Patent ID: 7561290

Claim:
A print managing system which processes a print job on the basis of a first printing instruction and a second printing instruction, the first and second printing instructions obtaining a printed matter, the first printing instruction containing a plurality of print steps for obtaining the printed matter, the print steps being described in a first description format, the second printing instruction containing a plurality of print steps for obtaining the printed matter, the print steps being described in a second description format which is different than the first description format, the print managing apparatus managing printing processing of the printed matter, and comprising: a detecting section that detects whether or not a first processing apparatus, which executes a predetermined processing step among the print steps included in the first printing instruction, is in a state of being able to execute the predetermined processing step; and a managing section that outputs the first printing instruction to the first processing apparatus, when the first processing apparatus is in the state of being able to execute the predetermined processing step, outputs the second printing instruction to a second processing apparatus when the first processing apparatus is not in the state of being able to execute the predetermined processing step, wherein the second processing apparatus can be substituted for the first processing apparatus, and the second printing instruction corresponds to the second processing apparatus, the first and second processing apparatuses being able to request that a user input parameters necessary for printing processes in the at least one printing step, and the first and second processing apparatuses executing the printing processes, in at least one printing step, in accordance with the user inputted parameters, wherein the user inputted parameters include at least one of the following pieces of information: (1) the apparatus which can be used for completing the printing processes, and (2) the deadline for completing the printing processes, wherein the first processing apparatus has: a first interpreting section that interprets the first printing instruction, and classifies the print steps included in the first printing instruction into processing steps determined in advance; and a first executing section that executes a predetermined processing step among the classified processing steps: and the second processing apparatus has: a second interpreting section that interprets the second printing instruction, and classifies the print steps included in the second printing instruction into processing steps determined in advance; and a second executing section that executes a predetermined processing step among the classified processing steps.