Printer and printing system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a printer and a printing system, and more particularly to a printer and a printing system suitable for printing a print job having some confidentiality.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Today, printing systems that share printers over networks are becoming popular. That is, by connecting a plurality of computers as clients to one network and connecting one printer to this network, for example, one printer accepts print jobs from a plurality of clients and prints. It is becoming possible to do it.

【0003】

In a printing system using this network, the distance from the client to the printer may be some distance, so confidentiality is provided in case of printing some confidential print job that you do not want others to see. A function called printing is supported.

【0004】

In this confidential printing, when the user sends a print job from the client to the printer, for example, confidential attribute information indicating that the printing is confidential, user information, and a password are included. The printer that receives this print job does not immediately start printing based on this print job, but temporarily saves it as print job data on the hard disk. Then, when the user comes to the printer and inputs the correct user information and password from the operation panel of the printer, the print job data is read from the hard disk and printing is started. By doing so, it is possible to prevent another person from seeing the print result of the print job before the user who sent the print job reaches the printer.

【0005】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in some printers that support such a confidential printing function, it is possible to set the print job after printing to be retained on the hard disk as it is. That is, there is a printer that can be set to save the print job on the hard disk so that the print job that has finished printing can be printed again at the request of the user. Then, for example, after a certain period of time elapses or when a certain amount of print jobs are retained, the print jobs are sequentially deleted from the hard disk.

【0006】

When the above-mentioned confidential printing is performed by a printer having such a holding function, even a confidential print job of confidential printing is held as print job data on the hard disk after the printing is completed. In this case, for example, it cannot be said that there is a possibility that a third party with an illegal intention may forcibly steal the print job data after printing stored on the hard disk by some means.

【0007】

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the case of a printer having a function of holding a print job after printing, the setting of the printer itself is set to hold the print job after printing. However, one purpose is to provide a printer and a printing system that do not hold some confidential print jobs in an auxiliary recording device such as a hard disk.

【0008】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the printer according to the present invention individually determines whether or not to retain the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even after the printing of the received print job is completed. It is a setting means that comprehensively sets regardless of the print job, and this comprehensive setting can be set from the client via the network, and the received print job has some confidentiality. If the determination means for determining whether or not the printing job is set and the determination means determines that the print job is set to have some confidentiality, the auxiliary setting means is set even after the printing is completed. Even if the storage device is set to hold the print job as print job data, the auxiliary storage device does not hold the print job as print job data, and the print job has some confidentiality by the determination means. If it is determined that the setting means is not set to, and the setting of the setting means is set to hold the print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device even after printing is completed, the above The auxiliary storage device is provided with a selective holding means for holding the print job as print job data. By doing so, even if the setting means is set to hold the print job after printing in the auxiliary storage device, the print job having some confidentiality is not held in the auxiliary storage device. It is possible to improve the confidentiality of the print job.

【0009】

In this case, the printer according to the present invention temporarily stores the received print job as print job data in the auxiliary storage device, and reads the print job data from the auxiliary storage device at the time of printing. , A reading means and an execution means for executing printing based on the print job data read by the reading means may be further provided. By temporarily storing the print jobs received in this way in the auxiliary storage device, it becomes possible for the printer to hold a large number of print jobs.

【0010】

Further, when the selective holding means holds the print job in the auxiliary storage device as print job data after the printing is completed, the status of the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device before printing is set. When the status is changed to indicate that the data is in the retained state after printing and the print job for which printing has been completed is not retained in the auxiliary storage device, the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device is deleted. You may do so. When the print job after printing is stored in the auxiliary storage device as print job data in this way, if only the status of the print job data stored in the auxiliary storage device before printing is changed, the print job data after printing can be stored. The processing time required to retain the print job data of the above in the auxiliary storage device can be shortened.

【0011】

Further, the auxiliary storage device can be configured by, for example, a hard disk built in the printer.

【0012】

Further, the determination means may determine whether or not the received print job is set to have some confidentiality based on whether or not the print job is confidential printing, or print the print job. At least, it may be determined whether or not the user is set to start printing after entering the password.

