Printing system and printing device

Abstract

To provide a printing system and a printing device which enable a business owner of a company or the like to pay expenses corresponding to disposal amounts of printing agents disposed accompanying printing for professional-use, to a home-based worker.SOLUTION: A printing system comprises a company server 11 and a printing device 30. The printing device 30 is used in printing for professional-use and printing for private use. The printing device 30 comprises a printing part that performs printing on a medium using a printing agent, and a disposed-agent collecting part that collects, as disposed agents, printing agents disposed without being used in printing on the medium, of printing agents consumed by the printing part. The printing system comprises a determining part and an estimating part. The determining part determines whether the printing agents collected as the disposed agents have been disposed accompanying the printing for professional-use or the printing for private-use. The estimating part estimates disposal amounts of the printing agents determined by the determining part to have been disposed accompanying the printing for professional-use.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system including a printing device that prints on a medium and a server, and to a printing device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a billing device is known that charges based on the actual amount of ink or other printing agent consumed by a printing device such as a printer. Furthermore, in recent years, telecommuting, in which employees work from home or elsewhere by remotely connecting to a company server, has become more common. When working from a second location such as a home away from a first location such as a company, printing may be required for business purposes at the second location. In such cases, telecommuters or other employees may use their personal printing devices to perform business-related printing, which is printing required for business purposes.

[0003] It is appropriate for the company to cover the costs of business printing. For example, by applying the billing device described in Patent Document 1, a telecommuter could install a printing device at home for business use and have the company cover the charges. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-36582 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, telecommuters must install a business-only printing device at their home, and if they also have a personal printing device, they must install multiple printing devices at their home, including a business-only printing device and a personal printing device. Furthermore, from the company's perspective, if a business-only printing device is used for personal printing, the company may have to cover the costs of the personal printing as well. Therefore, it is preferable for business printing to be performed using a personal printing device, and for the company to cover the costs of business printing.

[0006] In telecommuting situations, telecommuters must purchase printing agent supplies, such as printing agent cartridges for their personal printing devices and printing agent bottles that supply printing agent to the printing agent tanks of the printing devices, at their own expense. For example, when printing expenses are paid by a company, the payment is typically a flat rate or a fee based on the number of pages printed. However, some of the printing agent supplied to the printing device from the printing agent supply purchased by the telecommuter may be discarded without being used for printing. For example, printing agent consumed for maintenance may be discarded without being used for printing. In addition to maintenance, printing agent may also be discarded for other reasons, such as differences in the printing method of the printing device. It is appropriate for the company to pay for the cost of such discarded printing agent separately from the cost of the printed materials. Therefore, when telecommuters use their personal printing devices for business printing, it is desirable to be able to identify the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with business printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A printing system that solves the above problem is a printing system comprising a server provided at a first location and a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing, wherein the printing device comprises a printing unit that prints on a medium using printing agent, and a waste agent recovery unit that recovers as waste printing any printing agent consumed by the printing unit that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded; a judgment unit that determines whether the printing agent that becomes waste is discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing, and an estimation unit that estimates the discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the judgment unit to be discarded in connection with business printing.

[0008] A printing device that solves the above problem is a printing device used for business printing and personal printing, and includes: a printing unit that prints on a medium using printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers as waste printing any printing agent consumed by the printing unit that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded; a judgment unit that determines whether the printing agent that becomes waste is discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing; and an estimation unit that estimates the discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the judgment unit to be discarded in connection with business printing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printing apparatus as seen from the rear side. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the maintenance unit and the waste agent recovery unit when cleaning is performed. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the maintenance unit and the waste agent recovery unit when flushing is performed. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printing system. [Figure 7]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a management table. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the burden of printing agent consumption costs due to maintenance. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment for determining whether the use is for personal use or for business use. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment for determining whether the use is for personal use or for business use. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment for determining whether the use is for personal use or for business use. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a fourth embodiment for determining whether the use is for personal use or for business use. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of the printing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of a printing system will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Configuration of printing system 10> The printing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a company server 11, which is an example of a server located at a first location, and a printing device 30 located at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing. The printing device 30 is, for example, a printing device 30 personally owned by a telecommuter. If a telecommuter needs to perform business printing while working from home, the company uses the company server 11 to manage the status of the telecommuter's business printing, etc., so that the company can pay the costs of that business printing. Therefore, the printing system 10 includes the company server 11 located at a first location, such as a company, and a personally owned printing device 30 located at a second location, such as the home of a telecommuter employee.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 10 includes a company server 11 on which a company attendance system 13 (see FIG. 6) is built, and one or more printing devices 30. The printing system 10 may also include an information terminal 20 communicatively connected to the printing device 30. The company server 11 may be installed at a first location, such as a company office, or may be installed outside the company at a first location, such as the office of a contractor commissioned by the company. The printing device 30 and information terminal 20 are also installed at a second location, such as the home of a telecommuter or a satellite office. In this example, for example, the first location is the company, and the second location is the home of the employee who owns the printing device 30.

[0012] The printing device 30 is an inkjet printer that prints by ejecting ink, which is an example of a liquid, onto a medium such as paper. Because the printing device 30 is a device that ejects liquid such as ink onto a medium such as paper, it can also be called a liquid ejection device. The printing device 30 may also be a printing device that prints using a method other than the inkjet method.

[0013] In the printing system 10, the company server 11 collects information from the printing device 30 directly or via the information terminal 20 to pay telecommuters the cost of business printing performed by the printing device 30. In this embodiment, the company server 11 collects information related to the amount of discarded printing agent, which is necessary to calculate the cost of printing agent that is discarded in association with business printing and not used in printed materials. In the inkjet printing device 30 of this example, the discarded printing agent is ink (waste ink), which is an example of printing agent that is discarded mainly for maintenance. The printing system 10 acquires the amount of discarded printing agent related to business printing in order to determine the cost of printing agent that is discarded in association with business printing performed by the printing device 30.

[0014] For example, for commercial printing, the cost paid is the product of the cost per page and the number of pages printed. However, when payment is managed by the number of pages printed, companies generally do not cover the cost of printing agents consumed during maintenance. This is because it is difficult to determine whether maintenance is business-related maintenance necessary for commercial printing. Furthermore, the amount of printing agents consumed (waste) during maintenance is significantly smaller than the amount consumed during printing. For this reason, the cost of waste printing agents consumed during maintenance tends to be ignored. However, for home printers such as the printing device 30, the cost of all printing agents, including ink and waste, is borne by telecommuters and others. Furthermore, the amount of waste printing agents discarded during maintenance depends on the type of work, printing frequency, and the environment of the second location, such as temperature and humidity. If the frequency of maintenance increases and the amount of waste printing agents increases, the cost of the waste printing agents will account for a significant portion of the total printing costs.

[0015] In this embodiment, the printing system 10 pays the telecommuter not only the printing costs for business printing performed by the printing device 30, but also the cost of the amount of printing agent consumed (discarded) in business-related maintenance that is estimated to be necessary for business printing. Therefore, the printing system 10 identifies the amount of printing agent consumed (discarded) in business-related maintenance that is necessary for calculating the cost of the printing agent consumed (discarded) in business-related maintenance.

[0016] The printing system 10 includes a company server 11 and a printing device 30. The printing system 10 may also include an information terminal 20 interposed between the printing device 30 and the company server 11. The information terminal 20 functions, for example, as a host device used when issuing printing instructions to the printing device 30. The information terminal 20 is, for example, a personal computer. The information terminal 20 is connected to the printing device 30 via a wired or wireless connection so that they can communicate with each other. The information terminal 20 is connected to the company server 11 via a network NW so that they can communicate with each other.

[0017] The printing device 30 is a home printer that is personally owned by an employee or the like who telecommutes. For this reason, the printing device 30 is installed at a second location, such as the employee's home where the employee telecommutes. The second location where the printing device 30 is installed is not limited to the employee's home, but may also be a satellite office where the employee telecommutes. The information terminal 20 is installed at the second location, such as the employee's home or a satellite office (hereinafter also referred to as "home, etc."). The information terminal 20 is used when the telecommuter or the like instructs the printing device 30 to print. For this reason, the information terminal 20 may be installed at the home, etc., like the printing device 30, or carried by the telecommuter or the like. The information terminal 20 may also be installed at a second location other than the home, etc., where the printing device 30 is installed, as long as it can issue a print instruction to the printing device 30.

[0018] <Configuration of Printing Device 30> Next, a detailed configuration of the printing device 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, it is assumed that the printing device 30 is placed on a horizontal surface.

[0019] 2, the printing device 30 includes a printing unit 37 that prints on a medium M using a printing agent such as ink, and a waste agent recovery unit 47 that recovers as waste printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium but is discarded among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit 37. The waste agent recovery unit 47 has a replaceable waste agent storage unit 48 that stores the recovered waste agent.

[0020] The printing device 30 of this embodiment includes a maintenance unit 45 that performs maintenance on the printing unit 37. The discarded amount of printing agent is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit 37 due to maintenance.

