Printer driver, information processing device, and control method for information processing device

Abstract

To provide a mechanism which allows for easily confirming information about a contract of a fixed-rate print service before printing.SOLUTION: A program of a computer 100 causes the computer 100 to perform processing of displaying a print setting UI for causing a printer 120 to perform printing, on a display unit 201 of the computer 100. When it is determined that the printer 120 is a target printer of a subscription contract, the program of the computer 100 causes the display unit 201 of the computer 100 to display the print setting UI including a subscription tab 801 for displaying information about a contract of a fixed-rate print service.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, an information processing device, and a control method for an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, flat-rate print services have become popular, which allow users to use a printer for a fixed price regardless of how many pages they print during the contract period, as long as the number of pages is within the limit of the print count specified in the contract plan. Flat-rate print services offer plans that include rental services for the printer itself in addition to the number of pages printed. Plans that include delivery services for consumables such as toner and ink are also offered (see Patent Document 1). By using flat-rate print services, users no longer need to purchase toner, ink, or even the printer itself separately, which helps reduce the initial cost of printing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-70161 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In most general flat-rate print services, there is a set upper limit on the number of prints that can be used for a fixed price during a contract period, such as one month or one year. If you print more than this upper limit, your plan may automatically change to a more expensive plan with a higher upper limit, or you may have to pay a higher fee for the excess printing. For this reason, users of flat-rate print services consider checking the remaining number of prints that can be made before printing in order to prevent unintended automatic plan changes and excess fees.

[0005] However, in order for a user to check information related to the flat-rate print service contract, such as the remaining number of printable sheets, the user must access a dedicated website, etc. Accessing a dedicated website is an operation separate from the operation of issuing an instruction to execute printing, and such an operation is troublesome for the user.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for easily checking information regarding a flat-rate print service contract before printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the program of the present invention is a program that causes an information processing device to execute a process of displaying a print setting UI for causing a printing device to execute printing on a display means of the information processing device, and is characterized in that it includes code that causes the information processing device to determine whether the printing device is a printing device whose usage is restricted based on a flat-rate printing service, and code that causes the information processing device to display the print setting UI on the display means of the information processing device when it is determined that the printing device is a printing device whose usage is restricted, the print setting UI including an object for displaying information regarding a contract for the flat-rate printing service. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, information regarding a flat-rate print service contract can be easily confirmed before printing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including a computer as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computer, a subscription server, and a printer that constitute the printing system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of print-related software of a computer. [Figure 4]4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a display control process performed by the printer driver of FIG. [Diagram 5] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting UI displayed on the display unit in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the subscription tab display control process in S402 of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an example of subscription management information and server access information acquired in S604 of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting UI displayed on the display unit in FIG. 2. [Figure 9] 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating an example of a print setting UI displayed in steps S612, S613, and S614 of FIG. [Figure 10] 7 is a flowchart showing another procedure of the subscription tab display control process in S402 of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including a computer 100 as an information processing device according to an embodiment. The printing system includes a subscription server 130, the computer 100 as an information processing device, and a printer 120 as a printing device. The computer 100 and the printer 120 are communicatively connected via a local network 140. The local network 140 is connected to the Internet 150 via a router (not shown). The local network 140 is, for example, a LAN, but it does not matter whether the connection is wired or wireless.

[0012] The subscription server 130 is a server that provides a printer subscription service (hereinafter, referred to as "subscription"). For example, the subscription server 130 provides a flat-rate print service. In the flat-rate print service, the printer can be used for a fixed price regardless of how many pages are printed during the contract period, as long as the number of pages is within the number of pages corresponding to the contracted plan. In the flat-rate print service, plans that include a delivery service for consumables such as toner and ink are also provided in addition to the number of pages printed. The subscription server 130 is managed by a subscription provider and is connected to the Internet 150. In this way, the subscription server 130 is connected to the computer 100 and the printer 120 so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet 150 and the local network 140. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a subscription contract regarding the use of the printer 120 is concluded between the user of the printer 120 and the printer subscription provider.

