Portable device, program, and method of producing printed matter

Abstract

To prevent a printing system from being fraudulently used for obtaining a printed matter without payment.SOLUTION: A portable device includes: an identification information acquisition unit which acquires identification information of a printer that faces a user and outputs a printed matter; a storage unit which stores printing permission information acquired from a printing management server, the printing permission information indicating whether printing through the printer has been permitted or not; a notification unit which notifies a user about printing unavailable when the printing permission information indicates non-permission of printing; and a printing processing unit which causes the printer to print printing data when the printing permission information indicates permission of printing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile device, a program and a method for producing printed material. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known services that allow users to pay a printing fee to have a printer output printed materials while they are away from home. For example, there is a known printing service that charges a printing fee in advance and allows users with remaining balances to output printed materials using a printer. Patent Document 1 also discloses a cloud computing system that allows users to print using a printer by sending an email to an email address associated with the printer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-159915 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, in a printing service where printed materials are output in exchange for payment of a printing fee, it is necessary to prevent fraudulent use, such as obtaining printed materials without paying for the printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention is a portable device comprising: an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a printing device that a user faces and that outputs a printed material; a memory unit that stores print permission information acquired from a print management server, the print permission information indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted; a notification unit that notifies the user that printing is not permitted when the print permission information indicates that printing is not permitted; and a print processing unit that causes the printing device to print print data when the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a portable device to obtain identification information of a printing device that a user faces and that outputs a printed material, obtains print permission information from a print management server indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted, notifies the user that printing is not permitted if the print permission information indicates that printing is not permitted, and causes the printing device to print print data if the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing printed matter, comprising: an identification information acquisition step in which a portable device acquires identification information of a printing device that a user faces and that outputs a printed matter; a first transmission step in which the portable device transmits the identification information to a printing control server; a second transmission step in which the portable device receives print permission / denial information indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted or not in response to the first transmission step; a notification step in which, if the print permission / denial information indicates that printing is not permitted, the user is notified that printing is not permitted; and a printing step in which, if the print permission / denial information indicates that printing is permitted, the printing device prints print data. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a print log. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a printing system. [Figure 4]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a portable device. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a print production process. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a print production process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system 1 according to this embodiment. In the printing system 1, a user transfers print data that the user wishes to print from a user PC 10 owned by the user to a portable device 20. The user then specifies a desired printer 30 from the portable device 20 and obtains a printed copy of the print data from the printer 30.

[0010] The printer 30 may be installed in the office of the company to which the user belongs, in the user's home, or in a shared office. A shared printer 30 that does not have a fixed user, such as a printer 30 in a shared office, can be used by paying a printing fee. The user is charged in advance and pays the printing fee as the printed materials are obtained.

[0011] The printing fee paid by the user is collected by the provider company that provides the shared printer 30. A portion of the collected printing fee is then paid as a management fee to the owner of the shared printer 30. The owner performs maintenance on the shared printer 30, such as supplying printing paper and ink.

[0012] Furthermore, when using multiple printers 30 in this way, the user may bear the printing costs at once and bill the company to which the user belongs. In this case, in order to prove which printed materials the printing costs are being billed for, the user can have the printer 30 output, via the mobile device 20, a printing log indicating the printed materials for which the costs are being billed.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a print log. The print log shows the printing period, the number of normal prints, and the number of paid prints. Here, paid prints are prints performed by a printer 30, such as a shared printer 30, where printing is performed in exchange for a user paying a printing fee. Normal prints are prints other than paid prints. Normal prints are, for example, prints performed by a printer 30 at home or a printer 30 at the user's company. The print log shows the number of printed pages for both paid prints and normal prints.

[0014] Furthermore, the print log includes a list of thumbnails of each printed item. This allows the payment manager, who manages the payment of fees to the user, to confirm whether the printed items for which expenses are being billed are related to the work of the affiliated company. The print log is output as a voucher in a predetermined format. The format is set, for example, by the affiliated company. In this way, the print log indicates the number of printed items and the print contents. It is sufficient for the print log to include at least one of the number of printed items and the print contents.

