JP2011118586A - Print preview system, server, print preview method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a print preview with a nearly same size as a result of printing document data in desired print setting by use of a desired printer out of a plurality of printers connected via a network. <P>SOLUTION: In the print preview system, a document to be printed is selected by operation of a mobile terminal by a user (step S11), and the printer and the print setting (a sheet size, and resolution or the like) are selected (step S12). A server calculates the number of pixels based on the print setting, and generates a print image from a document file with the calculated number of the pixels (step S13). Information (the number of lateral pixels, the number of longitudinal pixels, and resolution) related to a display part of the mobile terminal is obtained (step S14), the number of pixels of a preview image is calculated based on the resolution of printed matter and the resolution of the display part 22, the preview image is generated by the calculated number of the pixels, and the preview image is transmitted to the mobile terminal 20 (step S15). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print preview system, a server, a print preview method, and a program, and more particularly to a print preview system, a server, a print preview method, and a program capable of previewing printed matter on a mobile terminal.

  With the development of wireless communication technology in recent years, many services for printing document files existing in a server or the like connected via a network from a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone are provided. However, the processing capability of mobile phones is generally inferior to that of PCs, and there is no viewer that can display document files such as words and pdfs. For this reason, it is difficult to confirm that the document to be printed is the target document.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a printing system in which a document file is converted into a print image by a printer driver existing on a network, and the converted image is transmitted to a portable terminal. As a result, it is possible to preview the printed matter.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a print review system that displays a layout image obtained by reducing a print image in accordance with a screen of a terminal that displays a preview, and displays details in an enlarged manner. As a result, the entire image of the print image can be viewed and the details can be confirmed, so that confirmation of the printed matter at the terminal is more reliable.

  In Patent Document 3, image data acquired from a host computer is acquired, and when the same size display mode is selected, an image image that can be printed on A4 paper is generated and displayed on the display unit. In addition, an image display device is disclosed in which when the reduced display mode is selected, the acquired data is reduced and displayed on the entire display unit. Thus, in the same size display mode, an image having the same size as that printed on the paper can be confirmed, and in the reduced display mode, the image of the entire printed matter can also be confirmed.

JP 2004-341845 A JP 2005-44138 A JP 2006-23605 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is only possible to avoid errors in the contents of the printed document. When printing is actually performed, “there should be a little larger character”, “printing with A3 instead of A4” It is hard to say that it is possible to avoid a fine print setting deficiency that can only be found after confirming the printed matter. In the invention described in Patent Document 2, although a partially enlarged display is possible, it is not possible to grasp an image when the user actually performs printing. Therefore, as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the printed matter is confirmed. It is hard to say that it is possible to avoid the fine print settings that can be discovered for the first time.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 3, it is possible to confirm an entire image of a printed matter and an image having the same size as that actually printed, but it is assumed that printing is performed with a predetermined print setting of a predetermined printer. It is. Therefore, there is a problem that previews corresponding to various printers connected to the network and various print settings (paper size, resolution, etc.) cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is approximately the same size as a result of printing document data with a desired print setting using a desired printer among a plurality of printers connected via a network. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print preview system, a server, a print preview method, and a program that can perform a print preview.

  The print preview system according to claim 1, wherein the print preview system includes a display device and a server to which a plurality of printers are connected, and the display device has a paper size that can be printed by the plurality of printers. Display means having a smaller size, display control means for displaying an image on the display means, selection means for selecting a printer and a paper size from the plurality of printers, and transmitting the selected printer and paper size to the server Display device side transmission / reception means, and the server includes server-side transmission / reception means for receiving the transmitted printer and paper size, acquisition means for acquiring document data to be printed, and information relating to the display means. Certain display device information, and information regarding the plurality of printers, the printer and the print settings of the printers. The storage means storing the associated printer information, the stored display device information, and the stored printer information, which is obtained based on the printer information about the selected printer. Image generating means for generating an image from the obtained document data, wherein an image displayed on the display means in a size substantially the same as a printed matter obtained by printing the acquired document data with the selected printer and paper size. Image generation means for generating, the server-side transmission / reception means transmits the generated image to the display device, the display device-side transmission / reception means receives the transmitted image, and the display control The means displays the received image on the display means.

