Printing system and control method

Abstract

To improve the convenience of printing via a cloud print service.SOLUTION: A server that provides a cloud print service acquires attribute information indicating a printing capability of a printing apparatus when registering the printing apparatus as an output destination printer of the cloud print service. The server registers output destination printer information by associating the acquired attribute information with information indicating an output destination. Here, even if an attribute that is not supported by the cloud print service is included in the attribute information of the printing apparatus acquired when performing the registration processing, the server registers the attribute information as output destination printer information without discarding the attribute information. When receiving a request for acquiring the capability information of the output destination printer, the server transmits the capability information of the output destination printer corresponding to the request to a request source on the basis of the registered attribute information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system and a control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, cloud print services, which allow print jobs to be submitted via the cloud and sent to printing devices, have become popular (see Patent Document 1). In such printing systems, an administrator first registers a printing device with the cloud print service to which the administrator belongs. Furthermore, cloud print services provided by IT vendors and others are expected to support a variety of printing devices for user convenience. Such cloud print services acquire capability information defined by general-purpose printing technologies such as IPP from registered printing devices and manage the capabilities of the printing devices.

[0003] Next, the administrator sets which users are permitted to use the printing device. A permitted user accesses the cloud print service from a client terminal such as a PC and selects a printing device to use for printing from the printing devices registered with the cloud print service. The cloud print service then notifies the client terminal of the capability information of the printing device. At this time, capability information that is not supported by the print client on the client terminal is ignored.

[0004] The client terminal manages the capability information of the destination printer based on the notified capability information. When a user operation to change the print settings is performed, the client terminal generates and displays a print setting screen based on the managed capability information. This allows the user to configure print settings on the client terminal according to the capabilities of the printing device. Next, when a printing instruction is issued by the user of the information processing device, the information processing device sends the print data to the cloud print service. The cloud print service saves the received print job in storage. The printing device retrieves the print job saved in the cloud print service and prints it. Printing via the cloud is performed through this series of processes.

[0005] Examples of cloud print services include Google Cloud Print (registered trademark), Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Print (registered trademark), and Uniflow Online (registered trademark). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-133489 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In recent years, organizations and companies are increasingly using client terminals from multiple OS vendors (e.g., Windows® OS, macOS® OS, Chrome® OS, etc.). The capabilities supported by a print client may differ depending on the type of client terminal. For example, print clients for OSs with a high market share are updated frequently, improving their client support capabilities, while print clients for OSs with a low market share are updated less frequently and may have lower support capabilities. Furthermore, for example, print clients for client terminals with little need for complex print settings, such as mobile devices, may be intentionally configured with fewer support capabilities to allow users to intuitively configure settings.

[0008] As mentioned above, it is generally known that when the capability information of a printing device is acquired, any unsupported capability information is discarded. Therefore, if the registration process is simply performed when registering a printing device with a cloud print service (hereinafter also referred to as CPS), the printer will be registered while discarding any capability information that the CPS does not support.

[0009] Furthermore, print clients may be improved through version updates and other means, and may add support for additional print attributes that were not previously supported. However, if capabilities not supported by the CPS are discarded and registered when a printer is registered with the CPS, problems may arise, such as being unable to set print settings corresponding to those print attributes, even though those print attributes are supported by both the printing device and the updated client. It may also be possible to perform update tasks such as expanding the print attributes supported by the CPS and re-registering the printing device on the CPS every time a print client adds a print attribute to its support, but this would require excessive effort from administrators and is therefore unrealistic. Another option is to use a print extension application to extend the print settings provided by the print client, allowing items other than the standard items to be set. However, even in such cases, if unsupported attributes on the CPS are discarded, problems may arise, such as being unable to obtain non-standard items from the CPS.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of at least one of the above-mentioned problems. One aspect of the present invention aims to enable, when registering a printing device with a cloud print service, to register capability information that is not supported by the service, so that the capabilities of the printing device can be properly notified to a client. Another aspect of the present invention aims to improve the convenience of printing via a cloud print service. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve at least one of the above objects, the system of the present invention is a printing system including a client terminal, a printing device, and a server system, and includes: a receiving means for receiving, from the printing device, information on a first attribute defined in an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) standard and information on a second attribute not defined in the IPP standard using an IPP operation; and a sending means for sending the information on the first attribute and the information on the second attribute to the client terminal using an IPP operation different from the IPP operation; A printing system characterized in that, when the server system receives first print setting information based on information of the first attribute and second print setting information based on information of the second attribute from the client terminal, it provides the first print setting information and the second print setting information to the printing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, when registering a printing device with a cloud print service, capability information not supported by the service can be registered as capability information of the printing device, thereby enabling the capability of the printing device to be properly notified to a client. Also, according to one aspect of the present invention, the convenience of printing via the cloud print service can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a printing system. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of a conventional cloud print service. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen of a conventional cloud print service. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating differences in supported printing capabilities. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a server and a client terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a printer registration process and a printing process. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of a print setting screen displayed on an operation unit of a client terminal. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of registration control executed by the printing apparatus 101. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of registration control executed by the CPS 102. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control executed by a client terminal. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of print job reception and transfer control executed by the CPS 102. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of print control executed by the printing apparatus 101. [Figure 14] 10 is an example of a transmission / reception packet indicating a request for and a response to capability information. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of printer registration processing and print setting extension in the second embodiment. [Figure 16] 10 is an example of a print setting screen displayed by a print extension application in the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of attribute information corresponding to a print job. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of control executed by a client terminal in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The following describes embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0015] First Embodiment First, the configuration of a printing system according to the present invention will be described using FIG. 1. The printing system according to this embodiment includes a printing device 101, client terminals 103-105, and a cloud print service (hereinafter also referred to as CPS) 102. The printing device 101 communicates with the CPS 102 on the Internet via a network 100. The network 100 may be configured by combining, for example, a communication network such as a LAN or WAN, a cellular network (e.g., LTE or 5G), or a wireless network conforming to IEEE802.11. In other words, the network 100 may employ any communication method at the physical layer as long as it is capable of sending and receiving data. The client terminals 103-105 also communicate with the CPS 102 on the Internet via the communication network or cellular network.