【0013】

Furthermore, the confidentiality setting of the print job may be set for each print job, or may be set for each connection established between the printer and the client.

【0014】

The present invention can be realized as a control method for controlling the printer as described above, or can be realized as a program for controlling the printer and a recording medium on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the above-mentioned printer and client can be realized as a printing system connected via a network.

【0015】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment] The printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives the confidential printing print job even when the printer setting is set to hold the print job data after printing on the hard disk. In some cases, this print job is not retained on the hard disk. More details will be described below.

【0016】

First, the configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment.

【0017】

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of clients 20, 20, 20 connected to the network 10, and one printer 30 also connected to the network 10. .. The client 20 is various computers called a host computer and a personal computer, and in the present embodiment, in particular, a computer that generates a print job and transmits the print job to the printer 30 via the network 10.

【0018】

In the present embodiment, the printer 30 is a so-called network printer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 31b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 31c, and a hard disk 32.

【0019】

The printer 30 temporarily stores the print job received from the network 10 as print job data on the hard disk 32. In the present embodiment, the hard disk 32 is built in the printer 30, but may be provided as an external device of the printer 30, or may be provided separately via the network 10. The hard disk 32 constitutes the auxiliary storage device in the present embodiment.

【0020】

The printer 30 that has received the print job that is not confidential printing generates a print request from the print job data according to the availability of the printer engine included in the printer 30 and prints. That is, the printer 30 sequentially reads the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 and generates a print request based on the print job data. Then, when the printer engine is free, a print request is sent to the printer engine to execute printing.

【0021】

On the other hand, the printer 30 that has received the confidential print job stores the print job data on the hard disk 32 until the user inputs the user information and the password to the printer 30. In this embodiment, this state is referred to as a hold state. In this hold state, when the user inputs the user information and the password to the printer 30, the printer 30 reads the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 and generates a print request based on the print job data. To do. Then, when the printer engine is free, a print request is sent to the printer engine to execute printing.

【0022】

A series of processes from receiving these print jobs to executing printing is realized by the CPU 31a executing various programs. During this series of processing, CPU31a accesses RAM31b, ROM31c, and hard disk 32 as needed. This CPU 31a constitutes the arithmetic processing unit in this embodiment.

【0023】

Next, in the printing system according to the present embodiment, specific processing at the time of printing will be described in detail.

【0024】

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a confidential printing process in the printing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, first, (1) the client 20 generates a print job for confidential printing based on an input instruction from the user. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of a print job for confidential printing according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the print job of confidential printing includes at least print data D1, confidential attribute information D2, user information D3, and password D4.

【0025】

The print data D1 stores actual data for the printer 30 to drive the printer engine and print on printing paper. The confidential attribute information D2 stores information indicating whether or not the print job is confidential printing. The user information D3 stores information for identifying the user who created the print job. In this embodiment, a user ID (for example, ABC123456) is used as information for identifying this user. The password D4 stores a password (for example, 1234567890XYZ) that the user should enter for the printer 30 when performing confidential printing. This password D4 may be entered by the user in the client 20 for each print job, or may be registered in the client 20 as a user-specific password so that it is not necessary to enter the password D4 for each print job. May be good.

【0026】

In the present embodiment, the confidential attribute information D2, the user information D3, and the password D4 constitute the attribute information for the print data D1. Note that the user information D3 and password D4 are not necessarily necessary items when confidential printing is not performed. Further, the specification may be such that the confidential attribute information D2 is added to the print data D1 only in the case of confidential printing. In the case of this specification, the confidential attribute information D2, the user information D3, and the password D4 can be omitted when the printing is not confidential.

【0027】

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the client 20 that generated the confidential print print job (2) transmits this print job to the printer 30 via the network 10. The printer 30 that has received this print job (3) stores this print job as print job data on the hard disk 32.

【0028】

Next, the printer 30 reads out the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 at an appropriate timing and performs the printing process. 4 and 5 are flowcharts illustrating the printing process executed by the printer 30. This print processing is realized by the CPU 31a executing the print processing program stored in the ROM 31c or the hard disk 32.

【0029】

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 2, the printer 30 reads (4) the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 at a predetermined timing (step S10).

