printer I/F 505 is an I/F for exchanging signals with the printer engine 520. The printer engine 520 performs printing based on signals (e.g., image signals and print commands) supplied from the control unit 510 through the printer I/F 505. The printing may be electrophotographic printing in which toner is transferred to and fixed on paper, inkjet printing in which ink is ejected onto paper to print, or three-dimensional printing.

The scanner I/F 506 is an I/F for exchanging signals with the scanner engine 530. The scanner engine 530 supplies a signal (e.g., an image signal) obtained by reading an original to the control unit 510 via the scanner I/F 506. The CPU 501 may process the image signal supplied from the scanner engine 530 and supply a recording image signal obtained thereby to the printer engine 520. The CPU 501 may also generate image data based on the image signal supplied from the scanner engine 530 and transmit this to an external device.

The operation unit I/F 507 is an I/F for exchanging signals with the operation unit 540. The operation unit 540 is a device that acquires input from a user of the printing device 500 and provides information to the user of the printing device 500. The operation unit 540 may be configured, for example, with a display panel (e.g., a liquid crystal display), a speaker, a touch panel, a keyboard, buttons, a touch screen, or any combination of these.

The network I/F 508 is an I/F for communicating with devices external to the printing device 500. The control unit 510 is made up of the CPU 501, RAM 502, ROM 503, storage device 504, printer I/F 505, scanner I/F 506, operation unit I/F 507, and network I/F 508. Each component included in the control unit 510 is connected to a system bus 509.

[Example of functional configuration of a printing device]
An example of the functional configuration of the printing device 500 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The printing device 500 may have the functional units shown in Fig. 6. The printing device 500 may have functional units not shown in Fig. 6. Each functional unit in Fig. 6 may be realized by the CPU 501 executing a program read into the RAM 502. Alternatively, some or all of the functional units in Fig. 6 may be realized by a dedicated processing circuit such as an ASIC.

The input acquisition unit 601 acquires input from the user of the printing device 500 using the operation unit I/F 507. The information output unit 602 outputs information to the user of the printing device 500 using the operation unit I/F 507. For example, the information output unit 602 displays an operation menu on the operation unit 540. The input acquisition unit 601 acquires input for the operation menu and notifies other functional units of the input instructions. The information output unit 602 displays the results acquired from the other functional units on the operation unit 540.

The image processing unit 603 renders the print job into image data for printing. The print processing unit 604 prints the image data rendered by the image processing unit 603.

The registration control unit 605 performs processing for registering the logical printer associated with the printing device 500 in the print server 130. The printer management unit 606 manages information related to the printing device 500 as printer information 621. The printer information 621 may include, for example, the status of the printing device 500, the capabilities of the printing device 500, and a cloud printer ID uniquely assigned by the print server 130 to the logical printer associated with the printing device 500. The printer information 621 may also include a local printer ID that allows the information processing device 110 to identify printing devices within the same LAN 101.

The cloud print (CP) control unit 607 performs processing related to cloud printing. For example, the CP control unit 607 may execute printing according to a print job sent from the print server 130 by transferring print data included in the print job received from the print server 130 to the image processing unit 603. The CP control unit 607 may also send an event request to the print server 130.

The local print (LP) control unit 608 performs processing related to local printing. For example, the LP control unit 608 may respond to a printer search from the information processing device 110. The LP control unit 608 may also execute printing according to a print job sent from the information processing device 110 by transferring print data included in the print job received directly from the information processing device 110 to the image processing unit 603. The job management unit 609 manages information related to the print job as job information 622. The job information 622 may include the processing status and processing results of the print job.

The storage control unit 620 stores information in the RAM 502 or the storage device 504, or reads information from the RAM 502 or the storage device 504, according to instructions from other functional units. According to this embodiment, the storage control unit 620 stores printer information 621 and job information 622. The storage control unit 620 may manage data as a file system. The storage control unit 620 may allocate the storage destination of each data between the storage device 504, which is a non-volatile area, and the RAM 502, which is a volatile area. For example, the storage control unit 620 may store the printer information 621 and the job information 622 in a non-volatile area.

[Example of the configuration of the operation unit of a printing device]
An example of the configuration of the operation unit 540 of the printing device 500 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In the example of Fig. 7, the operation unit 540 is configured as a panel-shaped operation panel. The operation unit 540 may have the components shown in Fig. 7. The operation unit 540 may have components not shown in Fig. 7.

The display panel 701 is a touch screen in which a touch panel for acquiring input from a user and a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display) for displaying information to a user are integrally formed. In the example of FIG. 7, the display panel 701 displays buttons 702 to 704. The button 702 is a soft button for acquiring an instruction to switch to copy mode from the user. The printing device 500 displays a copy operation screen on the display panel 701 in response to the user touching the button 702. The button 703 is a soft button for acquiring an instruction to switch to fax mode from the user. The printing device 500 displays a fax operation screen on the display panel 701 in response to the user touching the button 703. The button 704 is a soft button for acquiring an instruction to switch to scanner mode from the user. The printing device 500 displays a scanner operation screen on the display panel 701 in response to the user touching the button 704. In addition, the display panel 701 may display a dialogue for communicating with the user and a cloud print job list.

The numeric keypad 705 is a set of physical buttons for obtaining input of numbers and the like from the user. The button 706 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to determine the display contents of the display panel 701, and the like. The directional keys 707 are physical buttons for obtaining instructions from the user to select an item from a menu displayed on the display panel 701, and the like. The button 708 is a physical button for obtaining an instruction for monochrome copying from the user. The button 709 is a physical button for obtaining an instruction for color copying from the user. The button 710 is a physical button for obtaining an instruction to stop processing from the user. The button 711 is a physical button for obtaining an instruction from the user to display a menu screen for setting the printing device 500, and the like. The button 712 is a physical button for obtaining an instruction from the user to display the status of the printing device 500, such as a list of print jobs received by the printing device 500, and the like.

[Network setting screen configuration example]
With reference to Fig. 8, a configuration example of a network setting screen 800 displayed on the operation unit 540 of the printing device 500 will be described. The network setting screen 800 is displayed on the display panel 701 of the operation unit 540, for example. The network setting screen 800 is a user interface for a user to set whether to enable or disable a specific print function. In the description of Fig. 8, it is assumed that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint, Mopria, and CPS. The printing device 500 supporting a specific print function may indicate that the printing device 500 can operate according to an instruction given by an external device (e.g., the information processing device 110 or the print server 130) using this specific print function.

The setting area 801 is an area for configuring AirPrint settings. When the ON button in the setting area 801 is selected, the printer management unit 606 enables AirPrint. When the OFF button in the setting area 801 is selected, the printer management unit 606 disables AirPrint. The OFF button and the OFF button in the setting area 801 can be selected alternatively. The printer management unit 606 of the printing device 500 stores the setting of whether AirPrint is enabled or disabled in the storage device 504 as printer information 621.

When AirPrint is enabled, the printing device 500 operates as a printing device that supports AirPrint. For example, the printing device 500 operates according to instructions given by an external device (e.g., the information processing device 110 or the print server 130) using AirPrint. In addition, the printing device 500 transmits information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint to the external device (e.g., the information processing device 110 or the print server 130).