[0015] The print contents, i.e., thumbnails of printed materials, may also be displayed so that printed materials that are chargeable printing and printed materials that are regular printing can be distinguished from each other. For example, the print area of printed materials that are chargeable printing and the print area of printed materials that are regular printing may be separated. As another example, each thumbnail may be given an icon indicating whether it is chargeable printing or regular printing.

[0016] 3 is an overall configuration diagram of the printing system 1. The printing system 1 includes a user PC 10, a portable device 20, a printer 30, a print management server 40, an application management server 50, a destination management server 60, and a transfer server 70. The user PC 10, the portable device 20, the printer 30, the print management server 40, the application management server 50, the destination management server 60, and the transfer server 70 are connected to each other via a network so that they can communicate with each other.

[0017] The user PC 10 is an information processing device used by a user. The user PC 10 generates print data for causing the printer 30 to print a print target, such as text or an image, specified by the user.

[0018] The portable device 20 is a portable information processing device used by a user. Examples of the portable device 20 include a smartphone and a tablet terminal. The portable device 20 receives print data from the user PC 10 and transmits the print data to the printer 30 via the transfer server 70, causing the printer 30 to print the print data.

[0019] The printer 30 is an example of a printing device. The printer 30 can perform monochrome printing or color printing based on print data generated by the user PC 10.

[0020] The print management server 40 manages printing by the printer 30. The print management server 40 stores a printer table 41. The printer table 41 associates a user ID, which uniquely identifies at least one of the user and the portable device 20, with the printer ID of the printer the user is authorized to use. The user ID is, for example, information that identifies the user, and a user ID is assigned to each user. As another example, information that identifies the portable device 20 used by the user may be used as the user ID. Alternatively, the user ID may be information that identifies the combination of the user and the portable device 20. Examples of printers that a user is authorized to use include printers at the user's company, shared printers, and home printers. Note that authorized printers can be set and changed as appropriate by an administrator, etc. If a single user uses multiple portable devices and printing is to be performed identically regardless of which portable device is used, a user ID that uniquely identifies the user can be used. If a single portable device is used by multiple users and printing is to be performed identically regardless of which portable device is used, a user ID that uniquely identifies the portable device can be used.

[0021] The application management server 50 manages a print application (print app) that allows the mobile device 20 to use the print service provided by the printing system 1. Here, the print app is an example of a print management program. The application management server 50 also functions as a billing server that manages billing related to printing. The application management server 50 also functions as an authentication server that authenticates the print app and the user. The application management server 50 is a server that performs billing and authentication in the application store of the OS of the mobile device 20. Here, the print app is an example of a print management program that manages printing.

[0022] The application management server 50 stores a user table 51. In the user table 51, the user ID of a user who has installed a printing application, i.e., a registered user, is associated with the user's remaining balance. The application management server 50 also performs a process of paying a portion of the amount collected as the printing fee to the owner of the shared printer 30 as a management fee. In other words, the application management server 50 also functions as a distribution server.

[0023] The destination management server 60 notifies the mobile device 20 of destination information that specifies the printer 30. When notifying the destination information, the destination management server 60 confirms whether the user of the mobile device 20 and the printing app installed on the mobile device 20 are registered in the app management server 50.

[0024] The destination management server 60 stores a destination table 61. In the destination table 61, a printer ID that uniquely identifies the printer 30 is associated with destination information that is specified as the destination when sending print data to the printer 30. The printer ID is information that includes randomly assigned characters and symbols, such as "4q3%v85...", and even if a user identifies the printer ID, they cannot send print data to the printer 30 unless they obtain the destination information. The transfer server 70 obtains the print data and destination information from the portable device 20 and transfers the print data to the printer 30.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the portable device 20. The portable device 20 includes a processor 110, a nonvolatile memory 120, a display unit 130, an operation unit 140, a communication unit 150, and an image capture unit 160. The processor 110 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and can execute programs stored in the ROM or the nonvolatile memory 120 to control each unit of the portable device 20. The portable device 20 stores the above-mentioned print application as such a program. The processor 110 may be configured as a single chip or as multiple chips. For example, an ASIC may be used instead of the CPU, or a configuration in which the CPU and the ASIC work together may be used. The nonvolatile memory 120 stores programs, data, etc. executed by the processor 110.