[0013] 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the computer 100. The computer 100 includes a display unit 201, an operation unit 202, a storage unit 203, a control unit 204, and a network communication unit 205. The control unit 204 includes a CPU 211 and a memory 212.

[0014] The display unit 201 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). The operation unit 202 is an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard that accepts operations by a user. The storage unit 203 is a storage medium such as an HDD or SSD, and various software necessary for the operation of the computer 100 is stored.

[0015] The control unit 204 performs overall control of the computer 100 by the CPU 211 executing a predetermined program stored in the memory 212 and the storage unit 203. The control unit 204 also performs various processes described below by the CPU 211 expanding a predetermined software program stored in the storage unit 203 into the memory 212. The network communication unit 205 connects to an external network such as the Internet 150 via the local network 140 and inputs and outputs data to and from external devices.

[0016] 2B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the subscription server 130. The subscription server 130 includes a display unit 221, an operation unit 222, a storage unit 223, a control unit 224, and a network communication unit 225. The control unit 224 includes a CPU 231 and a memory 232.

[0017] Although the programs (processing) executed by the subscription server 130 and the computer 100 are different, their hardware configurations are almost the same. Therefore, the description of the hardware configuration of the subscription server 130 conforms to the description of the hardware configuration of the computer 100, and therefore the description will be omitted here.

[0018] 2C is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printer 120. The printer 120 includes a display unit 241, an operation unit 242, a storage unit 243, a control unit 244, a network communication unit 245, and a printing unit 246. The control unit 244 includes a CPU 251 and a memory 252.

[0019] The display unit 241 is a display device such as an LCD. The operation unit 242 is an input means such as a touch panel, buttons, and switches that accepts operations by the user. The touch panel is superimposed on the display panel of the display device, and the touch panel and the display device work together to function as an operation means that accepts operations by the user. The storage unit 243 is a storage medium such as an HDD or SSD, and various software necessary for the operation of the printer 120 is stored.

[0020] The control unit 244 performs overall control of the printer 120 by the CPU 251 executing a predetermined program stored in the memory 252 and the storage unit 243. The control unit 244 also executes various processes, which will be described later, by the CPU 251 expanding a predetermined software program stored in the storage unit 243 into the memory 252.

[0021] The network communication unit 245 connects to an external network such as the Internet 150 via the local network 140 and inputs and outputs data to and from external devices. The printing unit 246 converts digital data stored in the storage unit 243 or memory 252 into an image and prints it on recording paper (paper) in accordance with instructions from the control unit 244. The printing method is not limited, and may be, for example, an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method.

[0022] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of print-related software of computer 100. The print-related software includes an application 301 and an OS 302. OS 302 includes a GDI 311, a printer driver 312, and a spooler 313. Application 301 refers to any software such as word processing software, spreadsheet software, image editing software, etc., and is assumed to have a print function. By executing the print function of application 301, a user can print information displayed on display unit 201 of computer 100 with printer 120. The print function of application 301 is realized by calling an interface of GDI 311.

[0023] The OS 302 is software that controls the basic operation of the computer 100. The application 301 and the printer driver 312 are managed by the OS 302, and become available by being installed in the OS 302. The GDI 311 is a component that provides an interface related to drawing such as printing to an external device. The printer driver 312 generates drawing data (PDL) that can be interpreted by the printer 120 when printing. The printer driver 312 also executes the display control process of FIG. 4 to display on the display unit 201 a print setting UI for causing the printer 120 to execute printing. The print setting UI is composed of a plurality of tabs for switching between screens, and the print setting UI displays a screen corresponding to the selected tab. The spooler 313 transmits the PDL generated by the printer driver 312 to the printer 120.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the display control process performed by the printer driver 312 of Fig. 3. The display control process of Fig. 4 is realized by the CPU 211 of the computer 100 reading the control program of the printer driver 312 stored in the storage unit 203 into the memory 212 and executing the read control program. The display control process of Fig. 4 is executed when the printer driver 312 receives a display request for the print setting UI of the printer 120 transmitted from the application 301 via the GDI 311.