When AirPrint is disabled, the printing device 500 does not operate as a printing device that supports AirPrint. For example, the printing device 500 does not operate according to instructions given by an external device (e.g., the information processing device 110 or the print server 130) using AirPrint. In addition, the printing device 500 does not send information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint to the external device (e.g., the information processing device 110 or the print server 130).

The setting area 802 is an area for setting Mopria. The Mopria settings may be similar to the AirPrint settings, so a duplicated explanation will be omitted. The setting area 803 is an area for setting Universal Print. The Universal Print settings may be similar to the AirPrint settings, so a duplicated explanation will be omitted.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the printing device 500 can individually set whether to enable or disable each of the two types of standard printing functions (i.e., AirPrint and Mopria). The printing device 500 may support two types of standard printing functions, and may be able to individually set whether to enable or disable each of the two or more types of standard printing functions. As a result, information indicating that the printing device 500 supports an individual standard printing function for each of the two types of standard printing functions is sent from the printing device 500 to the print server 130. The printing device 500 may also be able to uniformly set whether to enable or disable each of the two or more types of standard printing functions.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the printing device 500 is configurable as to whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled. Alternatively, the printing device 500 may not be configurable as to whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled. In this case, the printing device 500 may always enable the standard printing function.

[Overall processing sequence for cloud printing]
With reference to FIG. 9, the overall processing sequence for performing cloud printing will be described. In the example of FIG. 9, the information processing device 110 registers the printing device 500 in the print server 130 and inputs a print job to a logical printer associated with the printing device 500. The following description of the printing device 500 may be similarly applied to the printing devices 120A to 120D. Registering the printing device 500 in the print server 130 may mean registering a logical printer associated with the printing device 500 in the print server 130. In the following example, it is assumed that the printing device 500 supports a web user interface (UI) function for operating the printing device 500 from the information processing device 110. It is also assumed that the information processing device 110 supports a web UI client function. The mutual communication between the information processing device 110, the printing device 500, and the print server 130 may be performed using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

In S901, the registration control unit 403 of the information processing device 110 transmits a registration start request to the printing device 500 in accordance with an instruction from the user of the information processing device 110. The registration start request may be a request to start a process for registering the printing device 500 in the print server 130. The registration start request may be transmitted using a web UI client function of the information processing device 110.

In S902, the registration control unit 605 of the printing device 500 transmits a registration start request to the print server 130 in response to receiving the registration start request from the information processing device 110. The registration start request may be a request to start processing for registering the printing device 500 with the print server 130.

In S903, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 transmits a registration start response to the printing device 500 in response to receiving the registration start request from the printing device 500. The registration start response includes a uniform resource locator (URL) of a web page for the user of the information processing device 110 to input information for registering the printing device 500 in the print server 130.

In S904, in response to receiving the registration start response from the print server 130, the registration control unit 605 of the printing device 500 transmits registration information to the information processing device 110. The registration information includes the URL included in the registration start response. In response to receiving the registration information from the printing device 500, the information output unit 402 of the information processing device 110 displays a web page to the user.

At S905, the registration control unit 403 of the information processing device 110 sends a registration approval request to the print server 130 in response to the user of the information processing device 110 accessing the URL and inputting the information required for registration. The registration approval request includes the cloud account of the user of the information processing device 110. The cloud account is an account that allows the user to use a cloud tenant that includes the print server 130.

In S906, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 checks whether the cloud account included in the registration approval request belongs to a user who has the authority to register the printing device 500 on the print server 130. If the user has the authority, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 sends a registration approval response to the information processing device 110. The registration approval response may be a message notifying the confirmation result that the user of the information processing device 110 is a user who has the authority to register the printing device 500.

In S907, in response to receiving the registration start response from the print server 130, the printer management unit 606 of the printing device 500 sends a registration confirmation request to the print server 130. The registration confirmation request is a request to register the printing device 500 with the print server 130, and specifically may be a request to register the printing device 500 with the print server 130.

In S908, in response to receiving the registration confirmation request from the printing device 500, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 generates a new logical printer and adds the logical printer to the printer information 311 in association with the printing device 500. This causes the printing device 500 to be registered on the print server 130, and the information processing device 110 becomes able to perform cloud printing using the logical printer. The printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 also assigns a unique cloud printer ID to the generated logical printer, and adds the cloud printer ID to the printer information 311 in association with the logical printer. Thereafter, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 transmits a registration confirmation response to the printing device 500. The registration confirmation response includes the cloud printer ID of the printing device 500.

In S909, the printer management unit 606 of the printing device 500 transmits an information update request to the print server 130 in response to the completion of registration of the printing device 500 with the print server 130. The information update request may be a request to update information related to the printing device 500. The information update request includes the printer attributes of the printing device 500. The information update request may be transmitted in an update-output-device-attributes request message defined in IPP.

In S910, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 updates the information of the printing device 500 included in the printer information 311 based on the printer attributes included in the received information update request, and sends an information update response to the printing device 500. The information update response may be a message notifying that the update of the information of the printing device 500 has been completed successfully.

In S911, in response to receiving the registration confirmation response from the print server 130, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 sends an event request to the print server 130. The event request may be a request to notify the printing device 500 when an event related to the printing device 500 occurs. The event request may also be related to an event that a print job has been submitted to a logical printer associated with the printing device 500.

In S912, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends an information request to the print server 130 in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The information request may be a request for information about logical printers available to the user of the information processing device 110. The information request includes a cloud account for the user of the information processing device 110. The information request may be sent in a Get-Printer-Attributes Request message defined by IPP.

In S913, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 transmits an information response to the information processing device 110 in response to receiving the information request from the information processing device 110. The information response includes a cloud printer ID and printer attributes for each of one or more logical printers available to the user of the information processing device 110. The printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 updates the printer information 411 based on the information response. The information response may be transmitted in a Get-Printer-Attributes Response message defined by IPP.

At S914, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends a print request to the print server 130 according to instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The print request includes a cloud printer ID, a print job, and a cloud account of the user of the information processing device 110. The print job may include print data and print settings. The print request may be a request to print the print data included in the print request to a logical printer having the cloud printer ID included in the print request.

In S915, in response to receiving a print request from the information processing device 110, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 sends an event response to the print device 500 associated with the logical printer. The event response is a response to the event request received in S911. The event response is a response to notify that an event of the type specified in the event request has occurred.

In step S916, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 transmits a print job request to the print server 130 in response to receiving the event response from the print server 130. The print job request may be a request for a print job to be executed by the printing device 500.

At S917, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 sends a print job response to the print device 500 in response to receiving the print job request from the print device 500. The print job response includes a cloud account and a print job. Thereafter, the print device 500 performs printing based on the print job in response to receiving the print job response from the print server 130. The print job response received by the print device 500 from the print server 130 may be an IPP Fetch-Job Response.

In the description of FIG. 9, the registration of the printing device 500 in steps S901 to S906 and the cloud printing in steps S912 to S917 may be performed by the same user or by different users.

Printer Attributes
An example of printer attributes transmitted by the printing device 500 in S909 and S913 in Fig. 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. In the example of Fig. 10, the printer attributes 1000 are expressed in a table format. Alternatively, the printer attributes 1000 may be expressed in another format. The printer attributes 1000 include columns 1001 and 1002. Column 1001 indicates the name of the attribute. Column 1002 indicates the value of the attribute.

