Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Detail of image placement or content
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-30
2001-12-04
Evans, Arthur G. (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Detail of image placement or content
C358S001100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327049
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an order information recording medium used in the case where printing of a processed image using a template is ordered to a network photographic service system which provides a photographic service utilizing a plurality it of server computers distributed on a network, and to an order file generating apparatus for generating an order file to be recorded in the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital photographic service using the Internet has become available recently. According to this service, if digitization and storage of images are ordered at the time a film is deposited for developing, for example, the photographs recorded on the film are disclosed on the Internet only to the orderer. Therefore, the orderer can order additional printing or the like without going to a service provider by referring to the disclosed photographs on a personal computer connected to the network.
Meanwhile, a service has been carried out for a long time wherein a new year's greeting postcard including a photograph therein is generated by using a template comprising a character string and an illustration for new year's greeting and a blank area for inserting the photograph therein. In such a service, available templates are shown at a counter in a laboratory or the like, and by using the template selected by a user, an operator of the laboratory carries out the processing. However, in a digital photographic service such as that described above, a preferred method is to provide the template itself to a user as digital data and for the user to carry out processing by himself/herself, and only print output is carried out in a laboratory.
In order to generate a high quality photographic print, high resolution image data are necessary. Therefore, when a user carries out processing as in the above, the user carries out the processing by obtaining high resolution image data and a high resolution template and an order is placed from the laboratory by providing the processed image data at high resolution.
However, having high resolution means having a large data size. Therefore, a large capacity recording medium or a high-speed network is necessary to provide a template from a laboratory to a user or to provide a processed image from a user to a laboratory. As a result, a load on data transfer has been heavy.
Furthermore, there has been a request that high performance templates including complex processing procedures or templates including illustrations of famous characters or the like should be chargeable on a usage basis or provided with limited usage. However, in a conventional service, usage of a template once it has been provided to a user has not been restricted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Based on consideration of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce a data transfer load and to limit the usage of a template when a printing service of processed photographs is carried out in a digital photographic service.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the content of order information provided from a user to a laboratory in a print order receiving system having a certain condition.
In other words, an order information recording medium of the present invention records order information input via an order receiving server in a system comprising a data server which stores and manages at least a template describing a processing procedure for image data used for generating a photographic print, the order receiving server which receives a printing order based on the image data and the template, and a print server which is connected to both the data server and the order receiving server and generates a processed print by obtaining necessary image data and template according to an instruction from the order receiving server, wherein
image information specifying the image data for generating the processed print and showing information necessary for the print server to obtain the image data;
template information specifying the template to be used for the processed print generation and showing information necessary for the print server to obtain the template from the data server; and
print information specifying the content of print output of the processed print is included.
The “data server which stores and manages at least a template” means that only the template is stored in the data server, and it is not necessary for the image data be stored therein. It is needless to say that the image data may also be stored in the data server.
In the above system, the data server is not necessarily limited to one server. When image data are also stored in the data server, separate data servers such as a data server for image data and a data server for templates may be used. Likewise, a plurality of order receiving servers or print servers may exist. Here, one server does not necessarily correspond to one physical apparatus. For example, one computer may comprise both functions of the data server and the print server. In other words, in this specification, a server means a combination of software for realizing a function and hardware controlled by the software.
A template is composed of a background image and a processing procedure such as commands. The processing procedure defines an angle or position of an image, processing method (overwrite or fusion composition, for example) used for an overlapping portion when plural images are positioned, mask data (vector data used for a drawing and bit map data used in the case of transparent processing) for mask processing, for example. The template may include definition of not only the processing procedure for image data but also vector data representing a drawing placed together with the image data, color and position information of the drawing, a position of a character string placed together with the image data, font, size, color, and style (italic, for example) of the character string and so on.
To “store and manage” data means to record data in a data recording medium such as a hard disc under a file name according to a predetermined rule or by adding an ID or the like to the data so that the data are stored in such a state that a search of the data is possible. In other words, “information necessary for the print server in order to obtain the image data” or “information necessary for the print server in order to obtain the template from the data server” means the ID or the file name. Based on the information, the print server searches for the necessary image data or searches a predetermined directory in the data server for the template and downloads the image data or the template. The print server is assumed to have recorded the address of the data server or the predetermined directory. In the case where the image data are also stored in the data server, the print server searches a predetermined directory in the data server. When the image data are stored in a portable recording medium, the print server searches the recording medium to obtain the image data.
In the case where a service provider does not wish to disclose the location of the data server, it is preferable for least necessary information regarding the data server to be recorded in the print server as has been described above so that specification by an ID or the like is received. When there is no problem caused by the disclosure, a URL or the like including the address of the data server may be provided as order information so that the print server does not need to record the location of the template or the like in advance.
The “content of print output of the processed print” means the size and the quantity of the print, for example. The processing carried out upon the output, such as gloss finish, is also included in the content of the print output.
The above order information recording medium may record output permission information requested by the system when printing is ordered by specifying predetermined image data or template.
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Evans Arthur G.
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
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