[0021] Of the printing agent consumed by the printing unit 37, the amount consumed by the maintenance unit 45 that maintains the printing unit 37 is discarded without being used for printing on the medium M. For example, when commercial printing is performed, the amount of printing agent consumed in maintenance that accompanies the commercial printing is the amount of printing agent that would not have been consumed if the commercial printing had not been performed. The waste agent recovery unit 47 is detachably equipped with a waste agent storage unit 48 that stores the printing agent consumed in maintenance as waste. In detail, the printing device 30 equipped with such a maintenance function is configured as follows.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the printing device 30 has a main body 31 shaped like a substantially rectangular box. The printing device 30 has an image reading unit 32 on the upper side of the main body 31. That is, the printing device 30 may be a multifunction device equipped with the image reading unit 32. The printing device 30, which is a multifunction device, has a scanner function for reading an original, a copy function for copying and printing the original, and a print function for printing text or images on a medium M. The printing device 30 uses printing agent to print on the medium M during copying and printing. Therefore, printing agent is consumed in the printing device 30 during copying and printing. The printing device 30 in this example is, for example, an inkjet printer, and prints on the medium M by ejecting ink, which is an example of a printing agent. The printing device 30 may also have an automatic document feeder (auto sheet feeder) configured to transport documents one by one using the power of a drive source such as a motor. In this case, the image reading unit 32 may have a feed-type reading function for reading a document fed by an automatic document feed unit, and a flatbed-type reading function for reading a document set on a document table.

[0023] The printing device 30 has an openable cover 33 on the top of the main body 31. The image reading unit 32 opens and closes together with the cover 33. The cover 33 opens and closes between a closed position shown in FIG. 2 and an open position that exposes the inside of the main body 31. For example, a user can refill printing agent into the printing device 30 by opening the cover 33.

[0024] The printing device 30 includes an input unit 34 and a display unit 35. The input unit 34 is configured to be operable by the user. The display unit 35 displays various images. The display unit 35 displays, for example, a menu screen and various message information. The display unit 35 may be configured, for example, by a touch panel. In this case, the input unit 34, which can be input by operating it by the user, may be configured by the operation function of the touch panel. Note that the input unit 34 may be configured by a mechanical switch.

[0025] The printing device 30 includes a paper feed cassette 36. The paper feed cassette 36 is provided at the bottom of the main body 31. The paper feed cassette 36 is attached to the main body 31 in a state where it can be inserted and removed. The paper feed cassette 36 is configured to be able to accommodate a plurality of sheets of media M such as paper. The printing device 30 includes a transport unit 40 (see FIG. 6) that feeds the media M from the paper feed cassette 36 and transports the fed media M along a predetermined transport path.

[0026] Printing is performed on the medium M fed from the paper feed cassette 36. The printing device 30 includes a printing unit 37. The printing unit 37 prints on the medium M using a printing agent such as ink. The printing unit 37 includes a carriage 38 that is movably provided within the main body 31, and a print head 39 that is provided below the carriage 38. The print head 39 is, for example, a liquid ejection head that ejects a liquid such as ink, which is an example of a printing agent. As the carriage 38 moves back and forth in the width direction X that intersects with the transport direction Y of the medium M, the print head 39 ejects ink, which is an example of a printing agent, toward the medium M, thereby printing characters, images, etc. on the medium M.

[0027] The printing device 30 has an outlet 31A through which printed medium M is discharged. The printing device 30 has an outlet tray 41 that holds the medium M discharged from the outlet 31A. The outlet tray 41 may be provided slidably on the front surface of the main body 31.

[0028] 2, the carriage 38 is located at a home position HP, which is one end of its movement path, when not printing. The maintenance unit 45 includes a cap 46 located opposite the print head 39 when the carriage 38 is at the home position HP.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the printing device 30 includes a waste agent storage unit 48 that stores waste agent such as waste ink discarded during maintenance by the maintenance unit 45. The printing device 30 also includes a printing agent storage unit 42. The printing agent storage unit 42 has multiple storage units 43 that store printing agent. In this example, the printing agent storage unit 42 has the same number of storage units 43 as the number of colors that the printing unit 37 can print on the medium M. The multiple storage units 43 store liquids such as inks of different colors individually. The main body 31 has multiple windows on the front surface of the printing agent storage unit 42 that allow the user to visually check the amount of liquid in the storage units 43.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, when the cover 33 is open, the printing agent storage units 42 arranged inside the main body 31 are exposed. The printing agent storage units 42 are provided with an openable and closable lid portion 43A for each storage unit 43. When the amount of liquid in the storage units 43 becomes low, the user opens the lid portion 43A and inserts a supply portion (not shown) of the bottle 100 into a supply port (not shown) of the storage unit 43 to refill the specified storage unit 43 with liquid printing agent such as ink from the bottle 100.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, when the printing agent, such as ink, to be supplied to the print head 39 in the printing device 30 runs out, the user supplies printing agent to the printing device 30. If the liquid supply source is a liquid tank, the user uses a bottle 100 to replenish the liquid, such as ink, which is an example of a printing agent. If the printing device 30 is configured so that the liquid supply source is a liquid cartridge, such as an ink cartridge, the user replaces the liquid cartridge installed in the printing device 30. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare, for example, a new bottle 100 or liquid cartridge before the printing device 30 runs out of liquid (runs out). In other words, the employee, who is the user, needs to prepare a bottle 100 or liquid cartridge to supply printing agent to the printing device 30 that he or she owns.

[0032] The printing unit 37 shown in FIG. 3 may be of a line recording type in which the print head 39 is configured as a line head, instead of a serial recording type in which printing is performed on the medium M by the print head 39 moving back and forth in the width direction X together with the carriage 38.

[0033] <Configuration of the maintenance unit 45 and the waste liquid recovery unit 47 and maintenance contents> Next, the configurations of the maintenance unit 45 and the waste agent recovery unit 47 and the maintenance contents will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0034] 4, a maintenance unit 45 is disposed below the printing unit 37 when it is in the home position HP. The maintenance unit 45 performs maintenance on the print head 39 of the printing unit 37.

[0035] The print head 39 has a nozzle surface 39A on which nozzles N open, which are configured to be able to eject printing agent such as ink. The maintenance unit 45 is configured to be movable between a capping position where the cap 46 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 39A on which the nozzles N of the print head 39 open, and a retracted position where the cap 46 is separated from the nozzle surface 39A. When the print head 39 is in the home position HP, the cap 46 rises to a height position where it comes into contact with the nozzle surface 39A, thereby capping the print head 39 with the cap 46. This prevents the ink or other printing agent inside the nozzles N of the print head 39 from thickening or drying out.

[0036] As part of its maintenance, the maintenance unit 45 performs cleaning, which forcibly discharges liquid from the nozzles N of the print head 39. The maintenance unit 45 periodically moves the print head 39 to the home position HP during printing and performs flushing, which ejects (idle ejects) printing agent such as ink from the nozzles N. Details of the maintenance performed by the maintenance unit 45 will be described later.

[0037] The maintenance unit 45 is equipped with a cap 46 that caps the print head 39 when the carriage 38 is at the home position HP. Capping the print head 39 with the cap 46 prevents the ink or other printing agent in the nozzles N of the print head 39 from thickening or drying out. If the ink in the nozzles N thickens, if there are air bubbles in the ink in the nozzles N, or if foreign matter such as paper dust adheres to the nozzles N, the nozzles N will become clogged, causing an ejection failure in which liquid cannot be ejected normally from the nozzles N. The maintenance unit 45 may also be equipped with a wiper (not shown) that wipes the nozzle surface 39A of the print head 39.

[0038] The maintenance unit 45 cleans the nozzles N of the print head 39 to eliminate or prevent these types of ejection problems. During cleaning, the maintenance unit 45 forcibly discharges liquid from the print head 39 into the cap 46. The maintenance unit 45 is equipped with a pump 49 that communicates with the cap 46 through a conduit 51 such as a waste liquid tube. In a capping state where the cap 46 is in contact with the nozzle surface 39A of the print head 39, a closed space that communicates with the nozzles N is formed by the nozzle surface 39A and the cap 46.

[0039] The maintenance unit 45 drives the pump 49 in this capping state. When the pump 49 is driven, negative pressure is introduced into the closed space between the nozzle surface 39A of the print head 39 and the cap 46, forcing the liquid to be discharged from the nozzles N. By forcibly discharging the liquid, such as ink containing thickened liquid, air bubbles, paper dust, and other foreign matter, from the nozzles N, ejection problems in the nozzles N are prevented or resolved. During cleaning, the cap 46 is maintained in the capping state in which it contacts the nozzle surface 39A of the print head 39 by the biasing force of the spring 52 (see FIG. 4).

[0040] 4, the pump 49 is a suction pump that communicates with the cap 46, but it may also be a pressure pump that pressurizes the liquid in the flow passages that communicate with the nozzles N of the print head 39 from the upstream side. If the pump 49 is a pressure pump, when the pump 49 is driven, the liquid in the flow passages that communicate with the nozzles N is pressurized from the upstream side, causing the liquid to be forcibly discharged from the nozzles N. At this time, the cap 46 may be spaced slightly apart from the nozzle surface 39A.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 5, the printing unit 37 moves to a home position HP periodically or irregularly during printing, and performs idling (also called "flushing"), in which droplets are ejected from all nozzles N toward the cap 46. Flushing prevents ejection problems during printing. The liquid (waste printing agent) discharged from the nozzles N into the cap 46 by cleaning and idling is collected by a waste agent recovery unit 47 and stored in a waste agent storage unit 48. The waste agent recovery unit 47 includes a pump 49 and part of a conduit 51, and recovers waste agent (e.g., waste ink) from the cap 46 through the conduit 51 by driving the pump 49.

[0042] The waste agent recovery unit 47 includes a mounting unit 54 to which the waste agent storage unit 48 is detachably attached. The mounting unit 54 has a needle-shaped connecting portion 54A that protrudes from the mounting surface. The waste agent storage unit 48 attached to the mounting unit 54 is connected to the connecting portion 54A. The waste agent collected by the waste agent recovery unit 47 is stored in the waste agent storage unit 48 via the connecting portion 54A. When the control unit 50 detects that the waste agent storage unit 48 is full of waste agent, it causes the display unit 35 to display information to that effect. When the user recognizes from the information displayed on the display unit 35 that it is time to replace the waste agent storage unit 48, the user removes the waste agent storage unit 48 from the mounting unit 54 inside the printing device 30 and attaches a new, empty waste agent storage unit 48 to the mounting unit 54.