Record 1011 indicates whether the printing device 500 supports color printing. The name of the attribute is "color-supported". The value of the attribute is "true" if the printing device 500 supports color printing, and is "false" if the printing device 500 does not support color printing. Printer attribute 1000 indicates that the printing device 500 supports color printing.

Record 1012 indicates the paper sizes supported by the printing device 500. The attribute name is "media-supported". The attribute value is a string assigned to an individual paper size. Printer attribute 1000 indicates that the printing device 500 supports A4 paper, represented by iso_a4_210x297mm, and A3 paper, represented by iso_a3_297x420mm.

Record 1013 indicates the document formats supported by the printing device 500. The name of the attribute is "document-format-supported". The value of the attribute is a string assigned to an individual document format. Printer attribute 1000 indicates that the printing device 500 supports the PDF document format represented by application/pdf and the JPEG document format represented by image/jpeg.

Record 1014 indicates the number of copies supported by the printing device 500. The attribute name is "copies-supported". The attribute value is a numeric range. Printer attribute 1000 indicates that the printing device 500 supports the number of copies from 1 to 99.

Record 1015 indicates the version of Mopria supported by the printing device 500. The name of the attribute is "mopria-certified". The value of the attribute is a number indicating the version. Printer attribute 1000 indicates that the printing device 500 supports Mopria version 2.0. If printer attribute 1000 includes a record named "mopria-certified", this indicates that the printing device 500 supports Mopria. On the other hand, if printer attribute 1000 does not include a record named "mopria-certified", this indicates that the printing device 500 does not support Mopria.

Record 1016 indicates the functions supported by the printing device 500. The name of the attribute is "ipp-features-supported". The value of the attribute is "airprint" if the printing device 500 supports AirPrint. When the printer attribute 1000 includes a record with the name "ipp-features-supported" and the value "airprint", this indicates that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint. On the other hand, when the printer attribute 1000 does not include a record with the name "ipp-features-supported" and the value "airprint", this indicates that the printing device 500 does not support AirPrint.

[Timing of sending printer attributes to print server]
In the example of Fig. 9, in S909, the printing device 500 transmits printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to completion of registration of the printing device 500 with the print server 130. As described above with reference to Fig. 10, the printer attributes include information indicating that the printing device 500 supports a standard printing function. Such information is hereinafter referred to as standard printing support information. In addition to or instead of completion of registration of the printing device 500 with the print server 130, the printing device 500 may transmit the printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to satisfaction of other conditions described below.

For example, the printing device 500 may send printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to the printing device 500 being started while the printing device 500 is registered with the print server 130.

The printing device 500 may send printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to a change in the CP printing function (i.e., a function for printing according to a print job sent from the print server 130) from disabled to enabled. The change in the CP printing function from disabled to enabled is performed, for example, in response to the user selecting the ON button in the setting area 803 of the network setting screen 800.

The printing device 500 may send printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to a setting that the standard print support information is sent to the print server 130. Such a setting is made, for example, in response to the user selecting the ON button in the setting area 801 or 802 of the network setting screen 800. As described above, when the user selects the ON button in the setting area 801, AirPrint is enabled. In this case, information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint (e.g., record 1016 in FIG. 10) is sent to the print server 130. Similarly, when the user selects the ON button in the setting area 802, Mopria is enabled. In this case, information indicating that the printing device 500 supports Mopria (e.g., record 1015 in FIG. 10) is sent to the print server 130.

The printing device 500 may send printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to a change in the configuration information of the printing device 500. For example, a change in the configuration information of the printing device 500 may include a change in the paper size set in the printing device 500 from A3 to A4.

The printing device 500 may send printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to a change in the state of the printing device 500. For example, the change in the state of the printing device 500 may include an error (e.g., an out-of-paper error) occurring in the printing device 500.

The printing device 500 may send the printer attributes to the print server 130 at all of the above-mentioned times, or may send the printer attributes to the print server 130 at only some of the above-mentioned times.

[Operation flow for a printing device to send printer attributes]
An example of a process in which the printing device 500 transmits printer attributes will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The destination of the printer attributes may be the print server 130 or the information processing device 110. The operation in Fig. 11 is started, for example, at S909 in Fig. 9 or at any of the above-mentioned timings when the destination of the printer attributes is the print server 130. The operation in Fig. 11 is started, for example, at S913 in Fig. 9 when the destination of the printer attributes is the information processing device 110.

In S1101, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 acquires attribute information of the printing device 500. The attribute information may be acquired from the printer engine 520 via the printer I/F 505.

In S1102, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 selects one type of standard printing function that has not yet been selected as the target for the subsequent processing of S1103 to S1104 from among one or more types of standard printing functions supported by the printing device 500. If the printing device 500 does not support any standard printing functions, the processing of S1103 to S1104 is skipped.

In S1103, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 determines whether the selected standard printing function is enabled. If the printing device 500 determines that the selected standard printing function is enabled ("YES" in S1103), it transitions the process to S1104, and otherwise ("NO" in S1103), it transitions the process to S1105. Whether the standard printing function is enabled is set by the user on the network setting screen 800, for example, and is stored in the storage device 504 as printer information 621.

In S1104, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 adds information indicating that the printing device 500 supports the selected standard printing function to the printer attributes generated in S1101. For example, if the selected standard printing function is AirPrint, record 1016 in FIG. 10 is added. If the selected standard printing function is Mopria, record 1015 in FIG. 10 is added.

In S1105, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 determines whether all of the one or more standard printing functions supported by the printing device 500 have been selected. If it is determined that all of the standard printing functions have been selected ("YES" in S1105), the printing device 500 transitions the process to S1106, and otherwise ("NO" in S1105) transitions the process to S1102. In this manner, the processes of S1103 to S1104 are executed for each of the one or more standard printing functions supported by the printing device 500.

In S1106, the CP control unit 607 of the printing device 500 sends the generated printer attributes to the destination device. The printer attributes generated by the above method indicate which of one or more standard printing functions supported by the printing device 500 are valid. If the printer attributes include information about a specific standard printing function, the device (e.g., the print server 130 or the information processing device 110) that received the printer attributes from the printing device 500 recognizes that the printing device 500 supports the specific standard printing function. On the other hand, if a specific standard printing function supported by the printing device 500 is invalid or if the printing device 500 does not support the specific standard printing function, the printer attributes do not include information about the specific standard printing function. Therefore, the device that received such printer attributes from the printing device 500 recognizes that the printing device 500 does not support the specific standard printing function.

The printer attributes sent in the manner shown in FIG. 11 do not include a record (e.g., records 1015 and 1016) corresponding to a standard print function, thereby indicating that the printing device 500 does not support this standard print function. Alternatively, the printer attributes may indicate that the printing device 500 does not support this standard print function by having a record corresponding to the standard print function have a particular value. For example, the printer attributes may include a record named "mopria-certified" with a value of "unsupported" to indicate that the printing device 500 does not support Mopria. Also, the printer attributes may include a record named "ipp-features-supported" with a value of "airprint-unsupported" to indicate that the printing device 500 does not support AirPrint.

