System for mediating printing on network

The present invention relates to a technique for realizing printing between a client connected to a network and a printing device by mediating between the client and the printing apparatus.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use various printers as an output device of a computer. The printer is connected one-to-one with the computer (hereinafter referred to as "local connection"), receives data from the computer, and prints. It is also widespread to connect a printer to a LAN (local area network) and share it with multiple computers connected to the same LAN.

[0003] Further, by using a protocol called IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), it has become possible to print between arbitrary clients and printing devices connected to the Internet. However, the output destination is limited to printing devices whose URI (Uniform Resource Indicator) is known.

[0004] In any of the above-described aspects, conventionally, the connection state between the printer and the computer has usually been predetermined. In other words, traditionally, printing has usually been done in a fixed location for each computer owner.

[0005] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In recent years, the portability of terminals that access the Internet, such as notebook computers and mobile phones, has improved, and it has become possible to access information anywhere. .. Based on this tendency, a technique capable of easily printing from a portable terminal at any place has been desired. For example, there has been a growing demand for a technique that enables printing using the nearest printing device as soon as information is acquired. Since printing in which the output destination can be freely selected on the network as described above greatly improves the convenience of the printing device, its realization has been desired not only for use from a portable terminal. It has also been desired to add commercial value in order to quickly disseminate such a printing environment.

[0006] The present invention provides a technique for solving these problems and realizing printing with an increased degree of freedom regarding selection of print contents and output destination between a client connected to a network and a printing device. The purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems and Their Actions and Effects] In the present invention, a print mediation server computer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a server) mediates between a plurality of clients connected to a network and a plurality of printing devices. In the printing mediation method that realizes printing between the two<u style="single"> The print mediation server computer</u>(A) Information about users who use the client<u style="single">User information and information indicating the location of additional information added at the time of printing</u>, The print mediation server is stored in the memory of the computer, and (B) information indicating the location of the print data from the client and output destination designation information in which the user specifies the printing device to be the output destination of the print data.<u style="single">The print request including, and the identification information given uniquely to the user.</u>Received, (C)<u style="single">Previous</u>Based on the information indicating the location of the print data specified by the user, the user who acquired the print data via the network and (D) made the print request.<u style="single">The user information is read from the memory based on the identification information of</u>(E)<u style="single">Based on the user information, the location information of the additional information stored in the memory is acquired, and the location information is acquired.</u>(F)<u style="single">According to the acquired location information</u>Different from the print data<u style="single">Addition</u>Information is acquired from a server computer other than the print intermediary server computer via the network, and (F)<u style="single">Said</u>Acquired in the acquired print data<u style="single">Addition</u>Information-added data including information is generated in a general-purpose format that can be printed by the printing apparatus, and (G) the generated information-added data is generated as described above.<u style="single">Depending on the output destination specification information</u>Executes printing through the specified printing device.

[0008] As the general-purpose format, for example, a PDF format can be used. In addition, a page description language such as Postscript (registered trademark) can be used. Using these formats has the advantage that the layout of the printed matter can be maintained relatively easily. Further, since almost all print data can be converted in these formats, there is an advantage that the present invention can be applied to a wide range of print data.

[0009] The predetermined information may be printed on a page different from the print data specified by the user, or may be printed in a margin portion of the designated print data. By adding predetermined information in the mediation process, it is possible to add commercial value to the printing mediation method according to the content.

[0010] For example, predetermined information can be advertising information. The printing environment in which the output destination can be freely selected is suitable for advertising media because it has the same effect as mass media. By adding advertisements, it is possible to cover part of the installation cost and running cost of the printing device with the advertisement cost. In addition to advertisements, the added information may include news, weather forecasts, trivia knowledge such as so-called wisdom of life, fortune-telling, character images, and calendars.

[0011] The predetermined information to be added is<u style="single">,Previous</u>Obtained from a server other than the print mediation server<u style="single">To.</u>The acquisition destination server may be specified in advance by IP address, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), or the like.

[0012] The information to be added can always be constant information or can be randomly selected.<u style="single">.. mark</u>Information specified in relation to the user who made the print request and at least one of the print data.<u style="single">as,</u>For example, the gender, age, occupation, etc. of the user who issued the print request.<u style="single">Can think of this information</u>If is registered in advance, information to be added in relation to these can be selected. In addition, when a Web page is specified as print data, information to be added in relation to the content can be selected. By selecting the information in this way, the significance of adding the information can be further improved.

