JP2007065459A - Image forming system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system capable of automatically forming prints in a state where images of the same group are put together from a lot of image data, and easily forming the print from which a sentence is easily read and further on which a sentence is easily written after printing without deteriorating the quality of the image by imparting different glossiness to every area of an image recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The images are grouped according to the attribute information of the image and arranged together by every group, and further the individual image is accompanied with a character area and a memorandum writing area, then the glossiness of each area is made different, whereby the above-mentioned problem is solved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to an image forming system, and more particularly, to an image forming system and a recording medium that can give different gloss to each region of the image recording medium.

When forming a print in an image forming system that forms an image using an electrophotographic method, etc., in order to reproduce photographic images with high image quality, printed materials such as prints using coated paper with a glossy surface are used. May be created. However, such a print has a problem that when the image and the text are mixed, the recorded content such as the text is difficult to read due to the reflection on the surface of the recording medium. Also, when a user writes a memo directly on a print after creating the print, it is inconvenient because it is difficult to write with a normal writing instrument such as a pencil or a ballpoint pen, and the written characters are difficult to read due to the gloss of the surface.
In order to solve such a problem, various methods have been proposed.

  For example, in the medical image photographing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of medical images are output on a film, a comment print area is provided on a part of the film separately from the image area. Although the background of the film is black, only the background of the comment printing area is made translucent or transparent, and the comment is printed in black. For this reason, the characters in the comment print area are easy to read, and even when a new comment is written on the film after image formation using a writing instrument such as a pen, the characters are easy to see.

Also, in Patent Document 2, it is possible to create a printed matter in which the print area on one recording medium is divided into an area for forming graphics and an area for forming text, and the glossiness of both areas is different from each other. An image forming apparatus is disclosed. According to this apparatus, the graphics area on the recording medium is given a gloss, and the character area is given a lower gloss than the graphics area, or the gloss process is not performed. It is said that the text area can be easily read without degrading the image quality of the text.
JP 2001-292295 A JP-A-7-129039

In such an image forming system, when creating a recording photograph or the like, it may be necessary to display information about each image together with the captured image or to write a handwritten note later. is there.
However, in the medical imaging apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the readability of characters by the background color when a comment print area is provided on a film with a black background is considered, but the reflection of the film surface is considered. Difficulty in reading characters due to (gloss) is not considered. Further, in this medical image photographing apparatus, a plurality of images are output on one film, but the comment print area is provided only in one place on the film, and comments are made on individual images. It cannot be filled in.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 satisfies the image quality of graphics and the readability of characters by making the glossiness different between the graphics area and the text area. Since no writing area is provided, comments cannot be entered for individual images.

Furthermore, for example, in the case of recording photographs such as medical photographs, accident site photographs, and construction site photographs, a large number of photographs are taken in order to obtain sufficient recording materials. For the purpose of organizing, it is conceivable to print a large number of photographs continuously to obtain a printed material similar to the medical film of Patent Document 1.
However, if different photos are taken in succession and the image data is input continuously, if they are used for printing as they are, they will be printed in the order of the image data, and the images at the end of the previous case and the next image will be printed. In this case, the first image is recorded on the same sheet, which is inconvenient for organizing photographs.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and in image formation, by grouping images according to image attribute information, a large amount of data can be organized and recorded for each group. Image forming system capable of obtaining a printed matter (recording medium) with two different glossiness areas, such as text information and a blank space for writing memos, and two areas with different glossiness Is to provide a recording medium.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides image input means for inputting image data, editing means for editing the input image data to create output image data, and the output image. An image forming system comprising an image output means for forming an output image on an image recording medium according to data, wherein the editing means includes an image area, a first area and a second area set in the vicinity of the image area as one As an image reproduction area, it has layout information formed by arranging a plurality of image reproduction areas, and for a plurality of input image data, a group of image data is determined based on the attribute information, and for each determined group, The layout means for allocating each image data to the image reproduction area of the layout information is different from the image area, the first area, and the second area. To provide an image forming system characterized by having a gloss setting means for setting a Sawado.

  Here, it is preferable that one of the first area and the second area is a character area for displaying character information included in attribute information of each image, and the other is a memo writing area. It is preferable that the output unit includes a gloss applying unit that applies different gloss for each of the regions on the image recording medium according to the gloss level set by the gloss setting unit.

  Further, the gloss setting means sets the image area to high gloss, sets the character area to medium gloss or low gloss lower than the high gloss, and sets the memo writing area to lower gloss or lower than the character area. It is preferable to set without gloss.

  Further, it is preferable that the layout means performs group discrimination based on person group information, shooting location group information, or shooting date group information included in the attribute information.

  The present invention also provides a recording medium having at least three gloss areas on the image recording surface. Here, of the at least three kinds of glossiness areas, the image is reproduced in the highest glossy area, the lowest glossy area is set as the memo writing area, and the middle glossy area has the image of the image. It is preferable that the attribute information is reproduced.

