KR101391756B1 - Image forming apparatus and security printing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an image forming system and a security printing method of the image forming system. A security printing method of an image forming system includes: an image forming apparatus receiving print data; Determining whether the received print data includes an authenticated password code; And forming an image including an image indicating that printing is not performed by secure printing when the print data includes the authenticated password code as a result of the determination. Thereby, there is an effect of enhancing security by printing on authenticated print data even when performing printing by a host apparatus in which a security application is not installed or by direct printing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a security printing method for an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having enhanced security for print data and a security printing method for the image forming apparatus.

In recent years, efforts have been made to protect confidential data such as important documents and drawings, which should be used only within the enterprise, from theft, leakage, and loss, while changing the business environment of the company to use computers, networks, and the Internet.

As a result, companies are increasingly interested in security printing that enables printing to be performed on documents that have undergone predetermined authentication procedures in order to prevent confidential documents of companies from being leaked or lost to the outside.

For security printing, an application for providing a security function to the host device has been conventionally installed. The host device adds host information such as user information and date to the print data by the application, and transmits the added information to the management server.

The management server determines whether or not the received print data is authenticated, and transmits the authenticated print data to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus receives print data including host information from a management server, and performs printing to form an image including host information.

However, in the conventional security printing as described above, the printing is performed through the host device in which the application is not installed, or the direct printing in which the image forming apparatus prints the print data stored in the portable storage medium, There is a problem that printing is performed irrespective of whether or not the printing data is authenticated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a security printing method for an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which security is enhanced by performing printing on authenticated print data even when performing printing by direct printing, .

The above object is achieved by a security printing method of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a host apparatus for generating print data, and a management server for performing authentication on the generated print data, ; ≪ / RTI > Determining whether the received print data includes an authenticated password code; And forming an image including an image indicating that the print data is not a secure print if the print data includes the authenticated password code as a result of the determination.

The method may further include outputting an error message if the received print data does not include the authenticated code.

The step of outputting the error message may include a step of selecting whether to perform printing on the print data.

The print data including the encryption code may be generated in the host apparatus. Here, the password code may use a PJL.

Further, the step of forming the image may form an image including at least one of the information of the host apparatus on which the print data is generated and the information of the image forming apparatus on which printing is performed. Here, the information of the host apparatus may be added by the management server.

The step of receiving the print data may include receiving from the host apparatus without passing through the management server, or directly connecting to the image forming apparatus without the host apparatus. Here, receiving and connecting directly to the image forming apparatus may be receiving the print data from the portable storage medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a host apparatus for generating print data, and a management server for performing authentication on the generated print data, A communication unit for receiving the data; An image forming unit that forms an image with respect to the received print data; Determining whether or not the received print data includes an authenticated password code, and if the print data does not include the authenticated password code, And a control unit for controlling the image forming unit to form an image.

Here, if the received print data does not include the authenticated password code as a result of the determination, the display unit may output an error message.

The printing apparatus may further include a user interface for selecting whether to perform printing on the print data.

In addition, the print data including the encryption code may be generated in the host device. Here, the password code may use a PJL.

Further, the image forming section may form an image including at least one of information of the host apparatus on which the print data is generated and information of the image forming apparatus on which printing is performed. Here, the information of the host apparatus may be added by the management server.

The communication unit may include receiving the print data from the host apparatus without passing through the management server, or directly connecting to the image forming apparatus without the host apparatus.

As described above, the image forming apparatus and the security printing method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a host apparatus in which a security application is not installed, .

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a diagram showing an example of print data including an encryption code according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4 and 5 are views showing an example of a printed matter output by secure printing according to an embodiment of the present invention,
6 is a flowchart showing a security printing method of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100. As shown in Fig. The image forming system 10 of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus 100, a host apparatus 200, and a management server 300. [

The image forming apparatus 100 may be implemented by a printer, a copier, a fax machine, a multifunction peripheral having two or more functions, and the like. The host device 200 and the management server 300 may be implemented as a PC, and the host device 200 may include the management server 300 as the case may be. The image forming apparatus 100, the host apparatus 200, and the management server 300 are interconnected by a network or locally, and a plurality of the image forming apparatus 100 and the host apparatus 200 may be provided.

