JP2014229146A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a cutting-off position mark of a different post-processing device to be distinguished.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus has setting means for setting attribute information of the color or shape of a cutting-off position mark in each post-processing device, generation means for generating drawing data including the cutting-off position mark of the color or shape on the basis of the attribute information by the setting means, and transmission means for transmitting the drawing data generated by the generation means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Post-processing such as cutting, crease, perforation, stapling, punching, saddle stitching, and case binding may be performed on the output result paper printed by the printer.
In a post-process for post-processing, a post-processing device called a finisher such as a paper folding machine or a cutting machine is used, but these devices can be divided into three forms. One is a finisher that is connected to the printer via a paper conveyance path and automatically conveys the paper. This is called an “inline finisher”. The other is a finisher that is connected in the network but is not connected to the printer via a paper transport path, so the printed paper is not automatically transported and the operator needs to transport the printed material. , Called “Nearline Finisher”. Furthermore, it is a finisher that is not connected through a network and has no means for transmitting information, and is called an “offline finisher”.
Patent Document 1 describes that a plurality of finishers are designated and a registration mark is printed.

JP 2010-26578 A

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, there is a risk that it is difficult to understand which register mark (marking position mark) corresponds to which finisher.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to distinguish bleed position marks of different post-processing apparatuses.

  Therefore, the present invention includes setting means for setting attribute information of the color or shape of the bleed position mark for each post-processing device, and the bleed position mark of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting means. A generating unit configured to generate drawing data; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the drawing data generated by the generating unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to distinguish bleed position marks of different post-processing apparatuses.

It is a figure which shows an example of the software configuration of a document processing system. It is a figure for demonstrating the format of electronic manuscript data. It is a figure which shows an example of UI screen when a book file is newly created. It is a figure which shows an example of UI screen at the time of opening the designated book file. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a computer and a printer. FIG. 10 is a first diagram illustrating an example of window display; FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a window display of setting of the entire document. It is FIG. (1) which shows an example of window displays, such as a detailed setting. FIG. 10 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a window display for setting the entire document. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of “JDF output” window display (part 1); FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an example of “JDF output” window display (part 2); It is a flowchart for demonstrating a printing process. It is FIG. (2) which shows an example of a window display. FIG. 10 is a third diagram illustrating an example of a window for setting the entire document. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a nested imposition. It is a flowchart (the 1) of "layout data generation processing". It is a flowchart for demonstrating a nested imposition process. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a layout result. FIG. 10 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a layout result. FIG. 10 is a third diagram illustrating an example of a layout result. It is a figure (example 1) which shows an example of an output result. FIG. 10 is a third diagram illustrating an example of a window display. It is a figure (example 2) which shows an example of an output result. FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating an example of an output result; It is a figure which shows the other example of an output result. It is FIG. (2) which shows an example of window displays, such as a detailed setting. It is a figure which shows the case where the setting content of FIG. 24 is applied. It is a flowchart (the 2) of "layout data generation processing". It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detail of the color attribute change process of a registration mark. FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating an example of a window display of detailed settings and the like. It is a figure (example 1) which shows an example of an output result. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the printing surface determination process of a registration mark. It is a figure (example 2) which shows an example of an output result. FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating an example of an output result; It is a flowchart which shows an example of the printing surface determination process of a registration mark.

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

<< Embodiment 1 >>
<System overview>
The outline of the document processing system will be described below. In this document processing system, a data file created by an application is converted into an electronic document file by an electronic document writer. The bookbinding application provides a function for editing the electronic document file.

<System configuration and operation>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of a document processing system.
This document processing system is realized by a computer 100. The application 101 is an application that provides functions such as word processing and spreadsheet, and has a printing function. These applications use a predetermined interface provided by an operating system (OS) when printing application data such as created document data and image data. Then, the device driver generates a print job based on the application data.

  The electronic document writer 102 is not intended for a specific output device, and generates an electronic document file 103 that can be processed by a bookbinding application 104 and a printer driver 106 described later. The format converted by the electronic document writer 102 (hereinafter referred to as “electronic document format”) is not particularly limited as long as a document in units of pages can be expressed in a detailed format. Among substantial standard formats, for example, a PDF format, an SGML format, or the like can be adopted as an electronic document format. When the application 101 uses the electronic document writer 102, the electronic document writer 102 is designated as a device driver used for output, and printing is executed. The bookbinding application 104 completes the new electronic document file generated by the electronic document writer 102 as an electronic document file having a format to be described later. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to clearly identify this point, a file created by the electronic manuscript writer 102 will be referred to as an “electronic manuscript file”, and an electronic manuscript file given a structure by the bookbinding application 104 will be referred to as a “book”. Called “File”. If there is no need to distinguish between them, a document file, an electronic manuscript file, and a book file generated by an application are all referred to as a document file (or document data).

  As described above, the application data is converted into an electronic document format in units of pages defined by the application 101 (hereinafter referred to as “logical pages” or “document pages”), and the electronic document file 103 is stored as a storage medium such as a hard disk. Stored in The hard disk may be a local drive provided in a computer that implements the document processing system according to the present embodiment, or may be a drive provided on the network when connected to the network. Good.

The bookbinding application 104 reads a “electronic document file” or “book file” 103, and provides a function for editing the structure of a chapter or book, which will be described later, configured with a page as a minimum unit.
When the electronic document file 103 edited by the bookbinding application 104 is printed, the bookbinding application 104 activates the electronic document despooler 105. The electronic document despooler 105 generates an output command suitable for the OS output module from the designated book file, and outputs it to an output module (not shown). Then, using the printer driver 106 of the designated printer 107, the received output command is converted into a print job (also called a device command) that can be interpreted and executed by the printer 107. The device command is transmitted to the printer 107, and an image corresponding to the command is printed by the printer 107. The nearline finisher 108 is a post-processing device that post-processes the output product of the printer 107. The electronic document despooler 105 creates a job ticket for controlling the nearline finisher 108 based on a user instruction, and transmits it to the nearline finisher 108. The user sets the output output from the printer 107 on the nearline finisher 108. Then, based on the job ticket received from the electronic document despooler 105, the nearline finisher 108 performs post-processing processing on the set sheets of output products.
The printer 107 is an example of an image processing apparatus.

