JP2010102728A - Printing system and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system for making the efficiency of a printing job improve. <P>SOLUTION: The printing system includes: a data processing apparatus which provides a setting screen for setting printing conditions of job data and installs a driver software for controlling a printer; and the printer for performing printing, on the basis of the job data received from the data processing apparatus. In the printing system, the data processor includes: a display means for displaying a setting screen which includes a first region to be a setting screen, provided by the driver software where setting items of a printing condition are displayed and a second region for displaying a screen showing a combination of a printer body and optional devices; an acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the optional device to be connected to the printer; and a reflecting means for reflecting information regarding the optional devices acquired by the acquisition means, to the screen displayed in the second area of the setting screen of the driver software. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system including a printing apparatus and a print server that transmits job data to the printing apparatus.

  In a printing system including a printer and a print server (for example, a personal computer) that transmits job data such as image data or text data to the printer, in order to recognize the printer that is the output destination of job data on the printer server side, A printer driver for controlling the printer is installed in the printer server. In this printing system, usually, various conditions such as print output time and the number of copies are set on a printer driver on the print server side, and the setting information is transmitted to the printer to control the printer. On the print server side, information on the printer body such as operation status information (for example, paper feeding, printing, paper ejection) and error information (for example, paper feeding error), printers such as a duplex printing unit, finisher, etc. Information about the optional device such as the connection status and error status of the optional device connected to the main body can be acquired. In this connection, for example, in the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-222445 (Patent Document 1), specific information about the printer can be transmitted to the print server side by bidirectional communication, and the specified specific information is set. When there is a change in information, the print server can be notified.

JP-A-10-222445

  However, in the conventional system, the acquired information about the printer and its optional devices cannot be reflected in the printer driver on the print server side. For this reason, for example, when consumables such as paper, toner, or staples run out on the printer side, the operator can still make these settings on the printer driver. As a result, the printer and its optional device may not be able to handle the received job data, and the finish may be changed or the job data may be discarded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems, and improves the efficiency of printing work by reflecting the information about the printer main body and its optional devices acquired from the printer in the printer driver on the print server side. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that can be used.

  In one aspect, the present invention provides a setting screen that enables setting of printing conditions for job data, and a data processing apparatus in which driver software for controlling the printing apparatus is installed, and a job received from the data processing apparatus In a printing system including a printing device that executes printing based on data, the data processing device is a setting screen provided by driver software, a first area in which setting items of printing conditions are displayed, and the printing device main body Display means for displaying a setting screen including a second area in which a picture display indicating a combination of the optional device and a display is displayed, acquisition means for acquiring information about the optional device connected to the printing device, and acquisition by the acquisition device Reflect the information about the optional device in the picture display displayed in the second area of the driver software setting screen. Printing system comprising: the means movies, a, a.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a data processing apparatus that provides a setting screen that enables setting of print conditions for job data and that has driver software installed to control the printing apparatus, and a data processing apparatus that receives the data from the data processing apparatus A printing method used in a printing system including a printing apparatus that executes printing based on the job data, wherein the data processing apparatus is a setting screen provided by driver software, and setting items for printing conditions are displayed. A display step for displaying a setting screen including a first area, a second area for displaying a picture display representing a combination of the printing apparatus main body and the optional apparatus, and an optional apparatus in which the data processing apparatus is connected to the printing apparatus An acquisition step for acquiring information about the optional device acquired by the data processing device in the acquisition step Distribution of a printing method, characterized in that it comprises a reflecting step of reflecting the pictograms displayed on the second region of the setting screen of the driver software.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a data processing apparatus that provides a setting screen that enables setting of print conditions for job data and that has driver software installed to control the printing apparatus, and the data processing apparatus A printing program that can be executed by a computer of a data processing apparatus of a printing system including a printing apparatus that executes printing based on received job data, the computer being a setting screen provided by driver software, and printing conditions Display means for displaying a setting screen including a first area in which a setting item is displayed, and a second area in which a picture display representing a combination of the printing apparatus main body and the optional apparatus is displayed, and an option connected to the printing apparatus An acquisition unit that acquires information about the device, and an information about the optional device acquired by the acquisition unit. And a printing program, to function as a reflection means for reflecting the pictograms displayed on the second region of the setting screen of the driver software.