The image forming apparatus 100 of the present invention performs printing on a recording medium such as paper with respect to print data. In this case, the printing is performed from the outside through the host apparatus including the server, the inside of the image forming apparatus 100 (HDD) or the outside (USB memory, Such as a portable storage medium).

1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 110, an image forming unit 120, and a control unit 160. As shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 100 may further include a display unit 130, a user interface 140, and a storage unit 150, as shown in FIG.

The communication unit 110 receives print data in a predetermined print language from the outside. The communication unit 110 may include a wired or wireless communication module that can be connected to an external device such as the host device 200 locally or via a network, or a USB port that can be connected to an external storage medium (portable storage medium) such as a USB memory.

Here, the print data may include a pass code formed of a print language such as PJL (Print Job Language).

Specifically, the print data generated by the host device 200 through a printer driver or the like includes a pass code authenticated by secure printing (hereinafter also referred to as SecuPrint).

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of print data including an encryption code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing an example of a printed matter output by security printing according to an embodiment of the present invention .

As shown in Fig. 3, the information added to the print data becomes the cipher code 11 in which the content of the specific position of the document is encrypted.

Here, the encryption may be performed by encoding the added information in the header portion of the print data by a predetermined encryption codec, and the encrypted additional information may be 10 bytes.

As described above, since the information added using the secure printing is generated by the host apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 by a predetermined encryption method, the user can not arbitrarily add information to the print data. Further, the encrypted code 11 added by the predetermined encryption method becomes the authenticated encrypted code.

The print data including the generated password code is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network or the local management server 300 via the management server 300 or stored in the portable storage medium and transferred to the image forming apparatus 100 . The portable storage medium includes at least one of a USB memory, a memory card (memory stick, CF card, MMC), and a portable device having a storage portion such as a digital camera or a cellular phone.

In the present invention, the generation of the encryption code 11 using the PJL is exemplified as shown in FIG. 3, but the security code can be applied to various printing languages such as PCL, PS, GDI as well as PJL.

The generated print data can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100 via the management server 300. [ The management server 300 transmits and receives print data to and from the image forming apparatus 100 and the host apparatus 200 and stores print information such as file name, file size, and file type of print data to be transmitted and received, Host information such as user information, and printer information such as the type, resolution, and printing speed of the image forming apparatus 100, and the like. The database 310 may further include security information such as a specific file prohibited from printing or a print permission.

The management server 300 intercepts the print data transmitted from the host apparatus 200 to the image forming apparatus 200 and compares the print data with the information stored in the database 310 to determine whether to permit printing, The image forming apparatus 100 is allowed to print.

Here, the print data permitted to be printed by the management server 300 can be printed by adding the host information 21 to a specific position of the document (for example, the lower end side of the document). Here, the host information includes the address of the host apparatus 200 where the print data is generated, user information, and the like, and the user information may include a name of the user, a department, an office number, and the like.

The image forming apparatus 100 receives print data through the communication unit 110, and the received print data is formed and output as an image by the image forming unit 120. [

The image forming unit 120 forms an image to be printed on the paper based on the print data. More specifically, the image forming unit 120 forms an image when the received print data includes an authenticated code.

That is, the control unit 160 can determine whether the received print data includes the authenticated password code 11 for the print data received from the outside according to the print command.

For example, in the case of the print data generated by the PJL as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 160 determines whether or not the received print data includes an encryption code 11, that is, a PJL COMMENT SECUPRINT item.

Here, if the print data includes the encryption code 11, the control unit 160 decrypts the encryption code, and when the decrypted encryption code is generated by the host apparatus and the encryption method predetermined by the image forming apparatus 100 It is possible to judge whether it is a password code or an authenticated password code.

If it is determined that the print data includes the authenticated code 11, the control unit 160 controls the image forming unit 120 to form an image based on the received print data. Here, when the print data is authenticated through the management server 300, the control unit 160 may control the image forming unit 120 to form an image including the host information 21 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, in addition to the case where the print data is authenticated through the management server 300, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention can send the print data to the host device 200 (for example, The print data received from the host apparatus 200 that is not installed or received by direct printing through a portable storage medium such as a USB memory without the host apparatus 200, Is possible.

