JP2007175980A - Printing controlling apparatus, printing controlling method, program and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time interval from the time when a printed article is printed to the time when the ink driven onto the printed article is dried, and to set the outputting of the printed article in one and the same direction. <P>SOLUTION: A client computer calculates the amount of driving the ink corresponding to respective partitioned regions in which page data are partitioned by a specified reference based on the pixel value of respective page data included in printing data (step S302). Then, the client computer determines whether rotational printing is executed or not on every page data based on the amount of driving the ink corresponding to respective partitioned regions, and changes a result of determination related to the rotational printing determined to the whole page data included in the printing data based on the result of determination on the rotational printing to respective page data, to the same content of determination (step S303). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium for a printing apparatus such as an inkjet printer that ejects ink onto a recording medium such as printing paper to print an image.

  When printing with an ink jet printer, it takes a certain time for the ink ejected on the paper to dry completely. The drying time varies depending on the ink type, print quality, and paper type.

  When printing with an ink-jet printer, the surface of the paper is rubbed when touched on the printed paper before the ink dries, and the surface of the paper becomes dirty with the rubbed ink. Also, if other paper is stacked on the paper printed before the ink dries, the surface of the printed paper becomes dirty with the rubbed ink, or the printed paper ink adheres to the back of the stacked paper and becomes dirty. .

  For this reason, when printing with an inkjet printer, the paper cannot be used until the ejected ink has dried even after printing of one page is completed.

  In order to shorten the drying waiting time after the printing is completed, when the amount of ink applied in the latter half of the first page is large when printing one page, the drawing data is rotated 180 degrees and printed. A method of assigning a large amount of drying time has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-262171 A

  However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is premised on printing one page, although the print data is rotated 180 degrees and the ink drying time is taken into consideration based on the ink ejection amount.

  For this reason, when the above method is executed on each page of a plurality of pages, a part of the printed matter is rotated 180 degrees and printed, and the user needs to align the orientation when taking out.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time from printing the printed material to the time when the ink applied to the printed material is dried, and to uniformize the direction of the printed material to be output.

The print control apparatus according to the present invention includes an ink placement amount calculation unit that calculates an ink placement amount corresponding to each partitioned region into which page data is partitioned based on a pixel value of each page data included in the print data; Included in the print data based on the rotation print determination means for determining whether or not to execute the rotation print for each page data based on the ink placement amount corresponding to the area, and the rotation print determination result for each page data Change means for changing the determined content related to rotational printing determined for all page data to the same determined content, and a print control means for controlling printing with the determined content changed by the change means Features.
The print control method of the present invention is a print control method by a print control apparatus, and calculates an ink ejection amount corresponding to each divided area into which page data is divided based on the pixel value of each page data included in the print data. An ink ejection amount calculating step, a rotational printing determination step for determining whether or not to perform rotational printing for each page data based on the ink ejection amount corresponding to each of the divided areas, and rotational printing determination for each page data. Based on the determination result, a change step for changing the determination content related to the rotational printing determined for all the page data included in the print data to the same determination content, and printing with the determination content changed in the change step And a printing control step for controlling the printing.
A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute the print control method.
The computer-readable recording medium of the present invention is characterized in that the program is recorded.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time from printing of a printed material to drying of the ink that has been applied to the printed material, and it is possible to make the direction of the printed material to be output uniform.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments to which the invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

-First embodiment-
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus control system to which a printing control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. As long as the function of the present invention is executed, the printing device control system may be a single device or a configuration composed of a plurality of devices. When the printing device control system includes a plurality of devices, the system may be connected through a network such as a LAN or WAN to perform processing. That is, the connection configuration of various terminals in the embodiments described below is merely an example, and it goes without saying that there are various configuration examples depending on the application and purpose.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a client computer which is a print control apparatus. In the client computer 100, a CPU 101, a RAM 102, a ROM 103, an input controller (input C) 105, a video controller (VC) 106, a memory controller (MC) 107, and a communication I / F 108 are connected via a system bus 104.

  The ROM 103 or the external memory 111 includes a print control program 112, a printer driver 113, an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) 114, and other control programs for the CPU 101 for realizing the characteristic processing of the present embodiment. Stored are a basic input / output system (BIOS), various programs 115 to be described later, which are necessary for realizing functions executed by each server or each PC. The ROM 103 or the external memory 111 also stores definition files (not shown) used by the printer driver 113 and various information tables.

