Global lab software

Abstract

A computer program and method are used in connection with a system, article of manufacture, operator-system interface, and propagated signal for processing digitial images, which are extremely flexible in terms of availability, connectability, and the number and types of receivable input formats and outputs. The computer program, article of manufacture, propagated signal, system, and operator/system interface permit users to input image information in a wide variety of formats, input the image information in many different ways, process the image information utilizing various techniques, in various languages, and produce outputs in a plurality of different format types and as a plurality of different products.

1 . A computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program for processing by a computer, wherein the computer program includes computer-readable code means for: 
 receiving images in a first plurality of different image file formats from a first plurality of different media, and further receiving a plurality of user-generated requests;    converting the received images, thereby creating converted image files that correspond to a common image file format;    carrying out image processing on the converted image files corresponding to the common image file format based on at least one corresponding user-generated service request;    converting the processed image files, thereby creating output image files, each of which corresponds to one of a second plurality of different image file formats; and    outputting the output image files to at least one of a second plurality of different media.    
     
     
         2 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable medium is a propagated signal embodied on a carrier wave.