  According to the present invention, in a data processing apparatus in which driver software capable of setting print conditions for job data is installed, information about the printing apparatus and an optional apparatus connected thereto is acquired, and the acquired information is the driver software. Therefore, the operator can accurately grasp the states of the printing apparatus and the optional apparatus, and can confirm in advance whether or not the desired finishing can be realized. If it is confirmed that the desired finishing is not feasible, adjustments can be made in advance to avoid changing the finishing or discarding job data. As a result, it is possible to always transmit job data that can be dealt with by the option device side, and the printing operation can be performed efficiently.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the printer in the said printing system. 2 shows an operation panel of the printer. An example of acquired information converted into a file format is shown. 6 is a flowchart of printer information acquisition processing. An example of a printer driver setting screen in which the printer information and the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 are reflected is shown. Another example of the setting screen of the printer driver in which the printer information and the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 are reflected is shown. 6 shows another display example of the printer driver in which the printer information and the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 are reflected. It is a flowchart about the determination process (S26 of FIG. 5) of a setting prohibition item. 6 is a flowchart of a process for reflecting printer information to a driver display (S27 in FIG. 5).

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 10 includes a printer 20 and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 30 as a server that transmits print job data such as image data or text data to the printer 20 over a network. . Each PC 30 is installed with a printer driver (not shown) that controls the printer 20 in order to recognize the printer 20 that is the job data transmission destination. In the printing system 10, various conditions relating to printing such as the number of copies, the printing range, and the paper size can be set on the printer driver on the PC 30 side, and the job data is suitable for the printer 20 in accordance with the setting contents. After being converted into data of the format, it is transmitted to the printer 20.

  In the printer 20, the received job data is converted into print data as a raster image and then printed on paper. The printer 20 is provided with a first tray 9A, a second tray 9B, a third tray 9C, and a fourth tray 9D that store sheets of different sizes or orientations. Here, the lowermost fourth tray is provided. As 9D, a large-capacity cassette is attached. Although not particularly illustrated, each of the trays 9A to 9D is provided with a predetermined sensor along the thickness direction of the stacked sheets, and the remaining amount of paper in each tray is determined to be none / almost empty / sufficient by the sensor. It is detected in three stages. Each of the trays 9A to 9D is provided with a restriction plate that restricts the position of the paper to be set. The size of the paper to be set is detected based on the position of the restriction plate. Note that the size of the paper set in each of the trays 9A to 9D can be arbitrarily changed.

  Further, an operation panel 2 for setting various conditions such as the type of printing and the postponement of printing is provided on the upper part of the printer 20, and the operator controls the operation of the printer 20 via the operation panel 2. be able to.

  The printer 20 includes, as an optional device that cooperates with the main body of the printer 20 during printing, a duplex printing unit 11 that enables duplex printing, a punch bin 13 that punches holes on a plurality of sheets after image transfer and fixing, and A finisher 12 having a staple bin 14 for binding a plurality of sheets with staples can be connected. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, both optional devices 11 and 12 are connected.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer 20 in the printing system 10. The printer 20 includes a CPU 21 that performs overall sequence control of the printer 20 together with the operation panel 2 described above, a data processing unit 22 that can execute data processing such as color space conversion and binarization processing, and the data processing. And a printing unit 24 that performs a printing process on the paper based on the data processed by the unit 22. The printer 20 also has a ROM 25 for storing a printer control program by the CPU 21 and a RAM 23 used as a work area necessary for executing the program and a buffer area for job data. In addition, the printer 20 includes an interface interface between the optional interface (I / F) 26 that is an interface circuit with the optional device (only the finisher 12 is shown in FIG. 2) and the PC 30 as external interfaces. A network interface (I / F) 27 is provided.

  In the printer 20 having such a configuration, when job data from the PC 30 is received via the network I / F 27, the setting contents of various conditions on the operation panel 2 are referred to and stored in the ROM 25. Based on the printer control program, the operation of each unit is controlled and data is printed. At this time, the duplex printing unit 11 and the finisher 12 connected as optional devices of the printer 20 are controlled so as to synchronize with the printer 20 with respect to their operations.

  FIG. 3 shows the operation panel 2 of the printer 20. The operation panel 2 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 7 on which a message such as “READY” shown in the figure and a setting screen for various conditions are displayed. The operation panel 2 includes a communication state switching key 3 for switching between a communicable state (online) and a communication impossible state (offline) with the PC 30 as instruction input keys, and a secret print. When the confidential print key 4 and all finishing processes cannot be executed, the forced print key 5 for instructing to execute printing without finishing is not complete, and when all the finishing processes cannot be executed, the printer 20 side A print postponement key 6 for instructing to store the confidential print again is provided so as to print after adjusting the conditions. Furthermore, the operation panel 2 is provided with a numeric keypad 8 for inputting numerical values such as the number of copies to be printed and a password.

