Patent ID: 6965958
Filing Date: 2005-11-15
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An information processing apparatus which is connected to a plurality of printers through a network, which has a plurality of printer drivers and a virtual printer driver, which selects a specific printer from among the plurality of printers, and which transmits print data to the selected printer, comprising: setting means for setting print conditions of a print job via a user interface of the virtual printer driver; intermediate print data generating means for receiving a drawing function formed by a graphic engine of an operating system on the basis of a draw command from an application program, and generating intermediate print data on the basis of the drawing function, the intermediate print data having a format independent of a printer to which the intermediate print data is to be output; print condition obtaining means for obtaining, in response to the generation of the intermediate print data by said intermediate print data generating means, the print conditions set by said setting means to print the print job of the intermediate print data generated by said intermediate print data generating means; search condition transmitting means for transmitting the print conditions obtained by said print condition obtaining means as printer search conditions to a search server; selecting means for selecting a printer to which the intermediate print data should be output on the basis of device designation information obtained from the search server in accordance with the printer search conditions; and intermediate print data output means for selecting a printer driver corresponding to the printer selected by said selecting means and outputting the intermediate print data to the graphic engine of the operating system so as to transfer the drawing function to the selected printer driver.