[0016] The printing device 101 has a scanning function that transmits data based on an image obtained by scanning using a scanner to an external device, a printing function that prints an image on a sheet such as paper based on a print job received from an external device, and a copying function. The printing device 101 can also receive a print job via the CPS 102 and perform printing. In this embodiment, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having multiple functions is used as an example of the printing device, but this is not limiting. For example, a single-function SFP (Single Function Peripheral) having only a printing function may also be used. In this embodiment, printing on a sheet such as paper is used as an example, but this is not limiting. The printing device 101 can also be applied to print control in 3D printing, which forms a three-dimensional object based on three-dimensional shape data.

[0017] The CPS 102 receives a print job from a client terminal such as the client terminals 103 to 105, stores the print job, and then notifies the printing device 101 registered in the CPS 102 that the print job has been submitted. Upon receiving the notification, the printing device 101 acquires the print job and performs printing processing.

[0018] <Explanation of conventional cloud print services> Next, printer registration and printing in a conventionally known general cloud print service (CPS) will be explained using Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 shows an example of the printer registration and printing sequence in a general CPS. Figure 3 shows an example of the print setting screen when submitting print data from a client terminal to the CPS.

[0019] First, a printing device is registered with a cloud print service (CPS) based on user operation by an administrator or the like (S201-S202). After executing the processing of sequences S201-S202 and registering a cloud printer on the CPS, the printing device notifies the CPS of attribute information indicating its printing capabilities (S203). The printing device, having received the attribute information in S203, analyzes the attribute information. Specifically, the CPS discards printing attributes that the CPS cannot support and extracts printing attributes that the CPS can support (S204). Next, the supported printing attributes are linked to the registered printer. Through the processing of S201-S204, an output destination printer that mimics the capabilities of the printing device is registered on the CPS. Note that this embodiment assumes that the CPS functions as an IPP proxy that relays print jobs received from client terminals to the printing device. In this case, in accordance with the IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) regulations, attribute information that cannot be supported by the cloud print service (attribute information that cannot be understood) is discarded, and printing via the cloud is achieved using only attribute information that can be supported.

[0020] Next, the CPS notifies the result of the capability update (S206). S206 illustrates an example in which there is attribute information that is supported by the printing device but not by the CPS. In this case, the CPS responds with a status code (successful-ok-but-ignored-attributes) indicating that some attribute information has been ignored.

[0021] Next, we will explain the printing process from the client terminal. When the client terminal detects that a user has issued an instruction to search for a printer, it searches for nearby printers and printers on the CPS and displays a list of printers that can be used by the user (S207 to S209). The search for cloud printers is performed as follows: For example, the client terminal sends the account information of the user who is logged in to the client terminal to the CPS. The CPS extracts output destination printers that are managed on the CPS and can be used by the user, and notifies the client terminal (S208). The client terminal that receives the notification displays the list based on the notification (S209).

[0022] Next, the client terminal accepts a user operation to select a printer (S210). If the selected printer is a printer managed on the CPS and the printer is not registered on the client, a destination printer registration process is performed on the client terminal (S211-S212). In the registration process, a destination printer is registered in the print framework provided by the OS of the client terminal for printing via the CPS. For example, if the OS is Windows (registered trademark), a print queue is generated and the printer driver is configured.

[0023] Next, the client terminal displays a print setting screen corresponding to the registered output destination printer and accepts changes to the print settings based on user operation (S213). When the client terminal detects a user operation to start printing, it generates a print job based on the file to be printed and the print settings and sends it to the CPS (S214).

[0024] The CPS discards unsupported attribute information from the attribute information indicating print settings included in the print job, and stores the print job including supported attribute information and the print data included in the job in a storage area (S215-S217). Next, an event indicating that the print job has been submitted is sent (notified) to the printing device (S218). Note that this notification may be sent directly from the CPS to the printing device, or the printing device may periodically inquire about the event occurrence status, and the CPS may notify the event in response to the inquiry.

[0025] The printing device that receives the event sends a request to the CPS to obtain a print job (S219). The CPS that receives the request sends the print job, including the supported attributes, to the printing device that made the request (S220). Finally, the printing device that receives the print job prints an image on a sheet based on the print job (S221), and the series of processes ends.

[0026] In the conventional process described with reference to Figure 2, when the capability information of a printing device is acquired, unsupported capability information is discarded. Therefore, if the registration process is simply performed when registering a printing device with a cloud print service (hereinafter also referred to as CPS), it is thought that the printer will be registered while discarding capability information that the CPS does not support.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the capabilities supported by the client, CPS 102, and printing device in this embodiment. Due to space limitations, only a portion of the capabilities is shown here. In reality, the information also includes capabilities indicating the paper sizes and paper types supported by the printing device. It also includes capabilities indicating the receivable data size.

[0028] The printing device 101 supports all the attributes listed in Fig. 4. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the printing device supports standard attributes defined in standards such as RFC, as well as vendor-specific attributes that are not defined in standards. Fig. 4 illustrates attribute information based on the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) as an example of a standard attribute.

[0029] Here is a specific explanation of the attribute information. The "Print-color-mode-supported" attribute is attribute information related to the color mode. It can have three values: "Auto", "Color", and "Monochrome". The corresponding print setting is called the "Color Mode" setting, and its possible values ​​are "Auto", "Color", and "Black and White". "Color Mode" is a setting that allows you to select the color setting for the print output; selecting "Color" will result in color output, selecting "Black and White" will result in black and white output, and selecting "Auto" will result in color or black and white output on the printing device.

[0030] The "Print-Quality-supported" attribute is attribute information related to print quality, and can take three values: "High," "Normal," and "Draft." The name of the corresponding print setting is "Print Quality," and the possible values ​​are "High Quality," "Normal," and "Low Quality." "Print Quality" is a setting that allows you to select the amount of toner to be consumed; "High Quality" consumes more toner, "Normal" consumes the normal amount of toner, and "Low Quality" consumes less toner.

[0031] The "Number-Up-supported" attribute is attribute information related to aggregate printing. The value that this attribute can take is a number, and it indicates that pages corresponding to the declared number can be aggregated and printed on one printing surface. For example, if the value "1,2,4" is stored, "1 IN 1", "2 IN 1", and "4 IN 1" can be set in the print settings.