<Electronic manuscript data format>
The data format of the above “book file” will be described.
This book file has a three-layer structure. The upper layer is called a “book”, imitating one book, and attributes related to the whole book are defined. The middle layer below it corresponds to the chapter in the book and is also called “chapter”. For each “chapter”, attributes for each chapter can be defined. The lower layer is a “page” and corresponds to each page defined by the application. For each “page”, attributes for each page can be defined. One “book” may include a plurality of “chapter”, and one “chapter” may include a plurality of “pages”.
FIG. 2A schematically shows an example of a book file format. In the book file of this example, “book”, “chapter”, and “page” are indicated by corresponding nodes.

In FIG. 2A, a book attribute is defined in the book attribute 301 and two chapters 302A and 302B are linked. The chapter 302A is linked to pages 303A and 303B, indicating that these pages are included. Each page 303A, 303B is defined with an attribute value of the page, and includes links to the original page data (1), (2). These links indicate the original data (1) and (2) of the original page data 304 shown in FIG. 2B, and the entities of the pages 303A and 303B are the original page data (1) and (2). It is shown that.
Similarly, the chapter 302B includes pages 303C and 303D.

<Book file generation procedure>
In the case of new creation, the bookbinding application 104 displays a user interface (UI) screen for editing a new book file (FIG. 3A). On the other hand, when opening an existing book file, the bookbinding application 104 opens the designated book file and displays a user interface (UI) screen shown in FIG. 3B according to the structure, attributes, and contents of the book file. The UI screen 1100 includes a tree portion 1101 that shows the book structure and a preview portion 1102 that displays the printed state.
Application data converted into an electronic manuscript file by the electronic manuscript writer 102 can be added to the opened book file as a new chapter. This function is called “electronic document import function”. This function is activated by dragging and dropping application data on the screen of FIG. 3B.

<Output book file>
The book file is intended for printed output. When the user selects a file menu from the UI screen 1100 of the bookbinding application shown in FIG. 3 and selects printing from the file menu, printing is performed by the designated output device.
<Other system configurations>
The outline of the document processing system is as described above. This is a stand-alone system, but a book file is created and edited in almost the same configuration and procedure even in an extended server / client system. However, book files and print processing are managed by the server.

Next, the hardware configuration of the computer 100 and the printer 107 will be described. Note that the printer 107 can be applied to either a local printer directly connected to the computer 100 or a printer connected via a network.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the computer 100 and the printer 107. As long as the functions according to the present embodiment are executed, a single device or a system composed of a plurality of devices can be connected and processed via a network such as a LAN or WAN. It may be a system.
The CPU 201 executes programs such as the OS, the application 101, and the bookbinding application 104 that are stored in the program ROM of the ROM 203 or loaded from the hard disk 211 to the RAM 202. As a result, the software configuration of FIG. 1 and the processing of the flowchart described later are realized. Note that the information processing apparatus includes at least one CPU 201.
A RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201.
A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls key input from a keyboard 209 or a pointing device (not shown).
A CRT controller (CRTC) 206 controls display on the display unit 210. The display unit 210 is not limited to a CRT, and may be a display such as a liquid crystal or plasma.

A disk controller (DKC) 207 controls access to a hard disk (HD) 211 that stores a boot program, various application programs, font data, and the like, a flexible disk (FD) (not shown), and the like.
The PRTC 208 controls the exchange of signals with the connected printer 107.
The NC 212 is connected to the network and executes communication control processing with other devices connected to the network.
For example, the bookbinding application 104 causes the display unit 210 to display the operation screen illustrated in FIG. A major difference between the bookbinding application 104 and the general-purpose application 101 is that the bookbinding application 104 has a print setting function that the printer driver 106 should provide. With this print setting function, the bookbinding application 104 can do the following. In other words, unlike the application 101, the bookbinding application 104 sets function settings in the printer 107 such as stapling and punching holes in an electronic manuscript file in addition to editing functions such as changing the page order of documents, copying (copying), and deleting. Can be done against. Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 can print using the designated printer.

The printer 107 is controlled by the CPU 312. The function of the printer 107 is realized by the CPU 312 executing processing based on the program ROM of the ROM 313 and the control program stored in the external memory 314 and loaded in the RAM 319. Further, when the CPU 312 executes the process, an image signal as output information is output to a printing unit (printer engine) 317 connected to the system bus 315.
The font ROM of the ROM 313 stores font data used when generating the output information. The data ROM of the ROM 313 stores information used by the computer 100 in the case of a printer not provided with an external memory 314 such as a hard disk.

The CPU 312 can perform communication processing with the computer 100 via the input unit 318.
When the CPU 312 executes processing based on a program stored in a program ROM or the like, functions of the printer 107 described later (for example, functions related to print control based on drawing data) and the like are realized.
The nearline finisher has a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, like the printer 107. By performing processing based on a program stored in the CPU of the nearline finisher, the ROM of the nearline finisher, the external memory, or the like, the function of the nearline finisher described later is realized.

<Printing with printer and nearline finisher>
The bookbinding application 104 can collectively instruct the printer and the nearline finisher using a JDF format job ticket when it is desired to create a product by combining the printer and the nearline finisher. Here, JDF is an abbreviation for Job Definition Format. JDF is an industry standard job ticket. By using this JDF format, it is becoming easier to centrally manage and automate the processes from client submission, prepress, press, and postpress. Here, a setting process required through the UI of the bookbinding application 104 for the user to instruct the printer and the nearline finisher to perform printing and post-processing processing collectively will be described.

FIG. 5A is a view showing an example of a “printer selection” window display by the bookbinding application 104. The user can select a printer used for printing the book file and a nearline finisher used for post-processing after printing. In FIG. 5A, reference numeral 501 denotes an area for designating a printer to be used for printing. In addition, “Perform the post-process with a nearline finisher” 502 is a check box for setting whether or not a finishing instruction to the nearline finisher is also given when printing is performed. Reference numeral 503 denotes an area for designating the type of the nearline finisher, which is displayed only when the check box 502 is turned on.
FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a window display when the “print style” menu is selected on the UI screen 1100. The user can display the “whole document setting” window of FIG. 6 by selecting the “whole document setting” button 504 in the print appearance menu on the application operation screen.