In the method of FIG. 11, when the printing device 500 sends printer attributes to the print server 130 in response to a setting to send standard print support information to the print server 130, the printing device 500 may execute S1103 and S1104 only for a specific standard print function. For example, when AirPrint is enabled in the setting area 801 of the network setting screen 800, the printing device 500 may execute S1103 and S1104 for AirPrint, but not execute S1103 and S1104 for Mopria.

[Overall local print processing sequence]
The overall process sequence for performing local printing will be described with reference to FIG. 12. In the example of FIG. 12, the information processing device 110 inputs a print job to the printing device 120D connected to the same network (i.e., the LAN 101) as the information processing device 110. The communication between the information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D may be performed using IPP. The communication between the information processing device 110 and the printing device 120D is performed within the LAN 101 and does not go through the wide area network 103. In the following example, the information processing device 110 has AirPrint as a standard printing function, and the case where local printing is performed using AirPrint will be described. The same explanation may be applied to the case where the information processing device 110 has Mopria or other standard printing functions. In addition, the printing device 120D supports AirPrint.

In S1201, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 uses AirPrint in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110 to send a printer search request to the network to which the information processing device 110 is connected (i.e., LAN 101). This printer request search may be performed by broadcasting to the LAN 101. The printer search request may be a request to respond as to whether or not a printer that supports AirPrint exists.

In S1202, the LP control unit 608 of the printing device 120D that supports Airprint sends a printer search response to the information processing device 110 in response to the printer search request. The printer search response may include the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the printing device 120D. Printing devices that do not support Airprint or printing devices for which Airprint is disabled may not respond to the printer search request. The printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 stores the IP address of the printing device 120D that sent the printer search response in the storage control unit 410 as part of the printer information 411. In addition, the information output unit 402 of the information processing device 110 may present a list of discovered printing devices to the user.

In S1203, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends an information request to the printing device 120D. The information request may be a request for information about the printing device 120D. The information request may be sent using a Get-Printer-Attributes Request message defined in IPP.

In S1204, the printer management unit 606 of the printing device 120D transmits an information response to the information processing device 110 in response to receiving the information request from the information processing device 110. The information response includes the printer attributes of the printing device 120D. The printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 updates the printer information 411 based on the information response. The information response may be transmitted in a Get-Printer-Attributes Response message defined by IPP.

In S1205, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 sends a print request to the printing device 120D in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The print request includes a print job. The print job may include print data and print settings. The print request may be a request to the printing device 120D to print the print data included in the print request.

In S1206, the LP control unit 608 of the printing device 120D executes printing according to the received print job. The LP control unit 608 of the printing device 120D transmits the printing result as a print response to the information processing device 110.

[Operation flow of information processing device executing printer search]
An example of a process in which the information processing apparatus 110 searches for a printer that supports its own standard print function will be described with reference to Fig. 13. The operation of Fig. 13 may be executed continuously while the information processing apparatus 110 is in operation.

In S1301, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 determines whether an instruction to search for a printer has been received from the user of the information processing device 110. If it is determined that an instruction to search for a printer has been received ("YES" in S1301), the information processing device 110 transitions the process to S1302, and otherwise ("NO" in S1301), repeats S1301.

In S1302, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 uses the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 to send a printer search request to the network to which the information processing device 110 is connected (i.e., LAN 101) in the same manner as in S1201 described above. The printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 adds printing devices that have responded to the printer search request to a printer list. This printer list lists printers that support the standard printing function of the information processing device 110. Any printing devices that respond to the printer search request using the standard printing function support the standard printing function.

In S1303, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends an information request to the print server 130 in the same manner as in S912 described above. The information request may be a request for information about logical printers available to the user of the information processing device 110. In the same manner as in S913 described above, the print server 130 presents an information response to the information processing device 110 that includes information about one or more virtual printers available to the information processing device 110. The one or more virtual printers may include a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110.

In S1304, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 selects one virtual printer that has not yet been selected as the target for the subsequent processing of S1305 to S1306 from among one or more virtual printers included in the information response from the print server 130. If the information response does not include any virtual printers, the processing of S1305 to S1306 is skipped.

In S1305, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 determines whether the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110. If the printing device 500 determines that the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 ("YES" in S1305), the processing proceeds to S1306, and otherwise ("NO" in S1305), the processing proceeds to S1307. Whether the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 may be determined based on the printer attributes included in the information response. For example, if the printer attributes include record 1016 in FIG. 10, the virtual printer supports Airprint. If the printer attributes include record 1015 in FIG. 10, the virtual printer supports Mopria.

In S1306, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 adds the selected virtual printer to the printer list. In S1307, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 determines whether all of the one or more virtual printers included in the information response have been selected. If it is determined that all virtual printers have been selected ("YES" in S1307), the printing device 500 transitions the process to S1308, and otherwise ("NO" in S1307) transitions the process to S1304. In this manner, the processes of S1305 to S1306 are executed for each of the one or more virtual printers included in the information response.

In S1308, the information output unit 402 of the information processing device 110 presents the printer list, which is the result of the inquiry, to the user. The printer list includes both printing devices that are connected to the same network as the information processing device 110 and that support the standard printing function of the information processing device 110, and virtual printers that support the standard printing function of the information processing device 110. In this way, the user can search for various printers to which the information processing device 110 can submit a print job with a single operation (search instruction in S1301).

In the example of FIG. 13, steps S1303 to S1307 are executed after step S1302. Alternatively, steps S1303 to S1307 may be executed before step S1302, or steps S1303 to S1307 may be executed in parallel with step S1302.

[Print List Presented to User]
An example of the printer list presented to the user in S1308 of Fig. 13 will be described with reference to Fig. 14. In the following description, the following assumptions are made. The printing devices 120A to 120C are registered in the print server 130. Therefore, virtual printers corresponding to the printing devices 120A to 120C are presented to the information processing device 110 by the print server 130. The printing device 120A supports neither AirPrint nor Mopria. The printing device 120B supports AirPrint, but does not support Mopria. The printing device 120C does not support AirPrint, but supports Mopria. The printing device 120D supports both AirPrint and Mopria.

Figure 14 (a) shows a result screen 1400 of a printer search executed by an information processing device 110 that has AirPrint but does not have Mopria. The result screen 1400 includes a list display area 1401. The list display area 1401 lists the printers found in the printer search.

In the example of FIG. 14(a), "printerB" indicating the virtual printer corresponding to printing device 120B is included in list display area 1401. Printing device 120B supports AirPrint. Therefore, in S1306 of FIG. 13, the virtual printer corresponding to printing device 120B is included in the printer list.

In the example of FIG. 14(a), "printerD" indicating printing device 120D is also included in list display area 1401. Printing device 120D supports AirPrint. Therefore, printing device 120D is included in the printer list in S1302 of FIG. 13.

The result screen 1400 includes a details display area 1402 that shows the printer selected by the user. In the example of FIG. 14(a), details of "printerB" are displayed. The result screen 1400 also includes a button 1403 for transitioning to a screen that confirms information on options and supplies for the printer selected by the user.

The user of the information processing device 110 can print using a printer selected from the list display area 1401. For example, if the user selects "printer B," printing is performed via the print server 130 by the processes of S914 to S917 in FIG. 9. This printing may be performed by the CP function. If the user selects "printer D," printing is performed without the use of the print server 130 by the processes of S1205 to S1206 in FIG. 12. This printing may be performed by Airprint.