[0043] <Electrical configuration of the printing system 10> Next, the electrical configuration of the printing system 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The printing device 30 includes a communication unit 26. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the printing device 30 is communicably connected to an information terminal 20 via the communication unit 26. A telecommuter issues a printing instruction to the printing device 30 from the information terminal 20. At this time, print data PD is sent from the information terminal 20 to the printing device 30. The print data PD is data including print image data containing characters or images to be printed and printing condition information specified by the telecommuter. A control unit 50 in the printing device 30 controls the printing unit 37 and the transport unit 40 based on the print data PD input from the information terminal 20, thereby printing characters, images, etc. based on the print data PD on a medium M. The information terminal 20 is a host device having a print control unit 23 that controls the printing device 30. The information terminal 20 may be a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet PC, a smartphone, or the like.

[0044] As shown in Fig. 6, the information terminal 20 of a telecommuter includes an input unit 21, a display unit 22, a print control unit 23, and a communication unit 24. The print control unit 23 comprehensively controls the information terminal 20. The print control unit 23 is also connected to the network NW via the communication unit 24. The print control unit 23 is configured, for example, by a print driver. The print driver is configured by software that is built within the information terminal 20 by installing a print driver program on the information terminal 20.

[0045] <Electrical configuration of company server 11> The company server 11 shown in Fig. 6 includes a server control unit 12, a time attendance system 13, a calculation unit 14, a communication unit 15, and a storage unit 16. The server control unit 12 performs overall control of the company server 11. The server control unit 12 is also connected to a network NW via the communication unit 15. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the company server 11 is connected to an information terminal 20 via the network NW so that it can communicate with the information terminal 20. The company server 11 can also communicate with a printing device 30 via the information terminal 20 owned by a telecommuter.

[0046] The attendance system 13 manages the attendance of telecommuters who are owners of information terminals 20 authenticated by the server control unit 12. A management table CT is stored in the memory unit 16. The attendance system 13 refers to the management table CT to determine whether a time is within or outside of working hours.

[0047] The calculation unit 14 calculates the cost of the discarded amount of printing agent as at least a part of the cost related to commercial printing. The calculation unit 14 calculates the printing cost according to the number of commercial printed sheets determined to be commercial printing by the determination unit 68. The cost related to commercial printing is determined to be the cost including the cost of the discarded amount of printing agent and the printing cost.

[0048] The calculation unit 14 calculates the payment amount, including the cost based on the number of sheets printed for business use and the cost based on the amount of printing agent discarded due to business-related maintenance, each time the company server 11 receives information related to business use printing from the information terminal 20 or the printing device 30, or each time a predetermined calculation period is reached. The cost may include a portion of the cost required to replace a waste agent storage unit 48 that is full with waste agent with a new, empty waste agent storage unit 48, based on the amount of waste agent discarded in connection with business use printing. In this case, the calculation unit 14 calculates the portion of the cost of a new waste agent storage unit 48 that is replaced when the waste agent storage unit 48 is full with waste agent, based on the amount of waste agent discarded in connection with business use printing.

[0049] <Electrical configuration of the printing device 30> Next, the configuration of the printing device 30 will be described in detail. The printing device 30 includes a control unit 50, an input unit 34, a display unit 35, an image reading unit 32, and a printing unit 30A. The printing unit 30A includes a printing unit 37, an inspection unit 55, a conveying unit 40, and a maintenance unit 45. The maintenance unit 45 includes a pump 49.

[0050] The user operates the input unit 34 to select one of print, scan, or copy. This instructs the printing device 30 to print, scan, or copy. When the printing or copying instruction is given, the printing device 30 prints on the medium M using a printing agent via the printing unit 37. It is also possible to operate the input unit 34 of the printing device 30 to give an instruction to print (including copy).

[0051] Image reading unit 32 is controlled by control unit 50 to read an original. Furthermore, when control unit 50 receives a printing instruction, it causes conveyance unit 40 to convey medium M and causes print head 39 to eject ink, which is a printing agent, to print characters, images, etc. on medium M. For example, when it receives a copying instruction, control unit 50 causes image reading unit 32 to read an original and causes print unit 37 to print the image of the read original, thereby performing copy printing.

[0052] The maintenance unit 45 is controlled by the control unit 50. When it is time for maintenance, the control unit 50 performs maintenance on the print head 39. Maintenance includes flushing (empty ejection), in which droplets are ejected from all nozzles N of the print head 39 to predetermined locations other than the medium M, and cleaning, in which liquid is forcibly discharged from the nozzles N of the print head 39. The pump 49 may be a suction pump that communicates with the cap 46, or a pressure pump that pressurizes the liquid in a flow path that communicates with the nozzles N of the print head 39 from the upstream side.

[0053] The inspection unit 55 inspects the printing unit 37. More specifically, the inspection unit 55 inspects the nozzles N of the printing unit 37. For example, the inspection unit 55 inspects the nozzles N for clogging, adhesion of foreign matter such as paper dust to the nozzles N, and the presence or absence of air bubbles in the ink in the nozzles N by ejecting ink, which is an example of a printing agent, from the nozzles N. The inspection unit 55 detects ejection defects such as clogging of the nozzles N by analyzing how vibrations generated in the drive elements (e.g., piezoelectric elements) of the nozzles N attenuate when ink is ejected from the nozzles N. The inspection method of the inspection unit 55 can be arbitrarily changed. For example, an inspection method may be used in which a laser beam is irradiated onto the ejection path of the ink ejected from the nozzles N, and an ejection drive is performed to eject ink from the nozzles N. If ink droplets do not block the laser beam, the ejection is deemed to be defective. Alternatively, the inspection unit 55 may eject ink from the nozzles N onto a test paper, analyze an image of a dot pattern formed by the ink droplets landing on the test paper using a camera, and determine that there are any missing dots.

[0054] When the control unit 50 receives a print instruction, it causes the inspection unit 55 to inspect the printing unit 37 before starting printing. If the inspection result of the inspection unit 55 indicates that a printing defect may occur, it causes the maintenance unit 45 to perform automatic cleaning of the printing unit 37.

[0055] <Configuration of the control unit 50 of the printing device 30> The control unit 50 includes a computer 60. The computer 60 is configured, for example, by a microprocessor. The computer 60 includes a print management unit 61, a maintenance control unit 62, a first determination unit 63, a second determination unit 64, an estimation unit 65, a timestamp unit 66, and a memory unit 67. The first determination unit 63 and the second determination unit 64 configure a determination unit 68. A program PR is stored in the memory unit 67. By executing the program PR, the computer 60 is provided with the aforementioned print management unit 61, maintenance control unit 62, first determination unit 63, second determination unit 64, estimation unit 65, and timestamp unit 66 as functional parts configured by software. Note that at least one of the print management unit 61, maintenance control unit 62, first determination unit 63, second determination unit 64, estimation unit 65, and timestamp unit 66 may be configured by hardware.

[0056] The control unit 50 is not limited to a system that performs all of its processing using software. For example, the control unit 50 may include a dedicated hardware circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) that performs hardware processing for at least some of the processing it performs. That is, the control unit 50 may be configured as a circuit including one or more processors that operate according to a computer program (software), one or more dedicated hardware circuits that perform at least some of the various processes, or a combination thereof. The processor includes a CPU and memory such as RAM and ROM, and the memory stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to perform processing. The memory, i.e., computer-readable medium, includes any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

[0057] The printing management department 61 has a counter. The counter counts the number of printed sheets. The printing management department 61 causes the counter to count the number of printed sheets of the printing device 30. The counted value of the counter indicates the number of printed sheets. The printing management department 61 in this example has a counter that counts at least the number of printed sheets for business use printing.

[0058] The printing management department 61 may have a plurality of counters that count the number of printed sheets according to the type of printing. Examples of the type of printing include, for example, two examples of Low and High. It may be determined which of the two ranges the printing condition information included in the print data PD belongs to. For example, in normal printing, the consumption amount of the printing agent per sheet of the medium is relatively small. On the other hand, in the case of photo printing, the consumption amount of the printing agent per sheet of the medium is relatively large. For example, if it is normal printing, it may be determined that it belongs to the Low range, and if it is photo printing, it may be determined that it belongs to the High range. If the unit price of the Low range is A yen / sheet and the unit price of the High range is B yen / sheet, the two ranges are in the relationship of A < B. Note that the number of ranges is not limited to two, and may be three or four. In this way, the printing management department 61 may count the number of printed sheets for each unit price per sheet, or may have one type of unit price and simply count the number of printed sheets for business use printing. Note that when a predetermined time comes, the control unit 50 transmits the information on the number of printed sheets for business use printing counted by the counter of the printing management department 61 to the company server 11.

[0059] The maintenance control unit 62 performs control related to maintenance. When the maintenance control unit 62 receives an instruction for manual cleaning based on the operation of the input unit 21 of the information terminal 20 or the input unit 34 of the printing device 30 by a telecommuter, the maintenance control unit 62 performs manual cleaning. Manual cleaning is cleaning instructed by the user operating the input units 21 and 34.