The “whole document setting” window in FIG. 6 includes six sheets of paper setting, page setting, finishing, editing, paper feeding, and print quality. In the window of FIG. 6, the user can display / set “book attribute 301” that affects the entire document such as “finish size attribute”, “imposition type attribute”, and “finishing attribute”.
The window in FIG. 6 shows a state in which a paper setting sheet is displayed. In this sheet, the user can mainly make settings for determining the layout on the output sheet. More specifically, output paper size and orientation, finished size and orientation, imposition type, number of pages (number of pages placed on the surface of the paper), register mark addition, bleed width, etc. It can be performed. Further, the user can activate the window of FIG. 7 from the sheet setting sheet.

FIG. 7A shows a “finish size designation” window that is activated when the user clicks the “user definition” button 601 in FIG. The user can specify the final finished size after cutting and binding the output sheet in the window of FIG. 7A by width X mm and height Y mm. The finished size specified here is the size of the finished page used for the paper layout in the bookbinding application 104. The finished size can be registered as a template in the client PC. The output paper size is the size of paper used for printing by the printer 107. On the other hand, the finished size is an item for designating the final product size after all the post-processing such as bookbinding and cutting is performed on the paper output from the printer by the finisher.
FIG. 7B is a “register mark setting” window that is activated when the user clicks the “detailed setting” button 602 in FIG. 6. The “Register Mark Settings” window is used to specify detailed settings for register marks and specify the trimming width at the top / bottom / left / right sides (top / bottom / throat / small edge in the case of bookbinding). It is. For example, when printing a registration mark on a finished page, the user can designate the type of registration mark to be printed from among a corner registration mark, a center registration mark, a folding registration mark, etc. Further, when it is desired to specify the trimming width for each side of the finished page, the user can individually specify each side of the finished page at 702.

(A) of FIG. 8 has shown the state which displayed the finishing sheet. In this sheet, the user can specify bookbinding details such as a paper discharge method, a binding margin / binding direction, an opening direction, and a gutter shift specification for saddle stitch binding. The user can also specify finishers such as cut, crease, stapling, saddle stitch binding, case binding, and three-way cutting when performing finish processing using the finisher.
FIG. 8B shows a state in which the page setting sheet is displayed. In the page setting sheet, the user can mainly make settings related to the layout in each finished page on the paper, and can instruct settings for N-page printing and document placement.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of “JDF output” window display by the bookbinding application 104. The user selects a file menu from the UI screen 1100 of the bookbinding application 104, and selects JDF output from the menu, so that FIG. 9A is displayed. With this window, the user can print the book file after setting in the window of FIG.
In FIG. 9A, 801 is an area for designating a “job name” and 802 is a “user name”. Both users can specify arbitrary character strings, and these pieces of information are also described in the JDF by the electronic document despooler 105. Reference numeral 803 denotes an area for designating a printer to be used for printing. In this case, a check box 804 is checked to check that “the post-process is performed with a near-line finisher”. As a result, only printing can be performed by the printer set in the area 803, and the finishing process can be performed by a dedicated nearline finisher.
Reference numeral 805 denotes an area for designating a nearline finisher to be finished, which is displayed only when the check box 804 is turned on. When the bookbinding application 104 starts the window shown in FIG. 9A, the following items are started in the state set in advance with the contents set in the “Select Printer” window shown in FIG. 5A. To do. The items are “printer name” 803, “post-process is performed by near line finisher” 804, and “near line finisher name” 805. The bookbinding application 104 starts a printing process in which a printer and a nearline finisher are combined when a print execution instruction is given by an OK button.
Details of FIG. 9B will be described later.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a printing process in which a printer and a nearline finisher are combined by the bookbinding application 104 of the document processing system. Each step of the flowchart of the present application is realized by the CPU 201 reading a program related to the processing from the memory and executing it.
When an instruction for printing is issued by pressing the OK button in the “JDF output” window of FIG. 9A, the bookbinding application 104 first creates drawing data and a job ticket from the book file in step 901, It is passed to the document despooler 105.
More specifically, the bookbinding application 104 generates drawing data including attribute information as shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 22A including the color of registration marks set in FIG. .
In the next step S902, the electronic document despooler 105 generates a JDF in which a print instruction is described, and transmits the JDF together with drawing data to the printer designated in the area 803 in FIG. 9A. As a result, printing is performed by the printer 107. Here, since the printer 107 and the nearline finisher 108 are not physically connected, the user needs to carry the printing paper output to the printer 107 to the nearline finisher 108.
In step S903, the electronic document despooler 105 generates a JDF in which a post-processing instruction is described, and sends the generated JDF to the nearline finisher 108, thereby giving a finishing instruction to the nearline finisher 108. More specifically, the electronic document despooler 105 generates a JDF including a cutting position parameter and the like.

<Printing with two or more nearline finishers>
The bookbinding application 104 can set two or more nearline finishers when it is desired to create a product by combining a printer and a nearline finisher.
FIG. 11A shows a window screen in which two or more near-line finishers can be set when it is desired to create a product by combining a printer and a near-line finisher.
The first finisher name 1001, the second finisher name 1002, and the third finisher name 1003 are areas for selecting a nearline finisher to be used for post-processing after printing. The user can increase the number of finishers that can be specified to an arbitrary number by clicking an “add finisher” button 1004. This example shows a state after the “finisher addition” button 1004 has been pressed twice, and it is possible to specify up to the third finisher. With this window, the bookbinding application 104 allows the user to set a plurality of post-processing nearline finishers for one book file. The user can specify the first, second, third or more finishers according to the type of post-processing step.

