Printing system and bid server

Abstract

To perform preferable bidding to an advertisement frame for printing an advertisement image.SOLUTION: A bid server that is communicably connected to a sales server that sells an advertisement space for printing an advertisement image and makes a bid for the advertisement space includes a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding restriction of a bid price for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertisement image, a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information regarding an amount of a color material used for printing the candidate image, a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from among the plurality of candidate images, a bid price determination unit that determines a bid price of the bid image, and a bid transmission unit that transmits a notification of a bid including at least the bid price to the sales server. The determination of a bid image by the bid image determination unit or the determination of a bid price by the bid price determination unit is performed using the restriction information and the color material information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD This specification relates to techniques for printing advertising images. [Background technology]

[0002] In the system described in Patent Document 1, a server combines main print data and advertising data to generate combined print data and transmits it to an image forming device. The image forming device prints using the combined print data and notifies the server of the number of prints. The server calculates and manages cost reduction points according to the number of prints. When the cost reduction points reach a predetermined number, a marking agent is sent to the user of the image forming device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special publication No. 2003-178236 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above technology does not disclose anything about bidding for advertising frames for printing advertising images.

[0005] This specification discloses a technique for making a favorable bid for an advertising slot for printing an advertising image. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The techniques disclosed in this specification can be implemented in the following application examples.

[0007] [Application Example 1] A printing system including a first server that sells advertising space for printing advertising images and a second server that places bids for the advertising space, wherein the second server is equipped with a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding restrictions on bid prices for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image, a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information regarding the amount of color material used in printing the candidate images, a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from the plurality of candidate images, a bid price determination unit that determines the bid price for the bid image using the restriction information and the color material information, and a bid sending unit that transmits the bid notice including at least the bid price to the first server, wherein the first server is equipped with a bid receiving unit that receives two or more bid notifications including the bid notice sent from the second server, an advertising image determination unit that determines the advertising image to be printed from two or more bid images corresponding to the two or more bid notifications using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications, and a print processing unit that executes processing to have a printer print a print image including the determined advertising image.

[0008] According to the above configuration, the bid price for the bidding image is determined using the restriction information regarding the bid price restriction and the color material information regarding the amount of color material used to print the candidate image, so that a preferable bid price can be determined. As a result, for example, a preferable bid can be made for an advertising space for printing an advertising image compared to when the color material information is not used.

[0009] [Application Example 2] A printing system including a first server that sells advertising space for printing advertising images and a second server that makes bids for the advertising space, wherein the second server is equipped with a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding restrictions on bid prices for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image, a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information regarding the amount of color material used in printing the candidate image, a bid image determination unit that uses the restriction information and the color material information to determine one or more bid images from among the plurality of candidate images, a bid price determination unit that determines the bid prices for the bid images, and a bid sending unit that sends the bid notice including at least the bid price to the first server, wherein the first server is equipped with a bid receiving unit that receives two or more bid notifications including the bid notice sent from the first server, an advertising image determination unit that determines the advertising image to be printed from two or more bid images corresponding to the two or more bid notifications using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications, and a print processing unit that executes processing to have a printer print a print image including the determined advertising image.

[0010] According to the above configuration, a bid image is determined from among a plurality of candidate images using restriction information regarding a bid price restriction and color material information regarding the amount of color material used to print the candidate image, so that a preferable bid image can be determined. As a result, for example, a preferable bid can be made for an advertising space for printing an advertising image compared to when color material information is not used.

[0011] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, such as a method for printing advertising images, a bidding server, a computer program for realizing the functions of these servers, methods, and printing systems, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is an illustration of a printer and server database. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of a data submission process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an ink cost record table IKT. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a first sequence diagram showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a second sequence diagram showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a third sequence diagram showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart of a bid determination process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart of a successful bid process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a table showing an example of bid prices and revised bid prices. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000b according to a second embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of a bid determination process according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart of a successful bid process according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A. First Example A-1. Configuration of System 1000 Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000 according to a first embodiment. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of printer and server databases. Fig. 2 shows an excerpt of information related to the embodiment from the information stored in various databases described below.

[0014] The system 1000 includes a management server 100, a remote printing server 200, an advertisement distribution server 300, bidding servers 400A-400C, a printer 500, and a terminal device 700. These devices 100, 200, 300, 400A-400C, 500, and 700 are all connected to the Internet IT and are capable of communicating via the Internet IT.

[0015] Printer 500 is a device that prints by consuming ink as a consumable item, and is used for utilizing a service (e.g., an advertising distribution service) for which a user has a contract. Printer 500 includes a CPU 510 as a controller for printer 500, a volatile storage device 520 such as DRAM, and a non-volatile storage device 530 such as a hard disk or flash memory. Printer 500 also includes a display unit 540 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying images, an operation unit 550 such as buttons or a touch panel for acquiring user operations, a printing mechanism 570, and a communication interface (IF) 580.

[0016] The communication IF 580 is an interface for connecting to the Internet IT, for example, a wired interface conforming to Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless interface conforming to the Wi-Fi standard.

[0017] The CPU 510 is a computing device (processor) that processes data. The volatile storage device 520 provides a buffer area for temporarily storing various intermediate data generated when the CPU 510 performs processing. The non-volatile storage device 530 stores a computer program PGp for controlling the printer 500 and a database DBp in which various information, described below, is recorded.

[0018] In this embodiment, the computer program PGp is ​​provided by being stored in advance in the nonvolatile storage device 530 at the time of manufacturing the printer 500. Alternatively, the computer program PGp may be provided, for example, in a form downloaded from a server connected via the Internet IT, or in a form recorded on a USB memory stick, a DVD-ROM, or the like.

[0019] The CPU 510 executes the computer program PGp to perform various processes for controlling the printer 500. For example, the CPU 510 controls the printing mechanism 570 to perform a printing process that causes the printing mechanism 570 to print an image. The CPU 510 also communicates with the management server 100 and the remote printing server 200 to perform processes related to the advertisement printing process, which will be described later.

[0020] The printing mechanism 570 is an inkjet printing mechanism. The printing mechanism 570 is equipped with a print head formed with nozzles for ejecting ink. The printing mechanism 570 prints on a printing substrate such as paper by ejecting multiple types of ink, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) ink from the nozzles under the control of the CPU 510. In this embodiment, ink cartridges CI, MI, YI, and KI containing ink of each color, C, M, Y, and K, are detachably attached to the printing mechanism 570. Alternatively, the printing mechanism 570 may be an electrophotographic printing mechanism that prints images using toner contained in a toner cartridge as a coloring material.

[0021] As can be seen from the above explanation, the printer 500 is a color printer that can print using an achromatic ink (K ink) and two or more chromatic inks (CMY inks) as color materials.

[0022] 2A shows an overview of the database DBp of the printer 500. The database DBp stores various information indicating setting information and status information (status) related to the printer 500.

[0023] Database DBp stores information indicating the remaining amount of ink. Specifically, database DBp stores information indicating the remaining amount of each of the CMYK inks. Each time printing is performed, CPU 510 calculates the amount of ink consumed and detects the amount of remaining ink using a remaining ink sensor, thereby updating the information indicating the remaining amount of ink.

[0024] The management server 100, the remote printing server 200, and the advertisement distribution server 300 are, for example, computers, such as cloud servers, operated by a business operator that operates multiple types of services described below (for example, a business operator that manufactures and sells the printer 500).

[0025] The management server 100 is a server that manages users and printers (e.g., printer 500) used for multiple types of services. The multiple types of services are services provided using printers, and include an advertisement distribution service and a remote printing service.

[0026] The advertisement distribution service is a service provided by the advertisement distribution server 300 and the bidding servers 400A-400C. The advertisement distribution service is a service that distributes advertisements to users of the printer 500 by causing the printer 500 to print an image including one or more advertisement images at a predetermined distribution timing, in this embodiment, once a day at a fixed time.

[0027] In the narrow sense, advertising can mean informing people about a product or service for the purpose of promotion. However, in this specification, advertising is not limited to promotional purposes and refers generally to anything that an advertiser pays an advertising fee to inform people (in this example, printer users). An advertising image refers to an image showing the information to be advertised. Therefore, in this specification, advertising images are not limited to images showing information for the purpose of promoting a product or service provided by the advertiser, but also include images showing various information provided by the advertiser (for example, weather information, traffic information, or the advertiser's own work).

[0028] The remote printing service is a service provided by the remote printing server 200. The remote printing service is a service in which a user sends an image file stored on a server or a mobile terminal to the remote printing server 200, and the image file is printed by a printer (e.g., printer 500) via the remote printing server 200. A user of the remote printing service is assumed to be, for example, a printer user, but in this embodiment, the advertisement distribution server 300 uses the remote printing service to cause the printer to print an advertisement image.

[0029] The multiple types of services managed by management server 100 may further include various other services. For example, in this embodiment, the multiple types of services managed include an ink management service provided by a server (not shown). The ink management service manages the remaining amount of ink in the managed printers and delivers ink cartridges or ink bottles to users according to ink consumption.

[0030] The management server 100 includes a CPU 110 as a controller of the management server 100, a volatile storage device 120 such as a DRAM, a non-volatile storage device 130 such as a hard disk or flash memory, and a communication IF 180. The communication IF 180 is, for example, a wired interface that complies with Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0031] The CPU 110 is a computing device (processor) that processes data. The volatile storage device 120 provides a buffer area for temporarily storing various intermediate data generated when the CPU 110 performs processing. The non-volatile storage device 130 stores a computer program PGm and a database DBm.

[0032] The computer program PGm is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a service provider. The CPU 110 of the management server 100 executes the computer program PGm to perform various processes (described later) related to multiple types of services to be managed.

[0033] 2(B) shows an overview of the database DBm of the management server 100. The database DBm stores user IDs that identify users who use multiple types of services that are managed.

[0034] The database DBm further stores affiliated user IDs and device IDs in association with the user IDs. The affiliated user ID is a user ID assigned by a portal site used by the user (e.g., a site operated by a service provider such as Yahoo (registered trademark), Google (registered trademark), or Microsoft (registered trademark). The device ID is an ID that identifies a printer (e.g., printer 500) used when using multiple types of managed services. For example, when a user uses one of the multiple types of services for the first time, the user accesses the management server 100 using his or her own terminal device (not shown) and applies for use. The user ID is generated by the management server 100 at the time of the application for use and assigned to the user. The affiliated service ID and device ID are recorded in the database DBm of the management server 100, for example, based on input by the user at the time of the application for use.