[0032] The "Finishing-supported" attribute is attribute information related to post-processing. The attribute can take a numeric value, and the numeric value corresponding to the finishing information supported by the printing device is stored. For example, "20" indicates that it is associated with "Staple-top-left" and "22" indicates that it is associated with "Staple-top-right". These numeric values ​​are treated as "staple" settings in the print settings, and it is possible to set "one spot at the top left" or "one spot at the top right", etc.

[0033] The "Emphasize-Thin-Lines-supported" attribute is an example of a vendor-specific attribute, and is attribute information related to the handling of thin lines. The possible values ​​of this attribute are "True" and "False." The print setting corresponding to this attribute information is the "Emphasis thin lines" setting, where "True" emphasizes thin lines and "False" does not emphasize them. This setting is used, for example, when you want to prevent thin lines from disappearing or being cut off in print on an inexpensive printer with low print resolution.

[0034] Similarly, the "Color-Adjust-supported" attribute is a vendor-specific attribute that is a setting related to special printing, which emphasizes specific colors when printing. Possible values ​​are "Strengthen Blue," "Strengthen Yellow," and "Strengthen Red." The corresponding print setting name is, for example, color emphasis, and possible settings include "no emphasis," "emphasize blue," "emphasize yellow," and "emphasize red."

[0035] The printing device 101 supports all of the attribute information described above. However, the CPS 102 does not currently support an attribute corresponding to the function of stapling documents at two points. On the other hand, the print client installed in the client terminal 103 has been improved through version updates and now supports additional print attributes that were not previously supported (for example, the function of stapling documents at two points).

[0036] Considering the occurrence of situations like this, if, when registering a printer with CPS, the capabilities that CPS does not support are ignored and the printer is simply registered, the following problem occurs: Even if a print attribute is actually supported by both the printing device and the updated client, the print settings corresponding to that print attribute cannot be used when printing via CPS.

[0037] A specific example will be described using Figure 3. Figure 3 illustrates a screen for configuring print settings on a print client with capabilities equivalent to those of the client terminal 103. When performing a simple registration in the conventional manner, the destination printer is registered on the CPS with the attribute values ​​for stapling documents at two locations and attribute information for aggregate printing discarded in the registration process from S203 to S205. The print client acquires capability information that has been rounded on the CPS in the processes from S211 to S212. Therefore, even if both the printing device and the client are capable of supporting aggregate printing or complex stapling settings, problems may arise, such as being unable to configure the print settings via the print settings screen in Figure 3. Furthermore, each time the print client adds more print attributes, it would be possible to expand the print attributes supported by the CPS and perform update tasks such as re-registering the printing device on the CPS. However, this would require excessive effort on the part of the administrator and is therefore unrealistic.

[0038] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, in this embodiment, when a printing device is registered with a cloud print service, capability information that is not supported by the service is also registered as capability information of the printing device, thereby controlling the printing device to be appropriately notified to the client. This will be described in detail below.

[0039] <Hardware Configuration of Printing Device 101> First, the printing device 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printing device 101. The printing device 101 has a reading function for reading an image on a sheet, a file transmission function for transmitting the read image to an external communication device, and the like. It also has a printing function for printing an image on a sheet. It is also assumed to have a function for receiving a print job from the CPS 102 and printing it.

[0040] A control unit 110 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 controls the overall operation of the printing device 101. The CPU 111 reads control programs stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112 or storage 114 to perform various types of control, such as print control and read control. The ROM 112 stores control programs executable by the CPU 111. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 113 is a main memory accessed by the CPU 111, and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for expanding various control programs. The storage 114 stores print data, image data, various programs, and various setting information. In this way, the hardware, such as the CPU 111, ROM 112, RAM 113, and storage 114, constitutes what is known as a computer.

[0041] In the printing device 101 of this embodiment, one CPU 111 executes each process shown in the flowcharts described below using one memory (RAM 113), but other modes are also possible. For example, multiple processors, memories, and storages can work together to execute each process shown in the flowcharts described below. Also, some processes can be executed using hardware circuits.

[0042] The printer I / F (interface) 119 connects the printer 120 (printer engine) and the control unit 110. The printer 120 prints an image on a sheet fed from a paper feed cassette (not shown) based on the print data input via the printer I / F 119. The printing method may be an electrophotographic method that transfers toner onto paper and fixes it, or an inkjet method that ejects ink onto paper for printing.

[0043] The scanner I / F 117 connects the scanner 118 and the control unit 110. The scanner 118 reads a document placed on a document table (not shown) and generates image data. The image data generated by the scanner 118 can be printed by the printer 120, stored in the storage 114, or transmitted to an external device via the network I / F 121.

[0044] The operation unit I / F 115 connects the operation unit 116 and the control unit 110. The operation unit 116 is equipped with a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function and various hard keys. The operation unit 116 functions as a display unit for displaying information to the user and a reception unit for receiving the user's instructions. The CPU 111 performs display control of information and reception control of user operations in cooperation with the operation unit 116.

[0045] A network cable is connected to the network I / F 121, and communication can be executed with external devices on the network 100 or the Internet. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the network I / F 121 is a communication interface that performs wired communication compliant with Ethernet (registered trademark), but it is not limited to this. For example, it may be a wireless communication interface compliant with the IEEE802.11 series. Also, both may be wireless communication interfaces. Also, it may be a communication interface that performs mobile communication such as a 3G line such as CDMA, a 4G line such as LTE, or 5G NR.

[0046] <Hardware configuration of server resources that provide CPS102> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server, which is the actual resource that provides the CPS 102, as described in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, the server that provides the CPS 102 will also be referred to as the server 102. The CPU 131 controls the operation of the server in cooperation with the various components. The CPU 131 reads and executes an operating system (OS) and control programs stored in the ROM 132 or storage 134. The ROM 132 stores control programs executable by the CPU 131. The RAM 133 is the main memory of the CPU 131 and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for expanding various control programs. The storage 134 stores print data, image data, various programs, and various setting information. In this embodiment, the storage 134 is assumed to be an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), but non-volatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) may be used instead of the HDD. In this manner, the hardware, such as the CPU 131, ROM 132, and RAM 133, constitutes a so-called computer. The server 102 may further include an ASIC that renders print data. For the sake of explanation, this embodiment illustrates a case in which one CPU 131 uses one memory (RAM 133) to execute each process shown in the flowcharts described below, but other modes are also possible. For example, multiple processors, RAMs, ROMs, and storages can work together to execute each process shown in the flowcharts described below. Also, each process can be executed using multiple server computers. The server 102 can provide cloud print services to multiple different tenants by using containerization and virtualization technology.

