Patent ID: 7716718

Claim:
An electronic device network system comprising: an electronic device for transmitting print data via a network; a plurality of storing means for storing the print data transmitted from the electronic device; a plurality of printers for acquiring the print data from the storing means and printing the acquired print data; a setting section for setting a security level of the print data to be transmitted, wherein the security level of the print data is set in the setting section responsive to an input from a user of the electronic device, where the set security level being selected by the user is selected from a plurality of identified security levels of the print data; a network connecting the electronic device, the plurality of storing means, and the plurality of printers to one another; wherein the electronic device, at least one of the plurality of storing means, and at least one of the plurality of printers each have a security function and another security level associated with the set security level of the print data, where at least one of the plurality of storing means has a security level that is different from another of the plurality of storing means, and at least one of the plurality of printers has a security level that is different from another of the plurality of devices printers; a search means for searching the plurality of storing means and for searching the plurality of printers, responsive to selection of the security level of the print data by the user, so as to identify one or more given storing means and one or more given printers each of whose security level corresponds to the security level of the print data which security level is set in the setting section; a selecting means for providing results of the searching to the user and for providing an output, the output corresponding to: (i) a selected one of the identified one or more given storing means whose security level corresponds to the security level of the print data which security level is set in the setting section and (ii) a selected one of the identified one or more given printers whose security level corresponds to the security level of the print data which security level is set in the setting section, the selected ones being selected by the user from the provided search results; and wherein the electronic device transmits the print data to the selected one of the given storing means in response to said output from the selecting means, and the transmitted print data is transmitted to the selected one of the given printers by the selected one of the given storing means.