[0060] When the maintenance control unit 62 receives a print instruction from the information terminal 20 or through operation of the input unit 34, it causes the inspection unit 55 to inspect the nozzles N of the printing unit 37 prior to the start of printing. The inspection unit 55 inspects the nozzles N of the printing unit 37. Specifically, the inspection unit 55 inspects the nozzles N for clogging, adhesion of foreign matter such as paper dust to the nozzles N, and the presence or absence of air bubbles in the ink inside the nozzles N. If the nozzle inspection by the inspection unit 55 identifies a defective nozzle that may not be able to properly eject printing agent, the maintenance control unit 62 performs automatic cleaning. Automatic cleaning is performed by the control unit 50, which determines whether the cleaning execution conditions are met. If the execution conditions are met, the maintenance control unit 62 automatically performs cleaning. During printing, the maintenance control unit 62 also measures time and moves the printing unit 37 to the home position HP every time a predetermined time has elapsed, and performs flushing (blank ejection) in which printing agent (ink droplets) are ejected from all nozzles N toward the cap 46.

[0061] When the control unit 50 receives a print instruction, it causes the inspection unit 55 to inspect the printing unit 37 before starting printing. If the inspection result of the inspection unit 55 indicates that a printing defect may occur, the maintenance control unit 62 causes the maintenance unit 45 to automatically clean the printing unit 37.

[0062] The determination unit 68 determines whether the waste agent was disposed of in connection with business printing or personal printing. The determination unit 68 determines whether the maintenance is business-related maintenance for preventing print defects in business printing, or personal-related maintenance for preventing print defects in personal printing. If the requested printing is business printing, the determination unit 68 determines that the automatic cleaning is business-related cleaning associated with business printing. If the requested printing is during business hours based on the attendance information managed by the attendance system 13, the determination unit 68 determines that the printing is business printing. The determination unit 68 includes a first determination unit 63 and a second determination unit 64.

[0063] The first determination unit 63 determines whether the requested printing is business printing or personal printing. The first determination unit 63 determines whether the printing requested by the telecommuter via the information terminal 20 or the printing requested by operating the input unit 34 is business printing or personal printing. In this embodiment, at least one of the four examples shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 is used as a method for notifying the printing device 30 that the printing is business printing. The first determination unit 63 determines whether the printing requested by the printing device 30 is business printing or personal printing using a method appropriate for each of the four examples. Details of the four examples will be described later.

[0064] The second determination unit 64 determines that maintenance that satisfies the set conditions for business printing is business-related maintenance. When the printing device 30 receives an instruction for business printing, the second determination unit 64 determines whether cleaning occurred immediately before the business printing within a set time. If manual cleaning occurred immediately before the set time, the second determination unit 64 determines that the manual cleaning was business-related cleaning, which is cleaning associated with business printing and performed to prevent ejection defects in business printing. Business-related cleaning is one type of business-related maintenance. Here, the set time is, for example, a predetermined time within a range of 1 to 10 minutes. This set time may be changeable for each company. The set time may also be a value outside the range of 1 to 10 minutes.

[0065] In addition, the second judgment unit 64 judges that automatic cleaning, which is performed when the inspection unit 55 performs an inspection when the printing device 30 receives an instruction to print for business use, and the inspection results indicate that poor ejection may occur in the printing unit 37, is business-related cleaning.

[0066] Furthermore, the second determination unit 64 determines that flushing performed during business printing is business-related maintenance, which is maintenance associated with business printing. In this embodiment, the company may also pay a fee according to the amount of printing agent discarded due to flushing, which is one type of business-related maintenance.

[0067] When the estimation unit 65 determines that the printing agent (waste agent) discarded along with the business-purpose printing has been determined by the determination unit 68, the estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of the printing agent discarded along with the business-purpose printing. The estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of the printing agent discarded in business-related maintenance. The estimation unit 65 may estimate the amount of the printing agent discarded along with the business-purpose printing based on the number of business-purpose printed materials printed by the printing apparatus 30.

[0068] The estimation unit 65 may have a function of measuring the consumption amount of the printing agent consumed in maintenance. The estimation unit 65 includes a plurality of color counters that count the amount of the printing agent consumed in maintenance from the printing unit 37 by color of the printing agent. The estimation unit 65 stores a maintenance table indicating the correspondence between the contents of the maintenance performed and the consumption amount of the printing agent in a predetermined storage area of the storage unit 67. For cleaning, for example, a plurality of types of cleaning having different intensities including first cleaning CL1 and second cleaning CL2 are set. For example, when there are n types of cleaning, the n types of cleaning are defined as the first cleaning CL1,..., the nth cleaning (where n is a natural number of 2 or more). In this case, it is assumed that the cleaning intensity increases in the order of CL1 <... < CLn. The content of the cleaning performed is specified, for example, by the types of the cleanings CL1,..., CLn having different cleaning intensities. In the order of increasing cleaning intensity, the consumption amount (waste amount) of the printing agent consumed in the cleaning also increases in the order of CL1 <... < CLn.

[0069] When manual cleaning is instructed a plurality of times within a predetermined time period, the manual cleaning is performed with a stronger intensity on the second occasion than on the first occasion. For example, the first cleaning CL1 is performed on the first occasion, and the second cleaning CL2 is performed on the second occasion.

[0070] Furthermore, if the nozzle inspection by the inspection unit 55 finds that the number of defective nozzles is less than a threshold value, a first cleaning CL1 is performed, and if the number of defective nozzles is equal to or greater than the threshold value, a second cleaning CL2 that is stronger than the first cleaning CL1 is performed.

[0071] The maintenance table contains a correspondence between n types of cleaning (CL1, ..., CLn) that specify the cleaning details and the printing agent consumption amounts corresponding to the n types of cleaning. Therefore, the estimation unit 65 can obtain the printing agent consumption amounts corresponding to the cleaning details based on the cleaning details. When cleaning is performed, the estimation unit 65 references the maintenance table based on the cleaning details and counts the printing agent consumption amounts obtained in the color counters. The estimation unit 65 may also count the printing agent consumption amounts consumed during flushing during business printing in the color counters. In this way, the estimation unit 65 counts the consumption amounts of printing agent consumed in business-related maintenance by color using the color counters. In this way, the estimation unit 65 estimates the cumulative consumption amounts of printing agent consumed in business-related maintenance within a predetermined period. The predetermined period is the period from the last time information on the cumulative consumption amounts of printing agent related to business-related maintenance was sent to the company server 11 until the next time this information is sent. Counting the waste printing agent amounts by color using the color counters takes into account the possibility that the cost of printing agent varies depending on the color. If such considerations are not taken into account, it is not necessary to count the amount of printing agent discarded by color.

[0072] The timestamp unit 66 manages timestamp information, including the time at which events such as printing and maintenance were performed, by storing it in the storage unit 67 in the printing device 30. The timestamp information associates the content of an event such as printing or maintenance with the time at which it was performed. The second determination unit 64 of this embodiment uses the timestamp information when determining whether manual cleaning is work-related maintenance.

[0073] The control unit 50 manages the number of printed sheets for business use and the amount of printing agent consumed (waste amount) in business-related maintenance. At a predetermined time, the control unit 50 transmits information related to the number of printed sheets for business use and the amount of printing agent consumed in business-related maintenance to the company server 11 directly or via the information terminal 20. Examples of predetermined times include when printing is completed, when the power is turned on, when the power is turned off, when cleaning is completed, and after a certain amount of time has passed.

[0074] <Management table CT> Next, the management table CT will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The management table CT shown in Fig. 7 is stored in the memory unit 16 of the company server 11. The management table CT is reference data that specifies who will bear the maintenance costs and whether or not the print data PD will be saved. By referencing the management table CT, the control unit 50 manages ON / OFF, which switches between the company and the telecommuter who will bear the maintenance costs, and ON / OFF, which switches whether or not a copy of the print data PD will be saved, depending on whether the use is business or personal.

[0075] 7, the second determination unit 64 determines that the maintenance costs are to be borne by the company during business hours and by the telecommuter outside of business hours. Furthermore, when the printing device 30 prints, the control unit 50 copies the print data PD to the company server 11 during business hours, but does not copy or save the print data PD outside of business hours.

[0076] <Decision using attendance system 13> For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , the company server 11 determines whether the WP is during business hours or during off-hours hours from the attendance system 13. When maintenance is performed, the cost of the printing agent consumed during the maintenance is switched between the company and the telecommuter depending on whether the WP is during business hours or during off-hours hours. Specifically, if maintenance is performed during off-hours hours, the cost is borne by the telecommuter, and if maintenance is performed during off-hours hours, the cost is borne by the company. In this embodiment, the printing device 30 undergoes maintenance at the end of business hours at the company's expense. In other words, clogging of nozzles N caused by printing during off-hours hours is resolved by performing maintenance at the end of business hours at the company's expense. Therefore, the device is handed over to the user who will bear the cost of the printing agent during off-hours hours, with the cause of the nozzle clogging removed through maintenance.

[0077] <Switching between personal use and business use of the printing device 30> Below, we will explain configuration examples for switching between personal use and business use of the printing device 30. There are four configuration examples, the following first to fourth embodiments. Below, we will explain each of the four embodiments in order. By using at least one of these four configuration examples, the first determination unit 63 determines whether the printing instructed to the printing device 30 is business use printing (business use) or personal use printing (personal use).

[0078] (First Example) 9, the information terminal 20 instructs the printing device 30 to print. The information terminal 20 has a first print driver, which is a business driver, and a second print driver, which is a general-purpose driver, as print drivers that output print data PD to the printing device 30. In other words, the information terminal 20 has the first print driver and the second print driver installed as print drivers.