[0035] The database DBm further stores contracted service information and bonus point information in association with the user ID. The contracted service information is information indicating the type of service to which the user has contracted. The bonus point information is information indicating the bonus points granted to the user. Bonus points are used instead of money, for example, when paying for the usage fees of paid services used by the user or for purchasing printer consumables (e.g., ink and toner).

[0036] The remote printing server 200 includes a CPU 210, a volatile storage device 220, a non-volatile storage device 230, and a communication IF 280, similar to those of the management server 100. The non-volatile storage device 230 stores a computer program PGr and a database DBr.

[0037] The computer program PGr is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a business operator that operates a remote printing service. The CPU 210 of the remote printing server 200 executes the computer program PGr to perform processing for realizing the remote printing service. For example, the CPU 210 generates a print job for printing an image using image data transmitted from a device that uses the remote printing service (a user's terminal device or the advertisement distribution server 300). The CPU 210 transmits the generated print job to a printer, causing the printer to execute printing.

[0038] FIG. 2C shows an overview of the database DBr of the remote print server 200. The database DBr stores at least device information (e.g., device ID and device token) required to send a print job to a destination device. In this embodiment, the user of the printer 500 has a contract to use an advertisement distribution service. The advertisement distribution service uses a remote printing service to print advertisement images. For this reason, when the user signs a contract for the advertisement distribution service, the device information of the printer 500 is stored in the database DBr.

[0039] The advertisement delivery server 300 includes a CPU 310, a volatile storage device 320, a nonvolatile storage device 330, and a communication IF 380, similar to those of the management server 100. The nonvolatile storage device 330 stores a computer program PGa and a database DBa.

[0040] The computer program PGa is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a business operator that operates an advertisement distribution service. The CPU 310 of the advertisement distribution server 300 executes the computer program PGa to function as a distribution control unit DC and an advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0041] The advertising space sales unit AS mainly communicates with the bidding servers 400A-400B, executes an auction process in a position of selling advertising space for printing advertising images, and determines a successful bidder for the advertising space. The advertising image of the successful bidder is determined as the advertising image to be printed. The advertising space sales unit AS includes multiple ink cost calculation units IE, specifically, first to third ink cost calculation units IE1-IE3. The ink cost calculation unit IE is a functional unit that calculates the ink cost required to print an image using a printer. The required ink cost is the price of the ink for the amount of ink used to print the image. Each ink cost calculation unit IE corresponds to a specific printer manufacturer. That is, the first ink cost calculation unit IE1 calculates the ink cost required to print an image using a printer manufactured by the first manufacturer. The second ink cost calculation unit IE2 and the third ink cost calculation unit IE3 calculate the ink cost required to print an image using a printer manufactured by the second manufacturer and the third manufacturer, respectively.

[0042] The computer program (program module) that realizes each ink cost calculation unit IE is, for example, released by the manufacturer corresponding to the ink cost calculation unit IE. The ink cost calculation unit IE is realized, for example, by incorporating the program module into the computer program PGa.

[0043] The distribution control unit DC executes processes other than the auction process executed by the advertising space sales unit AS among the processes for realizing the advertising distribution service, such as processes involving communication with the printer 500, the remote printing server 200, and the management server 100.

[0044] 2(D) shows an overview of the database DBa of the advertisement delivery server 300. The database DBa stores various information required for the delivery control unit DC and the advertisement space sales unit AS to realize the advertisement delivery service.

[0045] The database DBa records the IDs of users who are registered in the management server 100 and who have signed a contract to use the advertisement distribution service.

[0046] The database DBa further stores affiliated user IDs and device information in association with the user IDs. The affiliated user IDs are user IDs assigned by the portal site used by the user, as described above. The affiliated user IDs are used when the advertising space sales department AS executes the auction process, as described below.

[0047] The device information includes information about the printer that is to print the advertisement image (for example, a device ID and a device token). The device information further includes model information. The model information is, for example, information indicating the model of the printer that is to print the advertisement image. The model information includes, for example, the name of the printer manufacturer and the name of the model.

[0048] The database DBa also stores distribution setting information in association with the user ID and device information. The distribution setting information is various setting information related to the advertisement distribution service, and includes, for example, information indicating the distribution time and information indicating the print settings to be used when printing the advertisement image.

[0049] When a user uses the advertisement distribution service, the user accesses the management server 100 using, for example, a terminal device (not shown) and applies for use of the advertisement distribution service. In response to the application, a contract process for the advertisement distribution service is executed between the terminal device and the management server 100. After the contract process, the CPU 310 of the advertisement distribution server 300 acquires the user ID and the various pieces of information associated with the user ID from the management server 100 and records them in the database DBa. In this embodiment, the user of the printer 500 has signed a contract to use the advertisement distribution service. For this purpose, the database DBa stores the above-mentioned affiliated user ID, device information, and distribution setting information associated with the user ID of the printer 500.

[0050] The database DBa also stores standard ink cost information. The standard ink cost information is information that is referenced by the ink cost calculation unit IE when calculating the required ink cost. Details of the standard ink cost information will be described later.

[0051] The bidding server 400A includes a CPU 410, a volatile storage device 420, a non-volatile storage device 430, and a communication IF 480, similar to those of the management server 100. The non-volatile storage device 430 stores a computer program PGb and a database DBb. In this embodiment, the bidding server 400A is operated by an operator that operates a portal site that issues affiliated user IDs.

[0052] The computer program PGb is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by the business operator that operates the bid server 400A. The CPU 410 of the bid server 400A executes the computer program PGb to function as a bid control unit BC and a consumer information management unit CM.

[0053] The bidding control unit BC communicates with the advertisement distribution server 300 and executes the auction process from the perspective of a bidder who is trying to purchase an advertisement space. That is, the bidding control unit BC mainly executes the process for winning a bid for an advertisement space based on a request from an advertiser.

[0054] The bidding control unit BC is equipped with a standard ink cost calculation unit IEs. Similar to the ink cost calculation unit IE described above, the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs is a functional unit that calculates the ink cost required when printing an image using a printer. The ink cost calculation unit IE described above takes into account the printer model and calculates the required ink cost, which differs depending on the model, but the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs does not take into account the printer model and calculates a standard required ink cost that is common regardless of the model.

[0055] The consumer information management unit CM manages consumer information, which will be described later, that is recorded in association with affiliated user IDs.

[0056] FIG. 2(E) shows an overview of database DBb of bidding server 400A. Database DBb stores advertising images submitted by advertisers, advertising information, and the affiliated user IDs and consumer information described above. Advertising image data has a known data format, such as JPEG or PNG. Advertising images are either monochrome advertising images printed using one color of ink (usually black ink) or color advertising images printed using multiple colors of ink (for example, four colors of ink: CMYK).

[0057] The advertising information is, for example, information related to the advertising image. The advertising information includes, for example, type information indicating the type of the advertising image (monochrome or color), target information indicating the target (customer) to whom the advertising image should be delivered, and price upper limit information that specifies the upper limit of the amount that the advertiser will pay when the advertising image is printed. The advertising image and advertising information are stored in database DBb in the submission process described below. The price upper limit information may be, for example, the upper limit of the bid price per bid, or may be a budget for a predetermined period (for example, one week to several months). The budget for a predetermined period is the average or upper limit of the amount that can be paid per predetermined period.

[0058] Consumer information is information about the consumption behavior of a user who has an associated affiliated user ID. The consumer information is generated based on history information such as search history on a portal site, advertisement reference history, and browsing and purchasing history on a website. The consumer information may include, for example, information about the user's areas of interest, product information, and user attributes (e.g., age group, gender, purchasing power).

[0059] The database DBb also stores standard ink cost information and an ink cost record table IKT. The standard ink cost information is information that is referenced by the above-mentioned standard ink cost calculation unit IEs when calculating the required ink cost. The ink cost record table IKT is a table that records the required ink cost calculated by the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs. The standard ink cost information and the ink cost record table IKT will be described later.

[0060] The bid servers 400B and 400C have the same configuration as the bid server 400A described above.

[0061] The terminal device 700 is a computer owned by the advertiser. The terminal device 700 is a computer including a CPU, memory, and a display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display) (not shown), and is, for example, a personal computer. The terminal device 700 is provided with a predetermined communication interface (not shown) and is connected to the Internet IT.

[0062] A-2. Operation of System 1000 A-2-1. Submission processing Next, a description will be given of the operation of the system 1000. The system 1000 executes an advertisement printing process that causes a printer (e.g., printer 500) of a user who has subscribed to the advertisement distribution service to print an advertisement image. The advertisement image is submitted by an advertiser prior to the advertisement printing process.

[0063] 3 is a sequence diagram of the submission process of the first embodiment. The submission process is executed between the advertiser's terminal device 700 and the bidding server 400. First, the advertiser starts a browser program (not shown) on the terminal device 700, and performs a predetermined operation to upload submission data to the terminal device 700 that functions as a web browser.

[0064] In S1, the terminal device 700 transmits (uploads) the submission data to the bid server 400 in response to the operation. Communication between the terminal device 700 and the bid server 400 is performed using a known protocol, in this embodiment, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). For this purpose, the submission data is transmitted to the bid server 400 as an HTTP request. The submission data includes data of an advertisement image created by an advertiser and advertisement information submitted by the advertiser. When the bid server 400 receives the submission data, the bidding control unit BC of the bid server 400 acquires the submission data (advertisement image and advertisement information).

[0065] In S2, the bidding control unit BC registers the advertisement image and advertisement information included in the submitted data. Specifically, the bidding control unit BC generates unique identification information (hereinafter also referred to as advertisement ID) for identifying the advertisement image, and stores the advertisement image and advertisement information in the database DBa in association with the advertisement ID.

[0066] In S3, the bid control unit BC requests the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs to calculate the required ink cost. When making the request, the bid control unit BC passes the data of the advertisement image registered in S2 to the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs.

[0067] When the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs receives a request to calculate the required ink cost, it analyzes the advertising image included in the submitted data and calculates the printing rate of the advertising image in S4. For example, the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs performs a rasterization process on the advertising image data (e.g., image data in JPEG format) to convert it into RGB image data. The standard ink cost calculation unit IEs then performs a color conversion process and a halftone process on the RGB image data to generate dot data indicating whether or not a print dot is to be formed for each pixel. The color conversion process uses a lookup table to convert the value of each pixel in the RGB image data from a color value in the RGB color system to a color value in the CMYK color system, which uses ink colors as components. The halftone process is performed using a known method such as dithering or error diffusion. The standard ink cost calculation unit IEs then calculates the printing rate using the dot data. The printing rate is calculated, for example, by dividing the total number of CMYK dots to be formed to print the candidate image by the maximum number of CMYK dots that can be formed.