[0013] The present invention can be configured in various modes such as a print mediation server that realizes the above-mentioned print mediation method, a program that realizes the print mediation method, various signals that can be equated with the same, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded. Is. Here, as the recording medium, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card, a ROM cartridge, a punch card, a printed matter on which a code such as a bar code is printed, an internal storage device of a computer (RAM, ROM, etc.) Various computer-readable media such as memory) and external storage devices can be used.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [Embodiments of the Invention] Embodiments of the present invention will be described by dividing them into the following items based on examples. A. System configuration: B. Functional block: B1. Functional block variant: C. Print execution example: C1. Aspect 1 E-mail printing: C2. Aspect 2 Printing a Web Page: [0015] A. System Configuration: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of a print mediation system. It is a system that prints by flexibly selecting the output destination via the Internet. A server SVA that provides contents such as Web pages, a server SV that builds a print mediation system, printers PRT1 and PRT2, and client computers CC1 are connected to the Internet INT. These devices can exchange information via a network. Here, for convenience of explanation and illustration, only a few devices are shown, but as is well known, innumerable servers, printers, and clients are connected to the Internet. The Internet INT can also be accessed from the mobile phone CP. A mobile phone CP that can access the Internet can perform almost the same functions as a client computer.

[0016] The server SV is configured to function as the print mediation system in this embodiment. As shown below, the server SV manages the information of the client and printer registered in advance, and prints by mediating the print request between them.

[0017] When the user issues a print request from the client computers CC1 and CC2 or the mobile phone CP by designating any of the printers PRT1 and PRT2 on the network, the print request is once transmitted to the server SV. Will be done. The server SV confirms and sets the operating status of the specified printer, and confirms whether or not the user has the authority to access the printer. The server SV converts the print data specified by the client into a general-purpose format that can be printed by any printer. In this example, PDF was used as a general-purpose format. When the PDF format data is sent from the server SV to the printer, the printer driver prepared on the printer side converts it into printer-specific control data and prints it.

[0018] In the following embodiment, basically, most of the functions of the intermediary system are provided by the server SV, but it may be constructed by a distributed processing system. Further, the application of the embodiment is not limited to the Internet, but can be directly applied to a relatively limited network such as LAN or so-called personal computer communication. From this point of view, in the following description, the Internet, LAN, etc. are all collectively referred to as "network".

B. Functional Blocks: FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of an intermediary system. The intermediary system 200 is built in software in the server SV. FIG. 2 also shows the printer control unit 250 and the client 5. When the printer is directly connected to the network, the printer control unit 250 is a functional block configured by software in the microcomputer built in each printer. If the printer is locally connected to a computer connected to the network, the printer control unit 250 can be built in this computer by software.

[0020] The printer control unit 250 includes a logical printer management unit 252, a physical printer management unit 254, a data conversion unit 256, and a security module 251. The logical printer management unit 252 is a printer as a unit for handling print jobs. For example, when one document is distributed and printed by two printers, the two printers are combined to form one logical printer.

[0021] The physical printer management unit 254 functions to manage the operating state of each printer, for example, the remaining amount of toner and paper. The physical printer management unit 254 is provided for each printer as a machine regardless of the configuration of the logical printer.

[0022] The data conversion unit 256 corresponds to the function of the printer driver. It functions to convert the data received from the intermediary system 200 into control data specific to the printer to be controlled, that is, data representing on / off of dots on each pixel. The security module 251 functions such as data encryption and transmission / reception authentication for avoiding unauthorized access to the printer control unit 250.

[0023] The mediation system 200 is largely composed of a standard function unit 210, an application unit 220, a billing unit 240, and a security module 201. The standard function unit 210 provides a main function for realizing printing via the intermediary system 200. The standard function unit 210 includes a data conversion unit 212, a status management unit 214, a job control unit 216, a directory service 218, an API (Application Programming Interface) 211, and a security module 202. The functions of the security modules 201 and 202 are the same as those of the security module 251 of the printer control unit 250.

[0024] The data conversion unit 212 functions to convert the print data specified by the client 5 into a general-purpose format that does not depend on the printer model. In this example, PDF is used. The general-purpose format is not limited to PDF, and any format that can be handled by all the output destination printers may be used. Multiple types of general-purpose formats may be used together. However, PDF has the advantage that the page layout of the document is easy to maintain and that almost all documents can be changed to PDF.