[0047] The network I / F (interface) 131 is an interface for communicating with the outside world via a network. The server 102 is connected to the Internet via the network I / F. The operation unit I / F 135 is an interface for connecting an operation unit 136, such as a keyboard, mouse, and display. Each input / output device connected to the I / F is used when performing maintenance on the real server that provides the cloud print service.

[0048] The hardware configuration of the client terminals 103 to 105 is the same as that of the server 102.

[0049] The CPS 102, provided by the resources of the server 102, has the functions of registering and managing destination printers, managing the progress of print jobs, and spooling print jobs. The CPS 102 stores destination printer information for managing destination printers. The destination printer information is management information that associates attribute information indicating the capabilities of the printing device, information for communicating with the printer (such as the IP address, the printer's host name, and an access token required for communication), and information identifying the model name of the printing device. This management information is referenced as appropriate in the flowcharts described below.

[0050] Furthermore, Windows (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or the like is installed on the client terminals 103 to 105. The user can use a print client and print framework for the CPS 102 that are pre-installed in the OS. The print client and print framework provide the user with functions such as printer search and registration processing, print setting screen display processing, print data generation processing, communication processing with the CPS 102, and a status monitor function for monitoring the progress of printing. Note that, although the present embodiment illustrates a case where the print client is pre-installed, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which the user installs the print client later is also possible.

[0051] <Printer Registration and Printing Sequence in the First Embodiment> Next, the process of registering a printer in the CPS 102 and printing in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 14. Fig. 7 shows an example of a processing sequence, and Fig. 14 shows an example of the exchange of capability information.

[0052] Steps S701 and S702 are the same registration process as steps S201 and S202 in FIG. 2. A user, such as an administrator, selects a CPS as the registration destination via the operation unit 116 of the printing device 101 and selects the "Register" button. Upon detecting the selection, the printing device 101 begins the registration process. Upon detecting the selection, the printing device 101 transmits a registration processing request to the CPS 102 in step S701. The registration processing protocol conforms to the protocol defined in the CPS. Here, as an example, the description will be given assuming that the Register-Output-Device operation defined in PWG5100.22 is used. Upon receiving the registration processing request, the CPS 102 checks the contents of the registration request and transmits a registration processing request response to the printing device 101 in step S702. If there are no problems with the registration processing request, a success response is returned, and if there are problems, a failure response is returned. In this embodiment, the description will be given assuming that a success response is returned. Through the processing of steps S701 and S702, the output destination printer information is registered in the CPS 102. Additionally, during the registration process, an access token is issued for the printing device 101 to access the CPS 102. The printing device 101 stores the access token in storage 114 and uses it when making inquiries or requests to the CPS 102.

[0053] Next, in S703, the printing device 101 transmits a capability notification including the capability information it supports to the CPS 102. In this embodiment, it is assumed that an Update-Output-Device-Attributes operation, etc., specified in PWG5100.18, is used. In the processing of S703, for example, a packet indicating the capability information shown in FIG. 14A is transmitted. The packet in FIG. 14A includes a character string listing the attribute information described in FIG. 4. In other words, the packet in FIG. 14A includes standard attribute information conforming to IPP and vendor-specific attribute information.

[0054] Next, the CPS 102 receives the capability information from the printing device 101, and in step S704 registers the attribute information that it supports as well as the attribute information that it does not support in the output destination printer information. Supported attribute information and unsupported attribute information are stored separately.

[0055] In step S705, the CPS 102 sends the printing device 101 a registration success response of "Success-ok," as shown in FIG. 14C. A status message is attached to the response as supplemental information. The status message includes information indicating that some attributes are not supported by the cloud print service or that unsupported attributes have been registered. This process allows the printing device to be registered with specification information that exceeds the attributes supported by the CPS, and allows the original specification information of the printing device to be stored.

[0056] Next, a sequence for printing from a client terminal (for example, client terminal 103) via a CPS will be described using S706 to S712. First, the user executes a printer search for CPS 102 from the operation unit of client terminal 103. Upon detecting a printer search instruction from the user, client terminal 103 sends a printer search request to CPS 102 in S706. The search request includes cloud account information corresponding to the user logged in to the client terminal. The cloud account information is used to identify the tenant to which the user belongs. The printer search may be performed by specifying and searching all printers registered in CPS 102 and managed by the tenant to which the user belongs, or by using filter conditions such as a specific printer name or location.

[0057] In S707, the CPS 102 receives a search request from the client terminal 103 and transmits to the client terminal 103 printer information that is registered in the CPS 102 and matches the search request. At this point, there is no need to respond with specification information associated with the printer; it is sufficient to respond with only typical attribute information, such as the printer name, that is required for selecting an output destination. In S708, the client terminal 103 receives the printer list information from the CPS 102 and displays the printer list on the operation unit. Note that the client terminal 103 may search for printers on the local network using a search protocol such as mDNS and merge the search results to display them on the printer list screen. This screen also displays a list of output destination printers that are already registered in the print framework of the client terminal 103. In S709, the user selects a desired printer from the printer list. Here, an example is described in which a printer that is registered in the CPS 102 but not registered in the client terminal 103 is selected.

[0058] Upon detecting the printer selection, the client terminal 103 transmits a printer capability request to the CPS 102 in S710 to acquire more detailed specifications of the printer. In this embodiment, the printer capability request is assumed to be, for example, an IPP Get-Printer-Attributes operation. Upon receiving the printer capability request, the CPS 102 transmits a printer capability response to the client terminal 103 in S711, including both supported and unsupported attributes of the CPS 102. In the processing of S711, for example, a packet indicating capability information, as shown in FIG. 14B, is transmitted. The packet of FIG. 14B includes a string listing the attribute information registered in the CPS 102 in S704. As shown in FIG. 14B, the notification can include attributes that are not supported by the CPS 102 but are supported by the printing device 101. Next, in S712a, the client terminal 103 extracts attribute information supported by the print client within the terminal, associates the extracted attribute information with the output destination, and registers output destination printer information. In the process of S712a, attributes that are not supported by the print client are read and discarded.

