Print Control Program for Multi-Printer Network Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing print systems using general-purpose printer drivers are limited in their ability to facilitate printing on printers other than the one specified by the terminal device, necessitating a technique to enable printing on alternative printers.
Innovation Solution
A print control program that acquires print data from a general-purpose printer driver and transmits control data to a first printer, allowing the management program to send print data to a second printer in response to a control-data-based request, thereby enabling printing on multiple printers within a network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a general-purpose printer driver is installed in a terminal device, then the terminal device can communicate with multiple printers, but the terminal device cannot cause a printer other than the specified printer to execute printing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a print control program as an intermediary between the general-purpose printer driver and the printers. This program intercepts print data from the printer driver, processes it, and redirects it to the desired printer through network communication, thereby enabling printing on alternative printers without requiring vendor-specific drivers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the printing system into distinct functional components: the general-purpose printer driver for communication, the print control program for intelligence and redirection, and the printers for execution. This segmentation allows the terminal device to maintain compatibility with multiple printers while enabling flexible printing control through the intermediary program
2Ease of operation
If a printer vendor-specific driver is used in the terminal device, then printing control is precise and reliable, but the terminal device is limited to printing on a specific printer model
Solution Approach 1:
The print control program provides universal functionality by enabling a single terminal device with a general-purpose driver to print on multiple different printer models. The program acts as a universal adapter that translates between the general driver interface and the specific printer requirements, allowing one system to serve multiple functions
3Productivity
If print data is transmitted directly from the terminal device to multiple printers, then printing efficiency is high, but security and access control are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a management server as an intermediary that receives print data from the terminal device and distributes it to the appropriate printers. This intermediary layer maintains security by controlling access to print data and managing printer assignments, while still enabling efficient printing through automated data distribution
Data Source
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AI summary
A print control program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute acquisition processing, first transmission processing, and second transmission processing. The acquisition processing acquires print data from a general-purpose printer driver 16. When the print data is acquired in the acquisition processing, control data is transmitted to the first printer in the first transmission processing. In the second transmission processing, the print data is transmitted to a management program for transmitting, in response to a control-data-based request from a second printer, the print data to the second printer to cause the second printer to perform printing.