EP0782068A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Remote printing system
Assignee: Deluxe Corp
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Filing: 1996-12-30
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2016-12-30
Abstract
Abstract A Desktop Printing System (DPS) operable on a data processor enables the printing of a document created by an application program to be printed at a remotely located printing facility (RPF). The DPS obtains formatting information from the document, and obtains user desired printing and binding preferences, which include paper type, binder type and color, and dividers for separating sections of the document. Cost and tax tables stored on the data processor are utilized to generate cost and tax information for review by the user. The DPS provides several options for transmission of the document and user printing and binding preferences to the RPF. The RPF includes an automated facility for accepting print orders from a plurality of DPSs. Each print order is accepted, validated and stored, and credit information for payment of the print order is obtained. Files required for printers to print a print order are generated and are queued for printing at a selected production plant Upon printing, each print order is finished and shipped to the user.
Inventors
- 👤 Foy C. Sperring
- 👤 Richard G. Langer
- 👤 Mark S. Coronna
- 👤 Murad S. Velani
- 👤 David O'neill
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 22:55
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/04; G03; G03G; G03G21/00; G03G21/02; G07; G07B; G07B17/00; G07B17/00016; G07B17/0008; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/26; H; H04; H04L; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; G03G2215/00; G03G2215/00025; G03G2215/00088; G03G2215/00105; G07B17/00024; G07B2017/00072
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
193 words
Apparatus, operable on a data processing system, for causing the printing at a remote printing facility of a document stored on said data processing system, the apparatus comprising: means for providing printing option information to a user of said data processing system and for storing user selection of printing options; means, responsive to said user selected printing options and to said document format information, for generating cost information indicative of cost to said user of printing said document at said remote printing facility; means for providing payment options to said user, said payment options including an option to pay for printing of said document by a credit card; means, responsive to user entry of credit card information, for obtaining authorization information from a remotely located authorization facility, by causing transmission of said credit card information by a data transmission means to said authorization facility and by receiving said authorization information from a data transmission means; means, responsive to said document, for generating a transmission file which includes said document and said user selected printing options; and means for causing said transmission file to be transmitted over a telephone line to said printing facility.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
208 words
Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for providing printing option information to a user of said data processing system and for storing user selection of printing options comprises: means, responsive to paper type information stored on said data processor, for providing a plurality paper type options and for responding to user selection of a paper type option for storing said selected paper type option; means, responsive to paper color information stored on said data processor, for providing a plurality paper color options and for responding to user selection of a paper color option for storing said selected paper color option; means, responsive to binder type information stored on said data processor, for providing a plurality binder type options and for responding to user selection of a binder type option for storing said selected binder type option; means, responsive to binder color information stored on said data processor, for providing a plurality binder color options and for responding to user selection of a binder color option for storing said selected binder color option; and means for detecting the presence of tabs in said document and for responding to the presence of tabs in said document by storing the location of said tabs in said document.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
149 words
Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for generating cost information indicative of cost to said user of printing said document at said remote printing facility comprises: means, responsive to said user selected printing options and to said document format information for generating pre-tax cost data as a function of cost information stored on said data processor; means, responsive to tax information stored on said data processor and to said pre-tax cost data, for generating final cost data, which is indicative of cost to said user of printing said document at said remote printing facility; means responsive to generation of said final cost data for displaying said final cost data for review by a user of said data processing system; and means, responsive to a user command, for causing printing of said final cost data by a printer which is located locally to the data processor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
305 words
A printing system comprising a user terminal, a printing facility at a location remote from said user terminal, and a communications link for transmitting data between said user terminal and said printing facility, said user terminal comprising a programmable processor, a memory system for storing programs executable by said processor, and data files manipulated by said programs, said programs comprising, in combination: one or more application programs for producing application output data files containing data specifying the visual content of a work to be printed, and a printing job control program comprising, in combination: means for accepting order specification data from a user specifying the manner in which one or more of said application output data files is to be printed by said printing facility, means for accepting shipping specification data from the user which designates a method of shipping said work from said printing facility to a specified destination, means for calculating job cost values in response to said order specification data, means for displaying print job cost information to the user, including means for calculating said print job cost information based on said specification data, means for accepting a job authorization command from said user, means responsive to said job authorization command for establishing connection from said user terminal to said printing facility via said communications link, means for transmitting to said printing facility a print job approval request, said print job approval request including said print job cost information and data identifying said user, means for accepting a print job approval from said printing facility via said communication link, and means responsive to said print job approval for transmitting from said user terminal to said printing facility a message having a predetermined format containing said order specification data, said shipping specification data and said selected ones of said application output data files.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
66 words
A printing system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said means for accepting order specification data comprises, in combination, means for accepting from the user a specification of the desired number of copies of said work, means for displaying to the user a plurality of sets of established options, and means for accepting from the user a designation of desired options selected from said sets.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
A printing system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said sets comprise, in combination, a set of predetermined available bindings for said work, a set of predetermined available papers types upon which said work may be printed and, for at least selected ones of said paper types, a set of available paper colors.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
A printing system as set forth in claim 6 further comprising means for accepting from the user a specification of tab inserts to be incorporated into said work.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
55 words
A printing system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said printing job control program further comprises: means responsive to said job authorization command for storing said message having a predetermined format containing said order specification data, said shipping specification data and selected ones of said application output data files to a magnetic data diskette.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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