Patent ID: 8654373

Claim:
A control method for printing a coupon, comprising: generating print data based on coupon information when a host computer receives the coupon information; generating a print job based on the print data; assigning a print job ID to the print job; sending the print job from the host computer to a printer; determining when the print job ID is a predetermined print job ID; generating an alarm control command containing the print job ID, when the print job ID is determined to be the predetermined print job ID; sending the alarm control command from the host computer to the printer, the sending of the alarm control command being performed asynchronously with respect to the sending of the print job; starting a printing process based on the print job received by the printer; acquiring the print job ID of the print job, and recording the print job ID in a print job ID storage area when the printing process based on the print job is started; causing an alarm based on the alarm control command when it is received in the printer when (i) the print job ID of the print job that started the printing process is the same as the print job ID contained in the alarm control command, or (ii) the print job ID contained in the alarm control command is the same as the print job ID recorded in the print job ID storage area; recording a job history of the print job being processed in a job history storage area while the print job is sent from the host computer to the printer; causing an alarm based on the alarm control command when it is received in the printer when the print job ID contained in the alarm control command is recorded in the job history storage area; and determining when the print job ID contained in the alarm control command is recorded in the job history storage area, when it is determined that the corresponding print job ID is not in the print job ID storage area.