Printing system
View Patent ↗A camera in which is stored a unique ID is directly or indirectly connected to a printing service site, to which log-in is performed using the ID, whereupon an image from the camera is uploaded to the printing service site, and a printing server distinguishes from the ID which camera the image was uploaded. Printing of the uploaded image can instructed via the printing service site. At the time of printing, when the printing server is calculating the printing charge, the charge is discounted if the image was obtained from a prescribed camera. Alternatively, if the image to be printed was photographed by a camera of a specific manufacturer, a cash-back is issued to the manufacturer in accordance with the number of prints.
1. A print server connected to a network, comprising:
a received-image file for storing image data;
data-receipt control means for receiving image data via the network and for storing in the received-image file the received image associated with ID information for identifying an owner of such image data; and
print control means for, upon receipt via the network of a request for printing image data with ID information designated, reading out from the received-image file image data associated with the designated ID information to print the read out image data, wherein
the data-receipt control means, upon receipt of the image data and a camera ID for identifying a camera used to acquire the image data, stores the camera ID as ID information, associated with the image data in the received image file, and the print control means judges whether or not the designated ID information corresponds to a camera ID identifying a specific camera, and determines whether to provide a predetermined printing service depending on the result of the judgment,
a camera ID database including a plurality of camera IDs, which are previously held respectively by a plurality of cameras produced by a plurality of manufacturers, wherein
the print control means judges whether or not the designated ID information coincides with any of the camera IDs included in the camera ID database, and determines whether to provide the predetermined printing service depending on the result of the judgment.
2. A print server according to claim 1 , wherein
the print control means determines to provide the print service at a predetermined discount cost for printing the image data, when the print control means has determined that the designated ID information corresponds to the camera ID for identifying the specific camera.
3. A print server according to claim 2 , wherein
the data-receipt control means provides a user ID for identifying an owner of image data when no camera ID is received together with the image data, and stores the provided user ID as ID information, associated with the received image data in the received-image file, and
the print control means determines not to provide the print service at the predetermined discount cost for printing the image data, when the print control means has determined that the designated ID information corresponds to the user ID decided by the data-receipt control means.
4. A print server according to claim 3 , wherein
the data-receipt control means notifies, via the network, a source of the image data of the provided user ID.
5. A print server according to claim 2 , wherein
the print control means judges whether or not a source of a print request for a printing service is a print vendor who can print image data and is available for an automatic printing-cost collection, when the print control means has received such print request, and sends the print vendor the image data corresponding to the designated ID information and calculation of the printing costs, when it has been determined that the source of the print request is the print vendor who can print the image data and is available for the automatic printing cost collection.
6. A print server according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a print shop database including a plurality of addresses of print terminals provided in print shops who provide print services of printing image data, wherein
the print control means receives information designating a print shop, and reads out from the print-shop database an address of the print shop designated in the received information, when the print control means has received a request for a printing service, and further sends the image data to the read out address of the print shop to make the print shop print the image data.
7. A print server according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a camera ID database including the camera IDS associated respectively with plural pieces of information each representing a camera manufacturer of the camera identified by the camera ID; and
managing means for designating camera manufacturers of the cameras used to acquire the image data from among the camera ID database, and for instructing the number of image data to be printed with respect to each of the designated camera manufacturers.