Computer-implemented methods, servers, clients, network systems, and computer-readable storage media

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to computer-implemented methods, a server, a client, a network system and computer-readable storage media that enable area-filling printing of a medium, in particular a wallpaper, a poster or a banner.

[0002] From JP 2002 - 132 330 A, a method for ordering wallpaper is known in which an image is printed multiple times side by side and on top of each other on the wallpaper. The repetition and displacement of the image on the wallpaper can be adjusted by the user.

[0003] A similar procedure is also known from US 2001 / 0 017 089 A1.

[0004] JP 2004 - 086 746 A discloses a method for creating interior furnishings, e.g. wallpapers, that have a wood or stone look. For this purpose, an original image is arranged multiple times, one above the other and side by side, with the vertical rows being offset from each other.

[0005] US 2004 / 0075866A1 discloses a system and method for creating a poster.

[0006] WO 03 / 087 976 A2 and WO 03 / 087 977 A2 disclose a method for printing on various substrates, such as wallpaper, posters, greeting cards, etc., in which a user selects an image via a website and adjusts it according to their wishes. The adjustments are then transmitted to a server, and the image is regenerated accordingly, re-uploaded to the website, and displayed so that the user can verify their changes. Thus, a new image is generated and transmitted to the website with each adjustment made by the user.

[0007] When printing on a large-format or surface-filling medium, such as wallpaper, posters, or banners, it is essential that the original image has sufficient size and resolution to ensure adequate print quality. Consequently, repeatedly transferring the adapted image may impair the website's usability.

[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide computer-implemented methods, a server, a client, a network system, and computer-readable storage media that enable area-filling printing of a medium while simultaneously ensuring ease of use and user-friendliness during the generation of the medium. In addition, high print quality of the medium is to be ensured.

[0009] The problem is solved by the computer-implemented methods according to claims 1 and 5, the server according to claim 11, the client according to claim 12, the network system according to claim 13, and the computer-readable storage media according to claims 14 and 15. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0010] A computer-implemented method according to the invention, which can be executed by a server, comprises the following steps.

[0011] First, an original image is loaded from the server's memory. This original image comprises a section of the image that is to be printed full-surface onto a medium and is stored in the server's memory beforehand by the server operator. Alternatively, or in addition, the original image can also be transferred to the server and stored in the server's memory via a client described later. "Full-surface" means that no images are arranged side-by-side or one above the other on the medium, and the medium is printed with only a single image.

[0012] The original image is then reduced in size and / or compressed to create a preview image. Consequently, the preview image requires less storage space than the original image. It is important to note, however, that the preview image is still sufficiently detailed to ensure that the portion of the original image intended for printing remains identifiable.

[0013] The preview image is then transmitted to the client, which receives the media size of the medium to be printed and the characteristics of a preview area that corresponds to the media size and the desired content of the medium to be printed within the preview image. The preview image thus specifies the portion of the image that will later be printed on the medium. The preview area is defined as smaller than the preview image itself. If the preview area is adjusted, no new preview image is generated and transmitted.

[0014] The preview image area is then transformed to match the original image, resulting in a full-surface printable area. Since the preview image has a different size and / or resolution than the original image, the two images also have different coordinate systems. Therefore, transforming the preview image area to match the original image is a coordinate transformation.

[0015] Finally, a print command is issued to a printer to print the original image area onto the medium, filling the entire area. The printer then prints the original image area onto the medium, filling the entire area. The printer can also print the original image area onto a medium material that is larger than the medium itself and then trim the material to the desired size.

[0016] The method according to the invention enables the printing of the entire surface of the medium. By reducing the size and / or compressing the original image into a preview image, the amount of data to be transmitted from the server to the client is reduced, thus improving the usability of the client, in particular shortening loading times at low transmission rates.

[0017] Preferably, before transmitting the preview image to the client, a maximum media size, specifically a maximum media height and width, can be determined based on the size and resolution of the original image. When transmitting the preview image, the maximum media size can then also be transmitted. This allows the media size that can be entered into the client to be limited to the maximum media size, thus ensuring sufficient print quality, particularly resolution. Additionally, a maximum media size can also be specified by the printer used.