  According to the print preview system of the first aspect, when the printer and the paper size are selected from the display device, the selected printer and the paper size are received by the server. Document data to be printed is acquired, and an image is generated from the acquired document data. The image is an image that is displayed on the display means in a size substantially the same as the printed matter obtained by printing the acquired document data with the selected printer and paper size, and the stored display device information and the printer of the selected printer Generated based on information. The generated image is transmitted to the display device and displayed on the display means. Thereby, the user can confirm the actual size image of the printed matter before printing. In addition, since a print image with the same size as the printed material is displayed, it is confirmed before printing that the document file contains characters that are not supported and the characters are not printed correctly or the table layout changes. can do.

  The print preview system according to claim 2 is the print preview system according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores a resolution as the display device information, and stores a paper size and a resolution as the print settings. The first paper size is calculated based on the selected paper size, the stored resolution of the display means, and the stored resolution based on the selected printer and paper size. Pixel number calculating means; and second pixel number calculating means for calculating the number of pixels of the preview image based on the calculated number of pixels and the ratio of the resolution of the printer and the resolution of the display means, The image generation means generates an image from the acquired document data with the calculated number of pixels of the preview image.

  According to the print preview system of the second aspect, the number of pixels of the printed matter is calculated based on the selected paper size, the resolution of the display means, and the resolution of the selected printer and paper size. Further, the number of pixels of the preview image is calculated based on the calculated number of pixels of the printed matter and the ratio between the resolution of the printer and the resolution of the display unit. Then, an image is generated from the document data acquired with the calculated number of pixels of the preview image. As a result, it is possible to generate an image to be displayed on the display unit in a size substantially the same as the printed matter in which the document data is printed with the selected printer and paper size.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print preview system according to the first or second aspect, the number of pixels is stored as the display device information in the storage unit, and based on the stored number of pixels. A cut-out unit that generates a cut-out image in which a region that can be displayed on the display unit is cut out from the image generated by the image generation unit; and the server-side transmission / reception unit transmits the cut-out image to the display device. Features.

  According to the print preview system of the third aspect, a cut-out image in which a region that can be displayed on the display unit is cut out from the image generated based on the stored number of pixels is generated, and the cut-out image is transmitted to the display device. The As a result, it is only necessary to transmit the minimum necessary image, and the transmission time and fee can be reduced.

  A print preview system according to a fourth aspect is the print preview system according to the third aspect, wherein the image generation means is an image having a size such that the entire selected document data is displayed on the display means. A reduced image generating unit that generates a reduced image from the document data; and a combining unit that combines the reduced image with the image cut out by the cutout unit. The server-side transmitting unit is configured to combine the reduced image. The extracted cut-out image is transmitted.

  According to the print preview system according to claim 4, a reduced image that is an image having a size such that the entire selected document data is displayed on the display unit is generated from the document data, and the reduced image is converted into the cut-out image. Are combined, and a cut-out image obtained by combining the reduced images is transmitted to the display device. Thus, the user can check the entire layout of the printed matter before printing in addition to the actual size image.

  The print preview system according to claim 5 is the print preview system according to claim 4, wherein the reduced image generation unit generates an image in which a frame indicating a position of the cut-out image is superimposed on the reduced image. Features.

  According to the print preview system of the fifth aspect, an image in which a frame indicating the position of the clipped image is superimposed on the reduced image is generated. Thereby, the user can confirm in which area of the whole the cutout image is located before printing.

  The print preview system according to claim 6 is the print preview system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the display device includes an input unit that inputs an instruction to move the image displayed on the display unit. The display-side transmission / reception means transmits the input movement instruction to the server, the server-side transmission / reception means receives the transmitted movement instruction, and the cut-out means receives the received movement instruction. A cut-out image is generated based on the above.

  According to the print preview system of the sixth aspect, when a movement instruction is input from the display device, the movement instruction is received by the server, and a cut-out image is generated based on the received movement instruction. Thus, a full-size image at an arbitrary position can be confirmed before printing.

  The print preview system according to claim 7 is the print preview system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the server detects that a new printer is connected and print settings of the new printer. It comprises a detecting means, and the storage means stores the detected new printer in association with the print setting of the new printer in the printer information.

  According to the print preview system of the seventh aspect, when a new printer is connected and print settings of the new printer are detected, these are associated and stored in the printer information. As a result, it is possible to perform a full-size print preview corresponding to all printers connected to the server and all print settings. In addition, when a printer is connected to the server, a full-size print preview can be automatically performed.

  A server described in claim 8 constitutes a print preview system described in claims 1-7.