  The OS used in this embodiment is assumed to be, for example, Windows (registered trademark) XP (manufactured by Microsoft Corporation), but is not limited thereto.

  The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101. The CPU 101 implements various operations and functions by loading a program necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 103 or the external memory 111 to the RAM 102 and executing it.

  An input controller (input C) 105 controls input from a keyboard (KB) 109 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown). A video controller (VC) 106 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 110. The display device is not limited to the CRT, but may be another display device such as a liquid crystal display. These are used selectively by the administrator as needed.

  A memory controller (MC) 107 is a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD) (not shown), or a PCMCIA card that stores a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 111 such as a CompactFlash (registered trademark) memory connected to the slot via an adapter.

  The communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 108 is connected to and communicates with an external device via the network 302, and executes communication control processing in the network 302. For example, data can be transmitted / received to / from the printer 200 by communication using Ethernet (registered trademark). Needless to say, data transmission / reception and the like can be performed with the printer 200 through communication using USB as well as communication using Ethernet (registered trademark).

  Note that the CPU 101 enables display on the CRT 110 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 102, for example. In addition, the CPU 101 controls display of a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 110 to enable a user instruction from a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).

  Next, the configuration of the printer 200 will be described. In the printer 200, the printer CPU 201 outputs an image signal as output information to a printing unit (printer engine) 206 connected to the system bus 208 via the printing unit I / F 205 based on a control program stored in the ROM 203. To do. The ROM 203 stores a control program for the CPU 112 and the like. The ROM 203 stores font data and the like used when generating the output information.

  The CPU 201 can communicate with the host computer via the input unit 204 and is configured to notify the client computer 100 of information in the printer 200 and the like.

  A RAM 202 is a main memory of the CPU 201 and functions as a work area. The RAM 202 is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The RAM 202 is also used as an output information expansion area, environment data storage area, NVRAM, and the like.

  Further, an NVRAM (not shown) may be provided, and printer mode setting information from the operation unit 207 may be stored.

  Further, the printer 200 can output a roll paper (not shown) and has a print cut unit 209 for cutting the roll paper. The control program for cutting the roll paper is stored in the ROM 203, and it is possible to receive the information for cutting the roll paper from the client computer 100 and control the cutting timing.

  The printing unit 206 is assumed to be an inkjet system, but the present invention can be applied to other printers.

  1 has been described assuming the client computer 100 in FIG. 2, it goes without saying that it can be applied to the print server 300 instead of the client computer 100.

  In the present embodiment, the print control program 112 has control that the printer driver 113 has, specifically, control that print data is converted into a language that can be interpreted by the printer, and the converted data is transmitted to the printer 200. It is. Note that the printer driver 113 may be configured to have the function of the print control program 112.

  The print control program 112 is configured to print data received from a higher-level application. Specifically, the print control program 112 receives print data (Post Script or the like) sent from the DTP, converts it into raster data, and prints the converted data.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured such that printing is executed when the print control program receives what has been processed in S301 of FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printing system to which the computer 100 and the printer 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 can be applied.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 400 denotes a network to which a plurality of client computers 100, a printer 200, and a print server 300 are connected. The client computer 100 is not limited to a plurality.

  In this case, it is assumed that the communication I / F controller 108 of the client computer 100 has a function of a network interface card (NIC). Further, the printer 200 is directly connected to the network 400 even when connected to the print server 300 via the local interface 500 such as Centronics or USB, and connected to the network 400 via the print server 300. Form may be sufficient. When the printer 200 is directly connected to the network 400, the input unit 204 of the printer 200 has a function of a network interface card (NIC).

  When a print job is transmitted from each client computer 100 to the printer 200 connected to the network 400 via the print server 300, each client computer 100 first performs scheduling of the print job, connection control between the printer and the client computer, and printer. The print job is transmitted to the print server 300 via the print subsystem that manages the status of the image.

  The print server 300 transmits the print job transmitted from each client computer 100 to the printer 200 via a print subsystem on the print server 300 (not shown). Accordingly, each client computer 100 can transmit a print job to the printer 200 via the print server 300.

  Further, when a print job is transmitted from each client computer 100 to the printer 200 directly connected to the network 400, each client computer 100 sends a print job to the printer 200 directly connected to the network 400 via the print subsystem. Send.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the client computer 100. The processing shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the print control program 112 of FIG.