[0018] The preview image can be advantageously compressed by converting it to JPG or WebP format. The original image can be saved in PNG, JPG, SVG, or TIFF format, and converting it to JPG or WebP reduces the file size. Consequently, the amount of data transferred when transmitting the preview image can also be effectively reduced.

[0019] Another computer-implemented method according to the invention, which can be executed by a client, in particular a web client or an application of a computer, a smartphone, a tablet or other terminal device, comprises the following steps.

[0020] First, the preview image is received from the server. Since the preview image has been previously resized and / or compressed by the server, only a reduced amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0021] Next, the size of the medium to be printed is entered into the client, typically by a user. The medium is preferably a poster, banner, or other rectangular item. Therefore, the length and width of the rectangle must be entered. However, the medium can also have a different shape. Examples include a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, other polygons, or a custom shape that includes features such as cutouts and protrusions. Shapes can be defined by entering vertices or a center point and corresponding radii. Alternatively, a spline or polynomial curve can be entered.

[0022] Once the media size has been entered, a preview image area is defined that corresponds to the media size (i.e., the format of the medium) and the desired content of the medium to be printed, as shown in the preview image. It should be noted that the format of the medium and the format of the preview image or the original image may differ. The preview image area is set smaller than the preview image itself. The preview image area is defined using a graphical user interface that allows for a real-time image display, such as a website. Areas of the preview image that are contained within the preview image area are highlighted. This can be achieved, for example, by displaying these areas normally, while areas outside the preview image area are displayed with lower contrast, brightness, and / or saturation.When the preview image area is adjusted, no new preview image is received. Consequently, it is not necessary for the client to generate a new image with every adjustment, and the client user can reliably define the content of the preview image area.

[0023] Finally, the entered media size and the characteristics of the preview image area are transmitted to the server. Therefore, it is not necessary for an image edited or cropped by the client to be transmitted back to the server, thus reducing the amount of data to be transferred.

[0024] The preview area can be defined, in particular, by rotating the preview image. The preview image can also be rotated in specific angular increments, e.g., in 45° or 90° steps. Additionally or alternatively, the preview area can be defined by mirroring the preview image. Mirroring can be limited to reflections of the preview image around a central horizontal or vertical axis. Additionally or alternatively, if the entered media size is smaller than the maximum media size, defining the preview area can involve enlarging the preview image. Consequently, the preview image is displayed enlarged within the preview area. Using the above methods, the user can define the preview area according to their requirements. Therefore, the content of the media can also be easily defined.

[0025] The features of the preview area can include its shape and size. As is well known, a pixel image can be viewed as a coordinate system, and the shape and size of the preview area can be specified, for example, using a function equation. If the medium is a rectangle, it is sufficient for the features of the preview area to include the X and Y coordinates of at least two diagonally opposite corners of the preview area. Alternatively, the X and Y coordinates of one corner, along with the length and width of the preview area, can be included in the features of the preview area, allowing the calculation of the second corner of the rectangular preview area.The length and width of the preview image area are specified as positive or negative values, depending on the direction of propagation of the preview image area from the corner point. Preferably, the corner point is transferred as an offset from the upper left corner of the preview image, which is therefore used as the origin of the coordinate system. Alternatively or additionally, the preview image area characteristics can include the size of the preview image. The size of the previously transferred preview image area can also be stored by the server. Alternatively or additionally, the preview image area characteristics can include a rotation angle of the preview image and / or a mirroring of the preview image and / or a magnification factor of the preview image.Therefore, it is possible for the server to precisely determine the defined preview image area, to which the features of the preview image area are transferred, and consequently also for the exact transformation of the preview image area to the original image to generate the original image area.

