Patent ID: 7697153

Claim:
A print management device for managing print processes for obtaining a printed matter in a print system which processes a print job on the basis of print instructions having request items in the print processes, the request items described in each of the print instructions being defined by a predetermined description format, the device comprising: a receiving unit that receives the print instructions of the predetermined description format; a detection unit that detects a connection state of a plurality of processing devices, each of the plurality of processing devices executing a single process that is one of the request items, at least one of the plurality of processing devices executing the single process uses a first description format different from that of a second description format used by another of the plurality of processing devices executing the single process; a selection unit that selects a print instruction of the description format corresponding to the connected processing device to output the print instruction to the processing device; and an output unit that if the connected processing device interprets the first description format, outputs to the connected processing device the received print instructions, and if the connected processing device interprets the second description format, converts the print instructions to other print instructions defined by the second description format and outputs to the connected processing device the converted print instructions, wherein the detection unit detects the connection state between the print management device and the plurality of processing devices, the selection unit determines the description format which the processing device connected to the print management device can interpret, the first description format is a Job Definition Format (JDF), and the second description format is other than the JDF, and the print instructions defined by the first description format and the second description format include information representing the relationship between the single process and another print process in the print job.