When a plurality of nearline finishers are designated, the bookbinding application 104 transmits a JDF describing only the finishing instructions required by each finisher to each nearline finisher. Reference numerals 1005 to 1007 denote areas for designating a finished size corresponding to each selected post-processing nearline finisher. The bookbinding application 104 generates each JDF to be transmitted as an instruction for the selected nearline finisher based on each finished size selected here.
Note that the user can select the same nearline finisher in the first to third finishers. For example, if it is desired to perform post-processing step by step in the same finisher, the same one may be selected. For example, it may be necessary to cut, perforate, or crease with a single nearline finisher, but cannot be done at once with the finisher specifications.

  FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of a window for designating a printer and two or more nearline finishers in the bookbinding application 104. In FIG. 9B, areas 806 to 808 are areas for designating the nearline finisher and are displayed only when the user turns on the check box 804. In FIG. 9B, unlike FIG. 9A, two or more post-processing nearline finishers can be designated. This example is a display example when the “JDF output” window is opened with the third finisher specified in the “Select Printer” window of FIG. 11A. Therefore, although the first to third finishers are set, the user can change the type of the finisher here. In addition, when the user presses the “add finisher” 809 button, three or more nearline finishers can be designated. Finally, when a print execution instruction is given by the OK button, the bookbinding application 104 starts a JDF printing process in which the printer and a plurality of nearline finishers are combined in the flow described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In order for a user to perform JDF printing combining a printer and a plurality of nearline finishers, different finishing settings must be made for each finisher. The bookbinding application 104 allows a user to set a plurality of “finished size attributes”, “imposition types”, “finishing attributes”, and the like for a book file. Based on the attributes set for the book file, the user generates a JDF including different finishing instructions for the plurality of nearline finishers specified in the “Select Printer” window in FIG. 11A by the user. ,Send.

Next, referring to FIG. 11B and FIG. 12, in the bookbinding application 104, the user can specify a plurality of “finished size attributes”, “imposition types”, and “finishing attributes” for the book file. Will be explained.
FIG. 11B shows that the “print style” menu is selected on the UI screen 1100 when the first to third finishers are designated in the “Select Printer” window of FIG. 11A. Shows when the widow.
When two or more nearline finishers are specified in the “Printer Selection” window shown in FIG. 11A, the bookbinding application 104 displays a plurality of “setting for the entire document” buttons. FIG. 11B shows a case where three nearline finishers are designated. Therefore, it can be seen that, in addition to the “whole document setting 1” button 1008, a “whole document setting 2” button 1009 and a “whole document setting 3” button 1010 are displayed in a newly selectable state.
The user can display a window screen in which the book attribute can be set from each of “Whole document setting 1” to “Whole document setting 3”. The user can set different attribute values on each screen, and the bookbinding application 104 can execute “finish size”, “imposition type”, “finishing” for one book file (print job). A plurality of combinations of book attributes such as “” can be set. Note that the bookbinding application 104 holds a plurality of book attributes in the book file (book attribute 1-3).

FIG. 12 is displayed when the “setting 2 for entire document” button 1009 is selected on the UI screen 1100. Note that when the “Whole document setting 1” button 1008 is selected, the “Whole document setting 1” window is displayed. The items that can be set in this window are the same as those described in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted.
In the “Whole Document Settings 2” window, the book file such as “Finish Size Attribute”, “Imposition Type Attribute”, “Finishing Attribute”, etc. is different for the book file than “Whole Document Setting 1”. Attribute value can be set. The book attribute is referred to as book attribute 2.

FIG. 12A shows a state in which a paper setting sheet is displayed. Unlike the “Setting for the entire document 1” window, a new “nesting” check box 1104 can be set. “Nesting” 1104 is a check box for setting whether or not to perform imposition of nesting, and is an item not included in the “setting of entire document 1” window. The “nesting” check box 1104 is an item that can be set only when two or more “finished size attributes” are set for the book file.
When the “nested attribute” is ON, the bookbinding application 104 performs the imposition of the finished page generated with the finished size set in the same book attribute as follows. That is, the bookbinding application 104 lays out the finished page in a finished page that is generated with the next largest finished size in the book file (among the finished sizes of other book attributes). Do. The finished page is a logical page having a finished size. Details of the nested imposition will be described later.
The output paper size attribute cannot be set in the “Whole document setting 2” window. This is because only one output paper size attribute is set for a book file. Other than that, the same book attributes can be set as in the “setting for the entire document 1” window described in FIG.

FIG. 12B shows an example of a state in which the finishing sheet of the “whole document setting 2” window is displayed. In the finishing sheet, the user can set items having the same book attributes as the finishing sheet in the “setting for the entire document 1” window. In the “Whole Document Setting 2” window, the user can set an attribute value different from “Whole Document Setting 1”, but, of course, can also set the same attribute value.
For example, when the user wants to cut the output paper from the printer in two stages using the cutting machine A, the user may set as follows. In other words, the user sets “automatically cut according to the finished size” as the finishing attribute for both the “sheet setting 1” finishing sheet and the “document setting 2” finishing sheet. do it.

  If the user changes the setting to use two or more nearline finishers to the setting to use only one nearline finisher, a UI screen other than “Whole document setting 1” (ie, “Whole document setting 2” or later) will be displayed. In 1100, setting is impossible. As a result, values other than book attribute 1 (that is, values set after book attribute 2) are invalidated as book files. Therefore, if the setting of the final product (setting regarding the minimum finished size) is set to other than the book attribute 1, the user needs to reset the setting value as the book attribute 1. Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 may also be used when the user changes from the setting of using two or more nearline finishers to the setting of using only one in the “Select Printer” window of FIG. Process as follows. That is, the bookbinding application 104 controls so that the book attribute value as the final product remains in the book file. More specifically, a case will be described in which the setting of using two or more nearline finishers is changed from the setting of using two or more nearline finishers to the setting of using only one by the user in the “Select Printer” window in FIG. . In this case, the bookbinding application 104 searches for a book attribute X including the minimum “finished size” in the book file. Then, the bookbinding application 104 determines that the attribute value of the retrieved book attribute X is an attribute value related to the final product, leaves it as the only book attribute of the book file, and invalidates other book attributes. In this way, when the user changes the number of nearline finishers from two or more to only one, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of resetting the setting of the final product in the “whole document setting” window.