[0026] The display unit 130 displays various information. The operation unit 140 accepts user operations. The operation unit 140 may be provided integrally with the display unit 130 as a touch panel. The communication unit 150 is one or more antennas that perform wireless communication with an external device. The communication unit 150 may also be a cable connector that performs wired communication with an external device. Antennas and cable connectors are also called communication interfaces. The imaging unit 160 captures images.

[0027] As described above, the portable device 20 of this embodiment can acquire print data from the user PC 10 and transfer it to the printer 30. As a functional configuration for this purpose, the processor 110 includes a print data acquisition unit 111, an accounting processing unit 112, a printer ID acquisition unit 113, a destination information acquisition unit 114, a print processing unit 115, a print log processing unit 116, and a notification unit 117.

[0028] The functions of the print data acquisition unit 111, accounting processing unit 112, printer ID acquisition unit 113, destination information acquisition unit 114, print processing unit 115, print log processing unit 116, and notification unit 117 are realized by the processor 110 reading and executing programs stored in the non-volatile memory 120. In other words, below, the processes described as being executed by the print data acquisition unit 111, accounting processing unit 112, printer ID acquisition unit 113, destination information acquisition unit 114, print processing unit 115, print log processing unit 116, and notification unit 117 are actually processes executed by the processor 110.

[0029] The print data acquisition unit 111 acquires print data from the user PC 10 via the communication unit 150. The billing processing unit 112 performs billing processing, which is processing related to billing, in cooperation with the application management server 50. Here, the billing processing includes processing for charging the application management server 50 in response to payment of money, i.e., processing for increasing the billing amount, and processing for reducing the billing amount in the application management server 50 by collecting the printing fee.

[0030] The printer ID acquisition unit 113 acquires the printer ID from the printer 30. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a two-dimensional code indicating the printer ID of the printer 30 is displayed on the housing of the shared printer 30. The user photographs this two-dimensional code using the photographing unit 160 of the portable device 20. The printer ID acquisition unit 113 acquires the printer ID based on this photographed image. The printer ID acquisition unit 113 is an example of an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of the printer.

[0031] The destination information acquisition unit 114 acquires destination information associated with the printer ID from the destination management server 60. The print processing unit 115 performs processing related to printing of print data by the printer 30. The print log processing unit 116 performs processing to output a print log such as that shown in FIG. 2. The print log processing unit 116 acquires attributes of the printer 30 that output the printed material from the print management server 40. Here, the attributes indicate either chargeable printing, in which the user must pay a printing fee, or normal printing. The print log processing unit 116 references the attributes, creates a print log, and outputs it. The notification unit 117 notifies the user of an error if printing using the print data cannot be performed. The processing of each unit will be described in detail below. The attributes may be any information that indicates the printer 30, such as company, home, or shared.

[0032] 5, an outline of the print production process for a user to obtain a print using the desired printer 30 will be described. When a user wants to print using a printer 30 that requires payment for printing, the user first sends print data from the user PC 10 to the mobile device 20 (1). Next, the mobile device 20 checks the user's remaining balance with the application management server 50 (2).

[0033] If the remaining billing balance is greater than the printing fee, the portable device 20 acquires a printer ID that identifies the desired printer 30 (3). Next, the portable device 20 specifies the printer ID to the print management server 40 and checks whether the desired printer 30 is a printer that the user is authorized to use (4).

[0034] The print management server 40 references the printer table 41 and checks whether the printer ID is associated with the user's user ID. The print management server 40 then requests authentication to determine whether the printing application and user of the portable device 20 are registered in the application management server 50. If the print management server 40 is permitted to use the desired printer 30 and has successfully authenticated the printing application and user, it sends print permission / denial information indicating that printing is permitted to the portable device 20. If the print management server 40 is not permitted to use the desired printer 30, or if authentication of at least one of the printing application and the user has not been successful, it sends print permission / denial information indicating that printing is not permitted to the portable device 20 (5).