[0025] 4, CPU 211 generates display information for print setting tabs for switching to a screen for making print settings as an initialization process (S (step) 401). The display information for the print setting tab is information displayed on a screen corresponding to the selected print setting tab. In FIG. 5, as an example, a print setting UI configured with five print setting tabs, namely, basic setting tab 501, page setting tab 502, finishing tab 503, paper feed tab 504, and print quality tab 505, is shown, and a display example when basic setting tab 501 is selected is shown.

[0026] Next, the CPU 211 performs a subscription tab display control process in FIG. 6 (described later) (S402), and generates display information for the subscription tab when the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract. Next, the CPU 211 causes the display unit 201 to display a screen of the tab set as the default tab (S403). For example, when the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract, a print setting UI 800 of the printer 120 in FIG. 8(a) (described later) is displayed on the display unit 201. This print setting UI 800 includes a subscription tab 801 (object) (described later) in addition to print setting tabs such as a basic setting tab 501, a page setting tab 502, a finishing tab 503, a paper feed tab 504, and a print quality tab 505.

[0027] Next, when the CPU 211 receives a user request such as a setting change request or a tab switching request from the user via the print setting UI of the printer 120, the CPU 211 performs processing corresponding to the received user request (S404). Next, the CPU 211 determines whether or not an end request for closing the print setting UI has been received (S405). If it is determined in S405 that an end request has not been received, the display control process returns to S404. If it is determined in S405 that an end request has been received, the display control process proceeds to S406.

[0028] In S406, the CPU 211 confirms the print settings set on each screen of the print setting UI in accordance with the user's selection of the OK button. The CPU 211 returns the confirmed print settings to the application 301 via the GDI 311, and ends this process.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the subscription tab display control process in S402 of FIG.

[0030] 6, the CPU 211 determines whether or not the printer 120 is connected based on the status information of the printer 120 provided by the OS 302 (S601). If it is determined in S601 that the printer 120 is connected, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S602.

[0031] In S602, the CPU 211 issues a command to the printer 120 to check the subscription attributes (S602). Next, the CPU 211 determines whether the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract based on the response to this command (S603). If it is determined in S603 that the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S604.

[0032] In S604, the CPU 211 performs processing to acquire the subscription management information 700 of Fig. 7(a) and the server access information 712 of Fig. 7(b). Specifically, the CPU 211 issues a command to the printer 120 to acquire the subscription management information 700 and the server access information 712, and acquires the subscription management information 700 and the server access information 712 from the printer 120. The CPU 211 also saves the acquired subscription management information 700 and server access information 712 in the storage unit 203. The CPU 211 also records information on the date and time when the subscription management information 700 was acquired. Here, the configurations of the subscription management information 700 and the server access information 712 will be described.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 7A, the subscription management information 700 records information related to the subscription contract, such as the contents of the subscription contract, the number of prints covered by the subscription contract, and information on toner and ink. The subscription management information 700 includes a contract ID 701, a printer ID 702, a contract name 703, a contract plan name 704, a contract period 705, a contract printer model name 706, a counting year and month 707, a print upper limit number of sheets 708, and a printed number of sheets 709. The subscription management information 700 further includes a printable number of sheets 710 and order information 711. The contract ID 701 is information for identifying the contents of the contract for the fixed-rate print service that the user of the printer 120 has contracted for. The printer ID 702 is information for identifying the printer 120 that is the subject of the contract. The contract name 703 indicates the name of the fixed-rate print service that the user of the printer 120 has contracted for. The contract plan name 704 indicates the plan of the fixed-rate print service that the user of the printer 120 has contracted for. The contract period 705 indicates the contract period of the fixed-price print service contracted by the user of the printer 120. The contract printer model name 706 indicates the model name of the printer to be contracted. The target year and month 707 indicates the current year and month. The print limit number 708 indicates the print limit number during the fixed-price period for the fixed-price print service contracted by the user of the printer 120. The printed number 709 indicates the cumulative number of printed sheets during the fixed-price period. The printable number 710 indicates the remaining printable number during the fixed-price period. In this embodiment, the printed number 709 is incremented and the printable number 710 is decremented every time the printer 120 prints. The order information 711 is order information for toner and ink. Note that the configuration of the subscription management information 700 shown in FIG. 7(a) is an example, and the subscription management information 700 does not need to include all of the information described above. For example, subscription management information 700 for a subscription contract in which a print limit is not set may not include print limit 708, etc. Furthermore, subscription management information 700 for a subscription contract that does not include a toner or ink delivery service may not include order information 711, etc.