Figure 14 (B) shows a result screen 1410 of a printer search executed by an information processing device 110 that has Mopria but does not have Airprint. In the example of Figure 14 (B), "printerB" indicating the virtual printer corresponding to printing device 120B is not included in the list display area 1401. Instead, "printerC" indicating the virtual printer corresponding to printing device 120C is included in the list display area 1401.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment will be described below. In the following description, matters that may be the same as those in the first embodiment will not be described. In the first embodiment, when the standard printing function is enabled, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information to both the print server 130 and the information processing device 110. Also, when the standard printing function is disabled, the printing device 500 does not transmit standard printing support information to either the print server 130 or the information processing device 110. In this way, whether or not to transmit standard printing support information is set uniformly for the print server 130 and the information processing device 110.

In the second embodiment, whether or not to send standard printing support information can be set individually for the print server 130 and the information processing device 110. Therefore, whether or not to send standard printing support information to the information processing device 110 is set independently of whether or not to send standard printing support information to the print server 130.

Figure 15 illustrates an example of the configuration of a network setting screen 1500 displayed on the operation unit 540 of the printing device 500. The network setting screen 1500 is displayed, for example, on the display panel 701 of the operation unit 540. The network setting screen 1500 is a user interface that allows the user to set whether to enable or disable a specific printing function. In the explanation of Figure 15, it is assumed that the printing device 500 supports each of AirPrint, Mopria, and CPS.

The setting area 1501 is an area for configuring AirPrint settings for the information processing device 110. When the ON button in the setting area 1501 is selected, the printer management unit 606 enables AirPrint for the information processing device 110. When the OFF button in the setting area 1501 is selected, the printer management unit 606 disables AirPrint for the information processing device 110. The OFF button and the OFF button in the setting area 1501 can be alternatively selected. The printer management unit 606 of the printing device 500 stores the setting of whether AirPrint is enabled or disabled for the information processing device 110 in the storage device 504 as printer information 621.

When AirPrint is enabled for the information processing device 110, the printing device 500 operates with respect to the information processing device 110 as a printing device that supports AirPrint. For example, the printing device 500 operates according to instructions given by the information processing device 110 using AirPrint. In addition, the printing device 500 transmits information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint to the information processing device 110. Such information may be referred to as support information.

When AirPrint is disabled for the information processing device 110, the printing device 500 does not operate as a printing device that supports AirPrint with respect to the information processing device 110. For example, the printing device 500 does not operate according to instructions given by the information processing device 110 using AirPrint. Furthermore, the printing device 500 does not send information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint to the information processing device 110.

The setting area 1502 is an area for configuring Mopria settings for the information processing device 110. The Mopria settings may be similar to the AirPrint settings, so a duplicated explanation will be omitted. The setting area 1503 is an area for configuring Universal Print settings. The Universal Print settings may be similar to the AirPrint settings, so a duplicated explanation will be omitted.

The setting area 1504 is an area for configuring AirPrint settings for the print server 130. When the ON button in the setting area 1504 is selected, the printer management unit 606 enables AirPrint for the print server 130. When the OFF button in the setting area 1504 is selected, the printer management unit 606 disables AirPrint for the print server 130. The OFF button and the OFF button in the setting area 1504 can be selected alternatively. The printer management unit 606 of the printing device 500 stores the setting of whether AirPrint is enabled or disabled for the print server 130 in the storage device 504 as printer information 621.

When AirPrint is enabled for the print server 130, the printing device 500 operates with respect to the print server 130 as a printing device that supports AirPrint. For example, the printing device 500 operates according to instructions given by the print server 130 using AirPrint. In addition, the printing device 500 sends information to the print server 130 indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint.

When AirPrint is disabled for the print server 130, the printing device 500 does not operate with respect to the print server 130 as a printing device that supports AirPrint. For example, the printing device 500 does not operate according to instructions given by the print server 130 using AirPrint. In addition, the printing device 500 does not send information indicating that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint to the print server 130.

The setting area 1505 is an area for configuring Mopria settings for the print server 130. The Mopria settings may be similar to the AirPrint settings, so a duplicated explanation will be omitted. The setting area 1503 is an area for configuring Universal Print settings.

For example, suppose that the printing device 500 is set so that AirPrint is enabled for the print server 130 and disabled for the information processing device 110. In this case, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information to the print server 130 and does not transmit standard printing support information to the information processing device 110. As a result, the information processing device 110 can only discover the printing device 500 via the print server 130. On the other hand, suppose that the printing device 500 is set so that AirPrint is disabled for the print server 130 and enabled for the information processing device 110. In this case, the printing device 500 does not transmit standard printing support information to the print server 130, but transmits standard printing support information to the information processing device 110. As a result, the information processing device 110 can only discover printing devices 500 connected to the same network.

Third Embodiment
The third embodiment will be described below. In the following description, matters that may be the same as those in the first embodiment will not be described. In the first embodiment, when the standard printing function is enabled, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information to both the print server 130 and the information processing device 110. Also, when the standard printing function is disabled, the printing device 500 does not transmit standard printing support information to either the print server 130 or the information processing device 110. In this way, whether or not to transmit standard printing support information is set uniformly for the print server 130 and the information processing device 110.

In the third embodiment, the process of whether to send standard printing support information differs between when the printer attributes are sent to the print server 130 and when the printer attributes are sent to the information processing device 110. In the third embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, the printing device 500 may determine whether to send standard printing support information to the information processing device 110 based on whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500.

On the other hand, in the third embodiment, regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information to the print server 130. Therefore, the user of the information processing device 110 can start standard printing via the print server 130. However, if a specific standard printing function is disabled in the printing device 500, a specific document format supported by that specific standard printing function is not actually supported. Therefore, when a print job is sent in that specific document format, the printing device 500 fails to print.

[Operation flow for a printing device to send printer attributes]
In the third embodiment, the process in which the printing device 500 transmits printer attributes to the information processing device 110 may be similar to the process described above in Fig. 11. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the process in which the printing device 500 transmits printer attributes to the print server 130 differs from the process described above in Fig. 11 in that step S1103 is not executed. That is, the printing device 500 executes step S1102 in Fig. 11 and then executes step S1104.

The printer attributes sent to the print server 130 in S1106 indicate one or more standard print functions supported by the printing device 500. The standard print functions indicated by the printer attributes include those that are enabled and those that are disabled in the printing device 500. When the printer attributes include information about a specific standard print function, the device (print server 130) that receives the printer attributes from the printing device 500 recognizes that the printing device 500 supports the specific standard print function. However, the standard print function may actually be disabled in the printing device 500. Therefore, although the user can instruct printing using this specific standard print function, the printing device 500 will not execute printing if a print job is sent in a specific document format supported by the specific standard print function.

Fourth Embodiment
The fourth embodiment will be described below. In the following description, matters that may be the same as those in the third embodiment will not be described. In the third embodiment, regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information to the print server 130. Therefore, the user of the information processing device 110 can start executing standard printing via the print server 130.

In the fourth embodiment, the printing device 500 transmits, in addition to the standard printing support information described above, information indicating whether a specific standard printing function is enabled or disabled to the printing server 130. In the following description, the information indicating whether a specific standard printing function is enabled or disabled is referred to as standard printing validity information. In the fourth embodiment, the standard printing support information indicates whether the printing device 500 supports a specific standard printing function (i.e., the printing device 500 has a specific standard printing function). The standard printing validity information indicates whether a specific standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500.