  The CPU 101 reads the data from the external memory 111 in FIG. 1 in which the print data received from the upper application is stored, generates raster image data for all pages (step S301), and the subsequent steps S302 to S302. The process proceeds to S304. The raster image data is stored in a work file in the external memory 111. Here, the user may designate print data on the UI and execute this processing.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 analyzes the raster image data in the work file of the external memory 111 in FIG. 1, and calculates the ink ejection amount for each page from the pixel value (step S302). Details of step S302 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Step S303 is a process of determining an optimum method for shortening the ink drying time and printing with the paper aligned in the vertical direction. Details of step S303 will be described with reference to FIG. 11 (the processing of step S303 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5).

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 creates a print image based on the determination result of step S303 and outputs it to the printer 200 (step S304). Details of step S304 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of step S302 in FIG. The CPU 101 determines whether or not the calculation of the ink ejection amount has been completed for all pages (step S401). If the calculation has been completed (step S401 / YES), this processing ends. If not completed, the next page is calculated.

  If the calculation of the ink ejection amount has not been completed for all pages, the CPU 101 calculates the total ink ejection amount for every pixel in the page for a certain remaining page (step S402). Specifically, the CMYK values (0 to 100%) of each pixel are summed. C of 100% represents 255 when the color is expressed by 8 bits.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 acquires a correction value R corresponding to the total ink ejection amount with reference to the lookup table of FIG. 12 (step S403).

  The correction value R represents the time required for ink drying when the ink hit amount is 0 to 400%, for example, as a ratio value with the reference when the shot amount is 100% (= 1), and is 0 to 400%. A table is provided for each driving amount.

  This table is created depending on the target printer, ink, media, and print mode, stored in the external memory 111, and read out to the RAM 102 for use when necessary. This look-up table is created by comparing the time required for drying at each driving amount, measuring how much the drying time is different, and using the value obtained from the measurement result.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 corrects the total ink ejection amount of each pixel based on the correction value R acquired in step S403 (step S404). For example, if a certain pixel value is C = 100%, M = 80%, Y = 80%, K = 30% (injection amount = 290%) and the correction value when the injection amount is 290% is R, Total ink ejection amount = 290 × R. The corrected pixel value is set as the total ink ejection amount. The above method is only an example until it gets tired, and other methods may be used.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 sums up the ink ejection amount of each pixel for each of the entire page, the first half of the page, and the second half of the page based on the total ink ejection amount of each pixel after the correction obtained in step S404. The total ink ejection amount, the total ink ejection amount in the first half of the page, and the total ink ejection amount in the second half of the page are calculated (step S405).

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, for print data having a page configuration of four pages, the total ink ejection amount is calculated for each of the entire page, the first half of the page, and the second half of the page for each page.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of step S303 in FIG. First, the CPU 101 acquires, from the RAM 102, the total ink ejection amount for the first half of the page and the second half of the page calculated in step S405 of FIG. 4 (step S1101). This process is performed for each page. At first, the total ink ejection amount of the first page is acquired, and when the processes of step S1102, step S1103 (or step S1104) and step S1105 are completed, the process returns to this process. By performing the processing of steps S1102 to S1105 from the second page to the last page, the presence / absence of rotation setting is determined for each page.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the total ink ejection amount acquired in step S1101 is larger in the second half of the page than in the first half of the page (step S1102). If the total ink ejection amount in the second half of the page is larger, the process moves to step S1103, and if not, the process moves to step S1104.

  In step S <b> 1103, the CPU 101 determines that the rotation setting of the page is “present” as illustrated on the first page of FIG. 6A, for example. In this embodiment, when the rotation setting is “present”, it is assumed to rotate 180 degrees.

  In step S <b> 1104, the CPU 101 determines that the rotation setting of the page is “None” as illustrated on the second page in FIG. 6A, for example. If this setting is “none”, the printing process is performed without rotating 180 degrees.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the rotation setting has been performed for all pages (step S1105). If rotation has been set for all pages, the process moves to step S1106; otherwise, the process moves to step S1101.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 acquires “pre-update” rotation presence / absence setting (determination) information for all pages shown in FIG. 6A (step S1106).

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines the ratio between “present” and “absent” determined in the “pre-update” rotation presence / absence setting (determination) information shown in FIG. 6A (step S1107). For example, referring to the [pre-update] rotation presence / absence setting (determination) information in FIG. 6A, it is determined that the ratio of “Yes” is large because “Yes” is 3 pages and “No” is 2 pages. Is done.

