Order information recording medium and order file generating apparatus for photographic service

• US 6,327,049 B1
• Filed: 09/30/1998
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohtsuka, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans, Arthur G.
• Application Number:
  US09/163,426
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.1, 358/1.13, 358/1.15, 358/1.18, 710/10, 710/14, 707/500, 707/505, 707/509, 707/517, 707/522, 707/523
• US Class Current: 358/1.18
• CPC Class Codes: G03D 15/005 Order systems, e.g. printsorter
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3871 the composed originals being of different kinds, e.g. low- and high-resolution originals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3872 Repositioning or masking

Abstract

When a printing service for processed images is carried out in a digital photographic service, a load on data transfer can be reduced and usage of image data or templates can be limited. High resolution image data and templates are not provided to users but stored in a system of a service provider. A user carries out processing ordering by using low resolution image data and template for display. Upon placing an order, an order file describing ID information or the like to specify the image data and the template is provided to a laboratory.

Claims

1. An order information recording medium for a photographic service which 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, said recording medium being recorded with;

image information specifying the image data for generating the processed print and showing information necessary for the print server in order 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 in order to obtain the template from the data server; and

print information specifying the content of print output of the processed print.

2. An order file recording medium as claimed in claim 1 further recorded with output permission information requested by the system in the case where printing is ordered by specifying predetermined image data and/or a predetermined template.

3. An order file recording medium as claimed in claim 1 further recorded with processing information showing the content of various kinds of specification regarding a processing procedure which is necessary in the case where printing is ordered by specifying a template including the processing procedure regarding data other than image data.

4. An order file recording medium as claimed in claim 1 wherein the order information is recorded as a file having a hierarchy structure and each kind of information is described as a component of the hierarchy in the file.

5. An order file generating apparatus which generates an order file describing order information to be input via an order receiving server in a system comprising a printing quality data server which stores and manages at least a printing quality image generating template describing a processing procedure for printing quality image data used for generating a photographic print, the order receiving server which receives a printing order based on the printing quality image data and the printing quality image generating template, and a print server which is connected to both the printing quality data server and the order receiving server and generates a processed print by obtaining necessary printing quality image data and printing quality image generating template based on an instruction from the order receiving server, said apparatus comprising:

data presenting means which stores and manages monitoring quality image data representing the same image that is represented by the printing quality image data in a quality lower than that of the printing quality image data and a monitoring quality image generating template which carries out processing equivalent to the processing carried out by the printing quality image generating template on the monitoring quality image data and displays the monitoring quality image data and the monitoring quality image generating template on an order processing terminal;

image specifying means which receives specification of desired monitoring quality image data and a desired monitoring quality image generating template among the monitoring quality image data and the monitoring quality image generating templates displayed on the order processing terminal and transfers the specified monitoring quality image data and the monitoring quality image generating template to the order processing terminal;

finish confirming means which carries out processing on the monitoring quality image data having been transferred by using the monitoring quality image generating template having been transferred and generates and confirms a processed image representing the finish of the processed print; and

file generating means which generates a file including image information showing information necessary for the print server in order to obtain printing quality image data corresponding to the specified monitoring quality image data and information necessary for the print server in order to obtain a printing quality image generating template corresponding to the specified monitoring quality image generating template from the printing quality data server.

6. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein, in the case where a template including a processing procedure regarding data other than image data is specified, the finish confirming means enables confirmation of various kinds of specification regarding the processing procedure and a result of carrying out the processing procedure;

and

the order file generating means describes processing information showing the content of the various kinds of specification regarding the processing procedure in the order file.

7. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 5 further comprising output specifying means which enables specification of the content of output of the processed print, and

the order file generating means describes the specified content of the output as output information in the order file.

8. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the finish confirming means displays the processed image in an aspect ratio equal to that of a specified print size in the case where the print size of the processed print is specified as the content of the print output.

9. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the image specifying means requests input of output permission information when predetermined image data and a predetermined template are specified;

and

the order file generating means records in the order file the output permission information having been input.

10. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the printing quality data server stores and manages the printing quality image data.

11. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the printing quality data server stores and manages the printing quality image data and the printing quality image generating template in separate recording apparatuses;

and

the data presenting means stores and manages the monitoring quality image data and the monitoring quality image generating template in separate recording apparatuses.

12. An order file generating apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the system further comprises a plurality of printing servers;

the order receiving server selects the printing server based on the order information; and

the selected print server generates the processed print.