If the standard printing validity information indicates that a particular standard printing function is valid, the user of the information processing device 110 can perform printing using this particular standard printing function via the print server 130. On the other hand, if the standard printing validity information indicates that a particular standard printing function is invalid, the user of the information processing device 110 cannot perform printing using this particular standard printing function via the print server 130.

The print server 130 transmits the standard print validity information received from the print device 500 to the information processing device 110 as printer attributes. If the printer attributes acquired in the printer search indicate that the standard print function is disabled, the information processing device 110 does not present the printer to the user in the printer list. This prevents the information processing device 110 from sending a print job using the standard print function when the standard print function is disabled.

Printer Attributes
An example of printer attributes 1600 transmitted by the printing device 500 in the fourth embodiment in steps S909 and S913 in Fig. 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 16. The printer attributes 1600 differ from the printer attributes 1000 in that they further include records 1601 and 1602, but may be the same as the printer attributes 1000 in other respects.

Record 1601 indicates whether the AirPrint function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500. The name of the attribute is "airprint-enable". The value of the attribute is "true" if the AirPrint function is enabled in the printing device 500, and "false" if the AirPrint function is disabled. If printer attribute 1600 includes a record with the name "airprint-enable" and a value of "true", printer attribute 1600 indicates that the AirPrint function is enabled in the printing device 500. In contrast, if the printer attribute 1600 includes a record with the name "airprint-enable" and a value of "false," or if the printer attribute 1600 does not include "airprint-enable" itself, the printer attribute 1600 indicates that the AirPrint function is disabled on the printing device 500.

Record 1602 indicates whether the Mopria function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500. The name of the attribute is "mopria-enable". The value of the attribute is "true" if the Mopria function is enabled in the printing device 500, and "false" if the Mopria function is disabled. If printer attribute 1600 includes a record with the name "mopria-enable" and a value of "true", printer attribute 1600 indicates that the Mopria function is enabled in the printing device 500. In contrast, if the printer attribute 1600 includes a record with the name "mopria-enable" and a value of "false," or if the printer attribute 1600 does not include "mopria-enable" itself, the printer attribute 1600 indicates that the Mopria function is disabled on the printing device 500.

[Operation flow of information processing device executing printer search]
An example of a process in which the information processing apparatus 110 searches for a printer that supports its own standard printing function will be described with reference to Fig. 17. The method of Fig. 17 differs from the method of Fig. 13 in that step S1701 is executed instead of step S1305, but may be the same as the method of Fig. 13 in other respects.

In S1701, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 determines whether the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 and whether this standard printing function is enabled. If the printing device 500 determines that the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 and that this standard printing function is enabled ("YES" in S1701), it transitions the process to S1809, and otherwise ("NO" in S1701), it transitions the process to S1807.

Whether the selected virtual printer supports the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 may be determined based on the printer attributes included in the information response. For example, if the printer attributes include record 1016 in FIG. 16, the virtual printer supports Airprint. If the printer attributes include record 1015 in FIG. 16, the virtual printer supports Mopria.

Whether the standard printing function of the information processing device 110 is enabled for the selected virtual printer may be determined based on the printer attributes included in the information response. For example, if the printer attributes include record 1601 in FIG. 16 and the value is set to true, the Airprint function is enabled for the virtual printer. If the printer attributes include record 1602 in FIG. 16 and the value is set to true, the Mopria function is enabled for the virtual printer.

Fifth Embodiment
The fifth embodiment will be described below. In the following description, matters that may be the same as those in the fourth embodiment will not be described. In the fourth embodiment, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing validity information to the print server 130, and the print server 130 transmits the standard printing validity information to the information processing device 110. This allows the information processing device 110 to determine whether a specific standard printing function is valid or invalid in the printing device 500. In the fifth embodiment, the print server 130 determines whether a specific standard printing function is valid or invalid in the printing device 500. The print server 130 performs processing according to the result of this determination.

When the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 receives the standard print validity information from the printing device 500, it updates the printer information 311 regarding the printing device 500 to include the standard print validity information. The print server 130 does not have to transmit the standard print validity information to the information processing device 110. Alternatively, the print server 130 may transmit the standard print validity information to the information processing device 110. Even if the information processing device 110 does not perform a determination based on the standard print validity information and transmits a print job to the print server 130 using a specific standard print function, the print server 130 will not transmit a print job to a printing device 500 for which the specific standard print function is disabled.

[Operation flow of print server processing print job]
An example of the operation of the print server 130 processing a print job received from the information processing device 110 will be described with reference to Fig. 18. The operation of Fig. 18 is started in response to the print server 130 receiving a print request from the information processing device 110 in S914 of Fig. 9, for example. As described above, the print request includes a print job.

In S1801, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 obtains the document format of the received print job from the job information 312. The document format is stored in document-format, which is an IPP job attribute.

In S1802, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 obtains client information related to the information processing device 110 that sent the received print job from the job information 312. The client information may include, for example, the OS type of the information processing device 110. The client information is stored in client-info, which is an operational attribute of IPP.

In S1803, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 identifies the printing function used to generate the print job based on the document format acquired in S1801 and the client information acquired in S1802.

With reference to FIG. 19, an example of a method for identifying the print features used to generate a print job will be described. The print server 130 may identify the print features by referring to the function identification information 1900. The function identification information 1900 is generated in advance (e.g., before the execution of the method of FIG. 19), for example, by an administrator of the print server 130, and stored in the storage device 204 of the print server 130. In the example of FIG. 19, the function identification information 1900 is expressed in a table format. Alternatively, the function identification information 1900 may be expressed in another format.

The function specification information 1900 includes columns 1901 to 1903. Column 1901 indicates a document format. Column 1902 indicates a print function when the OS type is MacOS or iOS. Column 1903 indicates a print function when the OS type is Windows or Android.
Record 1911 indicates the print capabilities for each OS when the document format is PWG Raster. Record 1912 indicates the print capabilities for each OS when the document format is Apple Raster. Record 1912 indicates the print capabilities for each OS when the document format is neither PWG Raster nor Apple Raster (e.g., PDF).

If the document format is PWG Raster, the print server 130 identifies the print function as Mopria, regardless of the type of OS. If the document format is Apple Raster, the print server 130 identifies the print function as AirPrint, regardless of the type of OS. If the document format is other than these, the print server 130 identifies the print function as AirPrint if the OS type is MacOS or iOS, and identifies the print function as Mopria if the OS type is Windows or Android.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 18, in S1804, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 determines whether the print function identified in S1803 is valid in the printing device 500 based on the printer information 311. If the print server 130 determines that the identified print function is valid in the printing device 500 ("YES" in S1804), the process proceeds to S1805, and otherwise ("NO" in S1804) the process ends. If the print server 130 determines that the identified print function is not valid (i.e., invalid) in the printing device 500, the print server 130 may respond with an error to the information processing device 110.

In S1805, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 transmits the print job received from the information processing device 110 to the printing device 500. This step may be executed in S917 of FIG. 9 described above. In this manner, the print server 130 determines whether to transmit the print job received from the information processing device 110 to the printing device 500 based on the standard print validity information.