  If it is determined that the ratio of “Yes” is large, the process proceeds to Step S1108. If it is determined that the ratio of “No” is large, the process proceeds to Step S1109. If the ratio of “Yes” and “No” is determined to be the same, Step S1108 is performed. The processing moves to S1110.

  If it is determined in step S1107 that the ratio of “Yes” is large, the CPU 101 changes all pages to “Yes” as in the “updated” rotation presence / absence setting (determination) information shown in FIG. (Step S1108). As a result, a document with a large amount of ink applied to the second half of the page can be output from the second half of the page, and the actual printing time can be assigned to the drying time, thereby shortening the drying time.

  If it is determined in step S1107 that the ratio of “none” is large, the CPU 101 changes the rotation presence / absence setting for all pages to “none”. That is, the “present” portion of the “updated” rotation presence / absence setting (determination) information shown in FIG. 6B becomes “none” for all pages.

  As a result, since a document having a large amount of ink applied to the first half of the page is output (normal printing) from the first half of the page, the actual printing time can be assigned to the drying time, and the drying time is shortened.

  If it is determined in step S1107 that the ratio of “present” and “absent” is the same, the CPU 101 displays a screen (not shown) for allowing the user to select whether to rotate (step S1110).

  Subsequent to step S1110, the CPU 101 performs the rotation setting for all pages with the rotation setting input on the screen displayed in step S1111 (step S1111).

  In step S <b> 1112, the CPU 101 stores the reverse order print setting “None” in the RAM 102 in order not to perform the reverse order print setting.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of step S304 in FIG. First, the CPU 101 determines whether the printing process for all pages has been completed (step S1001). If not completed, the process proceeds to step S1002. If completed, the printing process is terminated.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether reverse printing is set based on the information set in step S1112 of FIG. 11 (step S513 of FIG. 5 in the second embodiment) (step S1002).

  When reverse order printing is set (step S1002 / YES), the CPU 101 acquires the last page data that has not been output (step S1003).

  If reverse printing is not set (step S1002 / NO), the CPU 101 acquires image data of the first page that has not been output (step S1004).

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 refers to the “updated” rotation presence / absence setting information shown in FIG. 6B, and determines whether or not the corresponding page is rotated 180 degrees (step S1005). If it is determined to rotate 180 degrees (step S1005 / YES), the process proceeds to step S1006. Otherwise, step S1006 is not executed, and the process proceeds to step S1007. In step S1006, data obtained by rotating the corresponding page by 180 degrees is created.

  In step S1007, the CPU 101 converts the data rotated by 180 degrees in step S1006 or the data acquired in step S1003 or S1004 into print data (for example, PDL conversion) and outputs the print data to the printer 200 (step S1007).

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 sets the page of the data output in step S1007 as printed (step S1008). This can be realized by storing the page number information and the printed information in the RAM 102.

  In the first embodiment described above, the rotation direction of the entire page is made constant based on the ratio of presence / absence of rotation determined for each page in consideration of the ink ejection amount and the correction amount (for example, “Yes” is “None”). If there are more than “”, all pages are changed to “Yes”), and the portion of the page that requires drying time can be printed first, so that the drying time can be shortened. Further, it is not necessary to arrange the direction of the printed material when the user takes it out, and the usability is improved.

  Further, in the first embodiment, by applying a correction value to a pixel with a large amount of ink shot, it is possible to reflect (represent) the difficulty of drying in the case of overprinting in the shot amount. A high ink ejection amount can be calculated. That is, the ink drying waiting time can be further shortened.

-Second Embodiment-
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the ink printing amount of the first half page and the second half page of the print data, and the first half page and the second half page of the print data so that the actual printing time (time during which ink is applied) is maximized as the drying time. In consideration of the above, it is possible to further shorten the time from the actual start of printing until the printed material becomes usable.

  In this embodiment, the process of FIG. 11 in the first embodiment is replaced with the process of FIG. 5, and the other processes are the same. Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description of the configuration in this embodiment and the same processing as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of step S303 in FIG. Here, the page is rotated when obtaining the optimum output, but the rotation angle is assumed to be 180 degrees. It should be noted that a certain effect can be obtained even if the rotation angle is not 180 degrees but 90 degrees or 270 degrees.

