Network printing system having a print server and a logon server

1. A network printing system comprising:

a plurality of user devices;

a plurality of printing devices;

a print server, comprising plurality of print queues including a secure print queue and an insecure print queue, the insecure print queue being arranged to store print jobs received from the user devices and to send stored print jobs to the printing devices; and

a logon server arranged to store logon details for a plurality of users of the user devices and printer information defining a default printer for each of the plurality of users of the user devices,

wherein the print server is further arranged to select a printing device to which to send a print job stored in the insecure print queue based on the printer information stored in the logon server for the user of the user device from which the print job originated and to transfer a print job stored in the insecure print queue to the secure print queue based on properties of the print job, and further arranged to transfer print jobs from any one of said plurality of print queues to the printing device selected for that job based on the printer information stored in the logon server.

2. The network printing system claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of user devices comprises a single printer driver for a user to create and send print jobs to the print queue on the print server.

3. The network printing system claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transfer of the print job does not depend upon the printer information for the user stored in the logon server.

4. A computer-implemented method of printing print jobs on a network printing system, the network printing system comprising a plurality of user devices, a plurality of printing devices and a print server, the method comprising:

in response to a user attempting to log on to one of the plurality of user devices, validating the user's credentials using a logon server storing logon details for the user and storing printer information for the user, wherein the printer information defines a default printer for the user;

the one of the plurality of user devices sending a print job to the print server;

the print server storing the print job in an insecure print queue of a plurality of print queues including a secure print queue and the insecure print queue on the print server, wherein the print server allocates a print job stored in the insecure print queue to the secure print queue based on the properties of the print job; the print server selecting a printing device on which to print the print job based on the printer information for the user stored in the logon server; and the print server transferring the print job from the allocated print queue to the selected printing device.

5. The computer-implemented method claimed in claim 4 , wherein the transfer of the print job does not depend upon the printer information for the user stored in the logon server.

6. A print server comprising an insecure print queue arranged to store print jobs received from user devices and to send stored print jobs to printing devices,

wherein the print server is arranged to select a printing device to which to send a print job stored in the insecure print queue based on printer information, defining a default printer for each user of the user devices, stored in a logon server in association with logon details for the user of the user device from which the print job originated, and

wherein the print server, comprising a plurality of print queues including the insecure print queue and a secure print queue, is further arranged to transfer a print job stored in the insecure print queue to the secure print queue based on properties of the print job, and further arranged to transfer print jobs from any one of said plurality of print queues to the printing device selected for that job based on the printer information stored in the logon server.

7. A computer-implemented method of processing print jobs at a print server in a network printing system, the method comprising:

receiving a print job, from a user device, at the print server;

storing the print job in an insecure queue on the print server wherein the print server allocates a print job stored in the insecure print queue to a secure print queue on the print server based on the properties of the print job;

selecting a printer on which to print the print job based on printer information stored in a logon server in association with logon details for a user of the user device from which the print job originated, wherein the printer information defines a default printer for the user;

transferring the print job from the allocated print queue to the selected printer.

8. A set of computer program products stored on non-transitory computer-readable storage media that when executed on a set of devices provides a network printing system comprising:

a plurality of user devices;

a plurality of printing devices;

a print server, comprising an insecure print queue arranged to store print jobs received from the user devices and to send stored print jobs to the printing devices; and

a logon server arranged to store logon details for a plurality of users of the user devices,

wherein the logon server is further arranged to store printer information for the plurality of users, wherein the printer information defines a default printer for each of the plurality of users, and wherein the print server is arranged to select a printing device to which to send a print job stored in the queue based on the printer information stored in the logon server for the user of the device from which the print job originated,

wherein the print server comprises a plurality of print queues including a secure print queue and the insecure print queue, and wherein the print server is arranged to transfer a print job stored in the insecure print queue to the secure print queue based on the properties of the print job, and further arranged to transfer print jobs from any one of said plurality of print queues to the printing device selected for that job based on the printer information stored in the logon server.

9. A set of computer program products stored on non- transitory computer-readable storage media that when executed perform the steps of a method of printing print jobs on a network printing system, the method comprising:

in response to a user attempting to log on to a user device, validating the user's credentials using a logon server storing logon details for the user and storing printer information for the user, wherein the printer information defines a default printer for the user;

sending a print job from the user device to a print server;

storing the print job in a queue on the print server, wherein the print server allocates a print job stored in the insecure print queue to a secure print queue on the print server based on the properties of the print job;

selecting a printer on which to print the print job based on the printer information for the user stored in the logon server; and

transferring the print job from the allocated print queue to the selected printer.