Sixth Embodiment
The sixth embodiment will be described below. In the following description, matters that may be the same as those in the third embodiment will not be described. In the sixth embodiment, it is assumed that the printing device 500 supports AirPrint and the OS type of the information processing device 110 is MacOS. Regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device 500, the printing device 500 transmits standard printing support information indicating that AirPrint is supported to the print server 130. Therefore, the user of the information processing device 110 can start executing AirPrint via the print server 130.

The print server 130 receives a print job generated by AirPrint from the information processing device 110 and transmits this print job to the print device 500. When the print device 500 receives a print job generated by AirPrint from the print server 130, the print device 500 may execute printing according to this print job, regardless of whether AirPrint is enabled or disabled. On the other hand, when the print device 500 receives a print job generated by AirPrint directly from the information processing device 110 (i.e., not via the print server 130), it does not have to execute printing if AirPrint is disabled.

Summary of the embodiment
[Item 1]
1. A printing device, comprising:
a remote printing means for executing printing according to a print job transmitted from a print server;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
a transmitting means for transmitting support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device to the printing server;
A printing device comprising:
[Item 2]
The printing device further includes a setting unit that sets whether or not to transmit the support information to the printing server,
The transmitting means is
When the support information is set to be transmitted to the print server, the support information is transmitted to the print server;
2. The printing device according to item 1, wherein if a setting is not made to transmit the support information to the print server, the support information is not transmitted to the print server.
[Item 3]
3. The printing device according to item 2, wherein the setting unit is capable of individually setting whether or not to transmit the support information to the print server for each of two or more types of standard print functions.
[Item 4]
the setting means further sets whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the information processing device, independently of whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the print server;
The transmitting means is
transmitting the support information to the information processing device when the support information is set to be transmitted to the information processing device;
4. The printing device according to item 2 or 3, wherein if a setting is not made to transmit the support information to the information processing device, the support information is not transmitted to the information processing device.
[Item 5]
2. The printing device according to item 1, wherein the sending means sends the support information to the print server regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device.
[Item 6]
6. The printing device according to item 5, wherein the transmission means further transmits to the print server validity information indicating whether the standard print function is valid or invalid in the printing device.
[Item 7]
The transmitting means is
The registration of the printing device to the print server is completed; and
The printing device is started in a state where the printing device is registered in the print server; and
A function of performing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server is changed from disabled to enabled; and
The support information is set to be transmitted to the print server; and
The configuration information of the printing device has changed; and
A state of the printing device has changed; and
7. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the support information is transmitted to the print server in response to at least one of the following:
[Item 8]
8. The printing device according to any one of items 1 to 7, wherein the support information is included in a message defined by an Internet Printing Protocol.
[Item 9]
1. A print server comprising:
a receiving means for receiving support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device from the printing device;
a presentation means for presenting to the information processing device a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function when a printer search using the standard printing function is executed by the information processing device;
A print server comprising:
[Item 10]
10. The print server according to item 9, wherein the receiving means receives the support information for each of two or more types of standard print functions.
[Item 11]
11. The print server according to item 9 or 10, wherein the receiving means further receives validity information from the printing device, the validity information indicating whether the standard printing function is valid or invalid in the printing device.
[Item 12]
The receiving means further receives a print job from the information processing device,
Item 12. The print server according to item 11, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether to transmit the print job to the printing device based on the validity information.
[Item 13]
13. The print server according to any one of items 9 to 12, wherein the support information is included in a message defined by the Internet Printing Protocol.
[Item 14]
An information processing device,
A storage means for storing an operating system including a standard printing function as standard;
an acquisition means for acquiring an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search means for inquiring, in response to the instruction, whether or not a printer that supports the standard printing function exists in the network to which the information processing device is connected and in a print server that provides a virtual printer;
a presentation means for presenting a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
An information processing device comprising:
[Item 15]
A method for controlling a printing device, comprising:
The printing device includes:
a remote printing means for executing printing in accordance with a print job transmitted from a print server;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
The control method includes:
A control method comprising a transmission step in which a control means of the printing device transmits support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device to the print server.
[Item 16]
A method for controlling a print server, comprising:
a receiving step of receiving, by a receiving means of the print server, support information indicating that the print device supports a standard print function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device from the print device;
a presentation step of the print server presenting, when a printer search using the standard print function is executed by the information processing device, a virtual printer associated with a print device supporting the standard print function to the information processing device;
The control method includes:
[Item 17]
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus having an operating system including a standard printing function, comprising the steps of:
an acquisition step of acquiring, by an acquisition means of the information processing device, an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search step in which a search means of the information processing device inquires, in response to the instruction, of a network to which the information processing device is connected and a print server that provides a virtual printer, as to whether or not a printer that supports the standard print function exists;
a presentation step in which a presentation means of the information processing device presents a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
The control method includes:

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

110 Information processing device, 120A-120D Printing device, 130 Print server

Claims (41)