On the other hand, when the print data includes the encrypted code 11, the control unit 160 can control the image forming unit 120 to form an image further including the printer information 22 as shown in Fig. 4 have.

Specifically, the control unit 160 may control the image forming unit 120 to form the image by adding the printer information 22 to a specific position of the rendered image (e.g., the lower end side of the document). Here, the printer information 22 includes the type (model name), the resolution, the management number, the printing speed, and the address information of the image forming apparatus 100 that performs printing.

If the print data includes the encrypted code, the image forming unit 120 forms an image including at least one of the host information 21 and the printer information 22 under the control of the control unit 160 Printing can be performed.

Here, the control unit 160 converts the host information 21 and the printer information 22 into a text image composed of black (1) or white (0), and performs an OR operation on the image formed by the converted text image and the print data And controls the image forming unit 120 to form an image.

On the other hand, if the received print data does not include the encryption code 11 or if the included encryption code is an unauthorized encryption code, the control unit 160 displays an error indicating that the print data is not authenticated through the display unit 130 Message can be displayed.

The display unit 130 may include a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display) and a driving unit (not shown) capable of driving the TFT-LCD.

The control unit 160 may select whether to continue printing on the print data through the user interface 140 in response to the displayed error message.

If the user selects to continue printing, the control unit 160 determines whether the print data is a non-secure print (Non SecuPrint) image 30 indicating that the print data is unauthenticated data And controls the image forming unit 120 so as to form an image.

That is, even if the print data does not include the authenticated passcode 11, if the control unit 160 is selected to continue printing through the user interface 140, It is possible to control the image forming unit 120 to form an image by adding an image 30 indicating that the image is not printed by the image forming unit 120. [ Specifically, the control unit 160 performs an OR operation on the non-secure print image 30 indicating that the print is not the secure print, and the image formed by the print data to form an image in which the two images overlap, ). Here, the non-secure print image 30 may be an image such as a watermark.

As a result, the output printed material is not a printed matter by authenticated security printing as shown in FIG. 5, and includes the host information 21 and the printer information 22, so that it is possible to grasp the outflow path of information.

Here, the non-secured print image 30 may be an image previously stored in the storage unit 150 provided inside or outside the image forming apparatus 100. [

If the user selects to stop printing in response to the error message displayed on the display unit 130, the control unit 160 controls the image forming unit 120 to stop the printing, and sends a message informing that the printing operation is completed And can be displayed through the display unit 130.

On the other hand, if the print data does not include the authenticated code 11, the control unit 160 stops the printing regardless of whether the user selects it or not and displays a message indicating that the printing operation is completed through the display unit 130 May be displayed.

The control unit 160 may store the print record in accordance with the security printing, including the case where the printing is interrupted, in the storage unit 150, and utilize the print record when the document is leaked or the like occurs later.

The user interface 140 includes a panel (key button) representing the functions of the image forming apparatus 100 or a graphic user interface (GUI) created by executing a printer driver or a separate application and displayed on the display unit 130 (GUI).

If the user interface 140 includes a GUI, if the print data does not include the authenticated password code 11, the control unit 160 displays a GUI capable of selecting whether to proceed with printing, The user's selection is input.

In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 may perform a direct printing process. For example, when a portable storage medium is loaded in the image forming apparatus 100, You can display a selectable GUI and select the file you want to print through the displayed GUI.

The control unit 160 controls the image forming apparatus 100 as a whole. Specifically, when the control unit 160 receives the print data through the communication unit 110, the control unit 160 determines whether the received print data includes the authenticated code 11, And controls the forming unit 120. Here, when the print data is print data authenticated through the management server 300, an image including the host information 21 can be formed.

If the print data does not include the authenticated code 11, the control unit 160 controls the display unit 130 to output an error message. If the print data is not included in the selection result of the user interface 140 It is possible to control the image forming unit 120 to form an image further including the non-secured print image 30 or to stop printing.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, whether the print data includes the authenticated password code is determined by the management server 300 as well as the image forming apparatus 100 itself, and printing or interruption is performed according to the result, The security printing is also applied to the printing data generated by the host apparatus not provided with the printing apparatus or by the direct printing.

