Abstract: By providing a network photograph service, prompt service can be provided to a customer without losing the advantages of easier understanding of where to access when placing an order and easier collective data management. A service center receiving an order of a printing service, and a minilab or a special laboratory spread across a plurality of places, are able to communicate through a network. A center server in the service center selects and assigns which photo-finishing laboratory will print the ordered picture, in response to order information transferred from a customer via the network. Thus, the printing processing can be carried out by a photo-finishing laboratory specified by the customer, instead of at the center server.

Abstract: By providing a network photograph service, prompt service can be provided to a customer without losing the advantages of easier understanding of where to access when placing an order and easier collective data management. A service center receiving an order of a printing service, and a minilab or a special laboratory spread across a plurality of places, are able to communicate through a network. A center server in the service center selects and assigns which photo-finishing laboratory will print the ordered picture, in response to order information transferred from a customer via the network. Thus, the printing processing can be carried out by a photo-finishing laboratory specified by the customer, instead of at the center server.

Abstract: There is provided an image outputting apparatus for generating an album by selecting adequate images for an appreciator out of a plurality of images.

Abstract: An image-capturing system having a function of allowing the user to easily find the position of an image-capturing device is provided. An image-capturing system includes: an image-capturing unit; an image storage unit for storing a camera position image taken toward the image-capturing unit from an image-capturing region taken by the image-capturing unit; and a remote control unit which allows the user to perform operation for remote control of the image-capturing unit. With such an arrangement, the remote control unit includes a reception unit for receiving the camera position image stored in the image storage unit, and a display unit for displaying the camera position image received by the reception unit. The remote control unit further includes an image-capturing request unit for making a request to the image-capturing unit for image capturing.

Abstract: An entertainment is provided in which a limited number of persons can share images through a peer-to-peer network, and a device is provided for allowing anyone to easily get a print having a desired finish quality at the nearest lab store with no uploading procedure. A peer-to-peer server enters a closed user group (CUG) and issues a password necessary for login to the CUG. It is possible to share an image between client terminals having the same password through peer-to-peer connection. It is possible to directly transmit the shared image to an order-accepting server of the nearest lab store through peer-to-peer connection and print the image. Moreover, when a user designates an image-processing condition on a client terminal, the information on the condition is sent to and managed by a client-managing server. The lab that receives a print order extracts the favorite information of the client concerned from the client-managing server and provides a print having the desired finish quality.

Abstract: A workload on a user for selecting and arranging images used for album generation is reduced. Images necessary for generating an album are photographed and image data sets representing the images and accompanying information thereof are recorded in a recording medium. Data reading means reads the image data sets and the accompanying information. A template to be used for album generation is also read from template storing means. The images can be inserted in image insertion areas of the template in photographing order. With reference to the accompanying information, the images are inserted in the image insertion areas in photographing order and composite image data are generated. A printer prints the composite image data as the album.

Abstract: By providing a network photograph service, prompt service can be provided to a customer without losing the advantages of easier understanding of where to access when placing an order and easier collective data management. A service center receiving an order of a printing service, and a minilab or a special laboratory spread across a plurality of places, are able to communicate through a network. A center server in the service center selects and assigns which photo-finishing laboratory will print the ordered picture, in response to order information transferred from a customer via the network. Thus, the printing processing can be carried out by a photo-finishing laboratory specified by the customer, instead of at the center server.

Abstract: Recommended composition data, which represent composition images recommended at locations of photography, are stored in a recommended-composition storage medium in correlation with positional information which represents the photography locations. A GPS section receives radio waves from GPS satellites and inputs GPS information to a read-out section. Based on the positional information in the GPS information, the read-out section retrieves the recommended composition data stored in the recommended-composition storage medium. If recommended composition data is desired, it is read out and input to a superposition section. The image data obtained by an imaging section is also input to the superposition section. The desired, recommended composition data and the image data are superposed and displayed on a display unit. The image data is displayed on the display unit in real time so that photographing can be performed with the image data coincident with the desired, recommended composition data.

Abstract: A print order reception system for receiving an order for print services is provided with a recording medium reception port for receiving a recording medium on which image data of pictures and print order information including printing conditions for pictures to be printed are recorded in the form of electronic data in a predetermined format. A display system reads out from the recording medium received in the recording medium reception port the image data on the pictures to be printed and the print order information on the pictures to be printed and displays the image data and the print order information as an image.

Abstract: In a system in which an editing server and a plurality of client computers are capable of communicating with one another, an edited image can be generated by the plurality of client computers. When image data is transmitted from the image server to the client computer, the resolution of image data to be transmitted is reduced in correspondence with the resolution of a monitor display device connected to the client computer. Further, the number of colors of an image represented by the image data is decreased in correspondence with the number of colors which can be displayed on the monitor display device. The data quantity of the image data to be transmitted is reduced, so that time required to transmit the image data is shortened. A client computer and a main image server are connected to each other. A user image to be synthesized on a template image is read in the client computer.