[0026] A preferred length for the longer side of the preview image is 1920 pixels. A preferred length is 1000 pixels. These lengths effectively reduce the amount of data required for transmitting the preview image while still ensuring sufficient detail for selecting the preview area. Ideally, the server should determine the client type and set the length of the longer side of the preview image accordingly. For example, if it detects that the client is a PC or laptop, the length of the longer side can be set to 1920 pixels. Conversely, if it detects that the client is a smartphone or tablet, the length of the longer side can be set to 1000 pixels.

[0027] Additionally, the preview image resolution can be set to 72 dpi. If the original image resolution is lower than 72 dpi, a lower resolution (e.g., 70 dpi) can, of course, be used. This optimizes the preview image for client display and efficiently reduces the amount of data transferred from the server to the client.

[0028] In particular, the medium can have a minimum size of 1 m by 1 m. For these media sizes, a sufficiently large original image with adequate resolution is required. Consequently, an effective reduction in the amount of data required for transmitting the preview image is also achieved. As already mentioned, the medium is, in particular, wallpaper, a poster, or a banner that is applied in one piece, i.e., without joining strips together. An example of this is a removable wallpaper known from EP 3 721 007 A1.

[0029] The original image should have a minimum size of 2700 pixels by 2700 pixels and a minimum resolution of 70 dpi for the specified medium size. Using an original image with these specifications ensures high print quality.

[0030] A server according to the invention comprises a memory in which an original image is stored, a network interface configured for communication with a network, such as the Internet, and a processor. A computer program is stored in the server's memory, which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of the computer-implemented method.The processor is therefore programmed to perform the following steps: loading an original image from memory; reducing and / or compressing the original image to a preview image; transmitting the preview image to a client via the network interface; receiving from the client via the network interface the size of the medium to be printed and the characteristics of a preview image area that corresponds to the medium size and desired content of the medium to be printed in the preview image, where the preview image area is set to be smaller than the preview image, and where no new preview image is generated and transmitted when the preview image area is adjusted; transforming the preview image area to the original image to obtain an original image area to be printed full-area onto the medium, and issuing a print command to a printer to print the original image area full-area onto the medium.The server therefore provides the beneficial effects of the computer-implemented procedure described above.

[0031] A client according to the invention comprises memory, a network interface configured for communication with a network, such as the Internet, and a processor. A computer program is stored in the client's memory, which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of the computer-implemented method.The processor is therefore programmed to perform the following steps: receiving a preview image from a server via the network interface and storing the preview image in memory; inputting a media size of a medium to be printed; defining a preview image area that corresponds to the media size and desired content of the medium to be printed in the preview image, whereby the preview image area is set smaller than the preview image, wherein the preview image area is displayed using a graphical user interface that allows for real-image rendering, and wherein areas of the preview image contained within the preview image area are highlighted, whereby no new preview image is received when the preview image area is adjusted; and transmitting the media size and characteristics of the preview image area to the server via the network interface.The client therefore provides the beneficial effects of the computer-implemented procedure described above.

[0032] A network system according to the invention comprises a server and a client. It should be noted that the network system can also contain multiple servers and clients. Furthermore, the network system includes a printer configured to receive the print command from the server and then print the original image area onto the medium, filling the entire surface. The network of the network system can be the internet, enabling the client to design a medium and commission the full-surface printing from anywhere in the world.

[0033] Furthermore, the present invention comprises a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, in particular a server, cause it to execute the computer-implemented method first described.

[0034] The present invention also comprises a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, in particular a client, cause it to execute the other computer-implemented method.

[0035] The subject matter of the present invention enables the full-surface printing of a medium, in particular wallpaper, a poster, or a banner, while simultaneously reducing the amount of data to be transmitted. Consequently, user-friendliness for a client can be improved. Additionally, the required print quality of the medium can be ensured.

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures. These show: Fig. 1 a network system in which a server, a client and a printer can communicate with each other over a network, according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B a flowchart showing the steps of a method according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 a process for reducing the size and / or compressing an original image into a preview image; and Fig. 4 the preview image in which a preview image area is defined, and a process to transform the preview image area onto the original image in order to generate an original image area.