  First, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the 180-degree rotation processing necessity / unnecessary determination has been completed for all pages (step S501). If the 180-degree rotation process necessity / unnecessary determination has been completed for all pages, the process proceeds to step S506. If the 180-degree rotation process necessity / unnecessary determination has not been completed for all pages, the process proceeds to step S502.

  In step S502, the CPU 101 compares the ink placement amounts of the first half of the page and the second half of the page (step S502).

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the ink ejection amount is larger in the second half of the page than in the first half of the page (step S503). If the second half of the page has a larger amount of ink placement, the process moves to step S504. If the second half of the page has a smaller amount of ink placement, the process moves to step S505.

  In step S504, the CPU 101 determines to rotate the corresponding page by 180 degrees. In step S505, the CPU 101 determines not to rotate the corresponding page. In this way, the determination result of the rotation processing for all pages is stored on the RAM 102 as shown in FIG.

  When the rotation processing is determined for all pages, the CPU 101 refers to the determination result of the rotation processing in FIG. 6A and checks whether or not each page is rotated (step S506). As a result, when a page that rotates and a page that does not rotate are mixed, the process proceeds to step S507. If they are not mixed and the same direction is determined for all pages (all pages are rotated or all pages are not rotated), the process proceeds to step S511.

  In step S507, the CPU 101 calculates the total ink ejection amount of the first half of the page over all pages based on the ink ejection amounts of the first half of the page and the second half of the page obtained in step S405 of FIG. The total ink ejection amount of the second half of the page over the page is obtained and compared.

  Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the sum of the ink ejection amounts in the second half of the page is greater than the sum of the ink ejection amounts in the first half of the page (step S508). If the sum of the ink ejection amounts in the second half of the page is larger, the process proceeds to step S509. If the sum of the ink ejection amounts in the second half of the page is not larger, the process proceeds to step S510.

  In step S509, the CPU 101 determines 180-degree rotation for all pages. When determined in this way, the rotation setting (determination) information becomes “present” for all pages as shown in FIG. In step S510, the CPU 101 sets the rotation setting to “none” for all pages. When determined in this way, in FIG. 6B, all pages are “present”, but all these are determined to be “none”.

  In step S511, the CPU 101 calculates the sum of the ink placement amount of the first half page and the sum of the ink placement amount of the second half page based on the ink placement amount of the entire page of each page obtained in step S405 of FIG. Compare If the sum of the ink placement amounts for the second half page is larger, the process proceeds to step S513. If the sum of the ink placement amounts for the second half page is not greater, the processing ends.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the sum of the ink ejection amount of the entire first page and the ink ejection amount of the entire second page for print data having a page configuration of 4 pages is represented by the first half page. Thus, the sum of the ink ejection amount of the entire third page and the ink ejection amount of the entire fourth page is calculated as the ink ejection amount of the second page.

  When the sum of the ink ejection amounts of the second half pages is larger (step S512 / YES), the CPU 101 sets to perform reverse order printing and stores the determination result in the RAM 102 of FIG. 1 (step S513). . This setting content is used in the determination process in step S1002 of FIG.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the presence / absence of 180 degree rotation and the presence / absence of reverse order printing are determined and set, so that the output is performed in any of the modes (a) to (d) illustrated in FIG. Become. The output mode illustrated in FIG. 9A is an output mode when the rotation setting is determined to be “none” for all pages in step S510, and reverse order printing is not set in step S513 (normal order printing). The output mode shown in FIG. 9B is an output mode when the rotation setting is determined as “none” for all pages in step S510 and reverse order printing is set in step S513. The output mode illustrated in FIG. 9C is an output mode when the rotation setting is determined to be “present” for all pages in step S509 and reverse order printing is not set in step S513 (normal order printing). The output mode illustrated in FIG. 9D is an output mode when the rotation setting is determined as “present” for all pages in step S509 and reverse order printing is set in step S513.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is difficult to dry the printed material, that is, which amount of ink is applied in the first half of the page or the second half of the page over the entire page, and moreover, on all pages. It is possible to determine which of the first half page and the second half page has a larger amount of ink shot and switch the output mode of the printed matter in a mode suitable for the determination result. More specifically, when reverse printing (printing from the second half of the print data) is performed when the printing amount in the second half is large, the actual printing time (time during which ink is printed on paper) is assigned to the drying time. Therefore, no extra drying time is required. As described above, in the present embodiment, a longer drying time can be assigned to a portion where the amount of ink shot is large, so that the time until the printed material is finally dried can be shortened.