[0035] When the portable device 20 receives the print permission / denial information, it requests destination information from the destination management server 60 (6). The destination management server 60 requests the application management server 50 to authenticate the print application and user of the portable device 20. If the authentication is successful, the destination management server 60 refers to the destination table 61 and sends the destination information associated with the printer ID to the portable device 20.

[0036] Next, the portable device 20 sends the destination information and print data to the transfer server 70 (7). The transfer server 70 sends the print data to the printer 30 indicated in the destination information (8). The printer 30 then prints the print data to obtain a printed product (9).

[0037] Furthermore, print data corresponding to the printed matter or a thumbnail of the print data is stored in the portable device 20. Then, in response to an operation from the user, the portable device 20 outputs a print log to an external device. If this external device is a printer 30, it prints out the print log.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the print production process. Each step in the print production process will be described with reference to FIG. 6. First, the print data acquisition unit 111 of the portable device 20 receives print data from the user PC 10 (step S100). Next, the billing processing unit 112 of the portable device 20 sends a billing balance request to the application management server 50 (step S102). Here, the billing balance request includes the user ID. The application management server 50 refers to the user table 51, identifies the billing balance associated with the user ID indicated in the billing balance request, and returns this to the portable device 20 (step S104).

[0039] When the charging processor 112 of the portable device 20 receives the remaining charge, it compares the remaining charge with the printing fee. In the portable device 20, amount data indicating the amount corresponding to the print settings of the printer 30, such as color printing or monochrome printing, is pre-stored in a storage unit such as the non-volatile memory 120. Then, the charging processor 112 of the portable device 20 calculates the printing fee required to print the print data based on the amount data.

[0040] If the remaining charge is less than the printing fee, the charging processing unit 112 of the portable device 20 determines that there is no remaining charge (N in step S106). In this case, the notification unit 117 of the portable device 20 outputs an error notification (step S142) and ends the process. The error notification is information that notifies the user that printing is not possible. The error notification is displayed as text information on the display unit 130, for example. As another example, the fact that printing is not possible may be output as audio using a speaker provided in the portable device 20 or a speaker separate from the portable device 20.

[0041] If the remaining charge is greater than the printing fee, the billing processing unit 112 of the portable device 20 determines that there is a remaining charge (Y in step S106). In this case, the printer ID acquisition unit 113 of the portable device 20 acquires the printer ID and temporarily stores it in RAM (step S108). Specifically, the printer ID acquisition unit 113 displays a message on the display unit 130 such as "Please read the printer's two-dimensional code." Then, when the two-dimensional code is photographed by the photographing unit 160 in response to a user operation, the printer ID is acquired by analyzing the photographed image. In this way, the printer ID acquisition unit 113 acquires the printer ID photographed by the photographing unit 160.

[0042] As another example, the portable device 20 and printer 30 may be configured to enable short-range direct wireless communication without using a relay, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi Direct. In this case, the printer 30 stores a printer ID, and the printer ID acquisition unit 113 of the portable device 20 may acquire the printer ID from the printer 30 via direct wireless communication.

[0043] In any case, when a user is located opposite the printer 30 and wishes to output a printed document from the printer 30 in front of the user, the printer ID acquisition unit 113 acquires the printer ID of the printer 30.

[0044] Next, the print processing unit 115 of the portable device 20 sends a print request to the print management server 40 (step S110). Here, the print request includes the printer ID, the user ID, and a token indicating that the print application has been authenticated. The user ID and token are issued by the application management server 50. The user ID and token are examples of authentication information for authenticating the user and the print application.

[0045] When the print management server 40 receives the print request, it sends an authentication request to the application management server 50 (step S112). The authentication request is information requesting authentication as to whether the print application and user are registered in the application management server 50. The authentication request includes the user ID and token included in the print request.

