Patent ID: 7190481

Claim:
A method of providing digital contents from a server device to a user terminal, which is communicable with the server device via a network, in response to a request issued from the user terminal, the method comprising: causing the user terminal to request acquisition of a sample of the digital contents to the server device, in response to an instruction inputted through an input device; causing the server device to transmit the sample of the digital contents to the user terminal, in response to the acquisition request; causing the user terminal to edit a print image layout including a sample transmitted from the server device, in response to an edit instruction inputted through the input device; causing the user terminal to transmit layout information indicating the print image layout to the server device, in response to a print instruction inputted through the input device; causing the server device to determine whether or not the layout information transmitted from the user terminal is permitted by an edit limitation, the edit limitation defining a position of the sample in the print image layout; causing the server device to transmit the layout information to the user terminal after transmitting image data of the digital contents to the user terminal when the layout information is permitted by the edit limitation; causing the user terminal to prepare a print image based on the image data of the digital contents and the layout information file which are transmitted from the server device; and causing a printer to print the print image.