  As described above, a printer driver for controlling the printer 20 is installed in the PC 30 and is activated in response to a print request from application software, for example. In this start-up state, the printer driver provides a setting screen 60 (FIGS. 6, 7 and 8) that enables setting of various conditions relating to printing such as the number of copies, print range, and paper size. In addition to the printer driver, utility software (not shown) that can acquire various information about the printer 20 is installed in the PC 30. This utility software is started up when the PC 30 is started up or in response to a call by the printer driver. In the operation state, the utility software communicates with the printer 20, for example, the connection status of optional devices, presence / absence of consumables, and the like. Information about the connected optional device can be acquired. The connection status of optional devices and the presence / absence of consumables are detected through the option I / F 26.

  The utility software can store the acquired information in the PC 30 after converting the acquired information into a file format (such as text) that can be read by the printer driver. FIG. 4 shows an example of information converted into the file format.

  In this embodiment, while the printer driver is in the startup state, the utility software obtains information about the printer 20 and stores the information at regular intervals, and new information is reflected in the printer driver. The operator can accurately grasp the state of the printer 20. In relation to this, FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of printer information acquisition processing. When the printer driver is started in response to the print request, first, in S21, it is confirmed whether or not utility software is operating. If the result is YES, the process proceeds to S25, and if NO, the process proceeds to S22. In S22, utility software is launched. Next, in S23, various information about the printer 20 and the optional device connected thereto is acquired using utility software. Further, in S24, the acquired information is filed in a text format and stored. In S25, the text file stored in the PC 30 is read by the utility software.

  Subsequently, in S26, based on the acquired printer information, an item to be prohibited from setting on the setting screen of the printer driver is determined. The items that should be prohibited are, for example, “double-sided printing” when the duplex printing unit 11 (see FIG. 1) is not connected to the printer 20 and “staple” when the finisher 12 is not set. Or there is a “punch” or the like. The determination process for the setting prohibition item will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. In S27, the acquired printer information and the determination result in S26 are reflected in the printer driver. In this case, the item determined to be a setting-prohibited item in S26 is grayed out (or shaded) and cannot be selected. In order to make the setting prohibited item unselectable, the item may be deleted from the options without being limited to this.

  The printer information acquisition process is executed based on an operating program incorporated in the PC 30. In this embodiment, the program is stored in a computer-readable floppy disk 30a (see FIG. 2). Stored in file format. Without being limited thereto, such a program may be stored in an external recording medium such as a memory built into the PC 30 or a CD-ROM.

  6 and 7 show examples of printer driver setting screens in which the printer information and the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 are reflected. The setting screen 60 includes an appearance display unit 61 that represents a finished appearance at the time of output, a main body information display unit 62 that indicates the state of the printer main body, a condition setting unit 63 for setting various conditions, and various execution keys. And an execution unit 64 provided. The main body information display unit 62 schematically displays a printer main body and an optional device connected to the printer main body. In FIG. 6, a duplex printing unit 62 b and a finisher 62 c are displayed together with the printer main body 62 a, and it can be seen from this display that the duplex printing unit 11 and the finisher 12 are connected to the printer 20. The main body information display unit 62 displays information on “toner”, “jam”, “staple needle”, and “error”. That is, regarding “toner”, whether or not the developing toner remains to the extent that does not interfere with printing is indicated, and “jam” indicates whether or not a paper jam exists in the printer 20. In addition, regarding “staple needle”, whether or not the staple needle remains in the finisher 12 is displayed. Further, regarding “error”, whether or not an error has occurred in the printer 20 or its optional device is displayed. In FIG. 6, it can be seen from these displays that there is sufficient toner, there is no paper jam, the staples remain on the finisher 12, and no error has occurred.

  Further, the main body information display section 62 shows a table 62d that indicates the remaining amount of sheets of different sizes or orientations set in the first to fourth trays 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D of the printer 20. In FIG. 6, in this table 62d, “None” is displayed for “Tray3” corresponding to the third tray 9C, and from this display, the sheet in the third tray 9C of the printer 20 is cut. I understand. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 based on the information on the out of paper is reflected. In FIG. 7, in the condition setting unit 63, an item “paper selection” box is opened. In this box, in order from the top, the symbols “A4T”, “A4Y”, “A3T”, “A4” indicating the size and orientation of the paper corresponding to the first to fourth trays 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D of the printer 20 are displayed. Is arranged. Of these, the symbol “A3T” is determined to be a setting-prohibited item based on the information on the out of paper in the third tray 9C, and the symbol “A3T” is grayed out and cannot be selected. As a result, the operator cannot select “A3T” out of paper on the printer 20 side on the printer driver, and as a result, the printer 20 and its optional device cannot correspond to the job data transmitted from the PC 30. In addition, it is avoided that the finish is changed or the job data is discarded.