【0030】

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4, the printer 30 extracts and reads the attribute information from the read print job data (step S11). Then, this attribute information is associated with the print job data and saved (step S12). In the present embodiment, this attribute information is stored in the RAM 31b provided in the printer 30. Further, the attribute information is stored in the RAM 31b in advance in order to eliminate the need to read the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 each time in the subsequent processing (for example, step S13 and step S20 described later). ..

【0031】

Next, the printer 30 determines whether or not the print job is confidential printing (step S13). If it is not confidential printing (step S13: No), the process skips to step S16, which will be described later. In the case of confidential printing (step S13: Yes), it is determined whether or not the user has entered the user information and password for the print job (step S14). Then, when the user information and the password are not input (step S14: No), the process of this step S14 is repeated and waits.

【0032】

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the user information and password in step S14 are input by the user from the operation panel 34 provided in the (5-A) printer 30, or (5-A). B) Input from client 20. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation panel 34 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the user operates the input key 36 displayed on the operation panel 34 of the printer 30 to input the user information and the password in the input field 38.

【0033】

On the other hand, when the client 20 inputs the user information and the password, the user inputs the user information and the password from the input device of the client 20 and outputs the user information and the password to the printer 30 via the network 10. Send to.

【0034】

In either case, if the user inputs the password after specifying the print job, the user information is included in the print job, so it is possible to omit the input of the user information. is there.

【0035】

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, when the user information and the password are input (step S14: Yes), (6) the input user information and the password are included in the print job. Determine if the entered user information D3 and password D4 match (step S15).

【0036】

As shown in FIG. 4, if the entered user information and password do not match the user information D3 and password D4 included in the print job (step S15: No), the process returns to step S14 described above. And wait.

【0037】

This If these match (step S15: Yes), and, if it is judged that it is not a confidential print in step S13 described above (Step S13: No), the as shown in FIG. 2, the actual (7) Perform the printing process (step S16). Specifically, the printer 30 performs language interpretation based on the print data D1 of the print job and generates a print request. This generated print request is transmitted to the printer engine when the printer engine is free, and printing is performed on printing paper.

【0038】

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the printer 30 examines the setting information of the printer itself (step S17). Then, based on this setting information, it is determined whether or not the printer 30 is set to hold the print job after printing on the hard disk 30 (step S18). That is, the printer 30 according to the present embodiment can comprehensively set whether or not to retain the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 as it is, regardless of the individual print jobs. ..

【0039】

If the print job after printing is set to be retained on the hard disk 32 (step S18: Yes), check the attribute information of the print job (step S19) and check whether the print job is confidential printing. Determine (step S20). If it is not confidential printing (step S20: No), the print job data is not deleted from the hard disk 32 at this point (step S21). Specifically, the status of the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 is changed from the hold state before printing to the hold state after printing. Then, this printing process is terminated.

【0040】

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S20 that the printing is confidential (step S20: Yes), and when it is determined in step S18 described above that the print job after printing is not set to be retained (step S18: No). As shown in Fig. 2, (8) Delete the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 (step S22). Then, this printing process is terminated.

【0041】

As described above, according to the printing system according to the present embodiment, in the case of confidential printing, which is a type of printing of confidential documents, the printer 30 is set to retain the print job data after printing. However, since the print job data after printing is deleted without being retained in the hard disk 32, the confidentiality of confidential printing can be further improved. That is, when the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 as in the conventional case, the print job data is held on the hard disk 32 as it is, which is invalid. It is possible to prevent a person from stealing the contents held by the hard disk 32 by some means.

【0042】

In addition, simply changing the status of the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 from the hold state to the hold state can be performed to hold the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32. The processing time can be shortened as much as possible.

【0043】

[Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the second embodiment of the present invention is provided with the directory server 40 that manages the user information and the password through the entire network in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and the printer 30 uses the user as the user information and the password. Is entered, the collation is requested to the directory server 40, and if the collation results match, confidential printing is performed. More details will be described below.