[0025] The status management unit 214 functions to monitor the operating state of the printer. The operating state refers to the state of each printer involved in the execution of printing, such as the remaining amount of ink or toner and the remaining amount of printing paper. The management target is a physical printer. The status management unit 214 manages these by communicating with the physical printer management unit 254.

[0026] The job control unit 216 functions to manage the print jobs output to the printer control unit 250. As described above, the printer to be the output destination can be arbitrarily specified from the network. The job control unit 216 sends a print job to each output destination and manages its history according to this designation. When an instruction such as canceling a print job or changing a print mode is issued during printing, the function of identifying the printer that sent the job corresponding to the instruction and outputting the instruction to the printer is performed. It has the same function as the so-called spooler in that it controls the execution of print jobs, but it differs from the spooler in that it does not control the stored print data but also controls the transmitted print data.

[0027] The directory service 218 has a function of managing information that identifies a user who can use the intermediary system 200 and a printer that can output the printer. The information about the user includes an identification number, a usage password, information about a billing destination, etc. given uniquely to the user. Information about the printer includes information required for communication with the printer. It contains information that identifies the printer on the network, such as a URI or IP address. It also includes information on how to connect the printer to the network, such as leased lines and dial-up connections.

[0028] The application unit 220 is a functional block for providing various functions for improving user convenience. For example, it provides a function to display a screen for specifying the content to be printed and the printer of the output destination on the client 5. The display screen differs depending on whether the client 5 is a computer or a mobile phone. The application unit 220 is a functional block that is individually prepared according to the type of client, the content to be printed, and the like.

[0029] In this embodiment, the application unit 220 is provided with an advertisement setting unit 221, a user information storage unit 222, and an advertisement content storage unit 223. These are functional blocks for inserting advertisements into printed matter as appropriate. The user information storage unit 222 stores information registered in advance regarding the user of the intermediary system. For example, gender, age, address, hobbies, etc. are included. The advertisement content storage unit 223 stores a large number of URLs of the advertisement data to be inserted.

[0030] The advertisement setting unit 221 uses the user information storage unit 222 and the advertisement content storage unit 223 to perform a process of adding an advertisement to print data designated by the user. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the advertisement addition process. First, the advertisement setting unit 221 acquires the user ID and content information from the client 5 (step S10). The content information refers to information indicating the location of print data such as a URL or the print data itself.

Next, the advertisement setting unit 221 accesses the user information storage unit 222 and acquires the user information based on the user ID. Further, the advertisement content to be inserted is selected based on this user information (step S12). A predetermined function is preset between the user information and the advertisement content. By this function, for example, when "music" is registered in the advertisement setting unit 221 as a hobby in the user information, an advertisement related to music is selected. Age, gender, etc. are also considered.

[0032] The advertisement setting unit 221 acquires the selected advertisement content according to the URL stored in the advertisement content storage unit 223 (step S14). In addition, the print data specified by the user is acquired (step S16), and the advertisement additional data in which the advertisement content is inserted in the margin portion with the preset layout is generated (step S18). The advertisement may be printed on a page different from the print data. The generated advertisement additional data is passed to the standard function unit 210, and is converted into a PDF format by the data conversion unit 212. The advertisement may be inserted in the process of converting the advertisement data and the print data into the PDF format, or after the conversion.

[0033] The advertisement setting unit 221, the user information storage unit 222, and the advertisement content storage unit 223 are not limited to the above-described aspects, and various configurations are possible. For example, the advertisement content storage unit 223 may store the advertisement data itself to be inserted.

[0034] In the process of step S12 of FIG. 3, the advertisement setting unit 221 may select an advertisement based on the designated print content instead of the user information. If the user has specified a music-related Web page as print content, music-related advertisements can be attached. Further, the user information storage unit 222 may store the history of the designated print content, and select an advertisement based on this history. For example, if the history shows that Web pages in the music field are printed frequently, music-related advertisements can be attached. If the history shows that the frequency of printed web pages is shifting from the music field to the computer-related, the advertisement may be switched to the computer-related.

[0035] The advertisement setting unit 221 may set the advertisement based on the information related to the client 5 instead of the user information. For example, if the client 5 is a specific mobile phone line carrier, the advertisement related to that carrier may be selected. In addition to the client 5, when the printing device to be the output destination is installed in the store of a specific trader, the advertisement related to that trader may be selected. In addition, a predetermined fixed advertisement may be inserted regardless of user information, print content, and the like. You may randomly select the advertisement to insert.