According to such an image forming system of the present invention, by grouping images according to image attribute information, it is possible to lay out and output image data for each specific group from a large amount of image data. . For this reason, it is possible to easily obtain a printed matter that is recorded for each patient in medical photographs, and in accidents or on-site photographs such as construction work for each accident or on-site, and it is easy to manage the photographs.
In addition, since two regions such as a character information display column and a blank space for writing notes are attached to the photographic image, information can be displayed and comments can be written on each photographic image. Easy to grasp photo information.
Furthermore, according to the image forming system of the present invention and the recording medium of the present invention, since a low-gloss character area is set for a high-quality photographic image, in addition to being able to realize photographic recording that is very easy to see and use, Since the character area, the memo writing area, etc. are adjusted to an appropriate gloss level, the recorded character information is easy to see, and the convenience of entering a comment in the memo writing area is good.

  Hereinafter, the image forming system of the present invention and the recording medium of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming system of the present invention for obtaining a recording medium of the present invention.
The image forming system 10 acquires one or a plurality of photographed image data and attribute information thereof, groups the acquired image data based on the attribute information, and automatically arranges each group according to a predetermined layout Thus, a recording medium on which an image is formed, that is, a print (printed material) is created, and includes an image input device 12, an editing device 14, and an image output device 16.

  The image input device 12 acquires image data for creating a print and attribute information associated with each image data, and transmits them as shooting data 30 to the layout unit 20 of the editing device 14, such as a digital camera. A media driver for reading the photographic data 30 from various media on which the photographic data 30 obtained by photographing at the camera is recorded, a network connection device for obtaining the photographic data 30 through a communication line such as the Internet, a digital camera, One or more terminals for directly connecting to a digital imaging device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone are provided. Moreover, you may have the scanner which reads the image image | photographed on the photographic film photoelectrically, and acquires the imaging | photography data 30. FIG. In this case, for example, the attribute information of each frame recorded in the magnetic recording unit of the APS film is read, and the image data and the attribute information are associated with each other by the image input device 12 to obtain the photographing data 30.

  When a medium is inserted into the image input device 12, a communication line is connected, or a digital imaging device is connected and an instruction to start reading data is given, the image input device 12 receives the shooting data 30 from the medium or connection destination. (Image data and attribute information of each image data) are read, and the read series of image data 30 is sent to the editing device 14.

FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of an example of the shooting data 30.
As shown in FIG. 2, the photographing data 30 is composed of one or more pieces of image data 32 and attribute information 34 associated therewith.
The image data 32 is image data, and the attribute information 34 is information about each image data such as a group ID, shooting date / time, shooting target ID, shooting location ID, and the like. Here, the group ID is an ID defined for grouping, the imaging target ID is identification information for identifying a patient in a medical photograph, for example, and the imaging location ID is a traffic accident, construction, or the like. This is identification information for identifying the site in the site photo. One or more pieces of information such as a group ID, a shooting date / time, a shooting target ID, and a shooting location ID are set as attribute information 34 for each shooting data 30 at the time of shooting or after shooting. Specifically, as the attribute information 34, for example, a patient name or medical record number can be used in medical photographs, and a field name, date and time, GPS information, or the like can be used in field photographs such as traffic accidents or construction. The attribute information 34 is input by, for example, an input device (operation button or the like) provided in the camera. If the date and time, GPS information, or the like is generated, the attribute information 34 is automatically generated or acquired by the camera and recorded in association with the image data. Is done.
The attribute information 34 is recorded in a memory or a medium together with image data in the case of a digital camera, and is recorded in association with an image frame in the magnetic recording layer of a film in the case of APS. The content of the attribute information 34 is not particularly limited, and may include information other than that described above.
The shooting data 30 is read out to the image input device 12 and sent to the layout unit 20 of the editing device 14 in a state in which the shooting data 30 is continuous in the shooting order.

The editing device 14 edits the photographic data 30 received from the image input device 12 to create output image data, and includes a layout unit 20 and a gloss setting unit 22.
Although not shown, the editing apparatus 14 performs color / density correction, gradation correction, saturation correction, sharpness processing, dodging processing (by adjusting the image dynamic range while maintaining the intermediate gradation) for the input image data 32. An image processing unit that performs image processing such as imparting a dodging effect) and appropriately performs image processing on the image data 32 input from the image input device 12.

The layout unit 20 edits the output image data according to a predetermined layout using the shooting data 30 received from the image input device 12.
In editing the output image data, the layout unit 20 first refers to the attribute information 34 of the shooting data 30 received from the image input device 12 and determines the group of the image data 32 based on the attribute information 34. When a plurality of types of information such as a group ID and shooting date / time are obtained as the attribute information 34, the group of each shooting data 30 is determined based on one or more types of information specified in advance.
Hereinafter, an example in which a group is determined using a group ID will be described.
Next, the photographing data 30 is automatically arranged for each group according to a layout set in advance based on the number of images in the group.