[0046] When the application management server 50 receives the authentication request, it confirms that the token was issued by the application management server 50 and that the user ID is registered in the user table 51. If the application management server 50 confirms these, it determines that the authentication is successful. If the application management server 50 cannot confirm at least one of the print application and the user, it determines that the authentication is unsuccessful. The application management server 50 transmits an authentication result indicating either authentication success or authentication failure to the print management server 40 (step S114).

[0047] Next, the print management server 40 references the printer table 41 to check whether the user is permitted to use the printer 30 identified by the printer ID, i.e., the desired printer 30 (step S116). Specifically, the print management server 40 references the printer table 41, and if the user ID and printer ID included in the print request are associated, it determines that the user is permitted to use the desired printer 30.

[0048] The order of the authentication request transmission process (step S112) and the printer confirmation process (step S116) is not limited to that described in the embodiment. The authentication request transmission process (step S112) and the printer confirmation process (step S116) may be executed in parallel, or the printer confirmation process (step S116) may be executed before the authentication request transmission process (step S112).

[0049] The print management server 40 determines that printing is permitted if it receives an authentication result indicating successful authentication from the application management server 50 and if use of the desired printer 30 is permitted. The print management server 40 determines that printing is not permitted if it does not receive an authentication result indicating successful authentication from the application management server 50, or if use of the desired printer 30 is not permitted. The print management server 40 then sends print permission / denial information indicating either print permission or print denial to the mobile device 20 (step S118).

[0050] When the print processing unit 115 of the portable device 20 receives the print permission / prohibition information, it temporarily stores it in a storage unit such as RAM. If the print permission / prohibition information indicates that printing is not permitted (N in step S120), the notification unit 117 notifies the user of an error that printing is not permitted (step S142), and the process ends.

[0051] On the other hand, if the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted (Y in step S120), the destination information acquisition unit 114 sends a destination request to the destination management server 60 (step S122). The destination request includes a printer ID, a user ID, and a token. The destination management server 60 returns destination information if authentication of the print application and user is successful. Therefore, the destination management server 60 first sends an authentication request to the application management server 50 (step S124). The authentication request includes the user ID and a token.

[0052] When the application management server 50 receives the authentication request, it confirms that the token was issued by the application management server 50 and that the user ID is registered in the user table 51. Then, the application management server 50 transmits an authentication result indicating whether the authentication was successful or unsuccessful to the print management server 40 (step S126). This process is the same as the process in step S114.

[0053] When the destination management server 60 receives the authentication result, it sends a destination response to the portable device 20 (step S128). Specifically, when the destination management server 60 receives an authentication result indicating successful authentication, it references the destination table 61, identifies the destination information associated with the printer ID indicated in the destination request, and sends a destination response including the destination information to the portable device 20. On the other hand, when the destination management server 60 receives an authentication result indicating unsuccessful authentication, it sends a destination response to the portable device 20 that does not include the destination information and indicates authentication failure. In this way, the destination information is sent from the destination management server when the destination management server 60 receives an authentication result indicating successful authentication of the printing app and user.

[0054] When the destination information acquisition unit 114 of the portable device 20 acquires the destination response, it checks whether or not the destination information has been acquired. If the destination response does not include the destination information (N in step S130), the destination information acquisition unit 114 proceeds to step S142. In this case, the notification unit 117 of the portable device 20 issues an error notification (step S142) and ends the process.

[0055] If the destination response includes destination information (Y in step S130), the destination information acquisition unit 114 of the portable device 20 acquires the destination information and temporarily stores it in a storage unit such as RAM. Then, the print processing unit 115 of the portable device 20 sends the print data to the destination indicated in the destination information (step S132). Specifically, the print processing unit 115 sends the destination information and print data to the transfer server 70. After sending the destination information and print data, the print processing unit 115 deletes the printer ID and destination information stored in RAM or the like.

[0056] The transfer server 70 then sends the print data to the destination indicated in the destination information (step S134). The printer 30 desired by the user receives the print data and prints it according to the print data, resulting in a printed product (step S136).