[0036] The API (Application Programming Interface) 211 is an interface that mediates between the application unit 220 and the standard function unit 210. It plays the role of passing the data of the application unit 220 prepared individually to the standard function unit 210 in a predetermined format. By interposing API211, it is possible to prepare various application units 220 for each intermediary system while applying a common module to the standard function unit 210.

[0037] The billing unit 240 performs a billing process at the time of printing using the intermediary system 200. It is a functional block prepared individually according to the type of client 5.

[0038] B1. Modification example of functional block: The functional block of the intermediary system is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of the functional block of the intermediary system 1.

[0039] The mediation system 1 of the modified example has each function of the basic function block 10, the basic service block 20, the printing service 30, the relation service 50, the navigation service 40, the directory service block 60, the authentication service block 70, and the billing service block 80. A block is provided. "S" in the figure indicates a security system. The printing site control service 100 corresponds to the printer control unit 250 shown in FIG.

[0040] The basic function block 10, the directory service block 60, and the authentication service block 70 correspond to the standard function unit 210 in FIG. The basic function block 10 is composed of modules that provide data conversion, status management, and job control functions. The authentication service block 70 functions to determine whether or not there is an access right to each printer.

[0041] The basic service block 20, the printing service 30, the relation service 50, and the navigation service 40 correspond to the application unit 220 in FIG. The basic service block 20 functions as an input / output interface when the client 5 accesses the intermediary system 1, particularly the basic function block 10. Although not shown, the basic service block 20 provides three detailed functional blocks of registration service, basic printing service, and status service, and these detailed functional blocks realize the above-mentioned functions.

[0042] The functional block called the registration service mainly registers and manages the printer 110 and the content service involved in printing using the intermediary system.

[0043] The basic printing service is a part that functions as an interface when actually performing printing. It has a function to control each module of data conversion, status management, and job control of the basic function block 10 to execute printing.

[0044] The status service acquires and manages status information for maintenance management of the printer 110 as an output destination. For example, information on consumables such as toner and printing paper of the printer 110 and information on updating replacement parts such as drums are acquired and managed, and output as necessary.

[0045] The printing service block 30 functions to provide advanced printing using the intermediary system 1. For example, it provides advanced print control that cannot be realized only by the basic function block 10 and the basic service block 20, such as outputting print data to a plurality of printers registered in advance at a fixed time.

[0046] The relation service 50 has a function of acquiring and recording the printing status performed via the intermediary system and providing statistical data that can be utilized. By utilizing the statistical data obtained in this way, for example, it is possible to grasp the difference in the operating rate of each printer, and it can be utilized for the maintenance management of the printer.

[0047] The navigation service block 40 functions to provide the user with information that assists in using the intermediary system 1. Corresponds to the help function in the mediation system 1. For example, it is possible to provide information on how to execute printing using the intermediary system 1, a list of available printers and content services, and the like.

[0048] C. Printing Execution Example: C1. Aspect 1 E-mail Printing: FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an e-mail is printed using an intermediary system. An example shows a case where a user prints an e-mail addressed to himself / herself by operating from a mobile phone CP. The printer shall be installed in a public place such as a store or a hotel. It is also possible to use a computer as a client.

[0049] When printing an e-mail, a mobile phone CP, a printer PRT, an intermediary system PS, a mail service RM, and a mail server MS intervene. Each of these elements is connected to a network and allows data to be exchanged with each other.

[0050] The printer PRT to be the output destination is registered in the intermediary system PS in advance, and is given a unique identification number by the intermediary service. In the example of FIG. 5, the identification number of the printer PRT is "1111". This identification number is a code set independently of the information that specifies the printer PRT on the network, such as the IP address and URI. Since the IP address, URI, etc. of the printer PRT are kept secret from the user, unauthorized access can be avoided.

[0051] The intermediary system PS and the mail service RM may be provided by different vendors. It suffices if both are related in advance. The mail service RM provides the functions required for printing using the intermediary system PS as part of the service provided.

[0052] A method of executing printing of an e-mail will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. 6 and 7 are explanatory views showing the first half of the e-mail printing sequence. 8 and 9 are explanatory views showing an example interface.

[0053] First, the user accesses the mail service RM from the mobile phone CP (communication Cm1 in FIG. 5). The mail service RM accesses the mail server MS that stores e-mail, and displays items such as the sender and subject of the e-mail addressed to the user on the mobile phone (communication Cm2 in Fig. 5). The user selects the e-mail to be printed from the displayed subject list and sends it to the mail service RM (see step st1 in Fig. 6).

