Product pricing system and method

• US 8,732,003 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2003
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cimpress USA, Incorporated (Cimpress Plc)
• Original Assignee: VistaPrint USA Incorporated (Cimpress Plc)
• Inventors: Keane, Robert, Robertson, Erik, Coursol, Sebastien
• Primary Examiner(s): Lastra, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/608,981
• Publication Number:
  US 20040006522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,980 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/14.1
• US Class Current: 705/14.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1205 resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1208 resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1251 for continuous media, e.g. web media, rolls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1252 for sheet based media
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1262 by grouping or ganging jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

The invention provides methods for managing print jobs. One such method includes (a) accumulating discrete print jobs electronically from respective customers, (b) aggregating the discrete print jobs into aggregate print jobs, each of the aggregate print jobs being printable at one time on units of an integral print medium, and (c) electronically distributing the aggregate print jobs to respective printers for printing.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented product design method comprising:

displaying, by one or more software tools executing on one or more processors, an electronic design template for a product as the product will appear when manufactured based on the electronic product design, the template comprising a base design for the product which includes an advertisement not requested by the user,

the one or more software tools configured to provide one or more editing tools which allow the user to edit the template to create a user-customized electronic product design, and

the one or more software tools further configured to allow the user to order one or more physical products manufactured based on the user-customized product design, wherein if the user chooses to remove the advertisement from the user-customized electronic product design, payment charges associated with the order include a fee for removing the advertisement.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the tools are provided by a business to the user at no charge and wherein the advertisement is a promotional message for the business providing the tools.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product that the user desires to be produced in physical form and wherein the method further comprises

offering to produce the physical product for the user at a first price if the advertisement appears on the produced product, and

offering to produce the physical product for the user at a second price if the advertisement does not appear on the produced product, the second price being greater than the first price.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first price is free.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product intended to be printed and the physical product is a quantity of printed copies of the printed product.

6. A computer-implemented method for offering to a user to produce products in physical form from an electronic product design, the electronic product design comprising a product template incorporating advertising not requested by the user and further incorporating content selected by the user into the template, the method comprising

automatically, by one or more processors, offering to produce the physical product at a first price if the advertising not requested by the user is retained in the electronic product design such that the advertising will appear on the product when the product is produced, and

automatically, by the one or more processors, offering to produce the physical product at a second price if advertising not requested by the user is removed from the electronic product design, the first price being lower than the second price.

7. One or more computer readable storage mediums tangibly embodying program instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a method for offering to a user to produce products in physical form from an electronic product design, the electronic product design comprising a product template incorporating advertising not requested by the user and further incorporating content selected by the user into the template, the method comprising

offering to produce the physical product at a first price if the advertising not requested by the user is retained in the electronic product design such that the advertising will appear on the product when the product is produced, and

offering to produce the physical product at a second price if advertising not requested by the user is removed from the electronic product design, the first price being lower than the second price.

8. A system for offering to a user to produce products in physical form from an electronic product design, the electronic product design comprising a product template incorporating advertising not requested by the user and further incorporating content selected by the user into the template, comprising

one or more processors executing computer readable program instructions configured to offer to produce the physical product at a first price if the advertising not requested by the user is retained in the electronic product design such that the advertising will appear on the product when the product is produced, and to offer to produce the physical product at a second price if advertising not requested by the user is removed from the electronic product design, the first price being lower than the second price.

9. One or more computer readable storage mediums tangibly embodying program instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a product design method comprising

providing one or more product design software tools, the tools being adapted to provide a product template to the user, the product template incorporating an advertisement not requested by the user, the tools further adapted to allow the user to incorporate user content into the template to create an electronic product design, and

offering the user the option of removing the advertisement.

10. The one or more computer readable storage mediums of claim 9 wherein the user must pay a fee to have the advertisement removed.

11. The one or more computer readable storage mediums of claim 9 wherein the tools are provided by a business to the user at no charge and wherein the advertisement is a promotional message for the business providing the tools.

12. The one or more computer readable storage mediums of claim 9 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product that the user desires to be produced in physical form and wherein the method further comprises

offering to produce the physical product for the user at a first price if the advertisement appears on the produced product, and

offering to produce the physical product for the user at a second price if the advertisement does not appear on the produced product, the second price being greater than the first price.

13. The one or more computer readable storage mediums of claim 12 wherein the first price is free.

14. The one or more computer readable storage mediums of claim 12 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product intended to be printed and the physical product is a quantity of printed copies of the printed product.

15. A product design system comprising

one or more product design software tools configured to provide a product template to the user and to allow the user to incorporate user content into the template to create an electronic product design, wherein the product template incorporates an advertisement not requested by the user, and

one or more processors configured to offer the user the option of removing the advertisement from the electronic product design.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the user must pay a fee to have the advertisement removed.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the tools are provided by a business to the user at no charge and wherein the advertisement is a promotional message for the business providing the tools.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product that the user desires to be produced in physical form and wherein one or more processors configured to offer the user the option of removing the advertisement from the electronic product design are further configured to offer to produce the physical product for the user at a first price if the advertisement appears on the produced product, and to offer to produce the physical product for the user at a second price if the advertisement does not appear on the produced product, the second price being greater than the first price.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the first price is free.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the electronic product design is the design of a product intended to be printed and the physical product is a quantity of printed copies of the printed product.