In the present embodiment, the layout unit 20 has layout data 40 as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 3A, the layout data 40 has four image reproduction areas 42 including an image area 44, a character area 46, and a memo writing area 48. Furthermore, the layout data 40 has a title area 50 that displays a group ID, a group name, and the like for each group. In FIG. 3A, the number of image reproduction areas 42 is four. However, in the present invention, the layout is not limited to this, and the number of image reproduction areas 42 is three or less, or five. There may be more than one.
In accordance with the layout data 40, the layout unit 20 sequentially arranges the grouped image data 32 of the shooting data 30 in the image area 44 for each group, and sets the attribute information 34 corresponding to each image data 32 in the character area 46. Arrange sequentially. Further, a group ID or a title determined for each group is displayed in the title area 50. The title may be one that the shooting data 30 has as attribute information in advance, or the user may input it at a predetermined timing using a keyboard or the like. In this manner, output image data for one print is created.

The layout unit 20 similarly applies the following even when the number of shooting data 30 of one group is larger than the number of image reproduction areas 42 included in the layout data 40, that is, in the present embodiment, when there are five or more shooting data 30. A plurality of output image data are created by laying out in order from the image data 30.
In this way, all the shooting data 30 having the same group ID is arranged according to the layout data 40.
Since the layout unit 20 lays out the shooting data 30 based on the number of shooting data 30 in the same group, when all the shooting data 30 of the same group ID is arranged in the layout data 40, the shooting data 30 is still in the layout data 40. Even when there is an image reproduction area 42 where 30 is not arranged, output image data is divided there, and one or a plurality of output image data in the same group is set as one output image data.

FIG. 3B shows a conceptual diagram of output image data created for each group. The shooting data 30 is arranged for each group ID. For example, as shown in the figure, one output image data 52A is created from a plurality of shooting data of the group 1. Subsequently, an image of the next group (group 2) is arranged in the layout data 40, and similarly, output image data 52B of group 2 is created. Therefore, the photographic data 30 having different group IDs are not recorded on the same recording medium.
The layout unit 20 repeats these operations until all the shooting data 30 are arranged in the layout data 40.

  As described above, the layout unit 20 discriminates the group of each image based on the group ID of the received shooting data 30, and sets the image data 32 and the attribute information 34 for each group as preset layout data. 40, and output image data (52A, 52B, etc.) is created. Further, the generated output image data 52 is sent to the glossiness setting unit 22 and the image forming unit 24 of the image output device 16.

  The glossiness setting unit 22 is a part for setting the glossiness of each area on the output image data based on the output image data received from the layout unit 20. The glossiness setting unit 22 has information on glossiness to be given to each of the image area 44, the character area 46, and the memo writing area 48 in advance. In the present embodiment, the gloss level setting unit 22 sets high gloss for the image area 44 and medium gloss for the character area 46 lower than the image area 44 in the output image area reproduced by the output image data. Alternatively, low gloss is set, and the memo writing area 48 is set to have a lower gloss or no gloss than the character area 46. In other areas (title area 50 and margin), any glossiness from high gloss to no gloss may be set. Then, glossiness data is created from the position information of each area and the set glossiness information, and sent to the image output device 16.

  The image output device 16 forms an output image on a recording sheet as an image recording medium based on the output image data and the glossiness data received from the editing device 14, and further, the glossiness varies depending on the area of the output image. And print output, and has an image forming unit 24 and a gloss control unit 26.

  The image forming unit 24 forms an output image on a recording sheet based on the output image data sent from the layout unit 20 of the editing apparatus 14 and creates a recording medium (print) on which the image is formed. As the image forming unit 24, various types of methods for forming an image from digital image data such as an electrophotographic method, a silver salt photographic method, an ink jet recording method, and a thermal recording method can be used.

  The gloss control unit 26 is a gloss applying unit that gives a predetermined gloss to the printing surface of the recording sheet printed by the image forming unit 24 based on the gloss data sent from the gloss setting unit 22 of the editing device 14. is there. As the gloss control unit 26, for example, a method of smoothing the surface property by applying a transparent resin to the surface of the image (visible image) formed by the image forming unit 24 to increase the gloss, A method of reducing gloss by applying a smoothing material, a method of improving the meltability of the resin constituting the color material (toner, etc.) that forms an image by adding a solvent or controlling heat fixing conditions, etc. The glossiness can be controlled by controlling the control parameters (the amount of transparent resin applied, the amount of solvent added, the heat fixing conditions, etc.) in each method.

  The gloss control unit 26 may act on the recording paper before or after the image formation by the image forming unit 24 depending on the form thereof, or may act simultaneously with the image formation by the image forming unit 24. It may be.

  The print created in this way is, for example, output image data (52A, 52B) shown in FIG. 3B reproduced on a recording sheet. That is, one or a plurality of photographic images grouped for each group are arranged in a predetermined layout on one or a plurality of recording sheets, and a character area for the photographic image and a memo pad Blank area (memo writing area).

  As described above, according to the image forming system 10, the user simply supplies the image input device 12 with a medium or the like on which image data accompanied by attribute information captured by a digital camera or the like or a photographed photographic film is recorded. It is possible to easily obtain prints grouped for each group, such as a person, a shooting location, or a shooting date.