[0034] 7(b), the server access information 712 records information for accessing the subscription management site managed by the subscription server 130. The server access information 712 is composed of information such as a subscription management site URL 713, which is the URL of the subscription management site, and an access ID / PW 714 for a user to access the subscription management site.

[0035] Returning to FIG. 6, upon completing the processing of S604, CPU 211 generates a subscription tab for switching to a screen displaying information related to the subscription contract (S605). Next, CPU 211 generates display information for the subscription tab (S606). The display information for the subscription tab is information that is displayed on the screen corresponding to the selected subscription tab. By generating the display information for the subscription tab in advance in this manner, when a request for switching to the screen corresponding to the subscription tab is received from the user in step S404 described above, it is possible to instantly display that screen.

[0036] Fig. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a print setting UI 800 configured with multiple tabs including a subscription tab 801. Fig. 8A shows an example of a display when a subscription tab 801 is selected.

[0037] In the screen corresponding to the subscription tab 801, information on the fixed-price print service contract, specifically, information included in the subscription management information 700, is displayed in the contract summary 802, the print status of this month 803, and the toner status 804. For example, the contract name 703, the contract plan name 704, the contract period 705, and the contract printer model name 706 in the subscription management information 700 are displayed in the contract summary 802. In addition, the print status of this month 803 displays the tally target year and month 707, the print limit number 708, the number of printed sheets 709, and the number of printable sheets 710 in the subscription management information 700. By checking the contents of the print status of this month 803, the user can easily grasp the remaining number of printable sheets, and therefore can grasp in advance the automatic change of the contract plan and the occurrence of an overcharge. The toner status 804 displays the order information 711 in the subscription management information 700. Note that FIG. 8(a) shows an example in which the remaining amount information of each toner acquired from the printer 120 is displayed together with the toner delivery status. In this way, by displaying information about the remaining amount of toner and the toner delivery status together, the user can check the remaining amount of toner and the delivery status at the same time, which improves user convenience.

[0038] Furthermore, the screen corresponding to the subscription tab 801 displays an update date and time 805 and a subscription management site link 806. The update date and time 805 is the date and time when the CPU 211 acquired the subscription management information 700 in S604. By checking this update date and time 805, the user can know when the information displayed on the screen corresponding to the subscription tab 801 was created. The subscription management site URL 713 of the server access information 712 is attached to the subscription management site link 806. When the user clicks on the subscription management site link 806, a Web browser is launched on the computer 100, and the user is directed to a subscription management site for performing various procedures such as contract renewal, plan changes, and ordering toner and ink.

[0039] Returning to FIG. 6, when the process of S606 is completed, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S611, which will be described later.

[0040] If it is determined in S601 that the printer 120 is not connected, the CPU 211 determines whether or not subscription management information with a valid contract is stored in the storage unit 203 (S607). For example, if subscription management information 700 in which the year and month indicated by the tally target year and month 707 is within the period indicated by the contract period 705 is not stored in the storage unit 203, it is determined that subscription management information with a valid contract is not stored in the storage unit 203. In this case, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S608, which will be described later. Also, if it is determined in S603 that the printer 120 is not a target printer of the subscription contract, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S608.

[0041] In S608, if the subscription management information 700 and the server access information 712 are stored in the storage unit 203, the CPU 211 deletes them from the storage unit 203. After that, the CPU 211 ends the subscription tab display control process without generating a subscription tab. Thus, in this embodiment, if the subscription contract is not valid, a print setting UI that does not include a subscription tab is displayed on the display unit 201. In other words, the same printer driver 312 can be used when issuing a print instruction to either a target printer or a non-target printer in the subscription contract. This eliminates the need for the user to re-download the printer driver 312 based on whether or not the user has a subscription contract.