[0068] In S5, the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs calculates the ink cost required for the advertisement image using the standard ink cost information and the printing rate of the advertisement image. The standard ink cost information is stored in the database DBb (FIG. 2(E)) of the bidding server 400. The standard ink cost information is information indicating the standard ink cost (also called the standard ink cost) required when printing a standard image of a standard size (e.g., A4) and the printing rate (also called the reference printing rate) of the standard image. The standard ink cost is calculated, for example, based on the average amount of ink consumed when actually printing a standard image using multiple printers and the average price of ink for the printers.

[0069] Let ICr1 be the standard ink cost, CVs1 be the print rate of the candidate image to be calculated, and CVr1 be the print rate (standard print rate) of the standard image used to calculate the standard ink cost ICr1. Also, let Sk1 be the size coefficient. The size coefficient is a value that indicates the size of the paper used, with the standard size (e.g., A4) being 1. For example, if the standard size is A4 and the paper size used is A5, the size coefficient Sk1 is (1 / 2). In this case, the required ink cost ICs1 is calculated using, for example, the following formula (1): ICs1=Sk1×ICr1×(CVs1 / CVr1) …(1)

[0070] Various known methods may be used to analyze the advertising image and calculate the required ink cost. For example, a table recording a predetermined correspondence between color values ​​in the RGB color system and the ink cost of each color per pixel required to print the color represented by the color value may be stored in the database DBb. The standard ink cost calculation unit IEs refers to the table to identify the ink cost of each color for each pixel of the advertising image. The standard ink cost calculation unit IEs may calculate the required ink cost of the advertising image by summing the ink costs of each color for all pixels. The required ink cost is a value correlated with the amount of ink used to print the advertising image, so information on the required ink cost is an example of color material information related to the amount of ink used to print the advertising image.

[0071] Here, the required ink cost calculated by the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs in S5 is calculated using standard ink cost information that is common regardless of the printer model, so it is a common value regardless of the printer model. For this reason, the required ink cost calculated by the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs is also called the standard required ink cost.

[0072] In S6, the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs passes the calculated standard required ink cost for the advertisement image to the bidding control unit BC.

[0073] In S7, the bidding control unit BC records the required ink cost in association with the advertising image. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the ink cost record table IKT. Specifically, the bidding control unit BC records a record RD including an advertising ID that identifies the advertising image and the standard required ink cost calculated in S5 in the ink cost record table IKT.

[0074] In S8, the bidding control unit BC transmits a submission completion notice indicating that the submission process has been completed to the terminal device 700 that transmitted the submission data. The submission process is completed when the submission completion notice is transmitted. As can be seen from the above explanation, in this embodiment, each time an advertising image is submitted, the standard required ink cost for the advertising image is recorded in the database DBb in addition to the advertising image and advertising information.

[0075] A-2-2. Advertising printing processing The advertisement printing process is a process for printing an advertisement image on a printer (e.g., printer 500) of a user who has subscribed to the advertisement distribution service. FIGS. 5 to 7 are sequence diagrams showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. The advertisement printing process is started by the distribution control unit DC of the advertisement distribution server 300 when a predetermined start condition is met. The predetermined start condition is, for example, when a predetermined time has come.

[0076] In S9, the distribution control unit DC of the advertisement distribution server 300 requests the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the advertisement image from the advertisement space sales unit AS. When making the request, the distribution control unit DC passes page information and model information to the advertisement space sales unit AS. The page information includes, for example, information indicating the size and number of sheets of paper on which the advertisement image will be printed. In this embodiment, the page information indicates that the advertisement image will be printed on one A4 sheet of paper. The model information is information indicating the model of the printer used to print the advertisement image. In this embodiment, the distribution control unit DC obtains model information of the printer 500 from the database DBa and passes it to the advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0077] When the advertisement space sales unit AS receives a request for the URL of the advertisement image, it sets the advertisement solicitation conditions in S10. The solicitation conditions include, for example, the layout pattern of the advertisement image in the print image and the minimum bid price. In this embodiment, the solicitation conditions are set to predetermined conditions.

[0078] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of arrangement patterns. In this embodiment, advertisements are solicited using two types of arrangement patterns (first pattern and second pattern). FIGS. 8(A) and (B) show examples of advertisement templates. In this embodiment, in one advertisement printing process, the printer 500 is caused to print an image for one sheet of paper of a predetermined size (e.g., A4). Advertisement templates PTa and PTb are templates for creating a print image for one sheet of paper. Advertisement template PTa in FIG. 8(A) is used when the first pattern is adopted. Advertisement template PTb in FIG. 8(B) is used when the second pattern is adopted.

[0079] In the first pattern, one ad space AFa is placed per sheet of paper. The ad space AFa is slightly smaller than the size of the paper. In the second pattern, eight ad spaces AFb are placed per sheet of paper. The eight ad spaces AFb are the same size. The size of the ad space AFb in the second pattern is approximately 1 / 8 the size of the ad space AFa in the first pattern. As will be described later, one of the first and second patterns is ultimately adopted, and therefore the first and second patterns can be said to be candidate patterns that are candidates for the arrangement pattern.

[0080] The minimum bid price is a predetermined price determined according to the size of the advertising space. For example, the minimum bid price for the second pattern advertising space AFb is 1 / 8 of the minimum bid price for the second pattern advertising space AFa.

[0081] In S11, the advertising space sales unit AS transmits a bid request to the bidding servers 400A-400C. Similar processing is performed between the advertising delivery server 300 (advertising space sales unit AS) and each of the bidding servers 400A-400C. For this reason, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the bidding servers 400A-400C are not distinguished from each other, and processing is described as being performed between the advertising delivery server 300 and the bidding server 400. Note that communication between the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising delivery server 300 and the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 is performed in accordance with a protocol called OpenRTB. RTB is an abbreviation for "Real Time Bidding."

[0082] The bid request includes slot information, minimum bid price information, and affiliated user ID. The slot information is, for example, the size (number of pixels in the vertical or horizontal direction) of the advertising slots AFa and AFb determined in S10. The minimum bid price information is information indicating the minimum bid price determined in S10. The affiliated user ID is an affiliated user ID associated with the user ID of the user of the printer 500.

[0083] When the bidding server 400 receives the bid request, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the bid request. In S12, the bidding control unit BC requests consumer information from the consumer information management unit CM. When requesting the consumer information, the bid control unit BC passes the affiliated user ID included in the bid request, i.e., the affiliated user ID of the user of the printer 500, to the consumer information management unit CM.

[0084] When the consumer information management unit CM receives the request for consumer information, in S14 it obtains the consumer information associated with the affiliated user ID of the user of the printer 500 from the database DBb and passes it to the bidding control unit BC.

[0085] Upon receiving the consumer information, the bid control unit BC executes a bid determination process in S16. The bid determination process determines the bid price for purchasing the advertising space indicated by the space information included in the bid request, and the advertising image (hereinafter also referred to as the bid image) to be printed using the advertising space if the advertising space is won through the bid. Figure 9 is a flowchart of the bid determination process in the first embodiment.

[0086] 9 is executed for each of the advertising frames of multiple sizes when there are advertising frames of multiple sizes to be bid for. In this embodiment, the bid determination process is executed for each of the advertising frames AFa and AFb described above.

[0087] In S110, the bidding control unit BC selects multiple candidate images that match the consumer information acquired in S14 from the multiple advertising images that have been submitted at this point. For example, the above-mentioned consumer information includes information on fields and products that interest the user of the printer 500, and information on the user's attributes (e.g., age group, gender, purchasing power). The advertising information for each advertising image includes target information that indicates the field, product, and attribute that is the target of the advertising image. For this purpose, the bidding control unit BC selects as candidate images a predetermined number of advertising images that have a high degree of match between the field, product, and attribute indicated in the target information and the field, product, and attribute that interest the user of the printer 500 or the user's attributes. The predetermined number is set to a value greater than the number of advertising spaces that are the subject of bidding.

[0088] In S120, the bidding control unit BC determines the bid price for each candidate image using restriction information that restricts the bid price and bidding history information. The restriction information is information that acts to restrict the bid price. The restriction information includes, for example, the minimum bid price included in the bid request of S11. The restriction information includes the above-mentioned upper price limit information included in the advertising information. The bidding history is information that indicates, for example, the bid price that has been bid for the same advertising space in the past and whether or not the bid was successful at that bid price.

[0089] The bid price for each candidate image is determined according to a predetermined bidding algorithm. For example, the bid control unit BC acquires the base bid prices of multiple bids made over a predetermined period (e.g., one month) in the past. The base bid price is the bid price minus the standard ink cost for the advertising image of that bid. The bid control unit BC determines the current bid price for each candidate image using the base bid prices of successful bids (hereinafter also referred to as successful bids) and unsuccessful bids (hereinafter also referred to as failed bids) among the multiple past bids. For example, the bid price may be determined to be an intermediate value between the average base bid prices of the failed bids and the average base bid prices of the successful bids. Note that the bid prices for each candidate image may be the same or different. For example, the bid price may be adjusted according to the printing history of each candidate image (the number of times it has been printed as an advertising image). For example, the bid price for a candidate image that has been printed many times as an advertising image and has a high budget consumption rate over a predetermined period may be adjusted to be lower. The bid price of a candidate image that has been printed less frequently as an advertising image and has a low budget consumption rate for a predetermined period may be adjusted to a higher price.

[0090] In S140, the bidding control unit BC acquires the standard required ink cost for each candidate image from the ink cost record table IKT (FIG. 4) in the database DBb.

[0091] In S160, the bid control unit BC adjusts the bid price of each candidate image using the standard required ink cost. Specifically, the bid control unit BC adds the standard required ink cost of each candidate image to the bid price of each candidate image. Alternatively, the bid control unit BC may add a value obtained by multiplying the standard required ink cost of each candidate image by a predetermined coefficient (for example, 0.5 to 0.9) to the bid price of each candidate image. In this way, the bid price is adjusted so that the higher the standard required ink cost, the higher the adjusted bid price. The bid price adjusted in this step is the final bid price.

[0092] In S170, the bidding control unit BC determines a bidding image from among the plurality of candidate images using the adjusted bidding price. For example, if the adjusted bidding price of a specific candidate image exceeds the upper limit of the bidding price included in the advertisement information of the candidate image, the specific candidate image is not determined as a bidding image, and the remaining candidate images are determined as bidding images.