  10. The print preview method according to claim 9, wherein a selection input of a printer and a paper size is received, and a resolution of a printed matter printed by the selected and input printer, a resolution of a display unit, and a number of pixels are acquired. Acquiring document data to be printed, and generating an image from the acquired document data based on the acquired resolution of the printed matter, the resolution of the display means, and the number of pixels. Generating an image to be displayed on the display means with substantially the same size as the printed data printed on the selected printer and paper size, and based on the obtained number of pixels of the display means Cutting the generated image, and displaying the cut image on the display means. And butterflies.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computing device to execute the print preview method according to the ninth aspect.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform a print preview with substantially the same size as a result of printing document data with a desired print setting using a desired printer among a plurality of printers connected via a network. .

It is the schematic of the server which comprises the print preview system 1 to which this invention was applied. It is an example of a terminal information table. It is an example of a printer information table. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile terminal constituting a print preview system 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the print preview system 1 displays a preview image. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which produces | generates a preview image. It is a schematic diagram explaining the production | generation of a preview image. It is a display example of a preview image. (A) is a display example of a preview image before a movement instruction is input, and (b) is a display example of a preview image after a movement instruction is input.

  The print preview system 1 mainly includes a server 10 and a mobile terminal 20. One or more portable terminals 20 may be connected to the server 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the server 10 mainly includes a CPU 11, a document selection unit 12, a printer control unit 13, a printer information acquisition unit 14, an image generation unit 15, a terminal information acquisition unit 16, and a memory 17. And the communication unit 18.

  The CPU 11 functions as a control unit that performs overall control of the overall operation of the server 10 and also functions as a calculation unit that performs various calculation processes. The CPU 11 has a memory area for storing firmware, which is a control program, a browser, which is a program for displaying a web page, and various data necessary for control. The CPU 11 has a memory area used as a work area for the CPU 11 and a temporary storage area for image data for display.

  The document selection unit 12 acquires document data of a desired document from the document database (DB) 30. The document selected by the document selection unit 12 is output to the image generation unit 15. The document DB 30 is a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk drive. The document DB 30 stores a plurality of document files in various file formats (word, Excel, pdf, etc.). The document DB 30 may be provided inside the server 10 or may be connected to the server 10 via a network or the like.

  A plurality of printers such as printers 31, 32, 33,... Are connected to the printer control unit 13 and the printer information acquisition unit 14 via a network or the like. The printer control unit 13 outputs image data to be printed (hereinafter referred to as print data) to a predetermined printer. When a new printer is connected, the printer control unit 13 detects that the printer is connected and outputs the information to the printer information acquisition unit 14.

  The printer information acquisition unit 14 acquires printer information (described later in detail) of the printer detected by the printer control unit 13 from the printers 31, 32, 33,... Or a server connected via a network or the like. The printer information acquisition unit 14 outputs the acquired printer information to the memory 17 and updates the printer information table by adding the acquired printer information to the printer information table (detailed later).

  The image generation unit 15 prints an image for printing (hereinafter referred to as print data) from document data acquired by the document selection unit 12 based on a terminal information table and a printer information table (to be described in detail later) stored in the memory 17. Is generated. In addition, the image generation unit 15 displays an image (hereinafter, referred to as “image” displayed on the display unit 22 with the same size as the printed matter on which the print data is printed, as an image to be displayed on the display unit 22 (detailed later) of the mobile terminal 20. A print image) and an image in which the entire print image is reduced and displayed on the display unit 22 (hereinafter referred to as a reduced image). The print image is for confirming the contents of the printed material, and the reduced image is for confirming the layout of the document file. The image generation unit 15 stores the generated print data, print image, and reduced image in the memory area of the CPU 11. Since the method for generating print data is already known, a description thereof will be omitted. A method for generating a print image and a reduced image will be described in detail later.

  The terminal information acquisition unit 16 determines the model of the mobile terminal 20 based on the mobile terminal information transmitted from the mobile terminal 20. The terminal information acquisition unit 16 acquires information related to the mobile terminal 20 from the printer information table stored in the memory 17 based on the determination result of the model of the mobile terminal 20.