[0079] When a determination unit 68 (see FIG. 6) provided in the printing device 30 receives a print instruction from the information terminal 20, it determines the print driver that sent the instruction. If the sender of the print data PD received by the printing device 30 is the first print driver, which is a business driver, the determination unit 68 determines that the instructed print is business print. On the other hand, if the sender of the print data PD is the second print driver, which is a normal driver, the determination unit 68 determines that the instructed print is personal print. This determination is made, in detail, by the first determination unit 63 that constitutes the determination unit 68. When the printing device 30 performs business print, the control unit 50 copies the print data PD to the company server 11.

[0080] (Second Example) In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 10, when a print instruction is received from the information terminal 20, the first determination unit 63 determines whether the corresponding telecommuter is working (within business hours). The first determination unit 63 accesses the attendance system 13 of the company server 11 and determines whether the corresponding telecommuter is working or not based on the attendance information of the telecommuter. If the instruction is outside business hours, the first determination unit 63 determines the print instruction to be a print instruction for personal use. If the instruction is within business hours, the first determination unit 63 determines the print instruction to be a print instruction for business use. When the printing device 30 performs business printing, the control unit 50 copies the print data PD to the company server 11.

[0081] (Third Example) 11, a telecommuter uses a first information terminal 20A that he or she personally owns and a second information terminal 20B that is provided or loaned by the company at a second location such as his or her home. The information terminal 20 that issues printing instructions to the printing device 30 is selectively used between the first information terminal 20A that issues instructions for personal printing and the second information terminal 20B that issues instructions for business printing.

[0082] The first determination unit 63 determines whether the requested printing is for business use or personal use based on the unique information the printing device 30 receives from the information terminal 20. The first information terminal 20A, which is personally owned, and the second information terminal 20B, which is owned by the company, have different MAC addresses, which are an example of unique information. When a printing instruction is received from either the information terminal 20A or 20B, the first determination unit 63 determines the MAC address. If the MAC address is an unregistered address, the first determination unit 63 determines that the printing instruction is for personal use. The printing device 30 performs personal printing on the medium M. If the MAC address is a registered address, the first determination unit 63 determines that the printing instruction is for business use. The printing device 30 performs business printing on the medium M. When the printing device 30 performs business printing, the control unit 50 copies the print data PD to the company server 11.

[0083] The information terminals 20 used by telecommuters may be information terminals 20A and 20B such as personal computers, but in addition to or instead of at least one of these, portable information terminals 56A and 56B such as smartphones may also be used. When a print instruction is received from the personally owned portable information terminal 56A or the company's portable information terminal 56B, the first determination unit 63 determines whether the print is for personal use or business use based on the MAC address determination result. Note that the unique information is not limited to a MAC address and may be any information that can uniquely identify the device. For example, a product identification number or the telecommuter's ID may also be used.

[0084] (Fourth Example) In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 12 , when a telecommuter uses a printing device 30 for business purposes, the telecommuter connects a USB memory 57 brought back from the office to the printing device 30. This USB memory 57 stores a code that permits business printing. If a print instruction is issued from the information terminal 20 without the USB memory 57 connected to the printing device 30, the first determination unit 63 cannot read the code and therefore determines that the print instruction is an instruction for personal printing. The printing device 30 performs personal printing on the medium M. On the other hand, when printing for business purposes, the telecommuter connects the USB memory 57 to the printing device 30 and then issues a print instruction from the information terminal 20. Upon receiving the print instruction from the information terminal 20, the first determination unit 63 determines that the print instruction is an instruction for business printing because the code read from the USB memory 57 permits business printing. The printing device 30 performs business printing on the medium M. When the printing device 30 performs printing for business use, the control unit 50 copies the print data PD to the company server 11.

[0085] In the first to fourth embodiments, when the first determination unit 63 determines that the instruction is for business printing, the second determination unit 64 determines whether there is any maintenance that satisfies the set conditions for the business printing. If there is any maintenance that satisfies the set conditions for the business printing, the second determination unit 64 sets the maintenance as business-related maintenance.

[0086] <Operation of the embodiment> Next, the operation of the printing system 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 13, a telecommuter issues a print instruction to the printing device 30 from the information terminal 20 to print on a medium M. The telecommuter uses his / her own printing device 30 to perform both business printing and personal printing. For example, the telecommuter may perform business printing during working hours. The telecommuter may also instruct manual cleaning when he / she determines that cleaning is necessary. Furthermore, the example shown in FIG. 13 omits an example of instructing personal printing. Although the company does not bear the costs of personal printing, the printing operation of the printing device 30 itself and the associated maintenance operations are the same as for business printing.

[0087] In the following, a case will be described in which manual cleaning is business-related cleaning, automatic cleaning is business-related cleaning, and business-use printing is performed. The telecommuter issues a command to perform manual cleaning from the information terminal 20 (step S31). The telecommuter also issues a command to perform business printing from the information terminal 20 (step S32). Note that manual cleaning can also be instructed by operating the input unit 34 of the printing device 30.

[0088] In step S11, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a manual cleaning instruction has been received. If a manual cleaning instruction has been received, the process proceeds to step S12, and if a manual cleaning instruction has not been received, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0089] In step S12, the control unit 50 performs manual cleaning. As shown in FIG. 4 , the control unit 50 moves the carriage 38 to a maintenance position (for example, the home position HP) and raises the cap 46 to contact the nozzle surface 39A, thereby forming a closed space that communicates with the nozzles N between the nozzle surface 39A and the cap 46. Then, in this state, the control unit 50 drives, for example, the pump 49 to reduce the pressure in the closed space that communicates with the nozzles N, thereby forcibly discharging the printing agent (for example, ink) from the nozzles N. Note that if the pump 49 is a pressure pump, pressure cleaning may be performed in which the printing agent (for example, ink) in the printing agent storage unit 42 is pressurized by driving the pressure pump, thereby forcibly discharging the printing agent from the nozzles N.

[0090] In step S13, the control unit 50 stores information about the cleaning implementation time, cleaning details, and printing agent waste amount in the storage unit 67. The implementation time is indicated by a timestamp from the timestamp unit 66. The control unit 50 stores information about the implementation details, such as cleaning CL1, CL2, etc., which specify the type of cleaning depending on the cleaning strength. The control unit 50 also uses the printing agent consumption measurement function of the estimation unit 65 to store, for example, a value obtained by referencing a maintenance table based on the cleaning implementation details (e.g., type) as the printing agent waste amount.

[0091] In step S32, the telecommuter issues a business printing instruction from the information terminal 20. The print control unit 23 of the information terminal 20 issues a business printing instruction to the printing device 30. At this time, the telecommuter issues the business printing instruction using at least one of the methods of the first to fourth embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 to 12.

[0092] In step S14, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a print instruction has been received. If a print instruction has not been received, the process returns to step S11, and if a print instruction has been received, the process proceeds to step S15.

[0093] In step S15, the control unit 50 determines whether the printing is for business use. More specifically, the control unit 50 determines whether the printing is for business use or for personal use using the methods shown in the first to fourth embodiments shown in Figures 9 to 12. If the printing is for business use, the control unit 50 proceeds to step S16, and if the printing is not for business use, that is, if the printing is for personal use, the control unit 50 proceeds to step S18.

[0094] In step S16, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a cleaning immediately prior to the set time. If there is a cleaning immediately prior to the set time, the process proceeds to step S17. If there is no cleaning immediately prior to the set time, the process proceeds to step S18. The set time is a predetermined value, for example, within a range of 1 to 10 minutes. The control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a cleaning immediately prior to the time when the print instruction was received, using the timestamp information related to the execution time stored in the memory unit 67 in step S13. The cleaning to be considered in this case is manual cleaning. In other words, by the determination process in this step, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a manual cleaning that corresponds to business-related cleaning, which is cleaning associated with the business printing instruction that has been currently instructed. Manual cleaning that does not meet this condition is not considered business-related cleaning.

[0095] In step S17, the control unit 50 sets the cleaning to business-related cleaning. That is, if manual cleaning has been performed immediately before the time when the print instruction was received within the set time, the control unit 50 sets the manual cleaning to business-related cleaning, which is cleaning in which printing agents are discarded in association with business printing.

[0096] In step S18, the control unit 50 inspects the nozzles of the printing unit 37. That is, the control unit 50 causes the inspection unit 55 to inspect the nozzles N of the printing unit 37, thereby detecting whether or not there is a nozzle defect.

[0097] In step S19, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the nozzle is faulty. If the nozzle is faulty, the process proceeds to step S20; if the nozzle is not faulty, the process proceeds to step S22. Note that if there is even one nozzle N with a discharge defect among all the nozzles N of the print head 39, the nozzle may be determined to be faulty, or if the number of nozzles N with a discharge defect exceeds a preset threshold number.

[0098] In step S20, the control unit 50 performs automatic cleaning. That is, the control unit 50 performs the same cleaning as in step S12. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 50 moves the carriage 38 to the maintenance position and raises the cap 46 to contact the nozzle surface 39A, thereby forming a closed space that communicates with the nozzles N between the nozzle surface 39A and the cap 46. Then, in this state, the control unit 50 drives, for example, the pump 49 to reduce the pressure in the closed space that communicates with the nozzles N, thereby forcibly discharging the printing agent (e.g., ink) from the nozzles N. Note that the cleaning may be pressurized cleaning.

[0099] In step S21, the control unit 50 stores information about the implementation details of the business-related cleaning and the amount of discarded printing agent in the storage unit 67. The control unit 50 stores, as the implementation details, information such as cleaning CL1, CL2, etc., which specify different types of cleaning strength. Furthermore, the control unit 50 uses the printing agent consumption measurement function of the estimation unit 65 to, for example, store, as the amount of discarded printing agent, a value obtained by referring to a maintenance table based on the implementation details (type) of cleaning.