[0059] Next, in S712b, the client terminal 103 displays a print setting screen based on the destination printer information registered in S712a. FIG. 8 shows an example of the print setting screen displayed in S712b. As explained in FIG. 4, the print client of the client terminal 103 supports attribute values ​​such as "Number-up" and the ability to close two points on the print object with a needle, and therefore these setting values ​​can be displayed appropriately. In FIG. 8, the portions highlighted in bold are print settings that could not be displayed with the prior art explained in FIG. 2. Therefore, even if the print client of the client terminal is upgraded to support new functions, the print UI can be displayed appropriately. This increases the likelihood that the user will be able to configure the desired print settings.

[0060] Next, the sequence when printing is executed will be described using S713 to S719. In S713, the user changes the print settings as needed via the screen in FIG. 8 and presses the print button. In S714, the client terminal 103, which detects the pressing of the print button, sends a print request including attribute information indicated by the print settings to the CPS 102. In this embodiment, the print request is assumed to be an IPP Create-Job operation or Print-Job operation. When an instruction is given using the Print-Job operation, attribute information and print data are sent together. When an instruction is given using the Create-Job operation, multiple document data are registered as print targets using a subsequent operation for adding documents to be printed.

[0061] Next, in S715, CPS102 analyzes the print execution request received from client terminal 103 and stores the print job information that associates the print attributes (information indicating print settings) included in the request with the document data to be printed on the storage of CPS102.

[0062] In this case, even if the attribute value is not supported by the CPS 102, it is saved in the same way as a supported attribute. Note that when saving, the CPS 102 may perform processing such as rendering of the print data.

[0063] Subsequently, in step S716, the CPS 102 notifies the printing device 101 that the print job has been submitted. For example, the Get-Notification operation of the IPP can be used for the notification.

[0064] When the printing device 101 detects that a print job exists in the CPS 102, it sends a print job acquisition request to the CPS 102 in S717. The print job acquisition request can use, for example, the IPP Feteh-Job operation. In S718, the CPS 102, which has received the print job acquisition request, responds with the print data and print attribute values ​​stored in storage. In this embodiment, unsupported attributes are stored without being discarded in S715, so attribute information that the CPS 102 does not support can also be properly transmitted to the printing device 101. In S719, the printing device 101 prints an image on a sheet based on the received print job.

[0065] For example, if a "2 in 1" print setting is made on the screen of Fig. 8 displayed on the client terminal 103, the attribute information corresponding to this "2 in 1" is not discarded by the CPS 102 but is transmitted to the printing device 101. Therefore, the printing device can determine that consolidated printing should be performed based on the attribute information, and can perform consolidated printing appropriately.

[0066] The control in each device that makes up the printing system will be explained using the flowcharts in Figures 9 to 13. Figures 9 and 13 show the processing in the printing device, and Figures 10 and 12 show the processing in the CPS 102. Figure 11 shows the processing in the client terminal.

[0067] 9 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a control program stored in the ROM 112 or the storage 114. The processing in FIG. 9 is executed in response to the reception of a registration request from an administrator to the CPS 102 to register a printer.

[0068] In S901, the CPU 111 transmits a registration request to the CPS 102. In S902, the CPU 111 determines whether printer registration with the CPS 102 was successful. Specifically, if the registration result received from the CPS 102 indicates success, it is determined that the registration was successful, and the process proceeds to S903. On the other hand, if the registration result received from the CPS 102 indicates failure, or if there is no response even after a predetermined time has passed, it is determined that the registration was unsuccessful, and the process proceeds to S907.

[0069] In S903, the CPU 111 transmits the capability notification illustrated in Fig. 14A to the CPS 102. In S904, the CPU 111 determines the type of response to the capability notification transmitted in S903. If the response indicates a format error, authentication error, or the like, the CPU 111 determines that it is an error response, and proceeds to S907. On the other hand, if the response is a success response such as "Success-ok" as shown in Fig. 14C, it determines that it is a success response, and proceeds to S906. Finally, if the response is a response such as "Successful-ok-but-ignored-attributes," indicating that registration was successful but some attributes were discarded, it determines that it is a conditional success response, and proceeds to S905.

[0070] In S905, the CPU 111 displays on the operation unit 116 a registration result indicating that registration was successful but that some attributes were ignored. In S906, the CPU 111 displays on the operation unit 116 a registration result indicating that registration was successful. Finally, in S907, the CPU 111 displays on the operation unit 116 a registration result indicating that registration failed.

[0071] Next, the process of registering a destination printer for a cloud print service executed by the server 102 that provides the CPS 102 will be described with reference to Figure 10. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of Figure 10 is realized by the CPU 131 configuring the server 102 executing a control program stored in the ROM 132 or storage 134. As described above in the explanation of Figure 6, this process can also be executed by multiple computer resources working together. Furthermore, communication processes and the like are realized in cooperation with a network I / F.

[0072] In S1001, the CPU 131 of the server 102 receives a registration request from the printing device 101 and executes registration processing to register the destination printer on the CPS 102. The CPU 131 creates destination printer information for managing the cloud printer on the CPS 102. The CPU 131 also issues an access token for the printing device 101 to access the CPS 102. When the registration processing is complete, the process proceeds to S1002. In S1002, the CPU 131 responds to the printing device 101 with the result of the registration processing. If the registration processing is completed with an error, such as if user authentication fails or if there is a problem with the request content, an error is notified. If an error is notified, the CPU 131 aborts the registration processing without performing any further capability update processing.

[0073] Next, in S1003, the CPU 131 receives the capability notification described in FIG. 14A from the printing device successfully registered in S1002. In S1004, the CPU 131 performs an analysis process for the attribute information included in the capability notification received in S1003. Specifically, the CPU 131 checks whether the received content does not conform to a specified format or whether it contains data intended for an injection attack or the like. If the received content does not conform to a specified format or contains data intended for an injection attack or the like, the CPU 131 determines that the content is inappropriate and records information indicating an error as the analysis result. On the other hand, if the content is normal, the CPU 131 records information indicating that the content is normal as the analysis result. The CPU 131 also performs a process for classifying attribute information into attribute information supported by the CPS 102 and attribute information not supported by the CPS 102. Furthermore, if at least one attribute information not supported by the CPS 102 is included, the CPU 131 records an analysis result indicating that an unsupported attribute is included. On the other hand, if no attribute information not supported by the CPS 102 is included, the CPU 131 records the analysis result indicating that only supported attributes are included.