Also, in the vicinity of each image, character information attached to the image such as the shooting date / time, shooting target, shooting location, group ID, title, etc. is recorded, which can be used for organizing photos and image data. .
Further, since a blank area for writing notes is provided in the vicinity of each image, a comment can be written on each of various photographs.

  Further, in the image forming system 10, the image area can be finished with high gloss, the text area can be finished with no glossiness (medium to low gloss), and the memo writing area can be finished with low gloss or no gloss. Therefore, the photographic image is beautiful, the recorded character information is easy to see, and the comment writing area can be easily entered with a normal writing tool such as a pencil or a ballpoint pen, so that the convenience of comment entry is good.

  In the above example, prints are created based on grouping by group ID in the attribute information 34, but the present invention is not limited to this, and grouping is performed based on other attribute information. May be. For example, the group may be determined based on person group information (shooting target ID), shooting location group information (shooting location ID), shooting date group information (shooting date and time), and the like.

Next, as the image output device 16, gloss is imparted by applying an electrophotographic image forming unit and applying a transparent toner (thermoplastic resin) on the formed image (visible image) and performing a heat fixing process. An image forming system 100 having an image output device 108 that includes a glossiness control unit that performs the same will be described with reference to a schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG.
In the image forming system 100, the image input device 12 and the editing device 14 have the same configurations as those in the image forming system 10 of FIG.

The image output device 108 corresponds to the image output device 16 in the image forming system 10 of FIG. 1, and is applied to a recording sheet (image recording medium) by an electrophotographic method in accordance with output image data sent from the editing device 14. An image is formed, and gloss is given so as to have different glossiness for each area of the recording paper according to the glossiness data sent from the editing device 14.
The image output apparatus 108 basically includes a paper supply unit 112, an image forming unit 114, a gloss control unit 116, and a discharge unit 118. In addition, the image output apparatus 108 includes a conveying unit that conveys a recording sheet to each unit through a predetermined path, and a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of each unit.
The image forming unit 114 and the gloss level control unit 116 correspond to the image forming unit 24 and the gloss level control unit 26 of the image output device 16 in the image forming system 10 of FIG.

The paper supply unit 112 supplies cut sheet-like recording paper A to the image forming unit 114, and includes two loading portions of a magazine 120 that accommodates a recording paper roll formed by winding a long recording paper A. And a loading unit for a cassette 124 for storing the cut sheet-like recording paper A.
The loading section of each magazine 120 can be loaded with recording paper rolls having different widths (different sizes) (the magazine 120 that accommodates them).
The cassette 124 is a case in which the recording paper A is accommodated and loaded in the printer, similar to those used in various printers.

As the recording paper A, various recording sheets (image receiving media) used in an electrophotographic printer can be used without any particular limitation.
Since the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment performs a process of increasing the gloss level in the gloss level control unit 116 to be described later, the minimum gloss level of the print when the gloss level control unit 116 does not perform the gloss level applying process. A recording sheet having a surface property suitable for the degree of gloss, that is, the glossiness of the memo writing area may be used. In other words, it is sufficient to use recording paper that is suitable for writing.
If the gloss control unit can process the surface to be rough and reduce the gloss, a recording paper A having a gloss higher than that of the memo writing area can be used.

  In each loading section of the magazines 120 and 120 and the cassette 124, a detector (not shown) for detecting the ID of the magazine 120 or the like by a dip switch or a bar code is disposed. The control unit (not shown) of the image output apparatus 108 detects the type of paper stored in each magazine 120, cassette 124, etc. by this detector, and stores predetermined paper according to the size of the print to be created. A paper supply signal is sent to the magazines 120 and 120 or the cassette 124 (the paper feed unit).

A drawer roller pair 122 and a cutter 128 are disposed in the vicinity of the recording paper A supply port of the magazines 120, 120, and the conveyance direction length downstream of the cutter 128 of the recording paper A drawn by the drawer roller pair 122. However, when it reaches a predetermined length corresponding to the print to be created, it is cut by the cutter 128 to obtain a cut sheet-like recording paper A having a predetermined length.
In addition, a pickup roller (not shown) is arranged near the paper supply port of the cassette 124 to take out the recording paper A from the cassette 124 one by one.

  The recording paper A supplied from the paper supply unit 112 is conveyed to the image forming unit 114 by a normal conveyance unit such as a conveyance roller pair or a conveyance guide.

A printing machine 126 for printing on the back surface (non-image forming surface) of the recording paper A is disposed between the paper supply unit 112 and the image forming unit 114 in the conveyance direction of the recording paper A. Further, a guide plate 129 that supports the recording paper A to be printed is provided at a position facing the printing unit of each printing machine 126.
The printing machine 126 performs printing (back printing) on the back surface of the recording paper A as necessary. The printer 126 is not particularly limited, and various known printing means such as an impact printer using an ink ribbon and an ink jet printer can be used.