[0100] In step S22, the control unit 50 performs business printing. That is, the control unit 50 executes printing instructed as business printing using at least one method from the first to fourth embodiments. Business printing is similar to personal printing in terms of the printing operation itself, and the printing unit 37 ejects ink, an example of printing agent, onto the medium M transported by the transport unit 40 to print characters or images based on the print data PD onto the medium M. Flushing (blank ejection) is performed periodically or irregularly during printing, ejecting printing agent from the nozzles N of the printing unit 37. In the case of business printing, the control unit 50 determines that flushing is business-related maintenance. Therefore, the estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of printing agent consumed and discarded during flushing from the number of ejections or by referencing a maintenance table, and stores this estimate in the memory unit 67. In this way, in this embodiment, the amount of printing agent consumed (discarded) during flushing during business printing is also considered to be the amount of printing agent consumed during business-related maintenance.

[0101] In step S23, the control unit 50 transmits information on the number of business prints and the amount of discarded printing agent to the company server 11. The information on the number of business prints (number of business-use prints) and the amount of discarded printing agent is transmitted to the company server 11 via the information terminal 20 and the network NW. In this embodiment, the information on the amount of discarded printing agent for business use includes the amount of discarded printing agent discarded during flushing. The information on the number of business prints and the information on the amount of discarded printing agent for business use may be transmitted to the company server 11 simultaneously, or may be transmitted separately to the company server 11. In the latter case, the transmission timing for transmitting the information on the number of business prints to the company server 11 and the transmission timing for transmitting the information on the amount of discarded printing agent for business use to the company server 11 may be set separately.

[0102] In step S41, the company server 11 determines whether or not information has been received. If information has been received, the process proceeds to step S42, and if information has not been received, the process proceeds to step S43.

[0103] In step S42, the company server 11 calculates and adds the payment amount based on the information. That is, the calculation unit 14 of the company server 11 calculates the payment amount based on the information and adds the calculated payment amount to the cumulative payment amount stored in memory up to that point. Note that the calculation unit 14 may separately calculate the first payment amount related to the number of sheets printed for business use and the second payment amount related to business-related maintenance and manage the cumulative amounts separately.

[0104] In step S43, the company server 11 determines whether it is time for payment. If it is time for payment, the process proceeds to step S44. If it is not time for payment, the process proceeds to step S44. The payment period may be, for example, the salary payment period, or a predetermined period such as once a month, once every few months, or once a year. For example, the first payment amount related to the number of printed sheets and the second payment amount related to business-related maintenance may be paid at different times.

[0105] In step S44, the company server 11 performs payment processing. In this example, the company server 11 performs processing to pay the current cumulative payment amount to the telecommuting employee. The current cumulative payment amount may be paid separately as the cumulative first payment amount and the cumulative second payment amount. Note that an accounting system (not shown) other than the company server may perform payment processing based on the cumulative payment amount information from the company server 11.

[0106] Since the printing device 30 is located at a second location, such as a home, a telecommuter may perform printing for personal use. In this case, printing for personal use is instructed using at least one of the methods of the first to fourth embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. Therefore, in step S15 of FIG. 13, the control unit 50 determines that printing is for personal use. As a result, the control unit 50 proceeds to step S18. In other words, cleaning is not set to business-related cleaning.

[0107] In the case of private printing, the nozzle inspection (step S18), nozzle defect determination (step S19), and automatic cleaning (step S20) are performed in the same manner as in the case of business printing. However, because this is not business-related cleaning, the processing of step S21 is omitted, and in step S22, private printing is performed instead of business printing. Furthermore, in the case of private printing, the number of printed sheets and the amount of printing agent consumed for maintenance are not subject to payment, so the processing of step S23 is not performed.

[0108] The effects of this embodiment will be described below. (1) The printing system 10 includes a company server 11 located at a first location and a printing device 30 located at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing. The printing device 30 includes a printing unit 37 that prints on media using printing agents and a waste agent recovery unit 47 that recovers waste printing agents consumed by the printing unit 37 that are not used in printing on media. The printing system 10 also includes a determination unit 68 and an estimation unit 65. The determination unit 68 determines whether the waste printing agents are discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing. The estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of waste printing agents that the determination unit 68 determines are discarded in connection with business printing. This configuration allows a telecommuter to perform business printing using, for example, a personally owned printing device 30. A business owner, such as a company, can pay employees a fee based on the amount of waste printing agents discarded in connection with business printing as at least a portion of the cost of business printing.

[0109] (2) The printing device 30 includes a maintenance unit 45 that performs maintenance on the printing unit 37. The discarded amount of printing agent is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit 37 during maintenance. The determination unit 68 determines whether the maintenance is business-related maintenance, which reduces printing defects in business printing, or personal-related maintenance, which reduces printing defects in personal printing. The estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of printing agent discarded during business-related maintenance. This configuration makes it possible to estimate the amount of printing agent consumed (discarded) during business maintenance from the printing unit 37. For example, it is possible to calculate the cost according to the amount of printing agent consumed during business maintenance. For example, it becomes possible for a company or other entity to cover the maintenance costs for an employee who owns the printing device 30.

[0110] (3) Maintenance is cleaning of the printing unit 37. With this configuration, the cost of printing agents consumed in business-related cleaning, which is cleaning associated with business printing, can be paid to telecommuters, etc.

[0111] (4) The determination unit 68 includes a first determination unit 63 that determines whether the requested printing is business printing or personal printing, and a second determination unit 64 that determines that cleaning that satisfies the set conditions for business printing is business-related cleaning that accompanies business printing. With this configuration, maintenance that satisfies the set conditions for business printing can be identified as business-related maintenance.

[0112] (5) The printing device 30 includes a control unit 50 that controls the maintenance unit 45 and an inspection unit 55 that inspects the printing unit 37. When the control unit 50 receives a printing instruction, it causes the inspection unit 55 to inspect the printing unit 37 before starting printing. Furthermore, if the inspection results indicate that a printing defect may occur, the control unit 50 causes the maintenance unit 45 to perform automatic cleaning of the printing unit 37. If the instructed printing is business-use printing, the determination unit 68 determines that the automatic cleaning is business-related cleaning associated with business-use printing. With this configuration, the cost of the printing agent consumed during the automatic cleaning can be reimbursed.

[0113] (6) The printing system 10 further includes an information terminal 20 that instructs the printing device 30 to print. The information terminal 20 has a first print driver dedicated to business use and a second print driver for general use as print drivers that output print data to the printing device 30. The determination unit 68 is provided in the printing device 30, and if the sender of the print data received by the printing device 30 is the first print driver, the determination unit 68 determines that the instructed print is business print. On the other hand, if the sender of the print data received by the printing device 30 is the second print driver, the determination unit 68 determines that the instructed print is personal print. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the print data received by the printing device 30 is business print or personal print depending on whether the sender of the print data received by the printing device 30 is the first print driver or the second print driver.

[0114] (7) The company server 11 is equipped with an attendance system 13 that manages whether printing is performed during business hours or outside of business hours. The determination unit 68 determines that printing instructed during business hours is business printing based on the attendance information managed by the attendance system 13. With this configuration, it is possible to determine that printing instructed during business hours is business printing by using the attendance information managed by the attendance system 13.

[0115] (8) The printing system 10 includes an information terminal 20 that instructs the printing device 30 to print. The information terminal 20 is selectively used as a first information terminal 20A that instructs private printing, and a second information terminal 20B that instructs business printing. The determination unit 68 determines whether the instructed printing is business printing or private printing based on unique information that the printing device 30 receives from the information terminal 20. With this configuration, the printing device 30 can determine whether the instructed printing is business printing or private printing based on the unique information that it receives from the information terminal 20.

[0116] (9) The printing system 10 further includes a calculation unit 14 that calculates a cost based on the amount of printing agent discarded as at least a portion of the cost of commercial printing. This configuration enables a business owner, such as a company, to pay a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with commercial printing to a telecommuter as at least a portion of the cost of commercial printing.

[0117] (10) The calculation unit 14 calculates the printing cost according to the number of printed sheets for business printing and the printing agent cost according to the amount of discarded printing agent. With this configuration, in addition to the cost according to the number of printed sheets, the printing agent cost according to the amount of discarded printing agent can also be paid as the cost related to business printing.

[0118] (11) The waste agent recovery unit 47 has a replaceable waste agent storage unit 48 that stores the recovered waste agent. The cost calculated by the calculation unit 14 includes a portion of the cost of a new waste agent storage unit 48 that is replaced when the waste agent storage unit 48 is full, based on the amount of waste agent discarded in connection with commercial printing. With this configuration, the cost of replacing the waste agent storage unit 48, including the portion of the cost related to the business of discarding the waste agent, can also be paid to telecommuters, etc.

[0119] (12) The first location is the company, and the second location is the home of the employee who owns the printing device 30. With this configuration, when an employee, such as a telecommuter who works from home, performs business printing using a personally owned printing device 30, it becomes possible to pay the employee a fee according to the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with the business printing.

[0120] (13) The printing device 30 is used for business printing and personal printing. The printing device 30 includes a printing unit 37, a waste agent recovery unit 47, a determination unit 68, and an estimation unit 65. The printing unit 37 prints on a medium using printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores the printing agent. The waste agent recovery unit 47 recovers as waste printing agent printing agent consumed by the printing unit 37 that is not used in printing on a medium and discarded. The determination unit 68 determines whether the waste printing agent is discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing. The estimation unit 65 estimates the discard amount of printing agent that the determination unit 68 determines is discarded in connection with business printing. With this configuration, when a telecommuter uses the printing device 30 for business printing, the employer, such as a company, can pay the telecommuter a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with business printing as at least a portion of the cost of the business printing.