When the user presses the OK button, the bookbinding application 104 closes the “setting of the entire document” screen of FIG. 12, but at this time checks whether there is a contradiction in the setting contents. First, the bookbinding application 104 checks whether nesting is set for the book file. Then, when the nesting setting is performed with a specific book attribute, the bookbinding application 104 checks whether or not a finished size larger than the finished size of the book attribute exists in the other book attributes. If it does not exist, the bookbinding application 104 determines that there is no finish page that can be nested, and changes the setting value of “nesting” of the corresponding book attribute to OFF.
Note that two or more “finished size attributes” are set in each window screen such as the “whole document setting 1” window and the “whole document setting 2” window. Then, the bookbinding application 104 displays the finished size 1, the finished size 2,... As selectable items in the areas 1005 to 1007 in FIG. In the areas 1005 to 1007, the user can assign a finished size that is the size of the product in each post-processing nearline finisher from the finished size 1, the finished size 2, and so on.

  The bookbinding application 104 acquires a book attribute including the finished size in accordance with the finished size corresponding to each nearline finisher set by the user, JDF for instructing each nearline finisher, drawing data to be output to the printer, Is generated. At this time, in FIG. 11A, the bookbinding application 104 generates JDFs in order from the near-line finisher having a larger finish size assigned by the user, and sequentially transmits the JDF to the near-line finisher. By doing so, the following problems can be prevented when post-processing is performed step by step with the same near-line finisher (when a plurality of the same near-line finishers are designated in FIG. 11A). In other words, the JDF including the instruction of the post-processing step to be performed later is transmitted to the nearline finisher 108 before the JDF including the instruction of the post-processing step to be performed first, so that the post-processing of the subsequent process is performed. Can be prevented from being executed first by mistake.

<Nested imposition>
As described above, when the “nesting” check box 1104 is ON, the bookbinding application 104 performs nested imposition for laying out (arranging) smaller finished pages in one finished page.
Here, the nested imposition processing in the bookbinding application 104 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the nested imposition.
First, in step S1201, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether two or more nearline finishers are selected for the book file. When two or more bookbinding applications 104 have not been selected, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the finish size attribute of the book attribute (in this case, since the book file includes one book attribute, there is also one finish size attribute value). Only). Then, the bookbinding application 104 generates a finished page having a finished size (step S1202).

The bookbinding application 104 acquires the “imposition type” attribute of the book attribute, and lays out (imposes) the finished page created in step 1202 based on the acquired “imposition type” attribute. The bookbinding application 104 generates drawing data to which the layout is applied (hereinafter referred to as layout data) (step S1203).
In step S1204, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the “output paper size” attribute from the book attribute, and renders the layout data generated in step S1203 on the physical page of the output paper size.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1201 that two or more nearline finishers are selected, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds to step S1206. In step S <b> 1206, the bookbinding application 104 performs “layout data generation processing” corresponding to a case where two or more nearline finishers are selected (considering post-processing of the nearline finisher twice or more). Do.
In step S1207, the bookbinding application 104 performs “nested imposition processing”, and the process advances to step S1205.
Finally, in step S1205, the bookbinding application 104 draws document page data at the center of the finished page and ends the process.

Next, details of the “layout data generation process” in step S1206 and details of the “nested imposition process” in step S1207 will be described.
<Layout data generation processing flow>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the “layout data generation process” in step S1206.
First, the bookbinding application 104 initializes the variable X with 1 in step S1301. Here, the Xth book attribute included in the book file is referred to as a book attribute X, and the finished size attribute value included in the book attribute X is referred to as a finished size X.
In step S1302, the bookbinding application 104 determines the book attribute including the smallest finished size attribute value from among a plurality of book attributes (book attribute 1, book attribute 2, book attribute 3,...) Held in the book file. Search for book attribute X). Then, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the finished size attribute included therein (the finished size included in the book attribute X is set as the finished size X).
Then, the bookbinding application 104 generates a finished page X having the acquired finished size X (step S1303).

Next, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the “imposition type” attribute of the book attribute X, and the layout data X obtained by laying out the finished page X created in step S1302 based on the acquired “imposition type” attribute. Generate (step S1304).
In step S1305, the bookbinding application 104 stores the finished page X and the layout data X in a book file in association with each other.
Here, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the “Nested” setting is included in the book attribute X acquired in step S1301 (step S1306). If the setting of “nesting” is included, the bookbinding application 104 sets the nesting flag of the layout data X to ON (step S1307), and proceeds to step S1308. If the “nesting” setting is not included, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds directly to step S1308.

In step S1308, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether there are other finish size attributes in the book file.
If there is a finished size attribute, in step S1309, the bookbinding application 104 increments the variable X by one, and the process returns to step S1302.
In step S1302, the bookbinding application 104 acquires a book attribute including the smallest finished size among the remaining finished sizes.
This is repeated until all the finished sizes included in the book file are exhausted.
As a result of the above processing, the bookbinding application 104 associates all finished sizes included in the book file with layout data imposing finished pages generated at each finished size, and saves them in the book file in ascending order of the finished sizes. .
That is, the bookbinding application 104 associates the finished sizes 1-3... With the layout data 1-3... And stores them in the book file in ascending order of the finished sizes.

<Nested imposition processing details flow>
Next, details of the nested imposition processing in step S1207 of FIG. 13 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Here, the layout data stored in association with the book attribute X, the finish size attribute value contained in the book attribute X, and the finished size X are stored in the book file. This is called data X.
First, the bookbinding application 104 initializes the variables i and X with 1 in step S1401.
In step S1402, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the layout data X generated in step S1206. Here, the layout data X is layout data X that is managed in association with the finished size X. Here, X = 1, and therefore means the layout data 1 in which the smallest finished size is laid out in the book file. To do. Then, the bookbinding application 104 temporarily stores the acquired layout data X as layout data Y (step S1403).