  The image forming unit 114 forms a color toner image (visible image) on the recording paper A supplied from the paper supply unit 112 according to the output image data sent from the editing device 14. A toner image forming unit 132, a transfer unit 134, and a primary fixing roller pair 136.

The exposure unit 130 includes a light beam (recording light) light source, an optical deflector, an fθ lens, an optical path changing mirror, and a light beam adjusting lens for exposing an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 146 of a toner image forming unit 132 described later. Is a known light beam scanning optical system.
The exposure unit 130 matches the light beam modulated according to the output image data (that is, the image to be formed) supplied from the editing device 14 with the width direction of the image recording medium (recording paper A) (direction perpendicular to the transport direction). The image is deflected in the main scanning direction and incident on a predetermined exposure position, and a latent image is recorded on the photosensitive drum 146.

The toner image forming unit 132 forms a toner image by an electrophotographic method, and includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 146 (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum 146), a charging roller 148, a cleaner 150, and a toner supply unit 152. .
The photosensitive drum 146 is a known electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and is arranged so that the central axis coincides with the width direction of the recording paper A, and is in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 4 (clockwise in the figure). Rotate to. As described above, since the light beam from the exposure unit 130 is deflected in the width direction, the photosensitive drum 146 is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam modulated according to the recorded image.

The charging roller 148 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 146 prior to the exposure of the photosensitive drum 146 by the exposure unit 130. For example, charging means such as a corotron charger is used.
The cleaner 150 removes toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 146 after toner transfer (primary transfer) to a transfer belt 160 described later. In the image forming unit 114 in the illustrated example, the cleaner 150 is attached to the photosensitive drum 146. A blade that scrapes off residual toner by contact is used.

  The toner supply unit 152 supplies C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) toners to the photosensitive drum 146, and a rotatable drum-shaped main body 152a. Four toner supply units, that is, a C toner supply unit 154C, an M toner supply unit 154M, a Y toner supply unit 154Y, and a K toner supply unit 154K, are arranged at intervals of a rotation angle of 90 °. In the toner supply unit 152, the main body 152a rotates 90 degrees in the direction of arrow b (counterclockwise in the figure) in FIG. Supply toner in close proximity.

  The transfer unit 134 includes a transfer belt 160 that is an endless belt in contact with the photosensitive drum 146, three rollers 162 that stretch the transfer belt 160, and the transfer belt 160 from the inside of the transfer belt 160 toward the photosensitive drum 146. A pressing roller 164 for pressing, a transfer roller 166 disposed on the outer peripheral side of the transfer belt 160 so as to face one of the rollers 162, and a conveyance guide 168 disposed between the transfer roller 166 and the primary fixing roller pair 136. have.

The transfer belt 160 is an intermediate transfer member for toner images, and rotates in the direction of arrow c (the same direction as the conveyance direction of the recording sheet A). The transfer belt 160 has a perimeter that is longer than the maximum length (length in the conveyance direction) of a print created by the image output device 108. On the transfer belt 160, an output image for one page of prints. A toner image corresponding to is transferred.
The transfer roller 166 can be moved to a position where the transfer belt 160 (recording paper A) is sandwiched with one of the rollers 162 and a position where the transfer roller 160 is separated from the transfer belt 160.

  The photosensitive drum 146 is uniformly charged in the width direction by the charging roller 148 while rotating in the direction of arrow a in the figure, and is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by a light beam modulated according to the output image data. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed by toner supply from a toner supply unit located at a position (development position) facing the photosensitive drum 146 of the toner supply unit 152, for example, a Y toner supply unit 154Y, and the photosensitive drum 146 is developed. A toner image of a color corresponding to the toner supply unit, for example, a yellow toner image is formed on the surface.

  The transfer belt 160 rotates in the direction of arrow c in the figure in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 146 and is pressed toward the photosensitive drum 146 by the pressing roller 164 at a position in contact with the photosensitive drum 146. As a result, the toner image developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 146 is transferred to the transfer belt 160 (primary transfer). In the area where the transfer of the toner image onto the transfer belt 160 of the photosensitive drum 146 is completed, the remaining toner is removed by the cleaner 150.

  In the image output device 108 in the illustrated example, the image forming unit 114 performs the formation of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 146 and the transfer of the formed toner image to the transfer belt 160 by C, M, This is sequentially performed for each color of Y and K. In the illustrated example, the Y toner image is first transferred to the transfer belt 160, and then the toner supply unit 152 (main body 152a) is rotated by 90 ° in the direction of arrow b so that the M toner supply unit 152M is disposed at the development position. The formation of a latent image is started in accordance with the position of the Y toner image on the belt 160, the M toner image is developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 146, and the developed M toner image is converted into a Y toner image on the transfer belt 160. Transfer in layers. Similarly, a C toner image is formed and transferred to the transfer belt 160, and a K toner image is formed and transferred to the transfer belt 160. During this time, the transfer roller 166 is separated from the transfer belt 160.

  In this way, on the surface of the transfer belt 160, toner images of Y, M, C, and K are formed in alignment in the image area according to the output image data from the editing device 14, that is, Four (full) color images are formed. Further, a toner image (character image) using a single color toner or a plurality of colors such as black is formed in the character area, and no toner image is formed in the memo writing area.