【0044】

First, the configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

【0045】

As shown in FIG. 7, the printing system according to the second embodiment is configured by adding the directory server 40 to the printing system of the first embodiment described above. That is, the printing system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of clients 20, 20, 20 connected to the network 10, one printer 30 also connected to the network 10, and one printer also connected to the network. It has a directory server 40. The directory server 40 is a system that centrally manages user information and passwords of users who use the network 10. That is, in the present embodiment, the password is set for each user throughout the network, not for each individual print job. Therefore, when the user information and the password are input to the printer 30, the printer 30 requests the directory server 40 to collate the user information and the password. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

【0046】

Next, in the printing system according to the present embodiment, the processing at the time of printing will be described in detail.

【0047】

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a confidential printing process in the printing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, first, (1) the client 20 generates a print job for confidential printing based on an input instruction from the user. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data structure of a print job for confidential printing according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, in the confidential printing job of the second embodiment, the password D4 is omitted as compared with the confidential printing printing job of the first embodiment described above (see FIG. 3). That is, the print job of the second embodiment includes at least print data D1, confidential attribute information D2, and user information D3.

【0048】

In the present embodiment, the confidential attribute information D2 and the user information D3 constitute the attribute information for the print data D1. Note that the user information D3 is not necessarily a necessary item when confidential printing is not performed. Further, the specification may be such that the confidential attribute information D2 is added to the print data D1 only in the case of confidential printing. In the case of this specification, the confidential attribute information D2 and the user information D3 can be omitted when the printing is not confidential.

【0049】

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the client 20 that generated the confidential print print job (2) transmits this print job to the printer 30 via the network 10. The printer 30 that has received this print job (3) stores this print job as print job data on the hard disk 32.

【0050】

Next, the printer 30 reads out the print job data stored in the hard disk 32 at an appropriate timing and performs the printing process. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the printing process executed by the printer 30, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the above-described first embodiment. This print processing is also realized by the CPU 31a executing the print processing program stored in the ROM 31c or the hard disk 32. Since the processes after FIG. 10 are the same as the processes in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment described above, the description thereof will be omitted here.

【0051】

Explaining only the part different from the first embodiment described above, if the user information and the password are input in step S14 (step S14: Yes), the printer 30 uses the input user information and the password. To the directory server 40 (step S30). If the input of the user information is omitted, the printer 30 transfers the user information included in the print job and the password entered here by the user to the directory server 40 via the network 10. Will be sent to.

【0052】

As shown in FIG. 8, (6) the directory server 40 that has received these user information and the password is registered in correspondence with the user information registered in advance in the user table provided in the directory server 40 and this user information. It is determined whether the password is the same as the user information received this time and the password. If they match, the directory server 40 sends a collation result indicating that they match to the printer 30 via the network 10, and if they do not match, they do not match the printer 30. Send the collation result indicating that.

【0053】

As shown in FIG. 10, the printer 30 receives this collation result via the network 10 (step S31). Then, does the collation result indicate that the user information and password entered by the user match the user information registered in the directory server 40 and the password registered corresponding to this user information? Determine if (step S32).

【0054】

If it indicates that the collation results do not match (step S32: No), the process returns to step S14 described above and waits until the user information and password are input again. On the other hand, when it is shown that the collation results match (step S32: Yes) and when it is determined that the printing is not confidential in step S13 described above (step S13: No), as shown in FIG. , (7) Perform the actual printing process (step S16).

【0055】

Since the subsequent processing is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

【0056】

As described above, according to the printing system according to the present embodiment, in the case of confidential printing, which is a type of printing of confidential documents, the printer 30 is set to retain the print job data after printing. However, since the print job data after printing is deleted without being retained in the hard disk 32, the confidentiality of confidential printing can be further improved. That is, when the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 as in the conventional case, the print job data is held on the hard disk 32 as it is, which is invalid. It is possible to prevent a person from stealing the contents held by the hard disk 32 by some means.

【0057】

[Third Embodiment] Next, a method of setting the comprehensive holding function of the printer 30 and the confidential printing setting according to the first and second embodiments described above from the client 20 is described in the third embodiment. It is explained as.

【0058】

As described above, the printer 30 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment comprehensively determines whether or not to retain the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 regardless of the individual print jobs. It is possible to set. The setting of this holding function is stored in the RAM 31b included in the printer 30.