  On the other hand, the appearance display unit 61 schematically displays the finished appearance of the printed material based on the setting contents in the condition setting unit 63. As shown in FIG. 6, when “long side” is set in the item “punch” of the condition setting unit 63 and “upper left corner” is set in the item “staple”, the appearance display unit 61 In addition, the punch hole 61b is displayed over one long side of the sheet 61a together with the sheet 61a, and the staple needle 61c is displayed on the upper left of the sheet 61a.

  Further, FIG. 8 shows another example of a printer driver setting screen in which the printer information and the determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 are reflected. In this example, the optional device connected to the printer main body 62a is not displayed in the main body information display section 62, and from this display, the duplex printing unit 11 and the finisher 12 are not connected to the printer 20. I understand. In this case, since the finisher 12 is not connected, information about the “staple needle” is not displayed on the main body information display unit 62. The determination result in S26 of FIG. 5 based on the information about the optional device is reflected in the condition setting unit 63. That is, based on the information that the duplex printing unit 11 and the finisher 12 are not connected to the printer 20, the items “printing surface”, “punch”, and “staple” are determined to be setting-prohibited items. Is grayed out and cannot be selected. In the aspect shown in FIG. 8, the “print side” is displayed in gray out with the settings “single side”, “punch”, and “staple” “not done”, and the operator cannot change this setting. As a result, it is avoided that the printer 20 cannot cope with the job data transmitted from the PC 30 and the finishing is changed or the job data is discarded.

  As described above, according to the present invention, information about the printer 20 and the optional device connected to the printer 20 is acquired at regular intervals, and the printer driver setting contents are automatically updated based on the information, whereby the operator Can accurately grasp the status of the printer 20 and the optional device. Further, the operator can confirm in advance whether or not the desired finishing can be realized. If it is confirmed that the desired finishing is not feasible, the finishing is changed or the job data is discarded by, for example, changing the paper size of each of the trays 9A to 9D and replenishing paper and toner. It can be avoided. As a result, it is possible to always transmit job data that can be handled by the printer 20 and the option device, and the printing operation can be performed efficiently.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the setting prohibition item determination process (S26 in FIG. 5). In this setting prohibition item determination process, first, in S31, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet in the first tray 9A of the printer 20. As a result, if YES, the process proceeds directly to S33, and if NO, on the other hand, in S32, the paper size for the first tray 9A in “paper selection” is designated as a setting prohibition item, and the process proceeds to S33. In S33, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet in the second tray 9B of the printer 20. As a result, if YES, the process proceeds directly to S35. If NO, on the other hand, in S34, the paper size for the second tray 9B in “paper selection” is designated as a setting prohibition item, and the process proceeds to S35. Subsequently, in S35, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet in the third tray 9C of the printer 20. As a result, if YES, the process proceeds directly to S37. If NO, on the other hand, in S36, the paper size for the third tray 9C in “paper selection” is designated as a setting prohibition item, and the process proceeds to S37. Further, in S37, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet in the fourth tray 9D of the printer 20. As a result, if YES, the process directly proceeds to S39. If NO, on the other hand, the paper size for the fourth tray 9D in “paper selection” is designated as a setting prohibition item in S38, and the process proceeds to S39.