  On the other hand, a cut sheet-like recording paper A having a predetermined size is supplied from the paper supply unit 112 as an image recording medium, and is aligned with the reference position at the position of the registration roller pair 170 arranged immediately upstream of the transfer roller 166. And is in a standby state.

  When an image corresponding to an output image for one print page including four color images and a character image is formed on the transfer belt 160, the positions of the recording paper A and the color image formed on the transfer belt 160 are changed. In order to match, the conveyance of the recording paper A is started in synchronization with the rotation of the transfer belt 160. The transfer roller 166 moves to a position where the transfer belt 160 (roller 162) is pressed, and the transfer belt 160 (roller 162) and the transfer roller 166 sandwich and convey the recording paper A. By this nipping and conveying, the four color toner images formed on the surface of the transfer belt 160 are transferred to the recording paper A, and an image (output image) is formed on the surface of the recording paper A.

  The recording sheet A on which the toner image is formed in the image forming unit 114 is supported by the conveyance guide 168 on the non-image forming surface, and the unfixed toner image is kept in contact with nothing and the primary fixing roller pair 136. It is conveyed to.

The primary fixing roller pair 136 is a fixing roller pair including a heating roller and a pressure roller. The heating roller is heated to a predetermined temperature for fixing toner for forming an image on the recording paper A. The recording sheet A is heated and pressed by being nipped and conveyed by a heating roller and a pressure roller, and the toner image is fixed. The fixing process here is for the toner image formed on the recording paper A to be fixed and not peeled off.
In the primary fixing roller pair 136, the heating roller may be disposed on either the toner image forming surface of the recording paper A or the opposite surface, and both rollers of the primary fixing roller pair 136 are the heating roller. It may be.

  The recording sheet A on which the primary fixing process has been performed by the primary fixing roller pair 136 is subsequently conveyed to the gloss control unit 116.

In accordance with the glossiness data supplied from the editing device 14, the glossiness control unit 116 attaches transparent toner containing a thermoplastic resin to a predetermined area on the image formed on the recording paper A, and then pressurizes and heats it. Glossiness is imparted by cooling.
The gloss control unit 116 is a heating roller 174, a roller 176 disposed on the downstream side of the heating roller 174, a fixing belt 178 that is stretched and rotated by the heating roller 174 and the roller 176, and a heating roller 174 as heating and cooling means. And a cooling device 180 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 178 on the side of the conveyance path of the recording paper A.
Further, the gloss level control unit 116 is an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 186 (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum 186), a charging roller 188, an exposure unit 190, a transparent toner supply unit 194, and a transfer toner as a transparent toner applying unit. A roller 196 is provided.

The heating / cooling means of the gloss level control unit 116 heats the transparent toner image transferred to the recording paper A and then cools it to develop a predetermined gloss.
The heating roller 174 is disposed on the image forming surface side of the recording paper A. The heating roller 174 has a heat source therein and is heated to a predetermined temperature that melts the transparent toner adhering to the recording paper A.
A roller 176 is disposed downstream of the heating roller 174, and the fixing belt 178 is stretched and conveyed by the heating roller 174 and the roller 176. A roller 184 for adjusting the tension of the fixing belt 178 may be further provided.

The fixing belt 178 has a very high smooth outer surface, that is, a surface that contacts the recording paper A. The fixing belt 178 rotates with the rotation of the heating roller 174 and the roller 176, and keeps the smooth belt surface in contact with the image forming surface of the recording paper A, and the recording paper between the fixing belt 178 and the pressure roller 182. A is nipped and conveyed.
The pressure roller 182 presses the heating roller 174 (fixing belt 178) with a substantially uniform pressure in the width direction.

The cooling device 180 is disposed between the heating roller 174 and the roller 176 downstream thereof so as to cool the image forming surface of the recording paper A. The cooling device 180 cools the fixing belt 178 from the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 178 on the recording medium conveyance path side, and cools the heated recording sheet A conveyed in contact with the fixing belt 178.
As the cooling means of the cooling device 180, a radiator such as a heat sink, a cooling material such as an antifreeze liquid, a Peltier element, or the like can be used.

  The transparent toner applied on the image of the recording paper A by the transparent toner applying means described later is heated by the heating roller 174 and the pressure roller 182 while in contact with the belt surface of the fixing belt 178 having high surface smoothness. It melts by being pressed and then solidifies by being cooled. The surface of the solidified transparent toner is smoothed by the transfer of the smooth surface of the fixing belt 178 and expresses high gloss. Thereby, high glossiness can be expressed in the area of the recording paper A to which the transparent toner is applied. Further, the degree of gloss to be expressed can be controlled by controlling the amount of transparent toner to be applied.

When the recording paper A is plain paper or the like, even if it passes through the gloss control unit 116, the gloss in the area where the transparent toner is not applied hardly changes.
Further, when the recording paper A has a thermoplastic resin layer on the image forming surface, the glossiness is uniformly uniform over the entire surface of the recording paper A according to the layer configuration and the heating / cooling conditions in the glossiness control unit 116. Although slightly increased, the glossiness is higher in the region where the toner is applied.