The bookbinding application 104 determines whether the nesting flag of the layout data X is ON (step S1404).
If the nesting flag is ON, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds to step S1405 and acquires layout data (X + i).
In step S1406, the bookbinding application 104 draws the layout data Y at the center of the finished page (X + i) laid out on the layout data (X + i). A plurality of finished pages may be laid out on the layout data. In this case, in step S1406, the bookbinding application 104 renders layout data Y for all finished pages (X + i).
The bookbinding application 104 overwrites and saves the rendered data as layout data Y (step S1407).
Here, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether there is any other layout data to be nested (that is, whether the nesting flag of the layout data (X + i) is OFF) (step S1408). If there is other layout data to be nested, the bookbinding application 104 increments i by one (step S1416) and returns to step S1405. The bookbinding application 104 repeats this until there is no layout data to be nested.
When there is no layout data to be nested, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds to step S1409, and changes the value of the variable X to X + i + 1.

On the other hand, if the nesting flag is OFF in step S1404, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds to step S1412 and acquires layout data (X + 1).
In step S1413, the bookbinding application 104 generates layout data in which the layout data Y and the layout data (X + 1) are drawn side by side. Then, the bookbinding application 104 temporarily stores the generated layout data as layout data Y (step S1414).
Here, the bookbinding application 104 increments the variable X by 1 (step S1417), and proceeds to step S1410.
If the bookbinding application 104 arranges the layout data Y and the layout data (X + i) in step S1413 and does not fit on one physical page, the bookbinding application 104 generates a new physical page and generates layout data (X + i). ).
In step S1410, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether there is layout data X. If there is, the process proceeds to step S1411, and the bookbinding application 104 performs a process of acquiring the layout data X. Then, the bookbinding application 104 returns to the processing from step S1404. This is repeated until there is no more layout data X (that is, all layout data 1, layout data 2, layout data 3... Held in the book file).

As a result, layout data Y is obtained by imposing layout data laying out smaller finish pages in each finished page so as to be nested in sequence for all finished pages included in the book file. It is done. That is, layout data Y obtained by imposing layout data laying out smaller finish pages in order on each of the finished pages 1-3...
If the bookbinding application 104 determines in step S1410 that there is no layout data X, the bookbinding application 104 proceeds to step S1415. In step S1415, the bookbinding application 104 generates a physical page having the size of the output paper size, and draws the layout data Y finally obtained on the physical page, thereby ending the processing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a layout result generated by the bookbinding application 104 by the “nested imposition processing” in step S1207 described in the flowchart of FIG. Note that the example in FIG. 16 assumes that the setting for adding the register mark is made in the “register mark setting” window in FIG. 7B, and therefore the register mark indicating the cutting position at the position of the finished page. Is also drawn.
(A) in FIG. 16 shows that only one finished page exists in the book file, and each attribute value of the book attribute is
"Output paper size (SRA3 horizontal), finished size (A4 vertical), type of imposition (peller (vertical 1 x horizontal 2))"
An example is shown.
FIG. 16B shows an example in which the book attribute has a nesting setting, and shows an example in which two finished sizes exist in the book file. That is, in this example, two nearline finishers are selected, and two book attributes exist in the book file. 16B shows that each attribute value of the book attribute 1 is “output paper size (SRA3 horizontal), finished size (B5 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 × horizontal 1)), nesting” Setting (ON) ",
Each attribute value of the book attribute 2 shows an example of “finished size (A4 length). Further, FIG. 16B shows the imposition type (peller (vertical 1 × width 1)) and nesting setting. (OFF) "
An example is shown.
FIG. 16C shows an example in which the book attribute has a nesting setting. The book file has two finished sizes, and each attribute value of the book attribute 1 is “output paper size (B3 horizontal), Finished size (B6 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 x horizontal 1)), nesting setting (ON) "
An example is shown. 16C, each attribute value of the book attribute 2 is “finished size (A5 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 2 × horizontal 2)), nesting setting (OFF)”.
An example is shown.

FIG. 17A shows an example in which the book attribute has a nested setting. The book file has two finished sizes, and each attribute value of the book attribute 1 is “output paper size (horizontal SRA3), Finished size (B6 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 2 x horizontal 1)), nesting setting (ON), and book attribute 2 attribute values are "finished size (A4 vertical), imposition type (Peller (vertical 1 x horizontal 2)), nesting setting (OFF) "
An example is shown.
FIG. 17B is an example in the case where the book attribute has a nested setting. The book file has three finished sizes, and each attribute value of the book attribute 1 is “output paper size (B3 horizontal), Finished size (B6 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 2 x horizontal 1)), nesting setting (ON), and book attribute 2 attribute values are "finished size (A4 vertical), imposition type (Pella (vertical 1 x horizontal 2)), nesting setting (ON) ",
Each attribute value of the book attribute 3 is “finished size (A3 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 × horizontal 1)), nesting setting (OFF)”.
An example is shown.

FIG. 17C is an example in which no nesting is set, and there are two finished sizes in the book file, and each attribute value of book attribute 1 is “output paper size (SRA3 horizontal), finished size”. (B5 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 x horizontal 1)), nesting setting (OFF) ",
Each attribute value of the book attribute 2 is “finished size (A4 length), imposition type (peller (length 1 × width 1)), nesting setting (OFF)”.
An example is shown.

FIG. 18A is an example in which no nesting is set, and there are two finished sizes in the book file, and each attribute value of book attribute 1 is “output paper size (SRA3 horizontal), finished size”. (B5 horizontal), imposition type (peller (vertical 2 × horizontal 1)), nesting setting (OFF), and book attribute 2 attribute values are “finished size (A4 vertical), imposition type (peller) (Vertical 1 x Horizontal 1)), Nesting setting (OFF) "
An example is shown.
FIG. 18B shows an example in which the book attribute has a nesting setting and there are different finished sizes of the same size. In this example, there are three finish sizes in the book file, and each attribute value of the book attribute 1 is “output paper size (SRA3 side), finish size (B5 side), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 × vertical 1) )), Nesting setting (ON) ",
Each attribute value of the book attribute 2 is “finished size (A4 vertical), imposition type (peller (vertical 1 × horizontal 1)), nesting setting (OFF)”,
Each attribute value of the book attribute 2 is “finished size (A4 length), imposition type (peller (length 1 × width 1)), nesting setting (OFF)”.
An example is shown.