[0093] Furthermore, if the adjusted bid price for a specific candidate image is higher than the adjusted bid prices for other candidate images by a predetermined value or more, and the budget consumption rate for the specific candidate image for a predetermined period is equal to or higher than a threshold, the bid price is close to the upper limit, and the specific candidate image may not be selected as the bidding image, and other candidate images may be selected as the bidding image. In this case, even if the specific candidate image is bid at the adjusted bid price, it is unlikely to be successful. For this reason, if the budget consumption rate is sufficiently high, it is better to wait for another bidding opportunity, as a bid may be made at a lower bid price and be successful.

[0094] In this way, the higher the adjusted bid price, the higher the possibility that a bid will not be successful, and therefore the higher the probability that the bid will be excluded from the bidding images. The higher the standard required ink cost of the candidate image, the higher the adjusted bid price, and the lower the standard required ink cost. In other words, the higher the amount of ink used to print the candidate image, the higher the adjusted bid price, and the lower the amount of ink used to print the candidate image, the lower the adjusted bid price. For this reason, in this step, the lower the standard required ink cost of the candidate image, in other words, the less ink used to print the candidate image, the higher the probability that the image will be selected as a bidding image.

[0095] When the bid determination process is executed and the bid image and bid price for each advertising space are determined, in S18 the bid control unit BC of the bid server 400 transmits a bid notification to the advertisement delivery server 300. The bid notification is transmitted as a response to the bid request received in S11. The bid notification includes a bid ID, bid space information indicating the advertising space for which a bid is being made, the bid price, and a bid image URL. The bid image URL is a URL indicating the location of the advertising image determined as the bid image. When multiple bid images have been determined, the bid control unit BC transmits a bid notification for each of the multiple bid images to the advertisement delivery server 300 in S18.

[0096] In S11, the advertisement delivery server 300 transmits bid requests to the plurality of bidding servers 400A-400C, and therefore, in S18, it may receive one or more bid notifications from each of the plurality of bidding servers 400-400C. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the advertisement delivery server 300 receives more bid notifications than the number of advertisement slots.

[0097] In S20, the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising distribution server 300 transmits a bid image request (e.g., an HTTP request) addressed to the bid image URL included in each bid notification. In this embodiment, the bid image URL indicates the data of the advertising image stored in the database DBb of the bid server 400, and therefore the bid image request is transmitted to the bid server 400. When the bid server 400 receives the bid image request, the bid control unit BC of the bid server 400 acquires the bid image request.

[0098] In S22, the bid control unit BC transmits data of the bid image specified by the bid image URL (i.e., the advertising image determined as the bid image) to the advertising distribution server 300 as a response to the bid image request. As a result, the advertising space sales unit AS acquires bid images corresponding to one or more bid notifications. If the number of notified bids is L (L is an integer greater than or equal to 1), L bid images are acquired. The advertising image to be actually printed is determined from these L bid images. The bid price is the consideration for printing the bid image as an advertising image. Here, the bid price may be the amount that the distribution company receives as the consideration when the candidate image is printed as an advertising image. Alternatively, the bid price may be the amount that the advertising client pays as the consideration when the candidate image is printed as an advertising image. Here, the advertising client refers to the advertiser or a company (e.g., a bidding company) that bids on the advertisement and makes payments to the distribution company on behalf of the advertiser. The amount that the distribution company receives as compensation and the amount that the advertising client pays as compensation may be the same or different, depending on, for example, whether or not there is an intermediary margin and how taxes are handled.

[0099] In S24 of Fig. 6, the advertising space sales unit AS executes a successful bid process. The successful bid process is a process for determining a successful bidder and a successful bid price. The successful bidder is an advertiser who acquires the right to purchase advertising space. Fig. 10 is a flowchart of the successful bid process in the first embodiment.

[0100] In S205, the advertising space sales unit AS selects one calculation unit to use from among the multiple ink cost calculation units IE (IE1-IE3 in FIG. 1) based on the model information already acquired in S6. As described above, the model information includes information indicating the manufacturer of the printer 500. The advertising space sales unit AS identifies the manufacturer of the printer 500 by referring to the model information, and selects one ink cost calculation unit IE corresponding to the manufacturer of the printer 500 from among the first to third ink cost calculation units IE1-IE3.

[0101] In S210, the advertising space sales unit AS requests the selected ink cost calculation unit IE to calculate the required ink cost. When making the request, the advertising space sales unit AS passes the model information of the printer 500 and the data of the multiple candidate images acquired in S22 to the ink cost calculation unit IE.

[0102] When the ink cost calculation unit IE receives a request to calculate the required ink cost, it analyzes each bid image and calculates the print rate of each bid image in S215. The method for calculating the print rate of each bid image is the same as the calculation method used by the bid control unit BC to calculate the print rate of the advertisement image in S3 of FIG. 3 described above.

[0103] In S220, the ink cost calculation unit IE calculates the required ink cost for each bid image using the standard ink cost information for the printer 500 and the print rate of each bid image. The ink cost calculation unit IE can reference the standard ink cost information (FIG. 2(D)) for multiple types of printers manufactured by the corresponding manufacturer. Like the program modules of each ink cost calculation unit IE, the standard ink cost information is made public by the manufacturer and stored in a database DBa so that it can be referenced by the ink cost calculation unit IE. The standard ink cost information indicates, for each of multiple types of printers, the ink cost (also referred to as the standard ink cost) required to print a standard image of a standard size (e.g., A4) and the print rate (also referred to as the standard print rate) of the standard image. For example, the standard ink cost is a value calculated by the manufacturer based on the amount of ink consumed when actually printing a standard image using each model of printer and the price of genuine ink for each model of printer. For this reason, the standard ink cost is a different value for each model of printer.

[0104] The ink cost calculation unit IE identifies the model of the printer 500 based on the model information of the printer 500 received from the advertising space sales unit AS. The ink cost calculation unit IE references the standard ink cost information and acquires the standard ink cost and standard printing rate associated with the model of the printer 500. The advertising space sales unit AS calculates the required ink cost for the bid image using the standard ink cost, the standard printing rate, and the printing rate of the bid image.

[0105] The standard ink cost of the printer 500 is ICr2, the print rate of the bid image to be calculated is CVs2, and the print rate (standard print rate) of the standard image used to calculate the standard ink cost ICr2 is CVr2. Also, the size coefficient is Sk2. The size coefficient is a value that indicates the size of the paper used, with the standard size (e.g., A4) being 1. For example, if the standard size is A4 and the size of the paper used is A5, the size coefficient Sk2 is (1 / 2). In this case, the required ink cost ICs2 is calculated, for example, using the following formula (2): ICs2=Sk2×ICr2×(CVs2 / CVr2) …(1)

[0106] As can be seen from the above explanation, the required ink cost calculated by the ink cost calculation unit IE in S220 is calculated using standard ink cost information that differs for each model of printer used for printing, and therefore is a different value for each model of printer. In contrast, the standard required ink cost calculated by the bidding control unit BC in S4 of Figure 3 is calculated using standard ink cost information that is common regardless of the printer model, as described above, and therefore is a common value regardless of the printer model. For this reason, the required ink cost calculated by the ink cost calculation unit IE is also called the model-specific required ink cost. The model-specific required ink cost takes the printer model into account, and therefore indicates the ink cost required to print an image using a printer with greater accuracy than the standard required ink cost.

[0107] Various known methods may be used to analyze the bid images and calculate the required ink costs by model. For example, a table recording a predetermined correspondence between color values ​​in the RGB color system and the ink costs per pixel of each color required to print the color represented by the color values ​​may be stored in the database DBa for each printer model. The advertising space sales unit AS refers to the table to identify the ink costs of each color for each pixel of the bid image. The advertising space sales unit AS may calculate the required ink costs by model for the bid image by totaling the ink costs of each color for all pixels. Furthermore, the method for analyzing the bid images and the information used for the analysis may be different for each of the multiple ink cost calculation units IE1-IE3.

[0108] The model-specific required ink cost is a value that correlates with the amount of ink used to print an image, and therefore information on the model-specific required ink cost is an example of color material information related to the amount of ink used to print an image. As described above, a different standard ink cost is used for each model to calculate the model-specific required ink cost, and therefore the model-specific required ink cost will be a different value depending on the model of printer 500 used to print the image. For this reason, it can be said that when the model of printer 500 is a first model, a first model-specific required ink cost is obtained, and when the model of printer 500 is a second model, a second model-specific required ink cost that is different from the first model-specific required ink cost is obtained.

[0109] In S222, the ink cost calculation unit IE passes the calculated required ink cost by model for each bid image to the advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0110] In S225, the advertising space sales department AS modifies the bid price of each bid by subtracting the model-specific ink cost of the candidate image corresponding to each bid from the bid price of each bid. The modified bid price is also called the modified bid price.

[0111] FIG. 11 is a table showing an example of bid prices and revised bid prices. The table in FIG. 11(A) shows the bid price, the required ink cost by model, and the revised bid price (in units of yen, for example) for each of six bids (bids with bid IDs 0-5) submitted for one advertising space AFa (FIG. 8(A)) of the first pattern. As described above, the revised bid price is a value obtained by subtracting the required ink cost by model from the bid price. As shown in FIG. 11, the revised bid price may also be a negative value.

[0112] The table in Figure 11(B) shows the bid price, required ink cost by model, and revised bid price for each of the 10 bids (bids with bid IDs 11-20) placed for the eight advertising spaces AFb (Figure 8(B)) in the second pattern.

[0113] In S230, the advertising space sales unit AS determines an advertising image to be printed when the advertising image placement pattern is the first pattern of FIG. 8(A) based on the revised bid price (FIG. 11(A)). Specifically, the advertising space sales unit AS selects the bid with the highest revised bid price from among multiple bids for the advertising space AFa of the first pattern. In the example of FIG. 11(A), the bid with bid ID "1" is selected from six bids. The advertising space sales unit AS determines the bid image corresponding to the selected bid as the advertising image to be printed when the placement pattern is the first pattern.

[0114] In S235, the advertising space sales unit AS determines advertising images to be printed when the advertising image placement pattern is the second pattern of FIG. 8(B) based on the revised bid price (FIG. 11(B)). Specifically, the advertising space sales unit AS selects eight bids in descending order of revised bid price from among multiple bids for the advertising space AFb of the second pattern. In the example of FIG. 11(B), eight bids are selected from the ten bids, excluding the two bids with bid IDs "14" and "17". The advertising space sales unit AS determines eight bid images corresponding to the selected eight bids as advertising images to be printed when the second pattern is met.

[0115] In S240, the advertising space sales unit AS determines whether the total bid price of the second pattern is higher than the total bid price of the first pattern. The total bid price is the sum of the revised bid prices of the bids corresponding to the advertising images to be printed. The advertising space sales unit AS calculates and compares the total bid price of the second pattern with the total bid price of the first pattern. In the example of FIG. 11(A), the total bid price of the first pattern is 10 yen. In the example of FIG. 11(B), the total bid price of the second pattern is 12 yen. For this reason, in the example of FIG. 11, it is determined that the total bid price of the second pattern is higher than the total bid price of the first pattern.