[0057] After sending the print data in step S132, the billing processor 112 of the portable device 20 further sends a print notification to the application management server 50 indicating that printing has been performed (step S138). The print notification indicates the printing fee for printing by the printer 30. The printing fee is calculated by the billing processor 112 based on amount data indicating the correspondence between print settings such as color or monochrome and the amount. Upon receiving the print notification, the application management server 50 updates the print balance by subtracting the printing fee from the billing balance associated with the user's user ID (step S140). Note that the processing by the billing processor 112 is an example of billing processing in which the printing fee is paid based on the print result.

[0058] It should be noted that the entity that transmits the printing fee to the application management server 50 is not limited to the mobile device 20. For example, the printer 30 may transmit the printing fee to the application management server 50. In this case, the printer 30 receives the print data along with the user ID. Then, when the printer 30 performs printing, it transmits the user ID and the printing fee to the application management server 50. In this case, the printing fee per page for color and monochrome is preset in the printer 30, and the printer 30 calculates the printing fee according to the printed matter.

[0059] As described above, in the printing system 1 of this embodiment, when the printing app and user are authenticated, the destination information of the printer 30 is notified to the mobile device 20. This prevents fraudulent use of the printing system 1, such as obtaining printed materials without paying for the printing. Furthermore, when the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted, the print data can be printed on the printer 30 that the user wishes to use. This makes it possible to limit the printers that the user can use. Furthermore, when the print production process is complete, the mobile device 20 deletes the destination information from its storage unit. This prevents information about the printer 30 from being leaked to third parties.

[0060] Furthermore, if the remaining billing balance is less than the printing fee, i.e., if there is no remaining billing balance for printing, the processing from step S108 onwards is not performed. In other words, in this case, the destination information acquisition unit 114 prohibits the sending of authentication information including the user ID and token to the destination management server 60. In addition, in this case, the print processing unit 115 is also prohibited from sending print data to the printer 30 via the transfer server 70. This makes it possible to prevent printing from being performed without being charged.

[0061] Furthermore, the destination information for the printer 30 is known only to the destination management server 60, and in order to obtain the destination information from the destination management server 60, authentication of both the user and the printing app must be successful. This prevents a user using an unauthorized printing app or a user not registered in the app management server 50 from using a printing app to output a printed document. Furthermore, a printed document will not be output if it is not confirmed that the remaining balance is equal to or exceeds the printing fee, preventing printing without paying the printing fee.

[0062] As described above, in the printing system 1 of this embodiment, when the printing app and user are authenticated, the destination information of the printer 30 is notified to the mobile device 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fraudulent use of the printing system 1, such as obtaining printed materials without paying for them.

[0063] The above-described embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted.

[0064] In such a first modified example, the user's balance may be confirmed via the destination management server 60. Specifically, the billing processing unit 112 may request the destination management server 60 to have the application management server 50 inquire about the user's billing balance. In this case, when the destination management server 60 receives a destination request, it not only authenticates the print application and the user, but also requests the application management server 50 to confirm the user's balance. Then, the destination management server 60 obtains the user's billing balance from the application management server 50 and sends it to the mobile device 20.

[0065] As a second variation, the print log processor 116 may generate and output separate print logs for charge printing and normal printing, allowing the payment manager to check only the information necessary for payment.

[0066] As a third variation, some printers may be assigned a no-log attribute by the print management server 40. In this case, the print log processing unit 116 may not output print logs for printers that have a no-log attribute. This prevents the amount of data stored in the non-volatile memory 120 from becoming too large. For example, it is conceivable to assign a no-log attribute to printers that perform normal printing.

[0067] As a fourth variation, the print data may be sent to the print management server 40 together with the printer ID, and then sent from the print management server 40 to the printer 30 via the transfer server 70. In this case, the print management server 40 can receive the print data together with the user ID from the mobile device 20, and store the print data in the non-volatile memory 120 as a print log in association with the user ID.