  In this case, two different finished pages (the same size but different book attributes) are laid out on the same sheet, and there are two finished pages in which the finished page 1 can be nested. Therefore, it can be seen that the finished page 1 is laid out so as to be nested with respect to both the finished page 2 and the finished page 3. Note that the bookbinding application 104 also has a function of selecting a target page to be nested when there are two or more finish pages that can be nested on the same sheet.

<Register mark drawing processing>
In FIG. 17, a plurality of registration marks indicating the positions of different finished sizes are printed on the paper. For this reason, it is difficult to know which register mark is the mark for cutting at which finisher, and the operator may erroneously perform post-processing at the position of a register mark of another finished size.
Accordingly, the bookbinding application 104 has a function of printing different post-processing step registration marks in a format that can be identified when there are a plurality of different post-processing step registration marks on the sheet.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of an output result in which register marks having different finishing sizes for different post-processing steps are printed in an identifiable form.
FIG. 19 shows a case where the registration marks of different finished pages (that is, registration marks for different post-processing steps) are drawn in an identifiable form when the layout shown in FIG. 17C is performed. Yes. In this example, the registration mark of finished page 1 is printed in red, and the registration mark of finished page 2 is printed in blue. As described above, the bookbinding application 104 can draw the registration marks at the positions of finished pages having different finished sizes in different colors. The color of the registration marks can be set by the operator himself.

FIG. 20 is an expanded version of the “Select Printer” window shown in FIG. 11A, and a new register mark color can be freely set for each finished size set in the book file. An example of enabling this is shown. A registration mark color 1011 to 1013 is an area for setting a registration mark color to be printed at a position of each finished size. In this example, the color of the registration mark of the finished size 1 is set to red, the color of the registration mark of the finished size 2 is set to blue, and the color of the registration mark of the finished size 3 is set to black.
As a result, the user can easily identify the registration marks having different finishing sizes in different post-processing steps, so that there is an effect of preventing the mistake of cutting at the position of another registration mark by mistake. In addition, there is an effect of facilitating post-processing work using a plurality of post-processing devices. For example, in a printing company, rules are determined such that red is a registration mark processed by the cutting machine 1, blue is a registration mark processed by a case binding machine, and the like. Thus, the operator can easily determine what to do next (which finisher should be used for processing) by looking at the color of the register marks printed on the paper.
In the example of FIG. 19, the method is distinguished by the color of the registration marks, but the method may be distinguished by the shape of the registration marks. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example in which the shape of the register mark is changed for each finished size unit set in the book file. With this method, it is possible to cope with the case where the registration mark color is not desired to be other than black.
FIG. 22a is a diagram illustrating an example in which the imposition is different from that in FIG. FIG. 22b is also a diagram illustrating an example where imposition is different from FIG.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
<JDF collaboration>
In the first embodiment described above, the bookbinding application 104 generates layout data as shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 22A based on the color information of the registration marks set by the user. On the other hand, the set ticket color information is not included in the job ticket.
However, the bookbinding application 104 of the present embodiment also describes the color information of the registration marks set by the user in FIG. 20 in the job ticket (JDF) that is transmitted to each nearline finisher. In other words, to explain using the diagram of the first embodiment, the bookbinding application 104 generates the post-processing instruction JFD including the color information and shape information of the registration marks in step S903 of FIG. (Job ticket generation).
The nearline finisher receives the JDF and, when the operator sets the paper, identifies the position of the registration mark printed on the paper from the information on the cutting position parameters described in the received JDF. Then, the nearline finisher further determines the color of the register mark printed on the paper set by the operator based on the color information of the register mark described in the received JDF, and the color attribute of the register mark described in the received JDF. To determine if they are the same. For example, the nearline finisher determines the color of the registration mark printed by reading with an attached scanner. If the nearline finisher determines that the color of the registration mark described in the JDF is different from the color of the registration mark printed on the paper, an error is displayed, for example, on the operation unit of the nearline finisher.

Note that the nearline finisher performs the following process when multiple registration marks of different finished pages are printed on the paper. In other words, the nearline finisher uses the cutting position information described in the JDF and the register mark printed on the outermost side among the register marks printed in multiple (the register mark on the outermost side cuts with the finisher. It is determined whether or not it is the same. If the outermost registration mark differs from the cutting position parameter information described in the JDF, the nearline finisher determines that the paper should not be processed by the JDF, and an error occurs. And If the nearline finisher determines that an error has occurred, for example, the nearline finisher displays an error on the operation unit of the nearline finisher.
Even when multiple register marks for cutting are printed on the output paper in this way, the nearline finisher performs matching processing between the paper and JDF to prevent mistakes in the postprocessing order at the nearline finisher. can do.

<< Embodiment 3 >>
FIG. 23A is an example in which cutting order information is printed in addition to the register marks indicating the cutting positions. As shown in FIG. 23A, the bookbinding application 104 also draws order information (number indicating the cutting order), and the printer 107 also prints the order information, so that the operator performs cutting based on the order information. be able to. In addition to the order information, a nearline finisher name to be cut at each finished size may be printed. The nearline finisher name is an example of name information.

<< Embodiment 4 >>
There is a nearline finisher having a function of correcting a cutting position based on a registration mark printed on a sheet. For such a near-line finisher, the bookbinding application 104 has a function of printing a registration mark in addition to a registration mark indicating a cutting position. At this time, the bookbinding application 104 draws a registration mark in the same color as the registration mark color set by the user.
FIG. 23B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the registration mark is also drawn by the bookbinding application 104 when the layout setting of FIG. 16C is performed. In this example, since two finished sizes are designated, it can be seen that two registration marks corresponding to each finished page are drawn. The bookbinding application 104 performs the following setting when the registration mark is printed in the “print registration mark” check box 703 in the registration mark setting window in FIG. . That is, the bookbinding application 104 performs setting so that the registration mark is also printed on each finished page set for the book file. Further, the bookbinding application 104 also describes registration mark information in the JDF transmitted to the nearline finisher.

  The nearline finisher that has received the JDF transmitted from the bookbinding application 104 performs the following processing. In other words, the bookbinding application 104, even if a sheet on which a plurality of registration marks are printed is set as shown in FIG. Based on the color information, the following determination is performed. That is, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether there is a registration mark of the same color on the paper set by the operator. If it is determined that there is a registration mark of the same color, the bookbinding application 104 corrects the cutting position with reference to the registration mark.