  The memory 17 stores a terminal information table and a printer information table. In the terminal information table, as shown in FIG. 2, mobile terminal information (for example, terminal unique ID, user agent) and information on the display unit of the mobile terminal (for example, the number of horizontal pixels (pixels), the number of vertical pixels (pixels) ) And resolution (dpi)) are registered in association with each other. In the printer information table, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer ID, print settings (print size indicating the size of the paper to be printed, resolution, page orientation indicating the direction in which the paper is output during printing, etc.), printing Corresponding fonts indicating possible font information are registered in association with each other. The terminal information table stores all information of portable terminals that can be connected to the server 10, and the printer information table stores information about all printers connected to the server 10 and all selectable print settings. Information is stored. The terminal information table and the printer information table are examples, and the mobile terminal information and the information related to the display unit of the mobile terminal are not limited to this form, and the contents stored in the printer information table are not limited to this form.

  The communication unit 18 is a broadband compatible modem or the like.

  The mobile terminal 20 is a mobile phone, for example, and is connected to the server 10 via a network. As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile terminal 20 mainly includes a CPU 21, a display unit 22, an input unit 23, a display control unit 24, a terminal information storage unit 25, and a communication unit 26. Other configurations and functions of the mobile terminal 20 are already known and will not be described.

  The CPU 21 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 20 and functions as an arithmetic unit that performs various arithmetic processes. The CPU 21 has a memory area in which programs necessary for various controls of the mobile terminal 20 are stored.

  The display unit 22 is a liquid crystal display capable of color display. The size of the display unit 22 is smaller than all paper sizes that can be printed by the printers 31, 32, 33,..., For example, 50 mm long and 35 mm wide. The display unit 22 is not limited to a liquid crystal display, and an organic EL or the like may be used.

  The input unit 23 is used by the user to input various instructions such as printer selection and print settings, and includes a numeric keypad, a cross key, a call button, and the like.

  The display control unit 24 causes the display unit 22 to display the preview screen transmitted from the server 10. In addition, the display control unit 24 executes the application transmitted from the server 10 and causes the display unit 22 to display the image data transmitted from the server 10.

  The terminal information storage unit 25 stores mobile terminal information of the mobile terminal 20.

  The communication unit 26 performs wireless communication between the mobile terminal 20 and the base station.

  The operation of the print preview system 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for performing a print preview on the mobile terminal 20.

  The CPU 21 of the mobile terminal 20 connects to the server 10 and transmits the mobile terminal information stored in the terminal information storage unit 25 to the server 10 (step S10). In the present embodiment, a model name and a user agent are transmitted as portable terminal information. The transmitted mobile terminal information is input to the CPU 11 and temporarily stored in the memory area of the CPU 11.

  When the user operates the input unit 23, the CPU 21 operates the document selection unit 12 via the CPU 11, and the document selection unit 12 selects a document to be printed from the documents stored in the document DB 30 (step S11).

  When the user operates the input unit 23, the CPU 21 operates the printer control unit 13 via the CPU 11, and the printer control unit 13 selects a printer that outputs print data and print settings (paper size, resolution, etc.). (Step S12). The selection of the printer and the selection of the print setting are performed from the information stored in the printer information table stored in the memory 17. Specifically, first, the printer control unit 13 makes it possible to select a printer stored in the printer information table. When the printer 31 (printer ID is “P1”) is selected and input by the input unit 23, the printer control unit 13 displays a list of print settings with the printer ID “P1” from the information stored in the printer information table. Selectable. The print setting is selected by the input unit 23 from among them. In the present embodiment, “A4” is selected as the paper size from among the paper sizes (A3, A4, A5, B5, postcards, etc.) that the printer 31 can print, and “700 (dpi)” as the resolution. Is selected.

  The information selected in steps S11 and S12 is input to the CPU 11, temporarily stored in the memory area of the CPU 11, and input to the image generation unit 15. The CPU 11 acquires the document file of the document selected in step S <b> 11 from the document DB 30 via the document selection unit 12 and inputs it to the image generation unit 15. The image generation unit 15 generates a print image from the input document file based on the information in the input printer information table (step S13).

  Regarding a method for generating a print image, the printer ID is “P1”, the print size is “A4”, the resolution is “700 (dpi)”, the page orientation is “vertical”, and the supported font is “Mincho, Gothic” ( A case will be described in detail with reference to the case where the input (see the third line in FIG. 3) is input.

  The image generation unit 15 calculates the number of pixels of the printed material, that is, the print data, according to Equation 1. In this embodiment, the number of horizontal pixels = 210 (mm) × 700 (dot / inch) × 0.039 (inch / mm) = 5787 (pixel), the number of vertical pixels = 297 (mm) × 700 (dot / inch) × It is calculated as 0.039 (inch / mm) = 8185 (pixels).