Hereinafter, the security printing process in the image forming system 10 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the image forming apparatus 100 receives print data in a predetermined print language (S110). Here, the received print data may be print data generated by the host apparatus 200 and authenticated through the network or locally connected management server 300, or may be print data received from the host apparatus 200 via the management server 300 Data or print data received from a portable storage medium such as a USB memory by a direct printing method regardless of whether the management server 300 is authenticated or not.

Next, the control unit 160 determines whether the received print data includes the encrypted code 11 (S120). The encryption code is obtained by encrypting the contents of a specific position of the document and may be performed by encoding the header part of the print data using the encryption codec predetermined by the host apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 . The encrypted code added by the predetermined encryption method becomes the authenticated encrypted code.

If the print data includes the authenticated code 11 in step S120, the control unit 160 controls the image forming unit 120 to form an image and perform printing. Here, the image forming unit 120 can perform printing by adding at least one of the host information 21 and the printer information 22 to a specific position of the document. The host information 21 may be added when print data is received via the management server 300. [

If it is determined in step S120 that the print data does not include an encryption code or that the encryption code is not an authenticated encryption code, the control unit 160 may output an error message through the display unit 130 (S140) .

The image forming apparatus 100 may select whether to continue printing through the user interface 140 in response to the error message output in step S140 (S150).

The control unit 160 controls the image forming unit 120 to form an image including the non-secured print image 30 indicating that the corresponding printing is not the printing by the secure printing (step < RTI ID = 0.0 > S150) do.

If it is determined in step S150 to stop printing, the control unit 160 controls the image forming unit 120 to terminate the printing operation. Here, the image forming apparatus 100 can display, through the display unit 130, to the user that the printing has been completed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S120 that the print data does not include the authenticated code 11, the control unit 160 may terminate the print operation and control the display unit 130 to indicate that printing has been completed.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

10 Image forming system 100: Image forming apparatus
110: communication unit 120: image forming unit
130: display unit 140: user interface
150: storage unit 160:
200: host device 300: management server
310: Database

Claims (17)

A security printing method of an image forming apparatus communicating with a management server that performs authentication for the generated print data, the method comprising:
The image forming apparatus comprising: receiving print data;
Determining whether the received print data includes an authenticated password code;
And forming an image including an image indicating that printing is not performed by secure printing if the print data does not include the authenticated password code as a result of the determination,
Wherein the encryption code is an encryption of the contents of a specific position of the document corresponding to an item of a predetermined print language and is encoded by a predetermined encryption codec and added to a header portion of the print data. The method according to claim 1,
And outputting an error message if the received print data does not include the authenticated password code as a result of the determination. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the step of outputting the error message comprises a step of selecting whether to perform printing on the print data. The method according to claim 1,
And print data including the encryption code is generated in the host apparatus. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the password code uses a PJL. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of forming the image forms an image including at least one of the information of the host apparatus on which the print data is generated and the information of the image forming apparatus on which printing is performed. The method according to claim 6,
And the information of the host device is added by the management server. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of receiving the print data includes receiving from the host apparatus without passing through the management server or directly connecting to the image forming apparatus without the host apparatus. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the receiving and connecting directly to the image forming apparatus receives the print data from the portable storage medium. 1. An image forming apparatus communicating with a host apparatus that generates print data and a management server that performs authentication with respect to the generated print data,
A communication unit for receiving print data;
An image forming unit that forms an image with respect to the received print data;
Wherein the control unit judges whether or not the received print data includes an authenticated password code and if the print data does not include the authenticated password code, And a controller for controlling the image forming unit to form the image forming unit,
Wherein the encryption code is an encryption of the contents of a specific position of the document corresponding to an item made up of a predetermined print language and is encoded by a predetermined encryption codec and added to a header portion of the print data. 11. The method of claim 10,
Further comprising a display unit for outputting an error message when the received print data does not include the authenticated password code as a result of the determination. 12. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising a user interface for selecting whether to perform printing on the print data. 11. The method of claim 10,
And print data including the encrypted code is generated in the host apparatus. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the password code uses a PJL. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the image forming section forms an image including at least one of information of the host apparatus on which the print data is generated and information of the image forming apparatus on which printing is performed. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein information of the host apparatus is added by the management server. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the communication unit includes receiving the print data from the host apparatus without passing through the management server or directly connecting to the image forming apparatus without the host apparatus.

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