[0042] On the other hand, in S607, if subscription management information 700 in which the year and month indicated by the tally target year and month 707 is within the period indicated by the contract period 705 is stored in the storage unit 203, it is determined that subscription management information with a valid contract is stored in the storage unit 203. In this case, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S609.

[0043] In S609, the CPU 211 generates a subscription tab. Next, the CPU 211 generates subscriber display information (S610). Note that since it was determined in S601 that the printer 120 is not connected and the display information of the subscription tab may be old information, in S610, subscriber display information including warning information is generated. This warning information is information for displaying a message such as message 807 in FIG. 8(b) indicating that communication with the printer 120 cannot be performed normally and there is a concern that the displayed information may be old information. Thereafter, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S611.

[0044] In S611, the CPU 211 checks the printable number 710 in the subscription management information 700. If the printable number 710 is equal to or greater than a first threshold, the printable number is determined to be "with room to spare." The first threshold is a predetermined percentage of the print upper limit number 708, for example, 10%. If it is determined that the printable number is "with room to spare," the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0045] When the printable number 710 is less than the first threshold, it is determined that the printable number is "very few remaining". When it is determined that the printable number is "very few remaining", the CPU 211 highlights the subscription tab (S612). FIG. 9(a) is a display example when the basic settings tab 901 is selected in the print setting UI 900. In S612, the CPU 211 displays the background color of the subscription tab 902 in a color different from the background color when the tab is not selected, as shown in FIG. 9(a). Alternatively, the CPU 211 changes the font or character thickness of the subscription tab 902 from when the tab is not selected. In this way, by highlighting the subscription tab when the printable number is "very few remaining", the user can be made aware that there is something that should be checked by selecting the subscription tab. When the process of S612 is completed, the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0046] When the printable number 710 is equal to or less than a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value, it is determined that the printable number is zero. The second threshold value is a predetermined value close to zero. When it is determined that the printable number is zero, the CPU 211 highlights the subscription tab (S613). The CPU 211 also sets the subscription tab as the default tab (S614). As a result, when the print setting UI is opened, the subscription tab 902 is highlighted as shown in FIG. 9B, and a screen corresponding to the subscription tab 902 is displayed. By controlling in this way, the user can know that the printable number is zero when the print setting UI is opened. When the process of S614 is completed, the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0047] According to the embodiment described above, when it is determined that the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract, the print setting UI 800 including the subscription tab 801 for displaying information related to the flat-rate print service contract is displayed on the display unit 201. This allows the user to check information related to the flat-rate print service contract simply by selecting the subscription tab 801 displayed on the print setting UI 800, thereby making it possible to easily check information related to the flat-rate print service contract before printing.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, computer 100 acquires subscription management information 700, which includes information related to the flat-rate print service contract, from printer 120. This makes it possible to easily check the information related to the flat-rate print service contract before printing in a configuration in which the information related to the flat-rate print service contract is managed by printer 120.

[0049] In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that the printer 120 is not connected, information indicating that there is a concern that the information relating to the flat-rate print service contract is outdated is displayed on the display unit 201. This makes it possible to prevent the user from blindly accepting the outdated information relating to the flat-rate print service contract displayed on the display unit 201, resulting in unintended automatic plan changes and excess charges.

[0050] In the embodiment described above, the information on the fixed-rate print service contract includes information on the remaining number of printable sheets based on the fixed-rate print service contract, which allows the user to check the remaining number of printable sheets before printing.

[0051] Although the present invention has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the computer 100 may be configured to acquire the subscription management information 700 from the subscription server 130. In such a configuration, the process of S402 differs from the subscription tab display control process of FIG. 6 described above. The process of S402 in the configuration in which the computer 100 acquires the subscription management information 700 from the subscription server 130 will be described below.

[0052] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing another procedure of the subscription tab display control process of S402 in Fig. 4. The subscription tab display control process in Fig. 10 is similar to the subscription tab display control process in Fig. 6 described above, and the following will particularly explain the contents that differ from the subscription tab display control process in Fig. 6 described above. The subscription tab display control process in Fig. 10 is also realized by the CPU 211 of the computer 100 reading the control program of the printer driver 312 stored in the storage unit 203 into the memory 212 and executing the read control program.

