Patent ID: 7603288

Claim:
A method of photo laboratory management for managing a photo laboratory utilizing a digital photo print system by which a customer is provided with an image output service for outputting an output image including at least one of a photographic print and photographic output image data from an original image including at least one of the photographic film and photographic input image data, the method comprising: receiving an order from said customer by receiving order information that includes at least identification information of said customer, a type and a form of said original image from said customer, a type, a form, and a number of copies of said output image ordered by said customer; managing the order information received from said customer; managing a schedule according to which said order received from the said customer is to be processed, and predicting a time required for finishing said output image ordered by said customer; automatically setting, in accordance with said order information from the said customer, a digital photo printer which obtains said original image as digital image data and outputs said output image from the obtained digital image, wherein said order information received from said customer is in an order database in association with said identification information of the said customer, and wherein when said identification information of said customer is inputted, said order information from the said customer is searched in said order database based on said input identification information of said customer to obtain said order information from the said customer and said digital photo printer is automatically set in accordance with said obtained order information; and wherein at least one hardware resource is selected among two or more hardware resources which constitute said digital photo print system and output said output image, with which said order from said customer is processed, in accordance with structure, performance, work load of each of said two or more hardware resources and a priority of said order from said customer; said schedule of order processing is created: said schedule is managed; and a time required for finishing said output image ordered by said customer based on said schedule is predicted.