[0074] In S1005, CPU 131 determines the type of the analysis result executed in S1004. If the analysis result indicates an error, the process proceeds to S1006. If the analysis result indicates that the analysis is normal and that only supported attributes are included, the process proceeds to S1007. On the other hand, if the analysis result indicates that the analysis is normal and that unsupported attributes are included, CPU 131 proceeds to S1009.

[0075] In S1006, the CPU 131 deletes the output destination printer information registered in S1001, transmits an error response to the printing apparatus 101, and ends the series of registration processes.

[0076] In S1007, the CPU 131 updates the information indicating the printing capabilities of the output destination printer information registered in S1001 using the attribute information acquired in S1003. That is, the CPU 131 registers the printing capabilities of the printing device 101 in the output destination printer information. Next, in S1008, the CPU 131 transmits a normal response to the printing device 101.

[0077] In S1009, CPU 131 updates the information indicating the printing capabilities of the output destination printer information registered in S1001 using the attribute information classified in S1005. Specifically, attribute information supported by CPS 102 and attribute information not supported by CPS 102 are registered in the output destination printer information in a manner that allows them to be distinguished. Next, in S1010, CPU 131 transmits to printing device 101 a normal response including information indicating that unsupported attribute information has been registered, as described with reference to FIG. 14(C). When the response is completed, the series of registration processes ends.

[0078] The process described in FIG. 10 makes it possible to register the full-spec capability information of the printing device described in FIG. 4 in the CPS 102.

[0079] Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a control process when a printer registered in the CPS 102 is used from a client terminal will be described.

[0080] Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of Fig. 11 is realized by the CPU 131 of the client terminal (for example, the client terminal 103) executing a control program stored in the ROM 132 or the storage 134. The flowchart of Fig. 11 is executed in response to receiving an operation to search for a printer from a user.

[0081] In S1101, the CPU 131 of the client terminal performs a printer search and displays a list of found printers.

[0082] Next, in S1102, the CPU 131 of the client terminal determines whether a user operation to select a printer not registered in the print client has been accepted. If a user operation to select a printer not registered in the print client has been accepted, the process proceeds to S1103. If a user operation to select a registered printer has been accepted, the process proceeds to S1109. In S1109, the CPU 131 of the client terminal sets the selected registered printer as the output destination. Next, the CPU 131 references output destination printer information corresponding to the selected printer and acquires attribute information. Next, a print setting screen is generated based on the acquired attribute information. Once generation is complete, the CPU 131 displays the generated print setting screen on the operation unit 136, and the series of processes ends. Once the series of processes is complete, the print setting change process and print job transmission process described in FIG. 7 are performed.

[0083] In S1103, the CPU 131 of the client terminal transmits a request to acquire attribute information to the selected printer and receives a response to the request. Subsequently, in S1104, the CPU 131 analyzes the attribute information, discards attribute information not supported by the client, and extracts only attribute information supported by the client. Subsequently, the CPU 131 registers output destination printer information, which associates the extracted attribute information supported by the client with information specifying the output destination (e.g., the IP address or host name of the CPS 102), in a print framework provided by the OS. For example, if the OS is Windows (registered trademark), registering output destination printer information means generating a print queue for sending data to the CPS 102 and configuring the printer driver based on the acquired capability information.

[0084] Next, in S1107, the CPU 131 of the client terminal 103 sets the printer for which registration processing has been completed as the output destination. Next, the CPU 131 acquires attribute information corresponding to the printer set as the output destination and generates a print setting screen. Once generation is complete, the CPU 131 displays the generated print setting screen on the operation unit 136, and ends the series of processes. Once the series of processes is complete, it is assumed that the print setting change processing and print job transmission processing described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are performed.

[0085] The above-described process makes it possible to appropriately display the print UI even when the print client of the client terminal is upgraded to support new functions.

[0086] Next, the control when the CPS 102 receives a print job from a client terminal will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 12. As in Fig. 10, each operation (step) shown in the flowchart in Fig. 12 is realized by the CPU 131 constituting the server 102 executing a control program stored in the ROM 132 or storage 134.

[0087] In S1200, the CPU 131 of the server 102 determines whether a request for a print job has been received from a client terminal. If a request for a print job has been received from the client terminal, the process proceeds to S1201; if a request for a print job has not been received from the client terminal, the process proceeds to S1205. In this embodiment, the request for a print job is assumed to be an IPP Create-Job operation or Print-Job operation, but is not limited to this. For example, the request may be a Validate-Job operation, in which a client inquires whether the destination can process the print job before sending it.

[0088] In S1201, the CPU 131 of the server 102 receives a series of print jobs including print data transmitted from a client terminal after a print request. Subsequently, in S1202, the CPU 131 determines whether attribute information indicating the print settings of the print job includes attribute information not supported by the CPS 102. If attribute information not supported by the CPS 102 is not included, the process proceeds to S1203. If attribute information not supported by the CPS 102 is included, the process proceeds to S1204. Note that if the print request received in S1200 is a Create-Job operation or a Validate-Job operation, only the attribute information is notified to the CPS 102 before the print data (document data) is received. Therefore, the determination in S1202 may be performed before the print data (document data) is received, and the print data may then be received.

[0089] In step S1203, the CPU 131 executes rendering or data conversion processing on the server side based on the supported attribute information if such processing is required. If conversion is required, the CPU 131 stores the converted print data and the print job including the attribute information in a storage area. If conversion is not required, the CPU 131 stores the received print data and the print job including the attribute information in a storage area.

[0090] On the other hand, in S1204, the CPU 131 saves the print job including both the unsupported attribute information and the supported attribute information and the print data in a storage area. The difference from the processing in S1203 is that rendering processing and data conversion processing are not performed, taking into consideration the case where the unsupported attribute information and the supported attribute information have a dependency relationship.

[0091] It should be noted that the CPS 102 may be configured not to perform rendering or data conversion. In this case, instead of the processes in steps S1202 to S1204, the received print job may simply be saved.