[0054] On the left side of FIG. 8, an example interface for selecting an e-mail is shown. A list of e-mails is displayed with a check box on the display section DISP of the mobile phone CP. In this example, it is displayed that four mails, Mail1 and Mail4, have arrived. The user operates the cursor keys on the mobile phone CP to check the check box of the e-mail requesting printing. Here, the case where two check marks are added to Mail2 and Mail4 is illustrated. A "print" button is also displayed on the e-mail list display, as shown in FIG. The user can check the email requesting printing, move the cursor to the "Print" button, and press this button to send the email selection result to the email service RM. The interface is only an example, and various interfaces that realize the function of selecting the e-mail to be printed and the function of confirming the selection result and sending it to the mail service RM can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the mail service RM receives the selection result of the mail, the mail service RM accesses the mail server MS by the communication Cm2 shown in FIG. 5 and acquires the body data of the selected mail ( Steps st2 and st3) in Fig. 6.

Next, the mail service RM transfers the data of the e-mail to be printed to the intermediary system PS by the communication Cm3 in FIG. 5 (step st4 in FIG. 6). The mediation system PS estimates the number of printed pages, cost, required time, etc. based on information such as the amount of print data, and returns it to the mail service RM as simple print prediction information (step st5 in Fig. 6).

[0057] The mail service RM displays the simple print prediction information received from the intermediary system PS on the mobile phone CP (step st6 in FIG. 6). A display example of simple print prediction information is shown on the right side of FIG. Here, an example is shown in which the print page, the cost, and the required time are displayed for each e-mail specified by the user.

[0058] When printing is executed, the user gives an instruction to start printing (step st7 in FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 8, the "execute" button is displayed on the display unit DISP together with the simple print prediction information, and the execution instruction can be given by moving the cursor here and pressing this button.

[0059] The execution instruction given by the user is transmitted to the intermediary system PS via the mail service RM by the communication Cm1 and Cm3 in FIG. 5 (step st7 in FIG. 6). At the same time, the print data, that is, the body of the e-mail and the attached file are transmitted from the mail service RM to the intermediary system PS. According to this instruction, the mail service RM completes the communication with the mobile phone CP. Subsequent communication is performed between the communication Cm4 in FIG. 5, that is, the mobile phone CP and the intermediary system PS.

[0060] When the intermediary system PS receives the print start instruction, the standard menu related to printing is displayed on the mobile phone CP (step st8 in FIG. 6). An example of a standard menu is shown on the left side of Fig. 9. In the standard menu, you can specify printing conditions such as the content to be printed, the number of copies to print, and the printer to output to. When you select the "Printer No." menu, the box IP for entering the identification number attached to the output destination printer is displayed. In the box IP, enter the identification number "1111" attached to the output destination printer PRT. When the user presses the "Send" button, the printer identification number is sent to the intermediary system PS by the communication Cm4 in FIG. 5, and the output printer can be specified (step st9 in FIG. 6).

[0061] In the intermediary system PS, the identification number of the printer PRT is registered in association with the IP address or URI. This attribute information is managed by the directory service 218 described earlier in FIG. The intermediary system PS acquires the operating status of the specified printer PRT, and when it determines that printing is possible, calculates detailed print prediction information when printing is performed under the specified printing conditions, and is shown in FIG. The contents are displayed on the mobile phone CP using the communication Cm4 (step st10 in Fig. 6).

[0062] After confirming the displayed print prediction information, the user instructs the execution of printing (step st11 in FIG. 7). In this embodiment, it is assumed that printing is instructed by inputting a user-specific password. An interface for entering a password is illustrated in the center of FIG. As shown in the figure, after the cost and required time are displayed as detailed print forecast information, a box for entering a password is displayed. The user inputs his / her password and presses the send button to send the data to the intermediary system PS.

[0063] The user password is registered and managed in advance by the directory service 218. When the intermediary system PS refers to this information and confirms that the password is genuine and has the access authority to the instructed printer PRT, the print start screen is displayed on the mobile phone CP ( Step st12 in Figure 7). At the same time, the intermediary system PS transmits predetermined banner data prepared in PDF format, that is, advertisement data to the printer PRT designated as the output destination by the communication Cm5 in FIG. This advertisement data is the data set by the advertisement setting unit 221 previously shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. On the printer PRT side, the advertisement data in PDF format is converted to raw data and printed (step st13 in Fig. 7). At the same time, the intermediary system PS displays a message prompting the mobile phone CP to confirm whether or not the banner page has been printed (step st14 in FIG. 7). A display example is shown on the right side of Fig. 9.