[0037] Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a network system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising a server 2, a client 4, and a printer 6 that can communicate with each other via a network 8, such as the Internet. It should be noted that a network system 1 with only one server 2, one client 4, and one printer 6 is shown, but the network system 1 can certainly include multiple servers 2, clients 4, and printers 6 located at different sites.

[0038] Server 2 has one memory module (10), one processor (12), and one network interface (14). Memory module 10 contains at least one original image (28) (see...). Fig. 3 ), which will be described later, and a computer program is stored. The processor 12 is configured to read the computer program stored in memory 10 and is thereby programmed to execute steps of a method according to the present embodiment. The processor 12 can also transmit data to or receive data from the network 8 via the network interface 14. The network interface 14 can be a wireless or a wired network interface. Data received via the network interface 14 can be stored by the processor 12 in memory 10.

[0039] Client 4 comprises a memory 16, a processor 18, and a network interface 20. A computer program is stored in the memory 16. The processor 18 is configured to read the computer program stored in the memory 16 and is thereby programmed to execute steps of the method according to the present embodiment. The processor 18 can also transmit data to or receive data from the network 8 via the network interface 20. The network interface 20 can be either wireless or wired. Data received via the network interface 20 can be stored by the processor 18 in the memory 16.

[0040] Printer 6 also has a memory 22, a processor 24, and a network interface 26. A computer program is stored in memory 22, and the processor 24 is configured by executing the computer program to receive a print command via network interface 26 and print a subsequently written medium. The network interface 26 can be configured as a wireless or wired network interface. Alternatively, printer 6 can also be directly connected to server 2.

[0041] As already mentioned, 2 computer programs are stored in memory 10 of the server and 4 computer programs in memory 16 of the client, which can each be read by the processors 12, 18 in order to configure them to work together to execute the method according to the present embodiment.

[0042] The individual steps of the procedure according to the present embodiment are described below with reference to the flowchart in the Figuren 2A and 2B described. It should be noted that the flowchart in Fig. 2B the continuation of the flowchart in Fig. 2A represents.

[0043] In step S1, client 4 can select an image to be printed on the medium, for example, via a website provided by server 2 and accessed by client 4. Information that allows server 2 to identify the image can be transmitted from client 4 to server 2 via network 6. The image can also be selected using an application installed on client 4. Alternatively, an image can be uploaded from client 4 to server 2 via network 6. Server 2 then saves the image as original image 28 in memory 10. Again, the website or the application on client 4 can be used for this.

[0044] In the present embodiment, the medium is, in particular, wallpaper, a poster, or a banner, which is to be applied in one piece, i.e., without joining strips together, e.g., on a wall or a billboard. An example of this is removable wallpaper, which is known from EP 3 721 007 A1. The medium in the present embodiment has a rectangular shape, and the minimum medium size is 1 m by 1 m.

[0045] In step S2, the original image 28 (see Fig. 3 The image corresponding to the one selected in step S1 is loaded from memory 10 of server 2. As mentioned earlier, the medium has a minimum size of 1 m by 1 m. A sufficiently large original image 28 with sufficient resolution is required for this medium size. Therefore, the original image 28 should have a minimum size of 2700 pixels by 2700 pixels and a minimum resolution of 70 dpi to ensure sufficiently high print quality of the medium.

[0046] In step S3, the original image 28 is reduced in size and / or compressed to create a preview image 30. The reduction / compression of the original image 28 to the preview image 30 is described in Fig. 3 The original image 28 shows a mountain range and a lake in front of it. During the reduction / compression process, the size of the preview image 30 is reduced compared to the size of the original image 28. In the preview image 30, the mountain range and the lake in front of it are still depicted with sufficient detail so that the content of the original image 28 remains recognizable in the preview image 30.