[0092] Subsequently, in S1205, the CPU 131 determines whether or not a print job acquisition request has been received from a printing apparatus (for example, the printing apparatus 101). If a print job acquisition request has been received, the process proceeds to S1206; if not, the process ends.

[0093] In S1206, the CPU 131 transmits the print job corresponding to the acquisition request to the printing device that made the request. When the transmission is completed, the series of processes ends. The reception process and transmission process described in FIG. 12 are repeated while the CPS 102 is providing the print service.

[0094] Next, the control when the printing device 101 receives and prints a print job from the CPS 102 will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 13. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart in Fig. 13 is realized by the CPU 111 executing a control program stored in the ROM 112 or storage 114, similar to Fig. 9.

[0095] In S1301, the CPU 111 receives a notification from the CPS 102 that a job to be printed has been stored. Subsequently, in S1302, the CPU 111 transmits a print job acquisition request. Specifically, the CPU 111 inquires of the CPS 102 about a list of jobs that the printing device 101 can acquire. Subsequently, the CPU 111 transmits an acquisition request to acquire the data of the print jobs included in the list.

[0096] Next, in S1303, the CPU 111 acquires a print job from the CPS 102. In S1304, the CPU 111 analyzes attribute information included in the acquired print job, discards attribute information that is not supported by the printing device, and executes print processing. The processes in FIGS. 9 to 13 described above make it possible to make maximum use of the capabilities supported by the client terminal 103, even when printing via a cloud print service. Note that, while the above embodiment illustrates a capability notification when a printer is initially registered, this is not limiting. For example, the output destination printer information managed by the client terminal may be updated at a predetermined interval (e.g., every 30 days).

[0097] <Second embodiment> In the second embodiment, in addition to the processing of the first embodiment, a mechanism is provided for installing a print extension application provided by the vendor of the printing device 101 on the client terminal 104. This print extension application enhances the print settings on the client terminal side and the appearance of the print setting user interface.

[0098] The hardware configuration of each device in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. Differences from the first embodiment will be described below. The printing system in the second embodiment further includes a server that distributes a print extension application in addition to each device in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the print extension application is installed in a client terminal 104.

[0099] The distribution mechanism and the method of calling the print extension application will be described below with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing in the second embodiment, which replaces the sequence of Fig. 7 in the first embodiment.

[0100] The printer registration process in the CPS 102, printer selection in the client terminal, and capability acquisition process described in S1501 to S1511 are the same as S701 to S711 in FIG. 7, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0101] In S1512, the client terminal 103 identifies the model of the printing device selected in S1509. Next, the client terminal 103 sends information indicating the identified model (also called model information) to the distribution server, and inquires whether a print extension application exists. The distribution server that receives the inquiry determines whether a print extension application for the model exists, and responds to the client terminal 104 informing it of the presence or absence of the print extension application (S1513). If a print extension application exists, the distribution server also includes in the response the download destination for the application.

[0102] First, a case where the print extension application is provided from the distribution server will be described in steps S1514 to S1518. In step S1514, the OS of the client terminal 104 downloads the print extension application from the distribution server based on the load destination information included in the response, and installs the application on the client terminal 104.

[0103] Next, the output destination printer information is registered, which associates both attribute information supported by the client and attribute information not supported by the client with information specifying the output destination (S1515).

[0104] Next, the OS of the client terminal 104 registers the correspondence between the print extension application and the output destination printer information in the registry DB (S1516). Note that the storage location of the correspondence is just an example, and the correspondence may be stored in a storage area that the OS of the client terminal 104 can refer to.

[0105] Next, the user presses the advanced print settings button via the print settings screen provided by the OS or the simple print settings screen provided by the general-purpose application (S1517). The OS of the client terminal 104 detects the pressing of the advanced settings button and identifies information about the printer selected as the output destination when the advanced settings button was pressed. Next, the OS refers to the registry DB based on the identified information, identifies the corresponding print extension application, and launches it (S1518).

[0106] The print extension application launched by the OS acquires attribute information included in the associated output destination printer information and displays an extended print setting screen based on the acquired attribute information (S1519). FIG. 16 shows an example of an extended print setting screen provided by the print extension application. For example, the print extension application is an application provided by the vendor that manufactures the printing device 101 and is configured to allow print settings specialized for the printing device 101 to be configured. FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a main screen, with parentheses 1 through 6 indicating keys for transitioning to a detailed setting screen. By selecting each key, the user can configure post-processing settings such as stapling. Furthermore, it is possible to configure print settings corresponding to vendor-specific attribute information, such as color adjustment and thin line emphasis, which were not supported by the general-purpose print client in the first embodiment. When the print extension application detects that the OK button has been selected, it updates the attribute information based on the settings configured via the screen and terminates the application. FIG. 17 illustrates print attribute information in the second embodiment, and FIG. 17(A) shows an example of a packet for a print job request sent to the CPS 102. Here, an example is shown in which thin line printing is enabled and blue emphasis is selected as the color emphasis setting via a screen provided by the extension application. The print client sends attribute information to the CPS 102 without discarding it, even if the print client does not support it. The print job is temporarily stored in the CPS 102. In response to receiving a job acquisition request from the printing device 101, the CPS 102 sends the print job to the printing device 101. Figure 17(B) shows the attribute information of the print job sent from the CPS 102 to the printing device 101. The CPS 102 forwards attribute information that it does not support to the printing device 101 as is, without discarding it. Therefore, the printing device 101 can properly interpret and print the attribute information received via the CPS 102.

[0107] Next, an alternative sequence will be described for when there is no corresponding print expansion application. In S1530, the client terminal extracts attribute information supported by the print client from the attribute information acquired in S1511. Next, output destination printer information that associates the extracted attribute information with the output destination is registered, and the series of processes ends.

[0108] Specific control in the client terminal will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of Fig. 11 is realized by the CPU 131 of the client terminal 104 executing a control program stored in the ROM 132 or storage 134. When it is desired to clearly indicate the program that is the subject of processing, the control program (OS or extended application) executed by the processor will be described as the subject.

[0109] The flowchart in FIG. 11 is executed in response to receiving an operation to select a printer that is registered on the CPS 102 from among the printers found by the search but is not registered on the client terminal 104.