1. A printing device, comprising:
a remote printing means for executing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server system ;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
a transmitting means for transmitting support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device to the print server system ;
Equipped with
A printing device in which the sending means sends the support information to the print server system when a setting used to determine whether to send the support information is valid, and does not send the support information to the print server system when the setting is invalid . The printing device further includes a setting unit that sets whether or not to transmit the support information to the print server system ,
The transmitting means is
When the support information is set to be transmitted to the print server system , the support information is transmitted to the print server system ;
The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein the support information is not transmitted to the print server system when the support information is not set to be transmitted to the print server system . 3. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit is capable of individually setting whether or not to transmit the support information to the print server system for each of two or more types of standard printing functions. the setting means further sets whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the information processing device, independently of whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the print server system ;
The transmitting means is
transmitting the support information to the information processing device when the support information is set to be transmitted to the information processing device;
The printing device according to claim 2 , wherein the support information is not transmitted to the information processing device when the support information is not set to be transmitted to the information processing device. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein said transmission means transmits said support information to said print server system regardless of whether said standard printing function is enabled or disabled in said printing device. 6. The printing device according to claim 5, wherein said transmission means further transmits to said print server system validity information indicating whether said standard print function is valid or invalid in said printing device. The transmitting means is
The registration of the printing device in the print server system is completed; and
The printing device is started in a state where the printing device is registered in the print server system ; and
A function of performing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server system is changed from disabled to enabled; and
The support information is set to be transmitted to the print server system ; and
The configuration information of the printing device has changed; and
A state of the printing device has changed; and
The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein the support information is transmitted to the print server system in response to at least one of the following: The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the support information is included in a message defined by the Internet Printing Protocol. The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein the print server system is a print server system that provides a cloud print service that provides print data via the Internet. The printing device according to claim 9 , wherein the print data is print data generated by the print server system in response to a print instruction using the standard print function of the information processing device, and is print data provided to the printing device. 1. A printing device, comprising:
a remote printing means for executing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server system;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
a transmitting means for transmitting support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device to the print server system;
Equipped with
The sending means sends the support information to the print server system regardless of whether the standard print function is enabled or disabled in the printing device. The printing device further includes a setting unit that sets whether or not to transmit the support information to the print server system,
The transmitting means is
When the support information is set to be transmitted to the print server system, the support information is transmitted to the print server system;
The printing device according to claim 11 , wherein the support information is not transmitted to the print server system when the support information is not set to be transmitted to the print server system. 13. The printing device according to claim 12, wherein the setting unit is capable of individually setting whether or not to transmit the support information to the print server system for each of two or more types of standard printing functions. the setting means further sets whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the information processing device, independently of whether or not the support information is to be transmitted to the print server system;
The transmitting means is
transmitting the support information to the information processing device when the support information is set to be transmitted to the information processing device;
The printing device according to claim 12 , wherein the support information is not transmitted to the information processing device when the support information is not set to be transmitted to the information processing device. 12. The printing device according to claim 11, wherein the transmitting means further transmits to the print server system validity information indicating whether the standard print function is valid or invalid in the printing device. The transmitting means is
The registration of the printing device in the print server system is completed; and
The printing device is started in a state where the printing device is registered in the print server system; and
A function of performing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server system is changed from disabled to enabled; and
The support information is set to be transmitted to the print server system; and
The configuration information of the printing device has changed; and
A state of the printing device has changed; and
The printing device according to claim 11 , wherein the support information is transmitted to the print server system in response to at least one of the following: The printing device of claim 11 , wherein the support information is included in a message defined by an Internet Printing Protocol. The printing device according to claim 11 , wherein the print server system is a print server system that provides a cloud print service that provides print data via the Internet. 20. The printing device according to claim 18, wherein the print data is print data generated by the print server system in response to a print instruction using the standard print function of the information processing device, and is print data provided to the printing device. A print server system , comprising:
a receiving means for receiving support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device from the printing device;
a presentation means for presenting to the information processing device a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function when a printer search using the standard printing function is executed by the information processing device;
Equipped with
A print server system, wherein the receiving means receives the support information from the printing device when a setting used to determine whether the printing device will send the support information is valid, and does not receive the support information from the printing device when the setting is invalid . 21. The print server system according to claim 20 , wherein the receiving means receives the support information for each of two or more types of standard print functions. 21. The print server system according to claim 20 , wherein said receiving means further receives from said printing device validity information indicating whether said standard print function is valid or invalid in said printing device. The receiving means further receives a print job from the information processing device,
23. The print server system according to claim 22 , further comprising a determining unit for determining whether to send the print job to the printing device based on the validity information. 21. The print server system of claim 20 , wherein the support information is included in a message defined by the Internet Printing Protocol. The print server system according to claim 20, providing a cloud print service that provides print data via the Internet. The print server system according to claim 25 , wherein the print data is print data generated by the print server system in response to a print instruction using the standard print function of the information processing device, and is print data provided to the printing device. A print server system, comprising:
a receiving means for receiving support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device from the printing device;
a presentation means for presenting to the information processing device a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function when a printer search using the standard printing function is executed by the information processing device;
Equipped with
The receiving means receives the support information from the printing device regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device. 28. The print server system according to claim 27, wherein said receiving means receives said support information for each of two or more types of standard print functions. 28. The print server system according to claim 27, wherein said receiving means further receives from said printing device validity information indicating whether said standard print function is valid or invalid in said printing device. The receiving means further receives a print job from the information processing device,
30. The print server system of claim 29, further comprising a determining unit for determining whether to send the print job to the printing device based on the validity information. 28. The print server system of claim 27, wherein the support information is included in a message defined by the Internet Printing Protocol. The print server system according to claim 27, providing a cloud print service that provides print data via the Internet. The print server system according to claim 32 , wherein the print data is print data generated by the print server system in response to a print instruction using the standard print function of the information processing device, and is print data provided to the printing device. An information processing device,
A storage means for storing an operating system including a standard printing function as standard;
an acquisition means for acquiring an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search means for inquiring, in response to the instruction, whether or not a printer that supports the standard printing function exists in each of the network to which the information processing device is connected and a print server system that provides a virtual printer;
a presentation means for presenting a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
Equipped with
The printing server system receives the support information from the printing device when a setting used to determine whether the printing device will send support information indicating that the printing device supports the standard printing function is valid, and does not receive the support information from the printing device when the setting is invalid . An information processing device,
A storage means for storing an operating system including a standard printing function as standard;
an acquisition means for acquiring an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search means for inquiring, in response to the instruction, whether or not a printer that supports the standard printing function exists in each of the network to which the information processing device is connected and a print server system that provides a virtual printer;
a presentation means for presenting a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
Equipped with
The print server system receives support information from the printing device, the support information indicating that the printing device supports the standard printing function, regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device. A method for controlling a printing device, comprising:
The printing device includes:
a remote printing means for executing printing according to a print job transmitted from the print server system ;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
The control method includes:
a transmission step of the control means of the printing device transmitting support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device to the print server system ;
A control method for transmitting the support information to the print server system when a setting used to determine whether or not to transmit the support information is valid, and not transmitting the support information to the print server system when the setting is invalid . A method for controlling a printing device, comprising:
The printing device includes:
a remote printing means for executing printing in accordance with a print job transmitted from the print server system;
a local printing unit that executes printing according to a print job transmitted from an information processing device that is connected to the same network as the printing device;
The control method includes:
a transmission step in which the control means of the printing device transmits support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in the operating system of the information processing device to the print server system;
having
The control method includes transmitting the support information to the print server system regardless of whether the standard print function is enabled or disabled in the printing device. A control method for a print server system , comprising:
a receiving step in which a receiving means of the print server system receives, from the printing device, support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device;
a presentation step of the print server system presenting, when a printer search using the standard printing function is executed by the information processing device, a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function to the information processing device;
having
A control method for receiving the support information from the printing device when a setting used to determine whether the printing device will send the support information is valid, and not receiving the support information from the printing device when the setting is invalid . A control method for a print server system, comprising:
a receiving step in which a receiving means of the print server system receives, from the printing device, support information indicating that the printing device supports a standard printing function included as standard in an operating system of the information processing device;
a presentation step of the print server system presenting, when a printer search using the standard printing function is executed by the information processing device, a virtual printer associated with a printing device that supports the standard printing function to the information processing device;
having
The receiving means receives the support information from the printing device regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus having an operating system including a standard printing function, comprising the steps of:
an acquisition step of acquiring, by an acquisition means of the information processing device, an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search step in which a search means of the information processing device inquires, in response to the instruction, of a network to which the information processing device is connected and a print server system that provides a virtual printer as to whether or not a printer that supports the standard print function exists;
a presentation step in which a presentation means of the information processing device presents a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
having
A control method in which the print server system receives the support information from the printing device when a setting used to determine whether the printing device will send support information indicating that the printing device supports the standard printing function is valid, and does not receive the support information from the printing device when the setting is invalid . A method for controlling an information processing apparatus having an operating system including a standard printing function, comprising:
an acquisition step of acquiring, by an acquisition means of the information processing device, an instruction to execute a printer search using the standard printing function from a user;
a search step in which a search means of the information processing device inquires, in response to the instruction, of a network to which the information processing device is connected and a print server system that provides a virtual printer as to whether or not a printer that supports the standard print function exists;
a presentation step in which a presentation means of the information processing device presents a result of the query made by the search means to the user;
having
The print server system receives support information from the printing device indicating that the printing device supports the standard printing function, regardless of whether the standard printing function is enabled or disabled in the printing device.