Patent ID: 8730488

Claim:
A print control apparatus configured to control a plurality of models of printers, the print control apparatus comprising: a storage device configured to store a printer model name, function information corresponding to the printer model name and hardware component information for the printer model name, the hardware component information indicating whether an optional hardware component is mounted to the printer; a display device; and a controller configured to: search a printer capable of communication via a network; acquire the printer model name from the printer while searching the printer; determine whether the acquired printer model name has already been stored in the storage device prior to acquiring the printer model name from the printer; determine whether the optional hardware component can be mounted to the printer based on the acquired printer model name; acquire the function information corresponding to the acquired printer model name from data stored, prior to the searching of the printer, in the storage device without acquiring either the function information or the hardware component information from the printer in response to determining that the acquired printer model name has already been stored in the storage device, and that the optional hardware component cannot be mounted to the printer; acquire, from the printer, the hardware component information for the acquired printer model name without acquiring, from the printer, the function information corresponding to the acquired printer model name, in response to determining that the acquired printer model name has already been stored in the storage device, and that the optional hardware component can be mounted to the printer; acquire, from the printer, both the function information and the hardware component information corresponding to the acquired printer model name when the acquired printer model name has been determined to not already be stored in the storage device; and generate an operation screen using one of the acquired function information stored in the storage device and the acquired function information acquired from the printer.