[0068] As a fifth modification, the print log processor 116 may transmit the generated print log to the application management server 50, which functions as a distribution server. This allows the owner to check the printed matter for which charges are due.

[0069] As a sixth modification, the print data may be sent directly from the portable device 20 to the printer 30 without going through the transfer server 70.

[0070] As a seventh modification, the print management server 40, the application management server 50, the destination management server 60, and the transfer server 70 may be provided as an integrated unit, or the functions of one of these servers may be provided by another server. In this way, the functions of these servers may be realized by any of the servers provided in the print system 1, and the functions of each server are not limited to those in the embodiment.

[0071] As an eighth variation, the communication unit may communicate with the user PC, print management server, application management server, destination management server, and transfer server using different communication interfaces and different communication protocols, or may communicate with some or all of these using the same communication interface and the same communication protocol.

[0072] The above-described embodiment is an example of how the present invention can be implemented, and various other embodiments are possible. For example, various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as defined in the claims, such as applying a modified version of one embodiment to another embodiment.

[0073] Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied as a program or method executed by a computer. It can be realized as a single device as described above, or it can be realized using components included in multiple devices, and it encompasses various aspects. It can also be modified as appropriate, such as being partly software and partly hardware. Furthermore, the invention can also be implemented as a recording medium for a program that controls a system. Of course, the recording medium for the program can be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and any recording medium developed in the future can be considered in exactly the same way. It is also conceivable to apply the present invention as a printer driver or application that executes part or all of the above-described flowchart. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1...printing system, 10...user PC, 20...mobile device, 30...printer, 40...printing management server, 41...printer table, 50...application management server, 51...user table, 60...destination management server, 61...destination table, 70...transfer server, 110...processor, 111...print data acquisition unit, 112...accounting processing unit, 113...printer ID acquisition unit, 14...destination information acquisition unit, 115...print processing unit, 116...print log processing unit, 117...notification unit, 120...non-volatile memory, 130...display unit, 140...operation unit, 150...communication unit, 160...photographing unit

Claims

1. an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a printing device that a user faces and that outputs a printed matter; a storage unit that stores print permission information indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted or not, the print permission information being acquired from a print management server; a notification unit that notifies the user that printing is not permitted when the print permission information indicates that printing is not permitted; a print processing unit that causes the printing device to print the print data when the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted; A portable device comprising:

2. The mobile device according to claim 1 , further comprising a print log processing unit that, when the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted, acquires attributes of the printing device from the print management server and outputs a print log for each attribute.

3. The portable device according to claim 2 , wherein the print log processing unit does not output the print log for the printing device that indicates an attribute that does not require a log.

4. The portable device according to claim 2 , wherein the print log includes at least one of the number of prints and the print contents.

5. The portable device according to claim 2 , wherein the print log processing unit outputs the print log as a certificate in a predetermined format.

6. a destination information acquisition unit that acquires destination information of the printing device corresponding to the identification information when the print permission / denial information indicates that printing is permitted; The portable device according to claim 1 , wherein the print processing unit transmits the print data to a destination indicated in the destination information.

7. The mobile device according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquisition unit acquires the identification information captured by a photographing unit.

8. The mobile device according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquisition unit acquires the identification information through direct wireless communication.

9. On the mobile device, Acquire identification information of a printing device that the user faces and that outputs a printed matter; obtaining print permission information indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted from a print management server; If the print permission information indicates that printing is not permitted, the user is notified that printing is not permitted; If the printing permission information indicates that printing is permitted, the printing device is caused to print the print data. program.

10. an identification information acquisition step in which the portable device acquires identification information of a printing device that the user faces and that outputs a printed material; a first sending step in which the portable device sends the identification information to a print control server; a second transmission step in which the portable device receives print permission / denial information indicating whether printing using the printing device is permitted or not as a response to the first transmission step; a notification step of notifying the user that printing is not permitted when the print permission information indicates that printing is not permitted; a printing step in which the printing device prints the print data if the print permission information indicates that printing is permitted; A method for producing printed matter, comprising:

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