[0121] The above embodiment can be modified as shown in the following modified examples. Furthermore, the above embodiment and the modified examples shown below can be appropriately combined to form further modified examples, or the modified examples shown below can be appropriately combined to form further modified examples.

[0122] The estimation unit 65 may estimate the amount of printing agent discarded in association with business printing based on the number of commercial printed sheets printed by the printing device 30. If the determination unit 68 (specifically, the first determination unit 63) determines that the printing is for business printing, the estimation unit 65 estimates the amount of printing agent consumed for business-related maintenance based on the number of commercial printed sheets. The greater the number of printed sheets, the greater the amount of printing agent consumed for maintenance such as cleaning and flushing. The control unit 50, for example, stores a lookup table in the memory unit 67 that indicates the correspondence between the number of printed sheets and the amount of discarded printing agent. The estimation unit 65 obtains the amount of discarded printing agent due to business-related maintenance by referencing the lookup table based on the number of commercial printed sheets. This configuration estimates the amount of discarded printing agent based on the number of commercial printed sheets, thereby obtaining an appropriate amount of discarded printing agent corresponding to the number of commercial printed sheets. For example, it becomes possible to pay a telecommuter the cost of printing agents that are discarded as a result of printing for business use, among printing agents that are not used in printing on media and are discarded.

[0123] In the above embodiment, the printing device 30 may send all information related to printing and maintenance, i.e., information including the time and details of the maintenance, to the company server 11 directly or via the information terminal 20. The company server 11 may then obtain the number of sheets printed for business use and the amount of printing agent discarded due to business-related maintenance based on the information received from the printing device 30 or the information terminal 20. In this configuration, the company server 11 includes a determination unit 68 (a first determination unit 63 and a second determination unit 64) and an estimation unit 65.

[0124] In the above embodiment, the printing device 30 may transmit all information related to printing and maintenance, i.e., information including the time and details of the maintenance, to the information terminal 20. The information terminal 20 may then acquire the number of sheets printed for business use and the amount of printing agent discarded due to business-related maintenance based on the information received from the printing device 30. The information terminal 20 transmits the number of sheets printed for business use and the amount of printing agent discarded due to business-related maintenance to the company server 11. In this configuration, the information terminal 20 includes a determination unit 68 (a first determination unit 63 and a second determination unit 64) and an estimation unit 65.

[0125] In the above embodiment, the first judgment unit 63 and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided separately in two of the devices constituting the printing system 10. For example, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the printing device 30, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the company server 11. Conversely, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the company server 11, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the printing device 30. For example, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the printing device 30, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the information terminal 20. Conversely, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the information terminal 20, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the printing device 30. Furthermore, for example, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the information terminal 20, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the company server 11. Conversely, the first judgment unit 63 may be provided in the company server 11, and the second judgment unit 64 may be provided in the information terminal 20.

[0126] In a printing device 30 that performs timer cleaning, a portion of the printing agent consumption (waste amount) consumed during timer cleaning that is related to commercial printing may be added to the amount of printing agent consumed during commercial maintenance. Timer cleaning is performed when a set amount of time has elapsed since the previous cleaning. If the printing device 30 is powered off when the set amount of time has elapsed, cleaning will be performed the first time the power is turned on. For example, the amount of printing agent consumed during timer cleaning may be calculated by multiplying the ratio of the number of commercial prints to the total number of prints made during the set amount of time.

[0127] In a printing device 30 that performs sheet cleaning, a portion of the printing agent consumption (waste amount) consumed in sheet cleaning related to commercial printing may be added as the printing agent consumption amount for commercial maintenance. Sheet cleaning is performed when the number of printed sheets, which has been counted since the previous cleaning, reaches a set number. For example, the ratio of the number of commercial printed sheets to the set number may be multiplied by the amount of printing agent consumed in that sheet cleaning to determine the printing agent consumption amount for commercial maintenance.

[0128] The printing agent may be, for example, toner. That is, the printing device 30 is not limited to an inkjet printer and may also be a laser printer. In this type of laser printer, the waste agent recovery unit 47 recovers waste toner that is not used to print on the medium M and is discarded from the toner supplied to the laser printing unit 37. The recovered waste toner is then stored in the waste agent storage unit 48. In this case, the determination unit 68 of the control unit 50 determines whether the discarded toner was consumed for business printing or for personal printing. The control unit 50 may then transmit the amount of waste toner discarded as a result of business printing to the company server 11. Alternatively, the control unit 50 may transmit printing agent disposal information capable of identifying the amount of waste toner discarded to the company server 11, and the company server 11 may then identify the amount of business-related waste toner discarded based on the printing agent disposal information.

[0129] The control unit 50 transmits the amount of waste printing agent, such as ink, consumed for commercial printing to the company server 11. However, instead of this, printing agent disposal information that can identify the amount of waste printing agent may be transmitted to the company server 11. The printing agent disposal information may be, for example, information such as the content of maintenance (e.g., maintenance intensity) and the number of maintenance operations.

[0130] In the above embodiment, business printing is evaluated by the number of printed sheets, and the amount of printing agent consumed for maintenance is evaluated by the volume or weight of the printing agent, but both may be evaluated in the same unit. The amount of commercial printing may be evaluated by the amount of printing agent consumed in commercial printing instead of the number of printed sheets. In this case, the amount of printing agent consumed per commercial print may be calculated, and the amount of printing agent consumed per sheet may be multiplied by the number of printed sheets to calculate the amount of printing agent consumed in commercial printing.

[0131] The amount of printing agent consumed in work-related maintenance may or may not include the amount consumed in flushing (empty ejection). The medium M is not limited to paper, but may be a synthetic resin film or sheet, cloth, nonwoven fabric, a composite film of synthetic resin and metal (laminate sheet), metal foil, ceramic sheet, or the like.

[0132] The printing device 30 is not limited to a serial printer, but may also be a line printer or a page printer. The technical concepts and effects that can be understood from the above-described embodiment and modified examples will be described below.

[0133] (A) A printing system comprising a server provided at a first location and a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing, the printing device comprising: a printing unit that prints on a medium using printing agent; and a waste agent recovery unit that recovers as waste printing any printing agent consumed by the printing unit that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded; a judgment unit that determines whether the printing agent that becomes waste is discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing; and an estimation unit that estimates the discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the judgment unit to be discarded in connection with business printing.

[0134] With this configuration, a telecommuter may use a personally owned printing device to perform commercial printing, and the employer, such as a company, can pay the employee a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with the commercial printing, as at least a portion of the cost of the commercial printing.

[0135] (B) In the above printing system, the printing device includes a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the printing unit, and the amount of printing agent discarded is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit due to maintenance. The determination unit determines whether the maintenance is business-related maintenance that reduces printing defects in business-use printing or personal-related maintenance that reduces printing defects in personal-use printing, and the estimation unit may estimate the amount of printing agent discarded due to the business-related maintenance.

[0136] This configuration makes it possible to estimate the amount of printing agent consumed (discarded) from the printing unit for commercial maintenance. For example, it is possible to calculate the cost according to the amount of printing agent consumed for commercial maintenance. For example, it becomes possible for a company or the like to cover the maintenance costs for the employee who owns the printing device.

[0137] (C) In the printing system, the estimation unit may estimate the amount of printing agent discarded in association with commercial printing based on the number of commercial printed sheets printed by the printing device.

[0138] With this configuration, the amount of printing agent to be discarded is estimated based on the number of commercial printed sheets, making it possible to obtain an appropriate amount of printing agent to be discarded depending on the number of commercial printed sheets. For example, it becomes possible to pay telecommuters the cost of the amount of printing agent that is discarded as a result of commercial printing and not used in printing on media.

[0139] (D) In ​​the above printing system, the maintenance may be cleaning of the printing unit. According to this configuration, the cost of printing agents consumed in business-related cleaning, which is cleaning accompanying business printing, can be paid to telecommuters and the like.

[0140] (E) In the above printing system, the judgment unit may include a first judgment unit that judges whether the instructed printing is business printing or personal printing, and a second judgment unit that judges that the cleaning that satisfies the set conditions for the business printing is business-related cleaning that accompanies the business printing.

[0141] According to this configuration, maintenance that satisfies the set conditions for business printing can be identified as business-related maintenance. (F) In the above printing system, the printing device includes a control unit that controls the maintenance unit and an inspection unit that inspects the printing unit, and when the control unit receives a printing instruction, it causes the inspection unit to inspect the printing unit before starting printing, and if the inspection results indicate that printing defects may occur, it causes the maintenance unit to perform automatic cleaning of the printing unit, and if the instructed printing is business-use printing, the judgment unit may judge that the automatic cleaning is business-related cleaning associated with the business-use printing.

[0142] This configuration makes it possible to pay for the printing agent consumed in the automatic cleaning. (G) The above printing system may further include an information terminal that instructs the printing device to print, and the information terminal may have a first printing driver dedicated to business use and a second printing driver for general use as printing drivers that output printing data to the printing device, and the judgment unit may be provided in the printing device, and if the sender of the printing data received by the printing device is the first printing driver, it may judge that the instructed printing is printing for business use, and if the sender is the second printing driver, it may judge that the instructed printing is printing for personal use.

[0143] According to this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the print data received by the printing device is for business use or for personal use depending on whether the print driver that sent the print data is the first print driver or the second print driver.

[0144] (H) In the above printing system, the server may be equipped with an attendance system that manages whether printing is performed during business hours or outside of business hours, and the judgment unit may determine that printing is for business use if it is instructed during business hours based on the attendance information managed by the attendance system.