The transparent toner applying means forms a transparent toner image by electrophotography.
The exposure unit 190 modulates a light beam modulated according to glossiness data supplied from the editing apparatus 14, that is, image data formed with transparent toner, perpendicular to the width direction (conveying direction) of the image recording medium (recording paper A). In the main scanning direction, which coincides with the direction), enters a predetermined exposure position, and records a latent image on the photosensitive drum 186.

  The photosensitive drum 186 is a known electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and is arranged so that the central axis coincides with the width direction of the recording paper A. The photosensitive drum 186 is in contact with the fixing belt 178 at a predetermined position other than the conveyance path of the recording paper A, and rotates at a constant speed in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4 (clockwise in the figure). The surface of the photosensitive drum 186 is uniformly charged by the charging roller 188 prior to exposure, and then scanned and exposed two-dimensionally by the light beam deflected in the width direction from the exposure unit 190. As a result, a latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 186.

Next, the transparent toner is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 186 at the position of the transparent toner supply unit 194, and a transparent toner image is formed.
This transparent toner image is transferred to the fixing belt 178 at a position where the photosensitive drum 186 contacts the fixing belt 178. At the contact position between the photosensitive drum 186 and the fixing belt 178, a transfer roller 196 that presses the fixing belt 178 toward the photosensitive drum 186 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the fixing belt 178 (the side opposite to the photosensitive drum 186). Is arranged. This
The transfer of the transparent toner image to the fixing belt 178 is reliably performed.

The transparent toner image formed on the fixing belt 178 is nipped and conveyed while the recording paper A sent from the image forming unit 114 is in close contact with the fixing belt 178 at a nipping position between the heating roller 174 and the pressure roller 182. As a result, the image is transferred to a predetermined position on the image formed on the recording paper A.
The gloss control unit 116 operates in synchronization with the image forming unit 114 and the conveyance unit for the recording sheet A between the image forming unit 114 and the gloss control unit 116, and the position of the color image formed on the recording sheet A The transparent toner image is transferred onto the toner image.

The transfer position alignment of the transparent toner image onto the recording paper A is performed, for example, by moving the photosensitive drum 186 and the fixing belt 178 at a constant speed and writing the latent image on the photosensitive drum 186 at the image forming unit 114. The formation may be performed in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper A from the image forming unit 114.
Alternatively, the fixing belt 178 is intermittently transported, and after the transparent toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 186 is transferred to the fixing belt 178, the fixing belt 178 is temporarily stopped to be in a standby state, and the recording paper A is loaded. The transfer position alignment can also be performed by starting the movement of the fixing belt 178 in accordance with the timing of feeding to the nipping position by the heating roller 174 and the pressure roller 182.

  As described above, the transparent toner image transferred to the recording paper A by the transparent toner applying unit of the gloss level control unit 116 exhibits a predetermined gloss by the heating / cooling process by the heating / cooling unit of the gloss level control unit 116.

The recording paper A cooled by the cooling device 180 is further conveyed by the fixing belt 178, peeled off from the fixing belt 178 at the position of the roller 176, further conveyed, and discharged to the discharge unit 118 by the discharge roller pair 198.
The discharge unit 118 includes a plurality of trays 200 and a circulation mechanism 202 that circulates the trays 200. The recording paper A (print) discharged by the discharge roller pair 198 is, for example, grouped on the tray 200. Is accumulated.

FIG. 5A shows an example of a recording sheet A on which an image is formed in the above-described image forming system 100 and discharged from the discharge unit 118 as an embodiment of the recording medium of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5A, an image corresponding to the output image data is formed on the surface of the recording paper A. Furthermore, the image area 62 is highly glossy and the character area 64 is lower than the image area 62. The medium gloss and memo writing area 66 are each given a lower gloss than the character area 64. The title area 68 and the blank area where no image is formed are given the same medium gloss as the character area 64.
FIG. 5B is a conceptual diagram of a cross section of the recording paper A shown in FIG. 5A cut along a cutting line in the drawing. In this figure, in order to make the configuration easy to understand, the thickness direction (left-right direction in the figure) is shown enlarged. The recording paper A has a support 70 and an image forming layer 72. Further, gloss layers 74 having different thicknesses are formed depending on the glossiness of each region. If the memo area 66 is not glossy, the gloss layer 74 is not formed in that area.

In the above-described example, the gloss control unit 116 having the transparent toner applying unit is provided as the gloss control unit 26. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other means can be used as the glossiness control unit 26 (glossiness control means).
For example, when forming a color toner image in the image forming unit 114, a transparent toner image is formed in an overlapping manner, heat treatment by the primary fixing roller pair 136, and further secondary by a heating / cooling unit of the gloss control unit 116. By performing the fixing process (the heating / cooling process described above), it is possible to develop high gloss in the area where the transparent toner image is formed.
In addition, a means for applying a solvent for easily melting the resin of the color toner, a solution for increasing gloss (resin solution, etc.), etc., before the primary fixing roller pair 136 or before the gloss control unit 116. May be provided.