[0116] If the total bid price for the second pattern is higher than the total bid price for the first pattern (S240: YES), the advertising space sales department AS determines the layout pattern of the advertising space to be the second pattern in S245. As a result, the advertising image to be printed is determined to be the advertising image determined in S235. The successful bidder is then determined to be the bidder who made the bid corresponding to that advertising image. The successful bid price is determined to be the bid price of the bid corresponding to that advertising image.

[0117] If the total bid price of the second pattern is lower than the total bid price of the first pattern (S240: NO), the advertising space sales unit AS determines the first pattern as the layout pattern of the advertising space in S250. As a result, the advertising image to be printed is determined to be the advertising image determined in S230. The successful bidder is then determined to be the bidder who placed the bid corresponding to that advertising image. The successful bid price is determined to be the bid price of the bid corresponding to that advertising image.

[0118] In S25 after the successful bid process in S24 of Fig. 6, the advertising space sales unit AS transmits a successful bid result notice corresponding to each of the multiple bid notices received in S18. The successful bid result notice is transmitted to the bidding server 400 (one of the bidding servers 400A-400C) that transmitted the bid notice. The successful bid result notice includes a bid ID and successful bid result information. The successful bid result information includes information indicating whether the bid was successful or not, and if the bid was successful, further includes information indicating the successful bid price.

[0119] When the bidding server 400 receives the bidding result notification, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the bidding result notification. If the bidding control unit BC acquires the bidding result notification indicating that the bid was unsuccessful, the processing executed between the advertisement delivery server 300 and the bidding server 400 is terminated. If the bidding control unit BC acquires the bidding result notification indicating that the bid was successful, the processing from S26 onwards in Figure 6 is executed.

[0120] In S26, the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising distribution server 300 passes a URL (advertising image URL) indicating the location of the advertising image to be printed to the distribution control unit DC. The advertising image URL is the URL of the bid image (i.e., the advertising image to be printed) corresponding to the successful bid, among the bid image URLs included in the bid notification already acquired in S18 of FIG. 5.

[0121] In S28, the distribution control unit DC transmits an advertising image request (e.g., an HTTP request) addressed to the received advertising image URL. Since the advertising image URL points to the advertising image data stored in the database DBb of the bid server 400, the advertising image request is transmitted to the bid server 400.

[0122] When the bidding server 400 receives the advertising image request, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the advertising image request. In S29, the bidding control unit BC transmits data of the advertising image specified by the advertising image URL to the advertisement delivery server 300 as a response to the advertising image request. In this embodiment, when the first pattern is adopted, S28 and S40 are executed for one advertisement space AFa, so the advertisement delivery server 300 receives data of one advertisement image corresponding to one advertisement space AFa. When the second pattern is adopted, S28 and S29 are executed for eight advertisement spaces AFb, so the advertisement delivery server 300 receives data of eight advertisement images corresponding to the eight advertisement spaces AFb.

[0123] When the advertisement delivery server 300 receives the advertisement image data, the delivery control unit DC of the advertisement delivery server 300 acquires the advertisement image data. The delivery control unit DC generates one print image PI using the acquired advertisement image at S30. FIG. 8(C) shows a print image PIa generated using the advertisement template PTa of FIG. 8(A). When the first pattern is adopted, the delivery control unit DC generates the print image PIa by, for example, placing one advertisement image AIa in the advertisement frame AFa arranged in the advertisement template PTa. When the second pattern is adopted, the delivery control unit DC generates the print image PI by, for example, placing an advertisement image in each of the eight advertisement frames AFb arranged in the advertisement template PTb (not shown). The data of the print image PI has a known data format, for example, JPEG format, PNG format, or the like.

[0124] In S34, the distribution control unit DC sends a print instruction to the remote print server 200. The print instruction includes, for example, data of the print image PI, information indicating print settings for printing the print image PI, and a device token. The device token is authentication information for remote printing associated with the printer 500.

[0125] When the remote print server 200 receives the print instruction, in S36, the remote print server 200 and the printer 500 execute the remote print process. For example, the CPU 210 of the remote print server 200 generates a print job for printing the print image PI according to the print settings. The CPU 210 identifies the printer 500 to which the print job is to be sent based on the device token. The CPU 110 sends the generated print job to the printer 500.

[0126] In this embodiment, the printer 500 establishes a constant connection with a relay server (not shown) while the printer 500 is powered on. The constant connection is a connection that complies with a protocol such as MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) or XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). In this embodiment, communication between the remote print server 200 and the printer 500 is performed via the relay server.

[0127] When the CPU 510 of the printer 500 receives the print job, it uses the print job to print the print image PI on paper. When the CPU 510 completes printing of the print image PI, it sends a print completion notification to the remote print server 200 via the relay server.

[0128] When the remote printing process in S36 is completed, in S38, the CPU 210 of the remote printing server 200 transmits a print completion notification indicating that printing of the print image PI has been completed to the advertisement delivery server 300. When the advertisement delivery server 300 receives the print completion notification, the delivery control unit DC of the advertisement delivery server 300 acquires the print completion notification. In S40, the delivery control unit DC passes the print completion notification to the advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0129] When the advertising space sales unit AS receives the printing completion notification, in S42, an advertising fee settlement process is executed between the advertising space sales unit AS and the bidding server 400. The advertising fee settlement process is, for example, a process in which the advertiser of the advertising image pays the advertising fee to the business operator operating the advertising distribution server 300. The advertising fee settlement process is executed using a known so-called online settlement method. The amount of the advertising fee is, for example, the successful bid price. Note that, instead of the advertising fee settlement process, in S42, the advertising space sales unit AS may simply send a notification to the bidding server 400 that the advertising fee claim has been finalized. In this case, the actual settlement process may be executed, for example, once per predetermined period, at a predetermined timing (for example, once a month at the beginning of the month).

[0130] When the advertising fee settlement process is completed, the advertising space sales unit AS passes a settlement completion notice to the distribution control unit DC in S44.

[0131] 7, the distribution control unit DC transmits an advertisement printing performance notification to the management server 100. The advertisement printing performance notification includes information indicating the user ID of the user of the printer 500 that printed the print image PI including the advertisement image, and the successful bid prices of one or more advertisement spaces corresponding to one or more advertisement images included in the print image PI.

[0132] When the management server 100 receives the advertisement printing performance notification, the CPU 110 of the management server 100 calculates, in S50, the bonus points to be returned to the user of the printer 500. Specifically, the CPU 110 calculates the bonus points to be returned as the amount obtained by multiplying the total successful bid prices of one or more advertisement spaces by a predetermined return rate (for example, several percent to several tens of percent).

[0133] In S52, the CPU 110 executes a point granting process. Specifically, the CPU 110 adds the value of the bonus points calculated in S50 to the value of the bonus points associated with the user ID indicating the user of the printer 500 in the bonus point information stored in the database DBm. Once the point granting process is executed, the advertisement printing process ends.

[0134] According to the first embodiment described above, the bid server 400 acquires restriction information (specifically, the minimum bid price and the upper price limit information included in the advertisement information) relating to the restriction of the bid price for each of the plurality of candidate images (S11 in FIG. 5, S1 in FIG. 3). The bid server 400 acquires the required ink cost (in this embodiment, the standard required ink cost) for each candidate image (S4, S5 in FIG. 3, S140 in FIG. 9). The bid server 400 determines one or more images to be bid from the plurality of candidate images (S110, S170 in FIG. 9). The bid server 400 determines the bid price of the bid image using the restriction information and the required ink cost (S120-S160 in FIG. 9). The bid server 400 transmits a bid notification including the bid price to the advertisement distribution server 300 (S18 in FIG. 5).

[0135] The advertisement delivery server 300 receives two or more bid notifications including a bid notification transmitted from the bidding server 400A first server (S18 in FIG. 5). The advertisement delivery server 300 determines an advertisement image to be printed from two or more bid images corresponding to the two or more bid notifications using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications (S24 in FIG. 6, FIG. 10). The advertisement delivery server 300 executes processing (S30, S34 in FIG. 6) to cause the printer 500 to print a print image PI including the determined advertisement image.

[0136] According to the above configuration, the bidding server 400 determines the bid price of the bidding image using the restriction information regarding the bid price restriction and the required ink cost of the candidate image, so that a preferable bid price can be determined. As a result, a preferable bid can be made for the advertising space for printing the advertising image, for example, compared to when the bid price is determined without using the required ink cost.

[0137] A more detailed explanation follows. When an advertisement is distributed by printing an advertisement image, ink is used to print the advertisement image. The amount of ink used varies greatly between, for example, an image with a large solid area (e.g., an image with a background filled with a dark color) and an image with a small solid area (e.g., an image with a white background). For this reason, the amount of ink used, and therefore the cost of ink required for printing (required ink cost), can vary greatly for each advertisement image.

[0138] For example, if a distributor that distributes advertisements bears the cost of ink, the profit of the distributor that distributes advertisements will be reduced by at least the cost of ink. For this reason, for example, if the required ink cost is excessively high, the distributor may not be able to make a sufficient profit even if the bid price is high. Conversely, if the required ink cost is sufficiently low, the distributor may be able to secure a profit even if the bid price is low.

[0139] In cases where the user of the printer 500 bears the cost of the necessary ink, if the user is unable to receive appropriate reward points in proportion to the user's burden, the user may not continue using the advertising distribution service. For example, if the cost of ink required to print advertising images is excessively high, the user's burden may become excessively high. In this case, if the advertising price paid by the advertiser is low, sufficient reward points may not be returned to the user to cover the user's burden. Conversely, if the cost of ink required for printing is sufficiently low, the user's burden will also be low, so it may not be a problem if the number of reward points returned to the user is low due to the low advertising price paid by the advertiser.

[0140] For this reason, in this embodiment, in the successful bid process, an advertisement image is determined taking into consideration the required ink cost for each of the bid images. For example, in this embodiment, in the successful bid process (FIG. 10), the advertisement distribution server 300 acquires the required ink cost by model for each of the two or more bid images (S205-222 in FIG. 10), and determines the advertisement image to be printed from among the two or more bid images using the bid price included in the bid notification and the required ink cost by model for each of the two or more bid images (S225-250 in FIG. 10). As a result, when printing an advertisement image, an image that is preferable from the perspective of the profitability of the advertisement distribution service provider and the burden on the user of the printer 500 can be determined as the advertisement image.