[0053] 10, the CPU 211 determines whether or not the printer 120 is connected, similarly to S601 described above (S1001). If it is determined in S1001 that the printer 120 is connected, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1002, which is the same process as S602 described above, and then proceeds to S1003, which is the same process as S603 described above.

[0054] If it is determined in S1003 that the printer 120 is not a target printer of the subscription contract, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1012, which is the same process as S608 described above. If it is determined in S1003 that the printer 120 is a target printer of the subscription contract, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1004.

[0055] In S1004, the CPU 211 issues a command to the printer 120 to acquire the server access information 712, acquires the server access information 712 from the printer 120, and stores the acquired server access information 712 in the storage unit 203. Next, the CPU 211 uses this server access information 712 to access the subscription server 130, and acquires the subscription management information 700 from the subscription server 130 (S1005). Next, the CPU 211 determines whether or not the acquisition of the subscription management information 700 was successful (S1006).

[0056] If it is determined in S1006 that the subscription management information 700 has been successfully acquired, the CPU 211 stores the acquired subscription management information 700 in the storage unit 203 (S1007). Next, the CPU 211 generates a subscription tab (S1008) similar to the above-mentioned S605, and generates display information for the subscription tab (S1009) similar to the above-mentioned S606. Next, S1015 to S1018, which are the same processes as the above-mentioned S611 to S614, are performed, and the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0057] If it is determined in S1001 that the printer 120 is not connected, the CPU 211 determines whether or not the server access information 712 is stored in the storage unit 203 (S1010). If it is determined in S1010 that the server access information 712 is stored in the storage unit 203, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1005 described above.

[0058] If it is determined in S1010 that the server access information 712 is not stored in the storage unit 203, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1011, which is the same process as S607 described above. Also, if it is determined in S1006 that acquisition of the subscription management information 700 has failed, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1011.

[0059] If it is determined in S1011 that subscription management information with a valid contract is not stored, the subscription tab display control process proceeds to S1012, which is the same process as S608 described above, and then the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0060] If it is determined in S1011 that the subscription management information with a valid contract is stored, the CPU 211 generates a subscription tab (S1013) in the same manner as in S609 described above, and generates display information for the subscription tab (S1014) in the same manner as in S610 described above. Note that it is possible that the display information for the subscription tab is old information because it is determined in S1001 that the printer 120 is not connected, or that acquisition of the subscription management information has failed in S1006. For this reason, in S1010, display information for the subscriber including warning information is generated. For example, if it is determined in S1001 that the printer 120 is not connected, this warning information is information for displaying a message indicating that communication with the printer 120 cannot be performed normally, and therefore there is a concern that the displayed information is old information. Also, if it is determined in S1006 that acquisition of the subscription management information has failed, this warning information is information for displaying a message indicating that communication with the subscription server 130 cannot be performed normally, and therefore there is a concern that the displayed information is old information. Next, steps S1015 to S1018, which are the same processes as steps S611 to S614 described above, are carried out, and the subscription tab display control process ends.

[0061] In this manner, even in a configuration in which the computer 100 acquires the subscription management information 700 from the subscription server 130, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, if it is determined that acquisition of the subscription management information 700 has failed, information indicating that there is a concern that the information relating to the flat-rate print service contract is outdated is displayed on the display unit 201. This makes it possible to prevent an unintended automatic change of plan or the occurrence of excess charges due to a user blindly accepting the outdated information displayed on the display unit 201 in a configuration in which the computer 100 acquires the subscription management information 700 from the subscription server 130.

[0063] In the present embodiment, the server access information 712 is acquired from the printer 120, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the server access information 712 may be acquired by having the user input information for accessing the subscription management site, or the server access information 712 may be acquired directly or indirectly from other client software on the computer 100.

