Print server programs and printing systems

Abstract

When using multiple printers from an information processing device, the availability of printers can be increased. The objective is to provide advanced technology. [Solution] Print settings including general print settings and specific print settings for each printer 2, 3, and 4 It generates a union of sets, and then sets general and specific print settings based on that union. Accepting this expands the options for print settings, and when a print job is entered, By determining the printer to which the print job is sent based on the settings of the specific print settings, When printer-specific print settings are configured, the system will select the printer best suited to those settings from among multiple printers. A print job is sent to the connected printer. This connects multiple printers 2, 3, and 4. This can improve the usability of printers in a modern printing system.

Claims

1. It is executable by the computer of the information processing device, and the operator of the information processing device A print server program that can be registered as a printer in the printing system, To the aforementioned computer, Capability information indicating capabilities is obtained from multiple printers connected to the aforementioned information processing device. The acquisition process that is advantageous, From the multiple capability information obtained in the aforementioned acquisition process, the print settings for the print job are set A generation process is performed to generate a union of determinable setting values, and the union contains each print It is possible to include unique information, which is a setting value specific to the device. Furthermore, the computer, Based on the union generated in the above generation process, the unique information among the print settings A reception process that accepts settings related to, For a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in the aforementioned operating system There is a print command that specifies the print server program as the output destination, and the operator The print system sends a print job based on the print instruction to the print server program. When input into the field, based on the settings relating to the unique information received in the reception process, Next, the printer to which the print job will be sent is determined from among the multiple printers. Decision processing, A transmission process that sends the print job to the printer determined in the above determination process, To execute A print server program characterized by the following features.

2. In the print server program described in claim 1, To the aforementioned computer, When the print server program is started, the acquisition process is executed. A print server program characterized by the following features.

3. In the print server program described in claim 1 or claim 2, To the aforementioned computer, When a capability request is input from the aforementioned operating system, the acquisition process The system executes a response process that returns information other than the unique information from the acquired capability information. A print server program characterized by the following features.

4. In the print server program described in claim 1 or claim 2, To the aforementioned computer, When a capability request is received from the aforementioned operating system, the generation process generates The system then executes a response process that returns information based on the aforementioned union. A print server program characterized by the following features.

5. In a print server program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, To the aforementioned computer, When the printer to which the print job will be sent is determined in the aforementioned determination process, The display process is executed to display information indicating the aforementioned printer on the display device of the information processing device. to make A print server program characterized by the following features.

6. In a print server program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, To the aforementioned computer, After the print job is entered, and before the decision process is executed, the acceptance process is executed. to make A print server program characterized by the following features.

7. In a print server program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, To the aforementioned computer, The settings relating to the unique information received in the reception process are used by the information processing device. The memory processing operation is executed to store the data in memory. In the aforementioned decision process, The settings relating to the unique information stored in the memory during the memory processing are read. Based on the settings read out, the printer to which the print job will be sent is determined. A print server program characterized by the following features.

8. In a print server program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, In the aforementioned decision process, From among the aforementioned multiple printers, the prior information relating to the unique information received in the reception process Extract printers that can print using the specified settings, and if only one printer is extracted, then extract The printer is selected from the list, and if multiple printers are selected, based on the specified conditions Decide on one printer. A print server program characterized by the following features.

9. In the print server program described in claim 8, The aforementioned predetermined conditions include the printer being in a ready state. A print server program characterized by the following features.

10. In the print server program described in claim 8 or claim 9, The aforementioned predetermined conditions include prioritizing printers with faster printing speeds. A print server program characterized by the following features.

11. In a print server program according to any one of claims 1 to 10, In the aforementioned decision process, Printing is impossible based on general information, which is a setting value other than the specific information of the aforementioned print job. Extract the printers and designate the extracted printers as the destination printers for the print jobs. Remove from the list of candidates. A print server program characterized by the following features.

12. A printing system comprising an information processing device and a plurality of printers connected to the information processing device. It is Tem, The information processing device has a printer as part of its operating system. It has a built-in print server program that can be registered, The aforementioned information processing device is The acquisition process involves obtaining capability information indicating the capabilities of each of the aforementioned multiple printers, From the multiple capability information obtained in the aforementioned acquisition process, the print settings for the print job are set A generation process is performed to generate a union of possible setting values, and the union includes each printer It is possible to include unique information, which is a setting value specific to the system. Furthermore, to the computer, Based on the union generated in the above generation process, the unique information among the print settings A reception process that accepts settings related to, For a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in the aforementioned operating system There is a print command that specifies the print server program as the output destination, and the operator The print system sends a print job based on the print instruction to the print server program. When input is entered into the field, the print server program receives it in the reception process. Based on the settings relating to the attached unique information, print from among the multiple printers A decision process to determine the printer to which the job will be sent, The printer determined in the above determination process is then controlled by the print server program. The process of sending the print job, Execute A printing system characterized by the following features.

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