Abstract: Face information is detected from each of original image signals, each of the original image signals representing a person image, in which a face pattern of a person is embedded. The face information represents a position and/or a size of the face pattern of the person in the person image represented by each original image signal. A face pattern normalizing process is performed on each of the original image signals and in accordance with the detected face information, and a plurality of normalized image signals are obtained from the face pattern normalizing process. A plurality of images, which are represented by the normalized image signals, are laid out in a predetermined layout, and a layout image signal representing the thus formed layout image is obtained. A layout image, such as a school photo, is thus capable of being formed efficiently.

Abstract: Confirmation of the content of the images recorded on a CD-R or other storage medium is made easier. A data obtaining means obtains plural sets of image data recorded on a digital camera, etc. data storage medium, and an image processing means subjects the obtained image data to image processing and obtains processed image data. The processed image data is recorded onto a CD-R, etc. storage medium by an image recording means. A representative image selecting means selects images representative of the images represented by the image data. Then, thumbnail images of the selected representative images are attached to the surface of the storage medium disk by a representative image attaching means.

Abstract: There is provided an image outputting apparatus for generating an album by selecting adequate images for an appreciator out of a plurality of images.

Abstract: An image-capturing system having a function of allowing the user to easily find the position of an image-capturing device is provided. An image-capturing system includes: an image-capturing unit; an image storage unit for storing a camera position image taken toward the image-capturing unit from an image-capturing region taken by the image-capturing unit; and a remote control unit which allows the user to perform operation for remote control of the image-capturing unit. With such an arrangement, the remote control unit includes a reception unit for receiving the camera position image stored in the image storage unit, and a display unit for displaying the camera position image received by the reception unit. The remote control unit further includes an image-capturing request unit for making a request to the image-capturing unit for image capturing.

Abstract: A linear stimulating ray source produces stimulating rays and linearly irradiates them to a portion of a stimulable phosphor sheet, on which a radiation image has been stored. A photoelectric read-out system divides light, which is emitted from the portion of a front surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet exposed to the stimulating rays and/or the portion of a back surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet corresponding to the portion of the front surface exposed to the stimulating rays, into picture elements along a length direction of the portion exposed to the stimulating rays, and photoelectrically reads out the divided picture elements by arraying them in a two-dimensional form. A scanning system moves the stimulable phosphor sheet with respect to the linear stimulating ray source and the photoelectric read-out system and in a direction, which is approximately normal to the length direction of the portion exposed to the stimulating rays.

Abstract: A print order reception system for receiving an order for print services is provided with a recording medium reception port for receiving a recording medium on which image data of pictures and print order information including printing conditions for pictures to be printed are recorded in the form of electronic data in a predetermined format. A display system reads out from the recording medium received in the recording medium reception port the image data on the pictures to be printed and the print order information on the pictures to be printed and displays the image data and the print order information as an image.

Abstract: A print order reception system for receiving an order for print services is provided with a recording medium reception port for receiving a recording medium on which image data of pictures and print order information including printing conditions for pictures to be printed are recorded in the form of electronic data in a predetermined format. A display system reads out from the recording medium received in the recording medium reception port the image data on the pictures to be printed and the print order information on the pictures to be printed and displays the image data and the print order information as an image.

Abstract: An entertainment is provided in which a limited number of persons can share images through a peer-to-peer network, and a device is provided for allowing anyone to easily get a print having a desired finish quality at the nearest lab store with no uploading procedure. A peer-to-peer server enters a closed user group (CUG) and issues a password necessary for login to the CUG. It is possible to share an image between client terminals having the same password through peer-to-peer connection. It is possible to directly transmit the shared image to an order-accepting server of the nearest lab store through peer-to-peer connection and print the image. Moreover, when a user designates an image-processing condition on a client terminal, the information on the condition is sent to and managed by a client-managing server. The lab that receives a print order extracts the favorite information of the client concerned from the client-managing server and provides a print having the desired finish quality.

Abstract: In an image processing order system using a network, the amount of programs or data to be transferred can be reduced when a program for image processing (including data to be used) is transferred from a server computer of a service provider to a personal computer of a user. Each image is stored as low resolution image data for use on a personal computer of a user, and high resolution image data that is used for generating a processed print by a service provider. Furthermore, plural kinds of at least a portion of parts of a program for the processing are stored in a hard disc of the server computer, depending on resolution. When a mask processing program is transferred to a user, only the procedure for the mask processing and low resolution mask data are transferred, and high resolution mask data are not. In this manner, the amount of data to be transferred can be reduced.

Abstract: By providing a network photograph service, prompt service can be provided to a customer without losing the advantages of easier understanding of where to access when placing an order and easier collective data management. A service center receiving an order of a printing service, and a minilab or a special laboratory spread across a plurality of places, are able to communicate through a network. A center server in the service center selects and assigns which photo-finishing laboratory will print the ordered picture, in response to order information transferred from a customer via the network. Thus, the printing processing can be carried out by a photo-finishing laboratory specified by the customer, instead of at the center server.