[0047] The length of the longer side of the preview image 30 can preferably be set to 1920 pixels, and even more preferably to 1000 pixels. Preferably, server 2 detects the type of client 4, and the length of the longer side of the preview image 30 is determined based on this client type. For example, if it detects that client 4 is a PC or laptop, the length of the longer side can be set to 1920 pixels. Conversely, if it detects that client 4 is a smartphone or tablet, the length of the longer side of the preview image 30 can be set to 1000 pixels. Alternatively or additionally, the original image 28, which can initially be stored in PNG, JPG, SVG, or TIFF format, can be compressed into the preview image 30 by converting it to JPG or WebP format.

[0048] Furthermore, the resolution of the preview image 30 can be reduced compared to the resolution of the original image 28. Ideally, the resolution of the preview image 30 can be set to 72 dpi. However, if the resolution of the original image 28 is lower than 72 dpi, especially the minimum required resolution of 70 dpi, this lower resolution can, of course, also be used.

[0049] Back to Fig. 2A In step S4, a maximum medium size can optionally be determined based on the size and resolution of the original image 28. In the present embodiment, the original image 28 has a rectangular shape (see Fig. 3 ), so that the maximum medium size includes a maximum medium height and a maximum medium width. If the medium should not have a rectangular shape, it is necessary that the maximum medium size lies within the rectangle determined above.

[0050] In step S5, the preview image 30 is transferred from server 2 to client 4. If the maximum media size is determined in step S4, this maximum media size is also transferred from server 2 to client 4 in step S5. It should be noted that a maximum media size is not solely determined by the size or resolution of the original image 28. A maximum edge length of the media can also be determined by the maximum printable width of the printer 6.

[0051] In step S6, preview image 30 is received by client 4. If the maximum media size is transmitted in step S5, it is also received by client 4.

[0052] In step S7, the user enters the size of the medium to be printed into Client 4. If the maximum medium size was received in S6, the entered medium size may be limited to that maximum. This ensures that the medium is not made too large by the user of Client 4, thus guaranteeing high print quality and the use of the specified printer 6.

[0053] In step S8, a preview image area 32 is defined within the preview image 30. The preview image area 32 corresponds to the medium size, i.e., also to a format of the medium, and to the desired content of the medium to be printed within the preview image 30. Defining the preview image area 32 within the preview image 30 is described in Fig. 4 The preview image area 32 is defined on the client 4, in particular by means of a graphical user interface that allows a real-time display (also known as WYSIWYG ("What you see is what you get"), such as the website or the application on the client 4. The preview image area 32 is drawn into the preview image 30 or displayed superimposed on the preview image 30. It can be seen that the preview image area 32 is defined as smaller than the preview image 30. An area 34 outside the preview image area 32 is in Fig. 4 The area 34 is displayed hatched. On the graphical user interface, area 34 can be displayed with lower contrast, brightness, and / or saturation. Therefore, a user can reliably identify the content of preview image area 32.

[0054] In the present embodiment, defining the preview image area 32 includes, in particular, rotating the preview image 30. Alternatively or additionally, the preview image 30 can be mirrored. Furthermore, if the maximum media size has been previously transmitted and the entered media size is smaller than the maximum media size, defining the preview image 30 can alternatively or additionally include enlarging it. Consequently, the user of client 4 can adjust the content of the preview image area 32, and therefore also the content of the medium to be printed, according to their requirements. It should be noted that defining the preview image area 32, in particular by rotating the preview image 30, can reduce the maximum media size.

[0055] Back to Fig. 2A In step S9, the entered medium size and the characteristics of the preview image area 32 defined in step S8 are transferred from client 4 to server 2. The characteristics of the preview image area 32 include its shape and size. This can be done, for example, by specifying the coordinates of its vertices. Alternatively, the preview image area 32 can also be specified as a function equation. In the present embodiment, the medium is rectangular, and it is particularly sufficient to specify the X and Y coordinates of at least two diagonally opposite vertices 38, 40 (see Figure 1). Fig. 4 The parameters of the preview image area 32 are to be transmitted to server 2. Alternatively, only one corner point, e.g., the X and Y coordinates of corner point 38, along with a length and width, can be present in the features of the preview image area 32. The length and width of the preview image area 32 are present as positive or negative values, depending on the direction of propagation from corner point 38. Consequently, the second corner point 40 can be calculated by server 2. A top left corner of the preview image 30 can be used as the origin of the coordinates. Alternatively or additionally, the size of the preview image 30 can be transmitted.If the preview image 30 was rotated, mirrored, and / or enlarged when defining the preview image area 32, the properties of the preview image area 32 may also include a rotation angle of the preview image 30, a mirroring of the preview image 30, and / or an enlargement factor of the preview image 30. Consequently, the content of the medium to be printed can be reliably and efficiently transferred from the client 4 to the server 2 via the preview image area 32.