  In the above-described various gloss control means, the degree of gloss is controlled by controlling the amount of transparent toner to be applied, controlling the heat treatment temperature by the primary fixing roller pair 136 or the heating roller 174, and the like. Can do.

In the above-described example, the mode in which the gloss control unit 26 increases the gloss has been described, but conversely, the gloss may be controlled by decreasing the gloss.
Alternatively, by using a recording paper configured to express a predetermined glossiness for each area corresponding to the layout data 40, the gloss applying means performs uniform processing on the recording paper to obtain a glossiness. You may make it vary degrees.

The recording paper A shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by the image forming system 100 shown in FIG. 4 by a method of applying an amount of transparent toner on the image forming surface according to the glossiness after the image formation. The glossy layer 74 having a different thickness depending on the glossiness is formed on the image forming layer 72. However, the recording medium of the present invention is not limited to this, and different layer configurations are provided depending on the gloss control method. You may have.
That is, for example, the recording medium of the present invention does not have the gloss layer 74 as a separate body from the image forming layer 72, and the fixing state of the toner image (the melting state of the toner at the time of fixing) is different for each region. Thus, the surface of the image formed on the image forming layer 72 and the state of the image layer (surface properties such as surface roughness, transmittance, and reflectance) may be made different from three or more.
In the recording medium of the present invention, even if the gloss layer 74 has substantially the same thickness and has three or more kinds of surface roughness that differ from region to region, the gloss that varies from region to region can be obtained. Good.
Alternatively, the glossy layer 74 may not be provided, and the configuration of the image forming layer 72 may be different for each region, thereby obtaining three or more glossy regions on the recording paper A after image formation.

As is clear from the above description, according to the image forming system of the present invention, continuous images are read out from a large amount of data in units of a specific group based on image attribute information, subjected to appropriate layout, and output. It becomes possible.
For this reason, by grouping the images, prints that summarize the images according to the purpose of the photo, such as for each patient in medical photographs and for each accident or scene in field photographs such as traffic accident sites and construction Is easy to manage because the layout is output.
Further, according to the image forming system of the present invention and the recording medium of the present invention, a character area and a blank area for writing a memo are provided for each photographic area, and the image area of the recording medium has high gloss. In addition, it is possible to obtain a print in which the character region has a lower gloss than the image region, and the memo writing region has a lower gloss or no gloss than the character region. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a print that can maintain the image quality of the image with high quality, can easily read the text in the character area, and can easily write each image after printing.
Furthermore, since character information and comment information are attached to each image, it is easy to grasp information for each image, and it is possible to realize photo recording that is very easy to see and use.

  The image forming system of the present invention and the recording medium of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, you may.

1 is a block diagram conceptually showing an embodiment of an image forming system of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the imaging | photography data of the image forming system of this invention. (A) is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a layout in the image forming system of the present invention, and (b) is a conceptual diagram showing an example of output image data in the image forming system of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of other embodiment of the image forming system of this invention. (A) is a conceptual diagram which shows one Embodiment of the recording medium of this invention, (b) is a conceptual diagram of the cross section of the recording medium of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming system 12 Image input device 14 Editing device 16 Image output device 20 Layout part 22 Gloss degree setting part 24 Image forming part 26 Gloss degree control part 30 Shooting data 32 Image data 34 Attribute information 40 Layout data 42 Image reproduction area 44, 62 Image area 46, 64 Character area 48, 66 Memo writing area 50, 68 Title area 52 Output image data 70 Support 72 Image forming layer 74 Glossy layer

Claims (6)

Image input means for inputting image data, editing means for editing the input image data to create output image data, and forming an output image on an image recording medium by the output image data An image forming system comprising image output means,
The editing means includes
The image area, the first area and the second area set in the vicinity of the image area as one image reproduction area, and having layout information formed by arranging a plurality of the image reproduction areas, for a plurality of input image data, Layout means for determining a group of the image data based on the attribute information and allocating the image data to the image reproduction area of the layout information for each determined group;
An image forming system comprising: glossiness setting means for setting a different glossiness for each of the image area, the first area, and the second area.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first area is a character area for displaying character information included in attribute information of each image, and the second area is a memo writing area.   The gloss setting means sets the image area to high gloss, sets the text area to medium gloss or low gloss lower than the high gloss, and sets the memo area to gloss lower or no gloss than the text area. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein   4. The image output unit includes a gloss applying unit that applies a different gloss to each of the areas on the image recording medium in accordance with the gloss level set by the gloss level setting unit. The image forming system according to any one of the above.   A recording medium having at least three kinds of glossiness areas on an image recording surface.   Of the at least three types of glossiness areas, the image is reproduced in the highest glossy area, the lowest glossy area is set as a memo writing area, and the attribute information of the image is stored in the middle glossy area. The recording medium according to claim 5 to be reproduced.

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