[Equation 1]
Number of pixels = paper size (mm) x resolution (dot / inch) x 0.039 (inch / mm)
The image generation unit 15 converts the input document file into an image and generates print data so that the calculated number of pixels is obtained. At this time, if the image does not fit in one image, a plurality of print images are generated. In this embodiment, since the page orientation is “vertical”, if the document file data is horizontally long, two print data are generated. When the document file includes a table, the layout of the table is changed depending on the relationship between the position of the table and the number of pixels of the printed material, and a print image is generated.

  Further, the image generation unit 15 determines whether or not the character included in the document file is a compatible font in the printer information table. If the character included in the document file is not a compatible font, the character cannot be read. The print data is generated by substituting for a character (for example, “·”). In the present embodiment, since the supported font is “Mincho, Gothic”, characters other than the Mincho and Gothic characters in the document file are replaced with unreadable characters.

  Based on the mobile terminal information temporarily stored in the memory area of the CPU 11, the CPU 11 stores information related to the display unit of the mobile terminal 20 (number of horizontal pixels, number of vertical pixels, resolution) from the terminal information table stored in the memory 17. Is acquired (step S14). For example, when the terminal model name is “moba1” and the user agent is “ua1”, information that the horizontal pixel number is “240”, the vertical pixel number is “480”, and the resolution is “170” is acquired.

  The CPU 11 inputs the acquired information to the image generation unit 15. The image generation unit 15 generates a preview image based on the input information, and the CPU 11 transmits the preview image to the mobile terminal 20 (step S15). Hereinafter, the generation of the preview image will be specifically described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of preview image generation processing.

  First, the image generation unit 15 generates the print generated in step S13 so that the document selected in step S11 is displayed on the display unit 22 in the same size as the printed material printed using the printer selected in step S12. The data size is converted (enlarged or reduced) (step S20). This size conversion is performed using a conversion coefficient determined by the ratio of the resolution of the printed matter and the resolution of the display unit 22 of the mobile terminal 20 as shown in Equation 2.

[Equation 2]
Conversion coefficient = resolution of portable terminal / resolution of printed matter In the present embodiment, as the resolution of the portable terminal, information having a resolution of “170” is acquired in step S14. Therefore, the conversion rate is calculated as 170 (dpi) / 700 (dpi) = 0.24. The image generation unit 15 calculates the number of pixels of the print image by adding the conversion coefficient to the number of pixels calculated in step S13. The number of horizontal pixels is calculated as 5787 (pixels) × 0.24 = 1388 (pixels), and the number of vertical pixels is calculated as 8185 (pixels) × 0.24 = 1964 (pixels). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the image generation unit 15 reduces the print data so as to obtain the calculated number of pixels by a method such as pixel thinning, and generates a print image. Thus, by converting the print data based on the resolution of the portable terminal and the resolution of the printed material, the size of the print image when displayed on the display unit 22 is independent of the printer, print settings, display unit specifications, and the like. The height can be made substantially the same as the printed matter. Note that the print data enlargement / reduction method is not limited to pixel thinning, and various known methods can be used.

  Since the size of the display unit 22 is smaller than the size of the printed matter, the image generation unit 15 cuts out a part of the print image whose size has been converted in step S <b> 21 so as to fit in the display unit 22 of the mobile terminal 20. An image is generated (step S21). In the present embodiment, as the number of pixels of the mobile terminal, information that the horizontal pixel number is “240” and the vertical pixel number is “480” is acquired in step S14. For example, an area of 240 pixels in the horizontal direction and 480 pixels in the vertical direction is cut out with reference to a pixel located in the approximate center of the print image) to generate a cut-out image.

  The image generation unit 15 generates a reduced image. At this time, the image generation unit 15 generates a reduced image in which frames indicating the positions of the cutout images are superimposed based on the position information of the areas cut out in step S21 (step S22). For example, the print image is reduced so that the number of pixels of the print image is approximately half of the number of vertical pixels and the number of horizontal pixels acquired in step S14, that is, the reduced image is displayed in an approximately 1/4 area of the display unit 22. .

  The image generating unit 15 generates a preview image by superimposing the cutout image generated in step S21 and the reduced image generated in step S22 (step S23).