[0064] The user confirms that the banner has been printed, and presses the "OK" button shown in FIG. 9 (step st15). When the intermediary system PS confirms this input, it converts the e-mail data received from the mail service RM and accumulated into the PDF format, which is a general-purpose format, and then uses the communication Cm5 in Fig. 5 to output to the output destination. Send to the printer PRT (step st16 in Figure 7). The PDF format data is converted to raw data on the printer PRT side and printed. The advertisement data may be inserted in the margin of the e-mail. When the printing of the e-mail is completed, the intermediary system PS outputs the charge data required for printing to the billing destination and ends the series of processing (step st17 in FIG. 7).

[0065] In the above sequence, the display of print prediction information and the banner printing (step st13 in FIG. 7) may be omitted. The process of converting the e-mail to the PDF format may be executed at any time from the reception of the data by the intermediary system PS to the output to the printer PRT.

C2. Aspect 2 Printing of Web Page: FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of printing a Web page. An example is shown in the case where a user prints a Web page being viewed on a portable computer PC. It is assumed that the printer to be the output destination is installed in a public place.

[0067] In the second aspect, a computer PC, a printer PRT, an intermediary system PS, and a Web server WS that provides data of a Web page being browsed intervene. Each of these elements is connected to a network and allows data to be exchanged with each other.

[0068] The user can download the data from the Web server WS to the computer PC by the communication Cm21 in FIG. 10 and browse the Web page with a browser. When the user wants to print the web page, he / she enters the URL of the mediation system PS into the browser to access the web page of the mediation system.

[0069] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a Web page provided by an intermediary system. Corresponds to the interface for specifying print conditions. The user identifies the content by entering the URL of the Web page he wants to print in the print data box.

[0070] The "net printing mediation site" is also provided with an input box for designating a printer as an output destination. Here, as in the case of the first aspect, the identification number of the printer is input.

[0071] When the "print start" button is clicked after specifying the print conditions including the output destination, the print conditions specified by the user are transmitted to the intermediary system PS by the communication Cm23 in FIG. The mediation system PS accesses the Web server WS by the communication Cm22 in FIG. 10 based on the URL included in the print data, and acquires the data of the Web page to be printed. This function is provided by the application unit 220 of the intermediary system. Subsequent sequences are similar to aspect 1. In the second aspect, the printing instruction by the computer PC has been described as an example, but a mobile phone may be used as a client.

[0072] According to the intermediary system described above, printing between a client and a printer on the Internet can be realized without knowing the URI and IP address of the output destination printer. By installing a large number of printers registered in the intermediary system in a public place, it is possible to provide an environment in which printing can be performed anywhere. In this embodiment, the print data is converted into a general-purpose format, that is, PDF, and then the print data is mediated. Therefore, the print mediated can be easily realized without unifying the printer models.

[0073] According to the present embodiment, by adding an advertisement, it is possible to add commercial value to the printing mediation method. By adding advertisements, it is possible to cover part of the installation cost and running cost of the printing device with the advertisement cost.

[0074] In the embodiment, the case where the advertisement is printed together is illustrated. Information other than advertisements may be added. For example, news, weather forecasts, trivia such as so-called wisdom of life, fortune-telling, character images, calendars, etc. can be considered. This information can be appropriately selected and inserted by the same configuration as in this embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

Although various examples of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the above control processing may be realized not only by software but also by hardware.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a print mediation system.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a functional block of an intermediary system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an advertisement addition process.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of a functional block of the mediation system 1.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of printing an e-mail using an intermediary system.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing sequence of e-mail.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing sequence of e-mail.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an interface example.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an interface example.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of printing a Web page.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a Web page provided by an intermediary system.

[Code description] 5 ... Client 10 ... Basic function block 20 ... Basic service block 30 ... Printing service block 40 ... Navigation service block 50 ... Relation service 60 ... Directory service block 70 ... Authentication service block 80 ... Billing service block 100 ... Printing site control service 110 ... Printer 200 ... Mediation system 201, 202 ... Security module 210 .. .Standard function unit 211 ... API212 ... Data conversion unit 214 ... Status management unit 216 ... Job control unit 218 ... Directory service 220 ... Application unit 240 ... Billing unit 250 .. .Printer control unit 251 ... Security module 252 ... Logical printer management unit 254 ... Physical printer management unit 256 ... Data conversion unit