Printing Apparatus Print Restriction Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing systems lack effective mechanisms to restrict printing access, leading to increased costs due to unnecessary printing, as anyone with network access can print without restrictions, resulting in higher total cost of ownership (TCO) and environmental concerns.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a first computer, a second computer, and a printing apparatus that stores print restriction information, allowing for user authentication and print job transmission with embedded restriction information, enabling the printing apparatus to determine whether to permit or restrict printing based on user settings and stored information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If print restriction information is obtained from the printing apparatus every time a host computer executes printing, then printing function restriction can be implemented, but user convenience deteriorates due to repeated authentication and configuration requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The printing apparatus obtains print restriction information in advance from the information processing apparatus before the actual printing operation. This preliminary action allows the restriction information to be stored and reused for subsequent print jobs, eliminating the need for repeated authentication and improving user convenience while maintaining restriction effectiveness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the printing system supports multiple job forms with different authentication methods, then system adaptability improves, but device complexity increases due to multiple configuration options
Solution Approach 1:
The printing apparatus is designed to handle multiple types of print jobs (first print jobs with embedded restriction information and second print jobs with user identification) using a unified processing framework. The control unit can determine whether to permit or restrict both job types based on their respective authentication methods, allowing the system to support diverse authentication approaches without requiring separate processing paths for each job form.
Solution Approach 2:
The printing apparatus acts as an intermediary that receives and processes different types of print jobs from multiple host computers. It mediates between the first computer that embeds restriction information directly in print jobs and the second computer that transmits user identification, converting both into a form that can be evaluated against stored restriction information to determine printing permission.
3Adaptability or versatility
If print restriction information is embedded in each print job by the host computer, then printing control flexibility improves, but loss of information increases due to repeated transmission and potential errors
Solution Approach 1:
The host computer embeds print restriction information in advance into the print job data before transmission. This preliminary embedding ensures that the restriction information is captured once in its authoritative form and transmitted with the print job, eliminating the need for repeated transmission and reducing the risk of information loss or transmission errors.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes storage and control units in a printing apparatus, obtainment and first transmission units in a first computer, and a second transmission unit in a second computer. The storage unit stores print restriction information defining a setting content to permit or restrict printing for each user. The print restriction information of a first computer user is obtained. A first print job including the obtained print restriction information, a first print setting, a second print job including identification information of a second computer user and a second print setting are transmitted. The control unit determines whether to permit or restrict the first print job based on the first print setting and the first print job print restriction information, and determines whether to permit or restrict the second print job based on the second print setting and print restriction information specified by using the second print job user identification information.