  The preview image generated in this way is transmitted to the mobile terminal 20. The display control unit 24 receives the transmitted preview image and displays it on the display unit 22 (step S16). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, a preview image in which a reduced image on which a frame indicating the clipped position is displayed is superimposed on the actual size print image is displayed on the display unit 22 of the mobile terminal 20. Therefore, it is possible to perform a print preview with substantially the same size as the printed material. In addition, since the size of characters in the printed material is substantially the same as the size of characters in the cut-out image displayed on the display unit, garbled characters and the like can be confirmed at the print preview stage.

  When the user operates the input unit 23 of the mobile terminal 20, an instruction to move a full-size print image is input to the CPU 21. The movement direction and the movement amount are input as the movement instruction, and when the movement instruction is input, the CPU 21 transmits the input movement direction and movement amount to the server 10.

  The CPU 11 of the server 10 receives this and inputs the received movement direction and movement amount to the image generation unit 15. The image generation unit 15 generates a new preview image based on the input movement direction and movement amount.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing changes in the preview image before and after the input of the movement instruction. (A) is a preview image before the movement instruction is input, and (b) is a preview image after the movement instruction is input.

  When an upward movement instruction and an amount of movement are input in the state shown in FIG. 9A, the image generation unit 15 inputs the movement input from the cut-out position from the print image when the currently displayed preview image is created. Re-cut the print image at the position moved upward by the amount. At the same time, the position of the frame displayed on the reduced image is moved. Then, the preview image is updated by superimposing the reprinted print image and the reduced image after the frame position is moved. The updated preview image is output to the portable terminal 20, and the updated preview image is displayed on the display unit 22 as shown in FIG. Thus, a full-size image at a desired position can be confirmed before printing. Further, a desired area of the print image can be confirmed without transmitting / receiving the entire print image. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the time required for communication and to reduce the charge for communication compared to the case of transmitting and receiving the entire print image.

  According to the present embodiment, since the document is displayed on the display unit 22 of the mobile terminal 20 with the same size as the printed material, the user can check the actual size image of the printed material.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the reduced image is displayed on the display unit 22 of the mobile terminal 20, the user can check the entire layout of the printed matter. Further, since a frame is displayed on the reduced image, the user can confirm in which region of the whole the cut out portion is located.

  In the present embodiment, since a print image having a size substantially the same as that of the printed material is displayed, characters not corresponding to the document file are not printed correctly, the table layout is changed, etc. Defects can be confirmed before printing.

  Further, in this embodiment, in all cases where a printer whose information is stored in the printer information table and print settings are used, a print preview can be performed with substantially the same size as the printed matter. In other words, a full-size print preview is possible corresponding to all printers connected to the server and all print settings. In addition, since a printer information table is updated when a new printer is connected, a full-size print preview can be automatically performed only by connecting the printer to the server.

  In the present embodiment, a preview image in which a reduced image on which a frame indicating the cut-out position is displayed is superimposed on the cut-out image is transmitted from the server 10 to the mobile terminal 20, but this is a method for transmitting the preview image. Not limited to. For example, a reduced image in which a frame indicating the cut-out position is displayed and a cut-out image may be transmitted from the server 10, and the display control unit 24 may superimpose them and display them on the display unit 22. Further, the reduced image, the cutout image, and the cut out position information are transmitted from the server 10, and the display control unit 24 superimposes the reduced image and the cutout image on the display unit 22 and displays them based on the position information. A frame may be displayed on the reduced image.

  In this embodiment, the preview image obtained by superimposing the reduced image and the cutout image is displayed on the display unit 22. However, the display of the reduced image is not essential, and only the cutout image may be used as the preview image. When the reduced image is not displayed, the layout cannot be confirmed, but the printed image can be easily viewed because it is not disturbed by the reduced image.

  In this embodiment, the reduced image is displayed on the upper right side of the display unit 22. However, the display position of the reduced image is not limited to the upper right side, but may be various positions such as the lower right, the right center, the upper left, the lower left, and the lower left center. Can be displayed. When the reduced image and the cut-out image are separately transmitted from the server 10, the display control unit 24 may change the display position of the reduced image in accordance with the input from the input unit 23.

  In the present embodiment, the cut print image is transmitted from the server 10 to the portable terminal 20, but the entire print image may be transmitted. In this case, the display control unit 24 of the mobile terminal 20 may display a part of the print image on the display unit 22. In this case, the viewing position of the print image can be moved only by the mobile terminal 20.

  In the present embodiment, a system including a server and a mobile terminal has been described as an example. However, only the server can be provided. It can also be provided as a program applied to a server.