【0059】

The setting of this holding function can be set by the user from the operation panel 34 shown in FIG. That is, the user can operate the operation panel 34 to make a comprehensive setting of holding or not holding the print job data after printing. That is, as a setting of the retention function of the printer 30 itself, it is possible to set whether or not to retain the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32.

【0060】

Further, this retention function can be set from the client 20. FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the transmission and reception of signals between the client 20 and the printer 30 when the holding function is set from one client 20. Here, the timing chart is shown when the user operates the client 20 to set the holding function for holding the print job data after printing, and then cancels the setting of the holding function.

【0061】

First, the user operates the client 20 to instruct the printer 30 to be set to retain the print job data after printing. Upon receiving this instruction, the client 20 inquires via the network 10 whether (1) the printer 30 has a retention function for retaining print job data after printing. Upon receiving this inquiry, the printer 30 replies whether or not it has a holding function. In the example of FIG. 11, since the printer 30 has a holding function, (2) a reply to the effect that the holding function is provided is transmitted to the client 20.

【0062】

Upon receiving the reply that the retention function is available, the client 20 sends (3) a retention setting request to the printer 30 in order to comprehensively retain the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32. The printer 30 that receives this retention setting request sets the retention function setting to the retention setting. As a result, the printer 30 is set to hold the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 in principle.

【0063】

When the user cancels this retention setting, he first operates the client 20 to instruct the printer 30 to check the current setting of the retention function. Upon receiving this command, the client 20 inquires (4) what kind of setting the holding function is currently set in the printer 30. Upon receiving this inquiry, the printer 30 replies to the client 20 what kind of setting the holding function is currently set. Here, since the printer 30 is set to retain the print job data after printing, the printer 30 sends a reply to the client 20 that (5) the retention function is set to retain.

【0064】

The user who receives this answer operates the client 20 to send the (6) retention setting cancellation request from the client 20 to the printer 30 in order to cancel the retention setting of the printer 30. Upon receiving this retention setting cancellation request, the printer 30 cancels the retention setting so that the print job data after printing is not retained on the hard disk 32 comprehensively regardless of individual print jobs.

【0065】

On the other hand, in the printer 30 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, it is possible to set whether or not to perform confidential printing for each connection between the client 20 and the printer 30. That is, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, whether or not to perform confidential printing is set for each print job, but this setting is established for each connection unit between the client 20 and the printer 30. You can also do it at.

【0066】

FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing the transmission and reception of signals between the client 20 and the printer 30 when confidential printing is set for each connection. As shown in FIG. 12, the client 20 opens a connection with (1) the printer 30 via the network 10. Subsequently, the client 20 inquires of the printer 30 whether or not the printer 30 has the confidential printing function (2) in order to confirm whether or not the printer 30 has the confidential printing function. Upon receiving this inquiry, the printer 30 sends a reply to the client 20 whether or not it has the confidential printing function. Here, since the printer 30 has a confidential printing function, (3) an answer with the confidential printing function is transmitted to the client 20.

【0067】

Upon receiving the answer that the confidential printing function is provided, the client 20 sends a confidential setting request to (4) the printer 30 in order to make this connection confidential printing. The printer 30 that receives this confidential setting request sets the print job received by this connection to confidential printing. After that, (5) the client 20 sends a print job to the printer 30, but even if the print job is not set for confidential printing, the printer 30 treats it as confidential printing. The number of print jobs sent from the client 20 is not limited to one, and may be multiple.

【0068】

The client 20 that has finished sending a series of print jobs (6) closes the connection between the printer 30 and the client 20. When the connection is closed, the confidential printing setting between the client 20 and the printer 30 is canceled.

【0069】

Confidential printing settings for each connection are made between the individual clients 20 and the printer 30. Therefore, even if confidential printing is set in the connection between one client 20 and the printer 30, the print job sent from the other client 20 to the printer 30 is affected by this confidential printing setting. Does not reach.