[0056] In step S10 (see Fig. 2B The medium size of the medium to be printed and the characteristics of preview image area 32 are received from Server 2. As described above, preview image area 32 corresponds to the medium size and the desired content of the medium to be printed in preview image 30.

[0057] In step S11, the preview image area 32 is transformed onto the original image 28 to obtain an original image area 36 that is to be printed filling the entire area of ​​the medium. Transforming the preview image area 32 onto the original image 28 is described in Fig. 4 As shown, the content of the preview image area 32 corresponds to content in the original image area 36. Since the original image 28 is larger than the preview image 30 and / or has a higher resolution, higher print quality is achieved. Due to the higher pixel count in the original image 28, transforming the preview image area 32 to the original image 28 therefore corresponds to a coordinate transformation. In the present embodiment, in particular, corner point 38 of the preview image area 32 is transformed into corner point 42 of the original image area 36, ​​and corner point 40 of the preview image area 32 is transformed into corner point 44 of the original image area 36.Alternatively, for example, only the corner point 38 of the preview image area 32 can be transformed into the corner point 42 of the original image area 36, ​​and the length and width of the preview image area 32, which may be present in the features of the preview image area 32, can be transformed into a length and a width of the original image area 36 in order to calculate the corner point 44 of the original image area 36.

[0058] In step S12, server 2 generates a print command to print the entire original image area 36 onto the medium and sends it to printer 6. The print command can be output in PDF or EPS format.

[0059] In step S13, printer 6 receives the print command from server 2 and prints the medium containing the original image area 36. It should be noted that the medium can initially be printed on a larger medium material, and the printing process may also include trimming the medium material to the required size.

[0060] In the present embodiment, it is therefore not necessary to transfer the original image 28 from server 2 to client 4. Furthermore, it is not necessary to transfer an image processed by client 4 from client 4 to server 2. Consequently, the amount of data to be transferred is reduced, and usability on client 4 is improved. If, in addition, the maximum medium size is determined and transmitted, high print quality of the medium can be ensured. Bezugszeichenliste

[0061] 1 Network system 2 Server 4 Client 6 Printer 8 Network 10 Storage 12 Processor 14 Network interface 16 Storage 18 Processor 20 Network interface 22 Storage 24 Processor 26 Network interface 28 Original image 30 Preview image 32 Preview image area 34 Area outside the preview image area 36 Original image area 38 Corner of the preview image area 40 Corner of the preview image area 42 Corner of the original image area 44 Corner of the original image area

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method with the following steps: loading an original image (28) from a storage (10); downscaling and / or compressing the original image (28) to a thumbnail image (30); transmitting the thumbnail image (30) to a client (4); receiving a medium size of a medium to be printed on and features of a thumbnail image region (32) corresponding to the medium size and a desired content of the medium to be printed on in the thumbnail image (30) from the client (4), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is set to be smaller than the thumbnail image (30), wherein, when the thumbnail image region (32) is adjusted, no new thumbnail image (30) is generated and transmitted; transforming the thumbnail image region (32) to the original image (28) to obtain an original image region (36) to be printed on the medium in a surface-filling manner; and issuing a printing command to a printer (6) for printing the original image region (36) on the medium in a surface-filling manner.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising the following step: before transmitting the thumbnail image (30) to the client (4), determining a maximum medium size, in particular a maximum medium height and a maximum medium width, based on a size and a resolution of the original image (28); wherein the transmitting of the thumbnail image (30) comprises transmitting of the maximum medium size.