[0110] In S1801, the OS of the client terminal inquires of the distribution server whether a print extension application corresponding to the output destination printer to be registered exists. If the inquiry shows that a print extension application exists, the process proceeds to S1802; if a print extension application does not exist, the process proceeds to S1104. In S1802, the OS of the client terminal downloads the extension application from the distribution server and installs it on the client terminal. When the installation is complete, the process proceeds to S1803.

[0111] In S1803, the OS of the client terminal registers, in the print framework, output destination printer information that associates both attribute information supported and unsupported by the client with the output destination. Subsequently, in S1804, the OS of the client terminal saves the correspondence between the print expansion application and the output destination printer in the registry DB. For example, the application path for launching the print expansion application and information for identifying the output destination printer are saved in the registry DB in association with each other.

[0112] In S1805, the OS of the client terminal sets the printer for which registration processing has been completed as the output destination, and displays the print setting screen generated based on the attribute information supported by the print client. Here, print settings corresponding to attribute information not supported by the print client are not displayed.

[0113] In S1806, the OS of the client terminal determines whether a user instruction to set advanced print settings has been given via the print setting screen displayed in S1805. If it is detected that a user instruction to set advanced print settings has been given, the process proceeds to S1807, and if it is not detected that a user instruction to set advanced print settings has been given, the process proceeds to S1811.

[0114] In S1807, the OS of the client terminal determines whether a print expansion application corresponding to the output destination printer exists. Specifically, the OS acquires information identifying the output destination printer and determines whether information identifying a print expansion application corresponding to the output destination printer is stored in the registry DB. If information identifying a print expansion application corresponding to the output destination printer is stored, the process proceeds to S1808. On the other hand, if information identifying a print expansion application corresponding to the output destination printer is not stored, the process proceeds to S1811 without displaying the detailed settings screen.

[0115] In S1808, the OS of the client terminal launches a print extension application. The print extension application launched by the OS acquires attribute information of the output destination printer information and displays the detailed print setting screen shown in FIG. 16 based on the attribute information. The user can change the print settings via the setting screen. The print application that has accepted the change operation updates the display of the setting screen and provides feedback of the current setting status to the user.

[0116] In S1809, the print extension application determines whether a user operation to complete the print settings has been accepted. If a user operation to complete the print settings has been accepted, the process proceeds to S1810. If a user operation to complete the print settings has not been accepted, the process waits for further print setting operations via the screen of the print extension application.

[0117] In S1810, the print extension application updates the attribute information managed by the OS based on the print settings to be applied to the print job specified via the screen. When the update is complete, the print extension application stops its operation. The print client of the OS that detects the stop of the print extension application displays a print setting screen based on the updated print settings. At this time, the print client displays the print setting screen while ignoring attribute information that it does not support.

[0118] In S1811, the OS determines whether a print start instruction has been issued via the print setting screen. If a print start instruction has been issued, the process proceeds to S1812. If a print start instruction has not been issued, the process returns to S1806 and waits for further print setting operations.

[0119] In S1812, the print client of the client terminal generates a print job and sends it to the CPS 102. It is assumed that the print job is generated using the IPP Create-Job operation or Print-Job operation. When an instruction is given using the Print-Job operation, attribute information and print data are sent together. When an instruction is given using the Create-Job operation, a job including print attributes is generated on the CPS 102 using the Create-Job operation. Next, an operation for adding a document to be printed is used to associate one or more document data with the generated print job. At this time, the print client also sends attribute information that it does not support as attribute information related to the print job to the CPS 102. Therefore, attribute information updated by the print extension application is sent to the CPS 102 without being discarded on the print client side. The processing described above enables more flexible support for print settings.

[0120] <Modification> While this embodiment illustrates print settings for print processing via a cloud print service, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be applied to scan settings when scan data scanned by an MFP is sent to a user PC via the cloud. In this case, when registering the MFP with a cloud scan service, the MFP notifies the cloud scan service of its full-spec scan capabilities. At this time, the MFP notifies the cloud service of capabilities including vendor-specific attributes. The cloud scan service also registers scan capabilities that it does not support on the cloud. A scan client installed on a client terminal using the cloud scan service obtains full-spec capability information from the cloud scan service. Finally, the scan client extracts the capability information supported by the scan client from the full-spec capability information and registers the extracted scan capabilities in the scan framework. Note that when cloud scan is applied to the second embodiment, a scan extension application is downloaded and installed from a distribution server. In this case, the high-performance OCR processing provided by the MFP and the scan content summarization service provided by the MFP's AI engine can be configured from the extended print settings screen of the scan extension application.

[0121] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of each of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC or FPGA) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0122] 101 Printing device 102 Cloud Print Service 103 client terminals 104 client terminals 105 client terminals

Claims

1. A printing system including a client terminal, a printing device, and a server system, a receiving means for receiving, from the printing device, information on a first attribute defined in an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) standard and information on a second attribute not defined in the IPP standard, using an IPP operation; a transmitting means for transmitting the information of the first attribute and the information of the second attribute to the client terminal using an IPP operation different from the IPP operation; A printing system characterized in that, when the server system receives first print setting information based on information of the first attribute and second print setting information based on information of the second attribute from the client terminal, it provides the first print setting information and the second print setting information to the printing device.

2. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute name of the first attribute defined in the IPP standard is described in the IPP standard, and the attribute name of the second attribute not defined in the IPP standard is not described in the IPP standard.

3. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute name of the second attribute that is not defined in the IPP standard is an attribute name unique to a vendor.

4. 4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the server system is capable of communicating with the client terminal and the printing device via the Internet.

5. 5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the first attribute information and the second attribute information are attribute information based on the configuration of the printing device when the printing device transmits the attribute information.

6. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the server system is a server system equipped with a cloud print service that sends a print job including the first print setting information and the second print setting information to a registered printing device.

7. A control method for a printing system including a client terminal, a printing device, and a server system, comprising: a receiving step of receiving, from the printing device using an IPP operation, information on a first attribute defined in an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) standard and information on a second attribute not defined in the IPP standard; a transmitting step of transmitting the information of the first attribute and the information of the second attribute to the client terminal using an IPP operation different from the IPP operation; A control method characterized by, when first print setting information based on information of the first attribute and second print setting information based on information of the second attribute are received from the client terminal, providing the first print setting information and the second print setting information to the printing device.

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