[0145] According to this configuration, it is possible to determine that printing instructed during business hours is business printing by utilizing the attendance information managed by the attendance system. (I) In the above printing system, an information terminal is provided that instructs the printing device to print, and the information terminal is selectively used as a first information terminal that instructs printing for personal use and a second information terminal that instructs printing for business use, and the judgment unit may judge whether the instructed printing is business use printing or personal use printing based on unique information that the printing device receives from the information terminal.

[0146] According to this configuration, the printing device can determine whether the requested printing is business printing based on the unique information received from the information terminal. (J) The printing system may further include a calculation unit that calculates a cost according to the amount of the printing agent to be disposed of as at least a portion of the cost of printing for commercial use.

[0147] With this configuration, business owners such as companies can pay telecommuters a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with business printing as at least part of the cost of business printing.

[0148] (K) In the printing system, the calculation unit may calculate a printing cost according to the number of printed sheets for the business printing and a printing agent cost according to the discarded amount of the printing agent. According to this configuration, in addition to the cost according to the number of printed sheets, the printing agent cost according to the amount of printing agent discarded can also be paid as the cost related to business printing.

[0149] (L) In the above printing system, the waste agent recovery unit has a replaceable waste agent storage unit that stores the recovered waste agent, and the costs calculated by the calculation unit may include a portion of the cost of a new waste agent storage unit that is replaced when the waste agent storage unit becomes full of waste agent, corresponding to the amount of waste agent discarded in connection with commercial printing.

[0150] With this configuration, the cost of replacing the waste agent storage unit, including the cost of the amount of waste agent disposed of and part of the work-related costs, can also be paid to telecommuters, etc. (M) In the above printing system, the first location may be a company, and the second location may be the home of an employee who owns the printing device. With this configuration, when an employee, such as a telecommuter who works from home, performs business printing using a personally owned printing device, it becomes possible to pay the employee a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with the business printing.

[0151] (N) The printing device is a printing device used for business printing and personal printing, and comprises: a printing unit that prints on a medium using printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers as waste printing any printing agent consumed by the printing unit that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded; a judgment unit that determines whether the printing agent that becomes waste is discarded in connection with business printing or personal printing; and an estimation unit that estimates the discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the judgment unit to be discarded in connection with business printing.

[0152] According to this configuration, when a telecommuter uses a printing device to perform business printing, the business owner, such as a company, can pay the telecommuter a fee based on the amount of printing agent discarded in connection with the business printing as at least part of the cost of the business printing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0153] 10...printing system, 11...company server as an example of a server, 12...server control unit, 13...time attendance system, 14...calculation unit, 15...communication unit, 16...storage unit, 20...information terminal, 20A...first information terminal, 20B...second information terminal, 21...input unit, 22...display unit, 23...printing control unit, 24...communication unit, 26...communication unit, 30...printing device, 30A...printing unit, 31...main body, 32...image reading unit, 33...cover, 34...input unit, 35...display unit, 36...paper feed cassette, 37...printing unit, 38...carriage, 39...print head, 39A...nozzle surface, 40...transport unit, 41...output tray, 42...printing agent storage unit, 43...storage unit, 43A...lid unit, 4 5...maintenance unit, 46...cap, 47...waste agent collection unit, 48...waste printing agent storage unit, 49...pump, 50...control unit, 51...pipe, 52...spring, 54...mounting unit, 54A...connection unit, 55...inspection unit, 56A, 56B...portable information terminal, 57...USB memory, 60...computer, 61...printing management unit, 62...maintenance control unit, 63...first judgment unit, 64...second judgment unit, 65...estimation unit, 66...time stamp unit, 67...memory unit, 68...judgment unit, 100...bottle, NW...network, M...medium, N...nozzle, PD...print data, CT...management table, PR...program, WP...in operation, OW...out of operation, X...width direction, Y...transport direction.

Claims

1. a server located at a first location; a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing; an information terminal that instructs the printing device to print, The printing device includes a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from the printing agent consumed by the printing unit, a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, the information terminal has a first print driver dedicated to business use and a second print driver for general use as print drivers for outputting print data to the printing device; The printing system is characterized in that the judgment unit is provided in the printing device, and if the sender of the print data received by the printing device is the first print driver, it judges that the requested print is a business print, and if the sender is the second print driver, it judges that the requested print is a private print.

2. a server located at a first location; a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing; an information terminal that instructs the printing device to print, The printing device includes a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from the printing agent consumed by the printing unit, a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, The information terminal is selectively used as a first information terminal for instructing printing for personal use and a second information terminal for instructing printing for business use, The printing system is characterized in that the determination unit determines whether the instructed printing is business printing or personal printing based on unique information that the printing device receives from the information terminal.

3. a server located at a first location; a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing; an information terminal that instructs the printing device to print, The printing device includes a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from the printing agent consumed by the printing unit, a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, A printing system characterized in that, when a print instruction is received from the information terminal while an external storage medium storing a code permitting business printing is connected, the judgment unit judges that the requested print is business printing, and when a print instruction is received from the information terminal while the external storage medium is not connected, the judgment unit judges that the requested print is personal printing.

4. a server located at a first location; a printing device provided at a second location and used for business printing and personal printing; The printing device includes a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit; a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the printing unit; a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, the discarded amount of printing agent is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit due to maintenance, the maintenance is cleaning of the printing unit, The determination unit a first determination unit that determines whether the instructed printing is business printing or personal printing; A printing system comprising: a second determination unit that determines that the cleaning performed immediately before the business printing within a set time period is business-related cleaning associated with the business printing.

5. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the printing device includes a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the printing unit; the discarded amount of printing agent is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit due to maintenance, the determination unit determines whether the maintenance is business-related maintenance for suppressing printing defects in business printing or personal-related maintenance for suppressing printing defects in personal printing; The printing system is characterized in that the estimation unit estimates a waste amount of the printing agent to be discarded during the work-related maintenance.

6. In the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The printing system is characterized in that the estimation unit estimates the amount of printing agent discarded in association with commercial printing based on the number of commercial printed sheets printed by the printing device.

7. 6. The printing system according to claim 5, The printing system is characterized in that the maintenance is cleaning of the printing unit.

8. 8. The printing system according to claim 7, The determination unit a first determination unit that determines whether the instructed printing is business printing or personal printing; a second determining unit that determines that the cleaning that satisfies a set condition for the business printing is business-related cleaning that accompanies the business printing.

9. 9. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein: The printing device a control unit that controls the maintenance unit; an inspection unit that inspects the printing unit, When the control unit receives a print instruction, the control unit causes the inspection unit to inspect the printing unit before starting printing, and if the inspection result indicates that a printing defect may occur, causes the maintenance unit to automatically clean the printing unit; The printing system is characterized in that, if the instructed printing is business-use printing, the determination unit determines that the automatic cleaning is business-related cleaning associated with the business-use printing.

10. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, A printing system further comprising a calculation unit that calculates a cost according to the amount of the printing agent to be disposed of as at least a portion of a cost related to commercial printing.

11. 11. The printing system according to claim 10, The printing system is characterized in that the calculation unit calculates a printing cost according to the number of printed sheets for business use printing and a printing agent cost according to the waste amount of the printing agent.

12. 12. The printing system according to claim 10, the waste agent recovery unit has a replaceable waste agent storage unit that stores the recovered waste agent, A printing system characterized in that the costs calculated by the calculation unit include a portion of the cost of a new waste agent storage unit to be replaced when the waste agent storage unit becomes full, based on the amount of waste agent discarded in connection with commercial printing.

13. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, A printing system, wherein the first location is a company, and the second location is the home of an employee who owns the printing device.

14. A printing device used for business printing and personal printing, a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores the printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit; a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, A printing device characterized in that, when the judgment unit receives print data from an information terminal that instructs printing, if the sender of the print data is a first print driver on the information terminal that is dedicated to business use, it judges that the instructed print is a print for business use, and if the sender of the print data is a second print driver on the information terminal that is general-purpose, it judges that the instructed print is a print for personal use.

15. A printing device used for business printing and personal printing, a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores the printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit; a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, A printing device characterized in that the judgment unit judges that the requested printing is for personal use when the printing is instructed from a first information terminal that instructs printing for personal use, based on unique information received from the information terminal, and judges that the requested printing is for business use when the printing is instructed from a second information terminal that instructs printing for business use.

16. A printing device used for business printing and personal printing, a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores the printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit; a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, A printing device characterized in that, when a print instruction is received from an information terminal while an external storage medium storing a code permitting business printing is connected, the judgment unit judges that the requested print is business printing, and when a print instruction is received from the information terminal while the external storage medium is not connected, the judgment unit judges that the requested print is personal printing.

17. A printing device used for business printing and personal printing, a printing unit that prints on a medium using a printing agent supplied from a printing agent storage unit that stores the printing agent; a waste agent recovery unit that recovers, as waste, printing agent that is not used in printing on the medium and is discarded from among the printing agent consumed by the printing unit; a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the printing unit; a determination unit that determines whether the printing agent to be discarded is associated with business printing or personal printing; an estimation unit that estimates a discard amount of the printing agent that is determined by the determination unit to be discarded in association with commercial printing, the discarded amount of printing agent is the amount of printing agent discarded from the printing unit due to maintenance, the maintenance is cleaning of the printing unit, The determination unit a first determination unit that determines whether the instructed printing is business printing or personal printing; a second determination unit that determines that the cleaning performed immediately before the business printing within a set time period is business-related cleaning associated with the business printing.

Images