[0141] In response to this, it is preferable to take into account the ink cost required for each image when determining the images to be bid and the bid price. For example, if an image with an excessively high ink cost and an image with a sufficiently low ink cost are bid at the same bid price, the former image is unlikely to be sold, and the latter image is likely to be sold. For this reason, when bidding on an image with an excessively high ink cost during a single bidding opportunity, it is preferable to set a sufficiently high bid price, and if it is not possible to set a sufficiently high bid price, it may be preferable to refrain from bidding. Furthermore, when bidding on an image with a sufficiently low ink cost, the bid price may be kept low and the image may be sold without any problems, so it may be preferable to set a low bid price and aim for multiple prints within a low budget.

[0142] In consideration of these circumstances, according to this embodiment, when determining the bid price, the required ink cost for each bid image is taken into consideration, thereby preventing the bid price from being determined to be excessively high or excessively low, and more favorable bids can be made.

[0143] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bidding server 400 determines one or more bid images from among a plurality of candidate images using the restriction information and the required ink cost (S160, S170 in FIG. 9). As a result, for example, compared to determining bid images without using the required ink cost, more favorable bids can be made for advertising spaces for printing advertising images. For example, it is possible to prevent bids that are unlikely to be successful from being made.

[0144] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bid server 400 registers an advertising image that is a candidate for a bid image in the submission process of FIG. 3 (S1 in FIG. 3). When the advertising image is registered, the bid server 400 records the required ink cost in association with the advertising image in the ink cost record table IKT of the database DBb (S5 in FIG. 3, FIG. 4). In the bid determination process, the bid server 400 obtains the required ink cost of the candidate image from the ink cost record table IKT of the database DBb. As a result, for example, there is no need to analyze the candidate image (advertising image) and calculate the required ink cost each time the bid determination process is executed, which reduces the load on the bid server 400, particularly the load on the bid determination process, and enables bid images and bid prices to be determined quickly.

[0145] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bidding server 400 further calculates the required ink cost for the candidate image by analyzing the advertisement image when the advertisement image is registered during the submission process (S3, S4 in FIG. 3). As a result, the bidding server 400 can obtain the required ink cost itself without having to ask the advertiser to prepare information on the required ink cost. Furthermore, the calculated required ink cost is the standard required ink cost calculated for each advertisement image, regardless of the printer model. As a result, the required ink cost can be easily calculated even when the model of the printer used for printing is unknown. In addition, the calculation load can be significantly reduced compared to calculating the model-specific required ink cost for all models that can be used to print the advertisement image.

[0146] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in the bid determination process, the bid price is adjusted so that the higher the required ink cost, the higher the adjusted bid price (S160 in FIG. 9). In other words, the bid price is adjusted so that the greater the amount of colorant required to print the candidate image, the higher the adjusted bid price. That is, the multiple candidate images include a first candidate image and a second candidate image that requires a greater amount of colorant to print than the first candidate image. In this case, when the bid image for a specific advertising space is the second candidate image, the bid server 400 determines a higher bid price than when the bid image for the specific advertising space is the first candidate image. When the advertisement delivery server 300 determines a winning bid taking the required ink cost into consideration, as in this embodiment, it is considered that the bid server 400 determines a winning bid so that a profit remains even after bearing the required ink cost. For this reason, when considering the required ink cost, it is considered preferable that the bid server 400 determine a higher bid price for a bid image that requires a higher required ink cost. According to this embodiment, an appropriate bid price can be determined taking the required ink cost into consideration.

[0147] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the lower the required ink cost of a candidate image, in other words, the less ink is used to print the candidate image, the higher the probability that the candidate image will be selected as the bid image (S170 in FIG. 9). That is, the multiple candidate images include a first candidate image and a second candidate image that requires a larger amount of coloring material for printing than the first candidate image. In this case, the bidding server 400 selects the first candidate image as the bid image for a specific advertising space with a higher probability than the second candidate image. When the advertising distribution server 300 considers the required ink cost when making a bid, as in this embodiment, profits are reduced by the amount of the required ink cost. Therefore, it is considered that the bid image with a lower required ink cost is prioritized as the successful bid. According to this embodiment, the first candidate image that requires a smaller amount of ink to print is selected as the advertising image with a higher probability, thereby reducing unnecessary bids.

[0148] As can be seen from the above explanation, the information on the standard required ink cost in this embodiment is an example of color material information.

[0149] B. Second Example Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000b according to a second embodiment. The system 1000b includes an advertisement delivery server 300b instead of the advertisement delivery server 300 in Fig. 1. The non-volatile storage device 330 of the advertisement delivery server 300b stores a computer program PGab and a database DBab instead of the computer program PGa and the database DBa.

[0150] Unlike the computer program PGa of the first embodiment, the computer program PGab does not include a program module that realizes the ink cost calculation unit IE (IE1-IE3). Therefore, the advertising space sales unit AS realized by the CPU 310 executing the computer program PGab does not include the function of the ink cost calculation unit IE (IE1-IE3).

[0151] Unlike database DBa in Fig. 2(D), database DBab does not store information referenced by ink cost calculation unit IE, i.e., standard ink cost information for each printer model. The other information stored in database DBab is the same as that stored in database DBa in Fig. 2(D). Furthermore, the other configuration of advertisement delivery server 300b is the same as that of advertisement delivery server 300 in Fig. 1.

[0152] The system 1000b includes bid servers 400bA-400bC instead of the bid servers 400A-400C in Fig. 1. The non-volatile storage device 430 of the bid server 400bA stores a computer program PGbb and a database DBbb instead of the computer program PGb and the database DBb.

[0153] Unlike the computer program PGb of the first embodiment, the computer program PGbb does not include a program module that implements the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs. Therefore, the bidding control unit BC implemented by the CPU 310 executing the computer program PGab does not include the functionality of the standard ink cost calculation unit IEs.

[0154] Database DBbb differs from database DBb in Fig. 2(E) in that it does not store the standard ink cost information referenced by ink cost calculation unit IE or the ink cost record table IKT in which the standard ink costs are recorded. Furthermore, the other information stored in database DBbb is the same as that stored in database DBb in Fig. 2(E). Furthermore, the other configurations of bidding server 400bA are the same as those of bidding server 400A in Fig. 1.

[0155] The bid servers 400bB and 400bC of the second embodiment have the same configuration as the above-mentioned bid server 400bA. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the three bid servers 400bA-400bC, the alphabet at the end of the reference numeral will be omitted and they will also be referred to as bid servers 400b.

[0156] The system 1000b includes the advertisement distribution server 300b and bidding servers 400bA-400bC described above, the management server 100, the remote print server 200, and the printer 500 similar to those in the first embodiment, and additionally includes external servers 600A-600C.

[0157] The first external server 600A includes a CPU 610, a volatile storage device 620, a nonvolatile storage device 630, and a communication IF 680, similar to those of the management server 100. The nonvolatile storage device 630 stores a computer program PGe and a database DBe.

[0158] The computer program PGe is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a business operator that operates the external server 600A. The CPU 610 of the external server 600A executes the computer program PGe to function as a first ink cost calculation unit IE1. As shown in Fig. 12, the database DBe stores reference ink cost information referenced by the first ink cost calculation unit IE1.

[0159] The second external server 600B and the third external server 600C have the same configuration as the first external server 600A described above. The CPU of the second external server 600B functions as a second ink cost calculation unit IE2 by executing a computer program (not shown). The CPU of the second external server 600B functions as a second ink cost calculation unit IE2 by executing a computer program (not shown). Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the three ink cost calculation units IE1-IE3, the numbers at the end of the reference numerals will be omitted, as in the first embodiment, and they will also be referred to as ink cost calculation units IE.

[0160] The ink cost calculation unit IE is a functional unit that calculates the ink cost required when printing an image using a printer, similar to the ink cost calculation unit IE in the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, each ink cost calculation unit IE corresponds to a specific printer manufacturer. That is, the first external server 600A functioning as the first ink cost calculation unit IE1 provides a service that calculates the ink cost required when printing an image using a printer manufactured by the first manufacturer. The second external server 600B functioning as the second ink cost calculation unit IE2 and the third external server 600C functioning as the third ink cost calculation unit IE3 provide services that calculate the ink cost required when printing an image using a printer manufactured by the second manufacturer and the third manufacturer, respectively.

[0161] In this embodiment, the external servers 600A, 600B, and 600C are operated by a first manufacturer, a second manufacturer, and a third manufacturer, respectively. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the three external servers 600A-600C, the alphabet at the end of the reference numeral will be omitted and they will also be referred to as external server 600.

[0162] In the second embodiment, the content of the submission process in FIG. 3 is also different from that in the first embodiment. In the submission process in the second embodiment, steps S3-S7 in FIG. 3 are not executed. In other words, in the submission process in the second embodiment, only steps S1, S2, and S8 in FIG. 3 are executed. For this reason, in the second embodiment, the standard required ink cost is not calculated or recorded when an advertising image is submitted.

[0163] In the second embodiment, the bid request in S11 of Fig. 5 further includes model information of the printer 500 used to print the advertising image. In the second embodiment, the bid determination process in S16 of Fig. 5 and the successful bid process in S24 of Fig. 6 are different from those in the first embodiment. Since the other operations in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, the bid determination process and successful bid process in the second embodiment will be described below.

[0164] 13 is a flowchart of the bid determination process of the second embodiment. The bid determination process of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the bid server 400b obtains the required ink cost for each candidate image using the external server 600. The bid determination process of the second embodiment also differs from the first embodiment in that the required ink cost by model is obtained instead of the standard required ink cost.

[0165] In S110B, similarly to S110 in FIG. 9, the bidding control unit BC selects a plurality of candidate images that match the consumer information acquired in S14 in FIG. 5 from a plurality of advertisement images that have been submitted at this point.

[0166] In S120B, similarly to S120 in FIG. 9, the bidding control unit BC determines the bidding price for each candidate image using restriction information that restricts the bidding price and the bidding record information.

[0167] In S125B, the bidding control unit BC selects one external server 600 to use from among the multiple external servers 600 (600A-600C in FIG. 12) based on the model information included in the bid request in S11 in FIG. 5. As described above, the model information includes information indicating the manufacturer of the printer 500. The advertising space sales unit AS identifies the manufacturer of the printer 500 by referring to the model information, and selects one external server 600 corresponding to the manufacturer of the printer 500 from among the first to third external servers 600A-600C.