  In S39, it is determined whether or not the duplex printing unit 11 is attached to the printer body. As a result, if YES, the process proceeds directly to S41. If NO, on the other hand, in S40, “printing surface” is designated as a setting prohibition item, and then the process proceeds to S41. In this case, the “print side” is automatically set to “single side”. Subsequently, in S41, it is determined whether or not the finisher 12 is connected to the printer body. As a result, if YES, the process directly proceeds to S43. If NO, on the other hand, in S42, “punch” and “staple” are designated as setting prohibition items, and the process proceeds to S43. In S43, it is determined whether or not there are staples. If the result is YES, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 5, while if NO, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 5 after specifying “staple” as a setting prohibition item in S44.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the process for reflecting the printer information on the driver display (S27 in FIG. 5). In this reflection process, first, in S51, an item designated as a setting-prohibited item is grayed out and cannot be selected. Next, in S52, items that are not designated as setting-prohibited items are normally displayed and can be selected. This process is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and it goes without saying that various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, utility software for acquiring information about the printer 20 and the optional device connected thereto is installed in the PC 30, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the printer driver itself is installed. Information about the printer 20 and the optional device may be acquired.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the data processing apparatus in which the driver software capable of setting the print condition of the job data is installed, information about the printing apparatus and the optional apparatus connected thereto is acquired. Since the acquired information is reflected in the driver software, the operator can accurately grasp the status of the printing device and the optional device, and in advance whether or not the desired finishing can be realized. Can be confirmed. If it is confirmed that the desired finishing is not feasible, adjustments can be made in advance to avoid changing the finishing or discarding job data. As a result, it is possible to always transmit job data that can be dealt with by the option device side, and the printing operation can be performed efficiently.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the information about the printing device and the optional device connected thereto is the presence / absence of consumables in each device, replenishment is performed in advance when it is confirmed that these devices are out of service. To avoid finishing changes and discarding job data.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the consumable is at least one of paper, staples, and toner, when it is confirmed that the consumable has been cut, replenishment is performed in advance, finishing change, Discarding job data can be avoided.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the information about the printing device and the optional device connected to the printing device is the size of the paper set in the printing device. For example, a desired size of paper is set in the printing device. When a state in which the printing has not been performed is confirmed, the paper size can be changed in advance to avoid changing the finishing or discarding the job data.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, information about the printing device and the optional device connected to the printing device is acquired, and the acquired information is reflected in the driver software, so the operator can check the status of the printing device and the optional device. It is possible to accurately grasp, and it is possible to confirm in advance whether or not the desired finishing can be realized. If it is confirmed that the desired finishing is not feasible, adjustments can be made in advance to avoid changing the finishing or discarding job data. As a result, it is possible to always transmit job data that can be dealt with by the option device side, and the printing operation can be performed efficiently.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the data processing apparatus in which the driver software capable of setting the print condition of the job data is installed, the information about the printing apparatus and the optional apparatus connected thereto is acquired and acquired. Since the information is reflected in the driver software, the operator can accurately grasp the status of the printing device and the optional device, and can confirm in advance whether or not the desired finishing can be realized. it can. If it is confirmed that the desired finishing is not feasible, adjustments can be made in advance to avoid changing the finishing or discarding job data. As a result, it is possible to always transmit job data that can be dealt with by the option device side, and the printing operation can be performed efficiently.

9A ... Tray 9B ... Tray 9C ... Tray 9D ... Tray 10 ... Printing system 11 ... Duplex printing unit 12 ... Finisher 20 ... Printer 30 ... PC
60 ... Setting screen

Claims (3)

A data processing apparatus that provides a setting screen that enables setting of print conditions for job data and that has driver software installed to control the printing apparatus; a printing apparatus that executes printing based on job data received from the data processing apparatus; In the printing system including
The data processing device includes:
The setting screen provided by the driver software includes a first area where the setting items of the printing conditions are displayed, and a second area where a picture display indicating a combination of the printing apparatus main body and the optional apparatus is displayed. Display means for displaying a setting screen including:
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the optional device connected to the printing device;
A printing system comprising: reflecting means for reflecting the information about the optional device acquired by the acquiring means to the picture display displayed in the second area of the setting screen of the driver software. A data processing apparatus that provides a setting screen that enables setting of print conditions for job data and that has driver software installed to control the printing apparatus; a printing apparatus that executes printing based on job data received from the data processing apparatus; A printing method used for a printing system including:
The data processing apparatus is a setting screen provided by the driver software, and displays a first area where the setting items of the printing conditions are displayed, and a picture display showing a combination of the printing apparatus main body and an optional apparatus. A display step for displaying a setting screen including a second area;
The data processing device obtains information about the optional device connected to the printing device; and
The data processing device comprises a reflecting step of reflecting the information about the optional device acquired in the acquiring step in the picture display displayed in the second area of the setting screen of the driver software. How to print. A data processing apparatus that provides a setting screen that enables setting of print conditions for job data and that has driver software installed to control the printing apparatus; a printing apparatus that executes printing based on job data received from the data processing apparatus; A printing program executable on a computer of the data processing device of the printing system, comprising:
The computer,
The setting screen provided by the driver software includes a first area where the setting items of the printing conditions are displayed, and a second area where a picture display indicating a combination of the printing apparatus main body and the optional apparatus is displayed. Display means for displaying a setting screen including:
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the optional device connected to the printing device;
A printing program for causing information about the optional device acquired by the acquiring unit to function as a reflecting unit for reflecting the information displayed in the second area of the setting screen of the driver software.

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