System and method for utilizing excess printing capability

• US 20030218770A1
• Filed: 03/03/2003
• Published: 11/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PrintingForLess.com Incorporated (PFL Tech, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PrintingForLess.com Incorporated (PFL Tech, Inc.)
• Inventors: Field, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 7,796,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method for utilizing excess printing capacity. The present invention utilizes a printing network that consists of a printing service provider, one or more print jobs, a printing distribution system, and printing partners. The printing service provider uses a printing distribution system to distribute standardized print jobs to printing partners at a fixed price.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing excess printing capacity, the method comprising:

establishing a network of one or more printing partners;

making one or more print jobs available on-line to each of the printing partners based on one or more pre-established criteria; and

allowing each of the printing partners the ability to select and complete one or more of the print jobs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more print jobs are made available at a fixed price.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes creating the one or more print jobs by aggregating one or more orders from customers and converting the one or more orders into a standard format that is understandable and useable by the printing partners.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes rating each printing partner based on one or more pre-established performance parameters and using the rating as one of the pre-established criteria.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-established criteria includes geography and product attributes.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the pre-established criteria further includes geography and product attributes.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the one or more print jobs includes printing specifications.

8. A system for utilizing excess printing capacity, the system comprising:

one or more print jobs;

a network of one or more printing partners; and

a printing distribution system, wherein one or more print jobs are made available on-line to each of the printing partners based on one or more pre-established criteria, and each of the printing partners having the ability to select and complete one or more of the print jobs.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more print jobs are made available at a fixed price.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the system further includes a rating system that produces a rating for each printing partner, based on one or more pre-established performance parameters, that is used as one of the pre-established criteria.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the pre-established criteria includes geography and product attributes.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the pre-established criteria further includes geography and product attributes.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more print jobs are in a standard format that is understandable and useable by the printing partners.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the one or more print jobs includes printing specifications.

15. A method for utilizing excess production capacity in an industry, the method comprising:

aggregating one or more orders from customers;

establishing a network of one or more fulfillment partners within the industry;

creating a production job from the one or more orders by processing the one or more orders into a standard format that is understandable and useable by the fulfillment partners within the industry;

making one or more production jobs available to the fulfillment partners; and

allowing each of the fulfillment partners the ability to select and complete one or more of the production jobs.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the one or more orders includes customer specifications.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the production jobs are made available to fulfillment partners based on pre-established criteria.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further includes rating each fulfillment partner based on one or more pre-established performance parameters and using the rating as one of the pre-established criteria.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the pre-established criteria includes geography and product attributes.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the pre-established criteria further includes geography and product attributes.