[0168] In S130B, the bid control unit BC sends an ink cost calculation request to the selected external server 600. Communication between the bid control unit BC of the bid server 400b and the external server 600 is carried out in accordance with a known protocol. In this embodiment, HTTP is used for this communication, so the ink cost calculation request is an HTTP request. The ink cost calculation request includes model information of the printer 500 and data of the multiple candidate images selected in S110B.

[0169] When the external server 600 (CPU 610) receives the ink cost calculation request, it analyzes each candidate image included in the ink cost calculation request and calculates the printing rate for each candidate image in S140B. The method for calculating the printing rate is the same as the method used in S215 of FIG. 10, which was already explained in the first embodiment.

[0170] In S145B, the external server 600 calculates the model-specific required ink cost for each candidate image using the standard ink cost information for the printer 500 and the printing rate for each candidate image. The external server 600 calculates the model-specific required ink cost using the method used in S220 of FIG. 10, which was already explained in the first embodiment. That is, the external server 600 identifies the model of the printer 500 based on the model information for the printer 500 included in the ink cost calculation request. The external server 600 references the standard ink cost information recorded in the database DBab to obtain the standard ink cost and standard printing rate associated with the model of the printer 500. The external server 600 calculates the model-specific required ink cost for the candidate image using the standard ink cost, standard printing rate, and printing rate of the candidate image.

[0171] As described above, the model-specific required ink cost is calculated using a different standard ink cost for each model, and therefore the model-specific required ink cost will be a different value depending on the model of printer 500 used to print the advertising image. For this reason, it can be said that if the model of printer 500 is a first model, the first model-specific required ink cost is obtained, and if the model of printer 500 is a second model, the second model-specific required ink cost, which is different from the first model-specific required ink cost, is obtained.

[0172] In S150B, the external server 600 transmits the calculated required ink cost by model for each candidate image to the bidding server 400b in response to the ink cost calculation request. When the bidding server 400b receives the required ink cost by model for each candidate image, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400b acquires the required ink cost by model.

[0173] In S160B, the bid control unit BC adjusts the bid price of each candidate image using the model-specific required ink cost. Specifically, the bid control unit BC adds the model-specific required ink cost of each candidate image to the bid price of each candidate image. Alternatively, the bid control unit BC may add a value obtained by multiplying the model-specific required ink cost of each candidate image by a predetermined coefficient (for example, 0.5 to 0.9) to the bid price of each candidate image. In this way, the bid price is adjusted so that the higher the model-specific required ink cost, the higher the adjusted bid price. The bid price adjusted in this step is the final bid price.

[0174] In S170B, similar to S170 in FIG. 9, the bid control unit BC uses the adjusted bid price to determine a bid image from among multiple candidate images. For example, if the adjusted bid price of a specific candidate image exceeds the upper limit of the bid price included in the advertising information of the candidate image, the specific candidate image is not determined as the bid image, and the remaining candidate images are determined as the bid images. Also, if the adjusted bid price of a specific candidate image is higher than the adjusted bid prices of other candidate images by a predetermined value or more, and the budget consumption rate for the specific candidate image for a predetermined period is equal to or greater than a threshold, the upper limit of the bid price is close to the upper limit of the bid price, so the specific candidate image is not determined as the bid image, and other candidate images may be determined as the bid images. Once the bid image is determined, the bid determination process ends.

[0175] Next, the bidding process of the second embodiment will be described. Fig. 14 is a flowchart of the bidding process of the second embodiment. The bidding process of the second embodiment differs from the bidding process of the first embodiment (Fig. 10) in that the advertising space sales department AS acquires the required ink cost using the external server 600.

[0176] In S205B, the advertising space sales department AS selects one external server 600 to use from among the multiple external servers 600 (600A-600C in Fig. 12) based on the model information acquired in S9 in Fig. 5. Specifically, similar to S125B in Fig. 13 described above, the advertising space sales department AS identifies the manufacturer of the printer 500 by referring to the model information, and selects one external server 600 corresponding to the manufacturer of the printer 500 from among the first to third external servers 600A-600C.

[0177] In S210B, the advertising space sales unit AS sends an ink cost calculation request to the selected external server 600. Communication between the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising delivery server 300b and the external server 600 is performed according to a known protocol. In this embodiment, HTTP is used for the communication, so the ink cost calculation request is an HTTP request. The ink cost calculation request includes model information of the printer 500 and data on the multiple bid images acquired in S22 of FIG. 5.

[0178] When the external server 600 (CPU 610) receives the ink cost calculation request, it analyzes each bid image included in the ink cost calculation request and calculates the printing rate of each bid image in S215B. The method for calculating the printing rate is the same as the method used in S215 of FIG. 10 described in the first embodiment.

[0179] In S220B, the external server 600 calculates the required ink cost by model for each bid image using the standard ink cost information of the printer 500 and the printing rate of each candidate image. The external server 600 calculates the required ink cost by model using the method used in S220 of Fig. 10 already explained in the first embodiment.

[0180] In S222B, the external server 600 transmits the calculated required ink cost by model for each bid image to the advertisement delivery server 300b as a response to the ink cost calculation request. When the advertisement delivery server 300b receives the required ink cost by model for each bid image, the advertisement space sales department AS of the advertisement delivery server 300b acquires the required ink cost by model.

[0181] The processing of S225B-S250B in Fig. 14 is the same as the processing of S225-S250 in Fig. 10. For this reason, a description of the processing of S225B-S250B in Fig. 14 will be omitted.

[0182] According to the second embodiment described above, the bidding server 400b acquires model information indicating the model of the printer 500 (S11 in FIG. 5), and acquires the model-specific required ink cost using the model information (S150B in FIG. 13). If the model of the printer 500 is a first model, the bidding server 400b acquires the first model-specific required ink cost, and if the model of the printer 500 is a second model, the bidding server 400b acquires a second model-specific required ink cost that is different from the first model-specific required ink cost. As a result, the bidding image and bid price can be determined taking into account the required ink cost according to the model of the printer 500 used to print the advertisement image. Therefore, when printing the advertisement image, a more preferable image can be determined as the advertisement image.

[0183] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bidding server 400b acquires model information of the printer 500 each time a print image PI including an advertisement image is printed (S11 in FIG. 5), and uses the model information to acquire the model-specific required ink cost corresponding to the model of the printer 500 (S150B in FIG. 13). As a result, the bidding server 400b does not need to calculate the required ink cost at the time of submission, and does not need to store the required ink cost for all submitted advertisement images. Furthermore, a preferred bid price and bid image can be determined each time a print image PI is printed.

[0184] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bidding server 400b calculates the required ink cost using a different external server 600 for each manufacturer of the printer 500 (S125B in FIG. 13). That is, if the model of the printer 500 is a first model (e.g., a model manufactured by a first manufacturer), the bidding server 400b sends an ink cost calculation request to the first external server 600A and obtains the first required ink cost for each of the multiple candidate images from the first external server 600A. If the model of the printer 500 is a second model (e.g., a model manufactured by a second manufacturer), the bidding server 400b sends an ink cost calculation request to the second external server 600B and obtains the second required ink cost for each of the multiple candidate images from the second external server 600B. As a result, by using multiple external servers 600, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate required ink cost according to the printer model (S140B-S145B in FIG. 13). Therefore, the cost of ink used for printing can be more appropriately taken into consideration, allowing for more favorable bid prices and bid images to be determined. Also, for example, there is no need for the advertiser to prepare ink information. Furthermore, since the bid server 400b itself does not need to calculate the required ink cost, the processing load on the bid server 400b can be reduced.

[0185] Furthermore, the advertisement delivery server 300b also uses the same external server 600 to obtain the required ink cost by model (S205B-S222B in FIG. 14), and uses the required ink cost by model to determine an advertisement image from among multiple bid images (S225B-S250B in FIG. 14). As a result, the bidding server 400b can determine the bid images and bid prices using the same required ink cost as the required ink cost used by the advertisement delivery server 300b in the successful bid process. Therefore, it is possible to determine a more preferable bid price and bid images than when the advertisement delivery server 300b uses a required ink cost different from the required ink cost used in the successful bid process (for example, a standard required ink cost).

[0186] As can be seen from the above explanation, the information on the required ink cost by model in this embodiment is an example of color material information.

[0187] C. Variations (1) In the above embodiments, the advertisement delivery server 300, 300b uses the required ink cost in the bidding process (FIGS. 10 and 14) to determine the advertisement image from among the multiple bid images. Alternatively, the advertisement delivery server 300, 300b may determine the advertisement image from among the multiple bid images without using the required ink cost in the bidding process. For example, the advertisement delivery server 300, 300b may use only the bid price in the bidding process to simply determine the candidate images, the number of which corresponds to the number of advertising spaces, as advertisement images in descending order of bid price. Even in this case, the bidding server 400, 400b may use the required ink cost of each candidate image in the bid determination process to determine the bid price and the bid image.

[0188] For example, when an advertising image is printed, the advertiser is charged for the ink cost for the amount of ink used to print the advertising image separately from the bid price. In such a system, it is preferable that the advertising distribution server 300, 300b, in the bidding process, determine the advertising image using only the bid price without using the required ink cost. In this case, it is preferable that the bidding server 400, 400b, in the bid determination process, determine the bid price while taking into account the required ink cost, which is charged separately. For example, if the bid price is determined without taking into account the required ink cost, even if the bid price is intended to be low, if the required ink cost is unexpectedly high, the total amount paid by the advertiser may exceed the expected budget or upper limit. In such a case, the bidding server 400, 400b may determine the bid price using the required ink cost of the candidate image so that the total of the bid price and the required ink cost does not exceed the expected budget or upper limit. Also, for example, it is assumed that the same advertiser submits a candidate image A with a lower required ink cost and a candidate image B with a higher required ink cost but a higher advertising effectiveness. In this case, the bidding server 400, 400b may use the required ink costs of the candidate images A and B to appropriately switch the image to be determined as the bidding image between candidate image A and candidate image B so that the total amount of the bid price and required ink costs does not exceed the budget for the specified period.

[0189] Alternatively, when an advertising image is printed, the ink cost for the amount of ink used to print the advertising image is borne by the user of the printer 500. Even in such a system, the advertising distribution server 300, 300b may determine the advertising image using only the bid price in the successful bid process, without using the required ink cost. In this case, the bidding server 400, 400b may determine the bid image in the bid determination process, taking into account the required ink cost that will be borne by the user, so as not to excessively burden the user.

[0190] (2) In each of the above embodiments, the bid server 400, 400b determines both the bid price and the bid image using the required ink cost of each candidate image in the bid determination process. Alternatively, in the bid determination process, the element determined using the required ink cost of the candidate image may be either the bid price or the bid image. For example, in the bid determination process of FIG. 9, the process of S170, in which the bid image is determined taking the required ink cost into consideration, may be omitted. In this case, all of the multiple candidate images selected in S110 may be determined as the bid images.