【0070】

As described above, according to the printer 30 according to the present embodiment, the setting of whether or not to retain the print job data after printing on the hard disk 32 comprehensively regardless of the individual print jobs is set by the printer. It can be set not only from 30 but also from client 20. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

【0071】

Further, according to the printer 30 according to the present embodiment, the confidential printing can be set even for the connection unit established between the client 20 and the printer 30, so that the user can perform confidential printing for each individual print job. You don't have to make any settings. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

【0072】

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be variously modified. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the printer 30 determines whether or not the print job has some kind of confidentiality based on whether or not the print job is confidential printing. The presence or absence of sex may be determined. For example, when the printer 30 receives a print job, if the print job is a print job that starts printing only when the user inputs a valid password, the print job has confidentiality. You may decide that.

【0073】

Further, the printer 30 according to each of the above-described embodiments has a function of selectively setting whether or not to retain the print job after printing on the hard disk 32, but this selective setting function is not always necessary. It's not something. That is, the present invention is similarly applied to the printer 30 which does not have such a selective setting function and holds the print job after printing on the hard disk 32 as a non-selective function peculiar to the printer. can do.

【0074】

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the received print job is temporarily stored in the hard disk 32 as print job data before printing, but it is not always necessary to store the print job data in the hard disk 32 before printing. There is no. In this case, when a print job that is not confidential printing is received, printing is performed by driving the printer engine as it is, and when a print job that is confidential printing is received, it is stored in the memory as print job data. Alternatively, only in this case, the print job data may be stored in the hard disk 32.

【0075】

Further, for each process described in each of the above-described embodiments, a program for executing each of these processes is recorded on a floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ReadOnly Memory), ROM, memory card, or the like. It can be recorded on a medium and distributed in the form of a recording medium. In this case, the above-described embodiment can be realized by having the client 20, the printer 30, and / or the directory server 40 read and execute the recording medium on which this program is recorded.

【0076】

Also, the client 20, printer 30, and / or directory server 40 may include other programs, such as an operating system or another application program. In this case, these other programs may be utilized, and an instruction for calling a program that realizes the same processing as that of the present embodiment may be recorded on the recording medium from the programs included in the printer 30. ..

【0077】

Furthermore, such programs can also be distributed as carrier waves through public networks rather than in the form of recording media. The program transmitted in the form of a carrier wave on the public network is incorporated into the client 20, the printer 30, and / or the directory server 40 as necessary, and then the above-described embodiment is executed by executing this program. It can be realized.

【0078】

Further, when the program is recorded on a recording medium or transmitted as a carrier wave on a public network, the program may be encrypted or compressed. In this case, the client 20, the printer 30, and / or the directory server 40, which has read the program from these recording media or carrier waves, needs to execute the program after decoding or decompressing the program.

【0079】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the printer has a function of holding the print job after printing in the auxiliary storage device, the print job having some confidentiality is held in the auxiliary storage device after printing. Since it is not done, the confidentiality of the print job can be improved.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

The figure which shows an example of the hardware composition of the printing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

The block diagram explaining the process at the time of performing confidential printing in the printing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 3]

The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the print job transmitted from the client to the printer in the printing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 4]

The figure which shows the flowchart explaining the process at the time of printing a print job stored in a hard disk by a printer in 1st Embodiment of this invention (the 1).

[Fig. 5]

The figure which shows the flowchart explaining the process at the time of printing a print job stored in a hard disk by a printer in 1st Embodiment of this invention (the 2).

[Fig. 6]

The figure which shows an example of the operation panel provided in the printer.

[Fig. 7]

The figure which shows an example of the hardware composition of the printing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 8]

The block diagram explaining the process at the time of performing confidential printing in the printing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 9]

The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the print job transmitted from the client to the printer in the printing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 10]

The figure which shows the flowchart explaining the process when the printer in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention prints a print job stored in a hard disk (the figure corresponding to FIG. 4).

[Fig. 11]

The figure which shows the timing chart when the holding function of the printer of 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment of this invention is set from a client (third embodiment).

[Fig. 12]

The figure which shows the timing chart when the confidential printing of the printer of 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment of this invention is set for the connection unit (third embodiment).

[Explanation of symbols]

10 networks 20 clients 30 printer 32 hard disk 34 Operation Panel 36 Input key 38 Input field 40 directory server