[0064] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0065] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configurations and methods. (Configuration 1) A program that causes an information processing device to execute a process of displaying a print setting UI for causing a printing device to execute printing on a display means of the information processing device, the program comprising: code that causes the information processing device to determine whether the printing device is a printing device whose usage is restricted based on a flat-rate printing service; and code that causes the information processing device to display the print setting UI on the display means of the information processing device when it is determined that the printing device is a printing device whose usage is restricted, the print setting UI including an object for displaying information regarding a contract for the flat-rate printing service. (Configuration 2) The program according to configuration 1, further comprising code for causing the information processing device to obtain information relating to a contract for the fixed-rate print service from the printing device. (Configuration 3) The program described in Configuration 2, further comprising code for causing the information processing device to determine whether or not it is connected to the printing device, and code for causing a display means of the information processing device to display information indicating that there is a concern that information regarding the flat-rate printing service contract is outdated if it is determined that it is not connected to the printing device. (Configuration 4) The program according to configuration 1, further comprising code for causing the information processing device to obtain information relating to a contract for the fixed-rate print service from a server that manages the fixed-rate print service. (Configuration 5) The program described in Configuration 4, further comprising code for causing the information processing device to determine whether acquisition of information regarding the flat-rate print service contract was successful or not, and code for causing a display means of the information processing device to display information indicating that there is a concern that the information regarding the flat-rate print service contract is outdated if it is determined that acquisition of the information regarding the flat-rate print service contract was unsuccessful. (Configuration 6) The program described in any one of configurations 1 to 5, further comprising code for displaying, on a display means of the information processing device, the print setting UI that does not include an object for displaying information regarding the flat-rate print service contract when it is determined that the printing device is not a printing device whose usage is restricted. (Configuration 7) The program according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the information relating to the contract for the fixed-rate print service includes information on the number of remaining printable sheets based on the contract for the fixed-rate print service. (Configuration 8) The program according to configuration 7, further comprising code for highlighting the object when the remaining number of printable sheets based on a contract for the fixed-rate print service is less than a first threshold value. (Configuration 9) The program described in Configuration 8, further comprising code for, when a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value is set and the remaining number of printable sheets is smaller than the second threshold value, preferentially displaying information relating to the contract for the flat-rate printing service when displaying the print setting UI. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 100 Computers 120 Printer 130 Subscription Server 201 Display section 204 Control section 211 CPU 312 Printer Driver 700 Subscription Management Information 801 Subscriptions 902 Subscription Tabs

Claims

1. A printer driver, In the information processing device in which the printer driver is installed, A printer driver that displays a print setting screen for accepting print settings for printing by a printing device, and information about a fixed-price print service in the printing device.

2. The information processing device includes:

2. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein information about the fixed-price print service is acquired from the printing device.

3. The information processing device, determining whether or not the printer is connected; The printer driver according to claim 2, characterized in that, when it is determined that the printing device is not connected, information indicating that there is a concern that information regarding the flat-rate printing service may be outdated is displayed.

4. The information processing device includes:

2. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the information about the fixed-price print service is acquired from a server that manages the fixed-price print service.

5. The information processing device, determining whether or not the acquisition of information about the fixed-price print service has been successful; The printer driver according to claim 4, characterized in that, if it is determined that acquisition of information regarding the flat-rate print service has failed, information indicating that there is a concern that the information regarding the flat-rate print service is outdated is displayed.

6. 2. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein if the printing device is not a printing device whose use is restricted, information about the fixed-rate printing service is not displayed on the information processing device.

7. 2. The printer driver according to claim 1, wherein the information about the fixed-price print service includes information about the remaining number of printable sheets based on a contract for the fixed-price print service.

8. The printer driver as described in Claim 7, characterized in that an object for displaying information about a flat-rate print service in the printing device is displayed on the print settings screen.

9. The information processing device, 9. The printer driver according to claim 8, wherein the object is highlighted when the remaining number of printable sheets based on the fixed-rate print service contract is less than a predetermined threshold.

10. An information processing device, 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a print setting screen for accepting print settings for printing by a printing device; and a display means for displaying information about a fixed-price print service on the printing device by executing a printer driver.

11. A control method for an information processing device, comprising: A control method for an information processing device, characterized by having a display step of displaying, on a display unit by executing a printer driver, a print setting screen for accepting print settings for printing by a printing device and information regarding a flat-rate print service in the printing device.

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