[0191] Furthermore, when a system is adopted in which the ink cost for the amount of ink used to print the advertising image is charged to the advertiser separately from the bid price, as described in the above variant example (1), the bidding servers 400, 400b may determine the bidding image to be either candidate image A or candidate image B, taking into account the required ink cost, and may determine the bid price for the bidding image without taking into account the required ink cost.

[0192] (3) In the first embodiment, the required ink cost calculated at the time of submission in the submission process and recorded in the ink cost record table IKT is the standard required ink cost that is common regardless of model, as described above. Alternatively, at the time of submission, the bidding server 400 may calculate, either by itself or using the external server 600, the model-specific required ink cost for all models of printers expected to be used for printing, and record these in the ink cost record table IKT in association with the advertising image and model information. In this case, the model-specific required ink cost is used instead of the standard required ink cost for each candidate image in the bid determination process of the first embodiment.

[0193] (4) In the successful bid process (FIGS. 10 and 14) in each of the above embodiments, the advertisement delivery server 300, 300b determines the advertisement image to be printed from among the multiple bid images using the required ink cost by model. Alternatively, the advertisement delivery server 300, 300b may determine the advertisement image to be printed from among the multiple bid images using the standard required ink cost.

[0194] (5) In the second embodiment, the color material information received by the advertisement delivery server 300b and the bid server 400b from the external server 600 is the required ink cost (S150B in FIG. 13, S222B in FIG. 14). Alternatively, the color material information received from the external server 600 may be an estimated value of the amount of ink used to print the candidate images and bid images (hereinafter also referred to as the amount of ink used, in units of, for example, milliliters). In this case, for example, the database DBe of the external server 600 stores reference ink amount information that differs depending on the model for each model. The reference ink amount information indicates, for example, the amount of ink required to print a reference image of a standard size (e.g., A4) (reference ink amount) and the print rate of the reference image (reference print rate). The external server 600 uses the reference ink amount information to calculate the amount of ink used for each candidate image and bid image. The advertisement delivery server 300b and the bidding server 400b convert the amount of ink used into the required ink cost by multiplying the amount of ink used received from the external server 600 by a predetermined conversion coefficient. The conversion coefficient may be, for example, a different value for each model, or may be a value common to multiple models.

[0195] (6) In each of the above embodiments, after determining the advertising image to be printed, the advertising delivery server 300, 300b transmits a print instruction for the advertising image to the remote print server 200 (S34 in FIG. 6). Alternatively, the advertising delivery server 300, 300b may generate a print job by itself and transmit the print job directly to the printer 500. Also, if the printer 500 is configured to receive image data in a predetermined format (e.g., PDF format) and then execute printing using the image data, the advertising delivery server 300, 300b may simply transmit the advertising image data in the predetermined format to the printer 500.

[0196] (7) The layout pattern of the advertising image in the print image PI may be a pattern different from the two patterns shown in FIG. 8. For example, the layout pattern employed may include two or more different sizes of advertising spaces. For example, a layout pattern including one advertising space that is half the size of the print image and four advertising spaces that are one-eighth the size of the print image may be employed. Furthermore, in the bidding process of the first and second embodiments, one layout pattern may be determined from three or more candidate layout patterns.

[0197] (8) In the first embodiment described above, in S225 of FIG. 10, the bid price is corrected by subtracting the required ink cost from the bid price. This is not a limitation, and the bid price may be corrected by other methods. For example, the advertising space sales unit AS determines a correction amount ΔH that increases as the index value correlated with the required ink cost increases. The correction amount ΔH is determined, for example, by referring to a table that defines a predetermined correspondence between the index value and the correction amount ΔH. The advertising space sales unit AS may correct the bid price by subtracting the correction amount from the bid price.

[0198] (9) In each of the above embodiments, the advertisement distribution service is realized by the cooperation of four types of servers 100-400. The configuration of the servers providing the advertisement distribution service may be various. For example, the distribution control unit DC and the advertisement space sales unit AS of the advertisement distribution servers 300 and 300b may be separate servers. Similarly, the bidding control unit BC and the consumer information management unit CM of the bidding servers 400 and 400b may be separate servers.

[0199] Furthermore, the processes executed by the management server 100, the remote print server 200, and the advertisement delivery server 300 (or the advertisement delivery server 300b) may be executed by a single server. Alternatively, the processes executed by any two servers among the management server 100, the remote print server 200, and the advertisement delivery server 300 (or the advertisement delivery server 300b) may be executed by a single server.

[0200] (10) In the above embodiments, part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, part or all of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[0201] The present invention has been described above based on examples and modifications, but the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0202] 1000, 1000b...system, 100...management server, 110...CPU, 120...volatile storage device, 130...non-volatile storage device, 180...communication IF, 200...remote print server, 210...CPU, 220...volatile storage device, 230...non-volatile storage device, 280...communication IF, 300, 300b...advertising distribution server, 310...CPU, 320...volatile storage device, 330...non-volatile storage device, 380...communication IF, 400A-400C, 400bA-400bC...bidding server, 410...CPU, 420...volatile storage device, 430...non-volatile storage device, 480...communication IF, 500...printer, 510...CPU, 520...volatile storage device, 530...non-volatile storage Storage device, 540...display unit, 550...operation unit, 570...printing mechanism, 580...communication IF, 600...external server, 600A...first external server, 600A...external server, 600A-600C...external servers, 610...CPU, 620...volatile storage device, 630...non-volatile storage device, 680...communication IF, 700...terminal device, DC...distribution control unit, AS...advertising space sales unit, BC...bidding control unit, CM...consumer information management unit, DBa, DBb, DBm, DBp, DBr, DBe...database, PGa, PGb, PGm, PGp, PGr, PGe...computer program, IKT...ink cost record table, IE1-IE3...ink cost calculation unit, IEs...standard ink cost calculation unit,

Claims

1. A printing system including a first server that sells advertising space for printing advertising images, and a second server that makes bids for the advertising space, The second server a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding a restriction on a bid price for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image; a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information relating to the amount of color material used to print the candidate image; a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from the plurality of candidate images; a bid price determination unit that determines the bid price of the bid image using the restriction information and the color material information; a bid sending unit that sends a notice of the bid including at least the bid price to the first server; Equipped with The first server a bid receiving unit that receives two or more bid notifications including the bid notification transmitted from the second server; an advertising image determination unit that determines the advertising image to be printed from among two or more bid images corresponding to the two or more bid notifications, using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications; a print processing unit that executes a process for causing a printer to print a print image including the determined advertisement image; A printing system comprising:

2. 2. The printing system of claim 1, The bid image determination unit determines one or more of the bid images from among the plurality of candidate images using the restriction information and the color material information.

3. A printing system including a first server that sells advertising space for printing advertising images, and a second server that makes bids for the advertising space, The second server a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding a restriction on a bid price for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image; a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information relating to the amount of color material used to print the candidate image; a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from among the plurality of candidate images using the restriction information and the color material information; a bid price determination unit that determines the bid price of the bid image; a bid sending unit that sends a notice of the bid including at least the bid price to the first server; Equipped with The first server a bid receiving unit that receives two or more bid notifications including the bid notification transmitted from the first server; an advertising image determination unit that determines the advertising image to be printed from among two or more bid images corresponding to the two or more bid notifications, using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications; a print processing unit that executes a process for causing a printer to print a print image including the determined advertisement image; A printing system comprising:

4. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The first server further includes a third acquisition unit that acquires the color material information of each of the two or more bid images; The advertising image determination unit determines the advertising image to be printed from among the two or more bid images using the bid prices included in the two or more bid notifications and the color material information of each of the two or more bid images.

5. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The second server a registration processing unit that registers the candidate image; a recording unit that records the color material information in a database in association with the candidate image when the candidate image is registered; Equipped with The second acquisition unit acquires the color material information of the candidate image from the database.

6. 6. The printing system according to claim 5, the second server further includes a calculation unit that calculates the color material information of the candidate image by analyzing the candidate image when the candidate image is registered, the calculation unit calculating the color material information for each candidate image regardless of the model of the printer used to print the candidate image; The recording unit records the color material information calculated by the calculation unit in the database.

7. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The second server further a fourth acquisition unit that acquires model information indicating a model of the printer that is to print the advertisement image; A printing system in which the second acquisition unit acquires first color material information when the printer model indicated by the model information is a first model, and acquires second color material information different from the first color material information when the printer model is a second model.

8. 8. The printing system according to claim 7, Each time the print image including the advertisement image is printed, the first acquisition unit acquires the restriction information for each of the plurality of candidate images; the fourth acquisition unit acquires the model information of the printer; The second acquisition unit acquires the color material information according to the model of the printer indicated by the model information.

9. 8. The server according to claim 7, The second acquisition unit If the model of the printer is the first model, an information request is sent to a first external server to acquire the first color material information from the first external server; If the model of the printer is the second model, the server transmits an information request to a second external server different from the first external server and acquires the second colorant information from the second external server.

10. 3. The printing system according to claim 1, the candidate images include a first candidate image and a second candidate image that requires a larger amount of color material for printing than the first candidate image; A printing system in which the bid price determination unit determines a higher bid price when the bid image for a specific advertising space is the second candidate image than when the bid image for the specific advertising space is the first candidate image.

11. 4. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein: the candidate images include a first candidate image and a second candidate image that requires a larger amount of color material for printing than the first candidate image; The bid image determination unit determines the first candidate image as the bid image for a specific advertising space with a higher probability than the second candidate image.

12. a bidding server that is communicably connected to a sales server that sells advertising frames for printing advertising images, and that makes bids for the advertising frames; a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding a restriction on a bid price for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image; a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information relating to the amount of color material used to print the candidate image; a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from the plurality of candidate images; a bid price determination unit that determines the bid price of the bid image using the restriction information and the color material information; a bid sending unit that sends a notice of the bid including at least the bid price to the sales server; A bidding server comprising:

13. a bidding server that is communicably connected to a sales server that sells advertising frames for printing advertising images, and that makes bids for the advertising frames; a first acquisition unit that acquires restriction information regarding a restriction on a bid price for each of a plurality of candidate images that are candidates for the advertising image; a second acquisition unit that acquires color material information relating to the amount of color material used to print the candidate image; a bid image determination unit that determines one or more bid images from among the plurality of candidate images using the restriction information and the color material information; a bid price determination unit that determines the bid price of the bid image; a bid sending unit that sends a notice of the bid including at least the bid price to the sales server; A bidding server comprising:

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