  Usually, a drying time is set between pages. By using the printing control method according to this embodiment, the drying time set in advance can be set short.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer such as the system reads and executes the program codes from the storage medium. Is also achieved.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  In addition, the case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by performing part or all of the actual processing by an OS or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code read by the computer. It is.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU or the like performs actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the above-described processing is performed. The case where the functions of the embodiment are realized is also included.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus control system to which a printing control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printing system to which the computer and the printer illustrated in FIG. 1 can be applied. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process of a client computer. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S302 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S303 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the setting result (decision result) of the rotation process of each page. FIG. 10 is a diagram for specifically explaining a method of calculating a total ink ejection amount for each of the entire page, the first half of the page, and the second half of the page. FIG. 5 is a diagram for specifically explaining a method of calculating ink ejection amounts for a first half page and a second half page. It is a figure which shows the kind of output aspect of printed matter. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S304 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of step S303 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the look-up table which matched the ink injection amount and the correction value.

Explanation of symbols

101, 201: CPU
102, 202: RAM
103, 203: ROM
104: System bus 105: Input controller (input C)
106: Video controller (VC)
107: Memory controller (MC)
108: Communication I / F
109: Keyboard (KB)
110: CRT
111: External memory 112: Print control program 113: Printer driver 114: OS
115: Other programs 200: Printer 204: Input unit 205: Printing unit I / F
206: Printing unit 207: Operation unit 209: Paper cutting unit

Claims (11)

An ink ejection amount calculating means for calculating an ink ejection amount corresponding to each divided area into which the page data is divided based on the pixel value of each page data included in the print data;
Rotation printing determination means for determining whether or not to perform rotation printing for each page data based on the ink placement amount corresponding to each of the divided areas;
Based on the determination result of the rotation printing for each page data, changing means for changing the determination content related to the rotation printing determined for all the page data included in the print data to the same determination content;
And a print control unit that controls printing according to the determination content changed by the change unit.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink hit amount calculation unit calculates an ink hit amount between a first half portion and a second half portion of each page data.   3. The print control according to claim 2, wherein the rotation printing determination unit determines to perform rotation printing for the corresponding page data when the ink placement amount in the second half is larger than that in the first half of the page data. apparatus.   The said change means changes according to the ratio of the number determined not to perform rotation printing and the number determined not to perform rotation printing, The change in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Print control device.   The change means, when the number determined to execute the rotation printing is larger than the number determined not to execute the rotation printing, changes to the determination content to perform the rotation printing for all page data. Item 5. The print control apparatus according to Item 4.   6. The printing according to claim 1, wherein the changing unit compares and changes the total ink ejection amount of the first half portion and the total ink ejection amount of the second half portion of each page data. Control device. Correction value determining means for determining a correction value according to the ink hit amount calculated by the ink hit amount calculating means;
An ink ejection amount correction unit that corrects the ink ejection amount calculated by the ink ejection amount calculation unit using the correction value and corrects the ink ejection amount corresponding to each of the divided areas;
The rotational printing determination unit determines whether or not to perform rotational printing for each page data based on the ink ejection amount corresponding to each of the divided areas corrected by the ink ejection amount correction unit. The printing control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Calculating a total ink ejection amount for the first page data group in the print data and a total ink ejection amount for the second page data group in the print data; and ink ejection for the first page data group An ink ejection amount comparison means for comparing the total amount of ink and the total amount of ink ejection for the latter half of the page data group;
8. A reverse order printing determination unit for determining whether or not to print all page data included in the print data in reverse order based on a comparison result by the ink hit amount comparison unit. The print control apparatus according to any one of the above. A printing control method by a printing control apparatus,
An ink ejection amount calculating step for calculating an ink ejection amount corresponding to each divided area into which the page data is divided based on a pixel value of each page data included in the print data;
A rotational printing determination step for determining whether or not to execute rotational printing for each page data based on the ink placement amount corresponding to each of the divided areas;
A change step for changing the determination content relating to the rotation printing determined for all the page data included in the print data to the same determination content based on the determination result of the rotation printing for each page data;
And a printing control step for controlling printing with the determined contents changed in the changing step.   A program for causing a computer to execute the printing control method according to claim 9.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 10.

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