3. The method according to of the preceding claims, wherein the thumbnail image (30) is compressed by converting it to jpg or WebP format.

4. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the original image (28) has a minimum size of 2700 pixels by 2700 pixels and a minimum resolution of 70 dpi.

5. A computer-implemented method with the following steps: receiving a thumbnail image (30) from a server (2); inputting a medium size of a medium to be printed on; setting a thumbnail image region (32) corresponding to the medium size and a desired content of the medium to be printed on in the thumbnail image (30), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is set to be smaller than the thumbnail image (30), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is displayed using a graphical user interface that enables real image display, wherein regions of the thumbnail image (30) that are included in the thumbnail image region (32) are displayed in a highlighted manner, wherein, when the thumbnail image region (32) is adjusted, no new thumbnail image (30) is received; and transmitting the medium size and features of the thumbnail image region (32) to the server (2).

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: receiving the thumbnail image (30) comprises receiving a maximum medium size; and the medium size to be input is limited to the maximum medium size.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the setting of the thumbnail image region (32) comprises rotating the thumbnail image (30) and / or mirroring the thumbnail image (30) and / or, if the input medium size is smaller than the maximum medium size, enlarging the thumbnail image (30).

8. The method according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the features of the thumbnail image region (30) include a shape and a size of the thumbnail image region (32), in particular X and Y coordinates of at least two diagonally opposite corner marks (38, 40) of the thumbnail image region (32) or in particular X and Y coordinates of a corner mark (38) of the thumbnail image region (32) together with a length and a width of the thumbnail image region (32), and / or a size of the thumbnail image (30) and / or a rotation angle of the thumbnail image (30) and / or mirroring of the thumbnail image (30) and / or a magnification factor of the thumbnail image (30).

9. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a length of a longer side of the thumbnail image (30) is 1920 pixels and even more preferably 1000 pixels.

10. The method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the medium has a minimum medium size of 1 m by 1 m.

11. A server (2) with a storage (10) in which an original image (28) is stored, a network interface (14) and a processor (12), wherein the processor (12) is programmed to perform the following steps: loading an original image (28) from the storage (10); downscaling and / or compressing the original image (28) to a thumbnail image (30); transmitting the thumbnail image (30) to a client (4) via the network interface (14); receiving a medium size of a medium to be printed on and features of a thumbnail image region (32) corresponding to the medium size and a desired content of the medium to be printed on in the thumbnail image (30) from the client (4) via the network interface (14), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is set to be smaller than the thumbnail image (30), wherein, when the thumbnail image region (32) is adjusted, no new thumbnail image (30) is generated and transmitted; transforming the thumbnail image region (32) onto the original image (28) to obtain an original image region (36) to be printed on the medium as to fill the surface thereof, and issuing a printing command to a printer (6) for printing the original image region (36) on the medium in a surface-filling manner.

12. A client (4) with a storage (16), a network interface (20) and a processor (18), wherein the processor (18) is programmed to perform the following steps: receiving a thumbnail image (30) from a server (2) via the network interface (20) and storing the thumbnail image in the storage (16); inputting a medium size of a medium to be printed on; setting a thumbnail image region (32) corresponding to the medium size and a desired content of the medium to be printed on in the thumbnail image (30), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is set to be smaller than the thumbnail image (30), wherein the thumbnail image region (32) is displayed using a graphical user interface that enables real image display, wherein regions of the thumbnail image (30) that are included in the thumbnail image region (32) are displayed in a highlighted manner, wherein, when the thumbnail image region (32) is adjusted, no new thumbnail image (30) is received; and transmitting the medium size and features of the thumbnail image region (32) to the server (2) via the network interface (20).

13. A network system (1) with: a server (2) according to claim 11; a client (4) according to claim 12; and a printer (6) configured to receive the printing command from the server (2) and to print the medium.

14. A computer-readable storage medium (10) comprising commands which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to claim 1.

15. A computer-readable storage medium (16) comprising commands which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to claim 5.