  In the present embodiment, a mobile phone is used as the mobile terminal 20, but not limited to a mobile phone, various mobile devices such as a PDA can be used. Moreover, not only a portable apparatus but display apparatuses, such as a monitor attached to a printer, can also be used. That is, as the portable terminal 20, any form of device may be applied as long as it is a display device that cannot print preview a document file such as pdf and has a display unit smaller than the paper size. . In addition, the communication units 28 and 26 are not limited to wireless communication, and may perform wired communication such as an optical communication network or a cable network.

  1: print preview system, 10: server, 11: CPU, 12: document selection unit, 13: printer control unit, 14: printer information acquisition unit, 15: image generation unit, 16: terminal information acquisition unit, 17: memory, 18 communication unit, 20: mobile terminal, 21: CPU, 22: display unit, 23: input unit, 24: display control unit, 25: terminal information storage unit, 26: communication unit

Claims (10)

A print preview system comprising a display device and a server to which a plurality of printers are connected,
The display device
Display means having a size smaller than the paper size printable by the plurality of printers;
Display control means for displaying an image on the display means;
Selecting means for selecting a printer and a paper size from the plurality of printers;
Display device side transmission / reception means for transmitting the selected printer and paper size to the server,
The server
Server-side transmission / reception means for receiving the transmitted printer and paper size;
Acquisition means for acquiring document data to be printed;
Storage means for storing display device information, which is information relating to the display means, and information relating to the plurality of printers, wherein the printer information is associated with the printer and the print settings of the printer;
Image generating means for generating an image from the acquired document data based on the stored display device information and the stored printer information and printer information about the selected printer; Image generation means for generating an image to be displayed on the display means in a size substantially the same as a printed matter obtained by printing the acquired document data with the selected printer and paper size,
The server side transmitting / receiving means transmits the generated image to the display device,
The display device side transmission / reception means receives the transmitted image,
The print preview system, wherein the display control means displays a received image on the display means. In the storage means, a resolution is stored as the display device information, a paper size and a resolution are stored as the print settings,
The first paper size is calculated based on the selected paper size, the stored resolution of the display means, and the stored resolution based on the resolution of the selected printer and paper size. Pixel number calculating means;
Second pixel number calculating means for calculating the number of pixels of the preview image based on the calculated number of pixels of the printed matter and the ratio of the resolution of the printer and the resolution of the display means,
The print preview system according to claim 1, wherein the image generation unit generates an image from the acquired document data with the calculated number of pixels of the preview image. The storage means stores the number of pixels as the display device information,
A cutout unit that generates a cutout image in which an area that can be displayed on the display unit is cut out from an image generated by the image generation unit based on the stored number of pixels;
The print preview system according to claim 1, wherein the server-side transmitting / receiving unit transmits the cut-out image to the display device. The image generating means includes
Reduced image generation means for generating a reduced image that is an image having a size such that the entire selected document data is displayed on the display means;
Combining means for combining the reduced image with the image cut out by the cut-out means,
The print preview system according to claim 3, wherein the server-side transmission unit transmits a cut-out image obtained by combining the reduced images.   The print preview system according to claim 4, wherein the reduced image generation unit generates an image in which a frame indicating a position of the cutout image is superimposed on the reduced image. The display device includes input means for inputting an instruction to move the image displayed on the display means,
The display device side transmission / reception means transmits the input movement instruction to the server,
The server side transmitting / receiving means receives the transmitted movement instruction,
6. The print preview system according to claim 3, wherein the clipping unit generates a clipped image based on the received movement instruction. The server includes detection means for detecting that a new printer is connected and print settings of the new printer,
7. The print preview system according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the detected new printer in association with the print setting of the new printer in the printer information.   A server constituting the print preview system according to claim 1. Receiving a printer and paper size selection input;
Obtaining the resolution of the printed matter printed by the selected and inputted printer, the resolution of the display means and the number of pixels;
Obtaining document data to be printed;
Generating an image from the acquired document data based on the resolution of the acquired printed matter, the resolution of the display means, and the number of pixels, wherein the acquired document data is selected and input by the printer and the paper size. Generating an image to be displayed on the display means in substantially the same size as the printed matter printed in
Cutting out the generated image based on the acquired number of pixels of the display means;
Displaying the clipped image on the display means;
A print preview method comprising:   A program for causing a computing device to execute the print preview method according to claim 9.

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