<< Embodiment 5 >>
<Change the color between odd-numbered and even-numbered registration marks>
In FIG. 19, an example in which the color of the registration mark is changed for each finished size is described. Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 can print at least the adjacent register marks in different colors at least when there are two or more register marks for different post-processing steps on the paper. Post-processing is sequentially performed from the registration marks printed on the outermost side (that is, those having a large finishing size set for the book file). Therefore, the bookbinding application 104 determines the post-processing order from the one with the large finished size. Then, by changing the colors of only the registration marks of the finished pages that are odd-numbered in the post-processing order and the registration marks of the finishing pages that are the even-numbered, it is possible to suppress the colors of the registration marks to be used.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the color of the register marks used for printing the register marks that are odd-numbered in the post-processing order and the register marks that are even-numbered. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which expanded the "register mark setting" window.
When ON is set in a check box 1701 for “changing the color of adjacent registration marks on different finished pages”, the bookbinding application changes the color of the registration marks that are odd-numbered and the even-numbered registration marks in the post-processing order. As a result, adjacent register marks are printed in different colors. An area 1702 is an area for setting the color of odd-numbered registration marks. An area 1703 is an area for setting the color of even-numbered registration marks. In this example, the odd-numbered registration marks are set to red, and the even-numbered registration marks are set to blue.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a case where the setting contents of FIG. 24 are applied when the layout described in FIG. 17B is performed. In this example, the registration mark of the finished page 3 that is cut first and the registration mark of the finished page 1 that is cut third (that is, the odd numbered registration mark) are red, and the finished page 2 that is cut second. A register mark (that is, an even-numbered register mark) is an example of an output result printed in blue. In FIG. 25, the thin black registration marks indicate red registration marks, and the dark black registration marks indicate blue registration marks. In this manner, the bookbinding application 104 can perform printing so that adjacent register marks do not have the same color based on the post-processing order even when a plurality of different finish sizes are set.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example in which the “layout data generation process” in FIG. 14 is extended so that the color of adjacent register marks can be printed in different colors based on the post-processing order in the bookbinding application 104. It is. Description of steps for performing the same processing as in FIG. 14 is omitted here. Compared with FIG. 14, in FIG. 26, a color attribute change process for register marks in step S1901 is newly added.
In step S1901, the bookbinding application 104 performs processing for changing the color attribute of the register mark of the book file based on the color information of the register mark set by the user.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart for explaining details of the color attribute change processing of the register mark in step S1901.
In step S2001, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether or not the check box “Change color of register marks of different adjacent finished pages” is ON.
If ON, the process advances to step S2002, and the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the counter X is an odd number.
If it is determined that the number is an odd number, the process advances to step S2003, and the bookbinding application 104 changes the color attribute of the register mark of the book attribute X based on the color information of the odd-numbered trimming mark set in FIG. To do.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2002 that the counter X is an even number, the process advances to step S2004, and the bookbinding application 104 determines the register mark of the book attribute X based on the color information of the even-numbered cut register mark set in FIG. Change the color attribute.
In this way, when the registration mark color attribute changing process is completed, the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. 26 again, and the bookbinding application 104 resumes the process from step S1308.

The bookbinding application 104 performs the above processing for all book attributes X, whereby the color attribute of the register mark of each book attribute is changed.
In this way, the bookbinding application 104 determines the order of post-processing based on the finished size set in the book file, and based on the determined order of post-processing, the colors of the odd-numbered registration marks and the even-numbered registration marks Can be changed. Accordingly, at least the adjacent register marks can be easily identified, and the color of the register marks to be used can be minimized.

<< Embodiment 6 >>
<Change the printing surface of odd-numbered and even-numbered registration marks>
The bookbinding application 104 provides a function for printing adjacent paper on different paper surfaces when double-sided printing is set and there are two or more paper marks for different post-processing steps on the paper. For example, a finish size register mark whose cutting order is odd-numbered can be printed on the front surface, and a finish size register mark whose even-numbered finish can be printed on the back surface. As a result, adjacent register marks (that is, register marks having a close finish size) are not printed on the same surface. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of finished pages on the paper, the number of register marks printed on the same surface can be reduced to half, and each register mark can be easily identified when the operator works.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example in which the “register mark setting” window in FIG. 24 is expanded so that the user can make settings for printing adjacent register marks on different paper surfaces. In FIG. 28, a new check box 3001 for “print even-numbered registration marks in the cutting order on the back side” is added. When this check box is set to ON, the bookbinding application 104 performs processing for setting so that the register marks with the odd-numbered post-processing order are printed only on the front surface and the even-numbered register marks are printed only on the back surface.

FIG. 29A shows a case where the adjacent registration marks are printed on different sides when the layout described in FIG. 16C is performed (that is, “print even numbered registration marks in the cutting order is printed on the reverse side” check box). It is a figure which shows an example of the output result (when 1704 is ON). In this example, the registration mark of the finished page 1 that is cut first (ie, the odd numbered registration mark) is printed on the front side, and the registration mark of the finished page 2 that is cut second (ie, the even numbered registration mark) is printed on the back side. I understand that.
On the other hand, FIG. 29B is an example of an output result when all the registration marks are printed on both sides (that is, when the “print even numbered registration marks on the back side of the cut order” check box 1704 is OFF). . Compared with (b) in FIG. 29, in FIG. 29 (a), adjacent registration marks (printed at close positions) are printed on different surfaces, so the number of registration marks printed on each surface is reduced. Each dragonfly is easy to identify.

Here, the registration face printing surface determination process according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 30 is a flowchart for explaining the registration mark printing surface determination process executed in the bookbinding application 104.
First, in step S2201, the bookbinding application 104 sets an initial value 1 to the counter i.
In step S2202, the bookbinding application 104 acquires book attribute information such as a printing method from the book file.
In step S2203, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the layout data Y generated in the flowchart of FIG.
In step S2204, the bookbinding application 104 draws layout data on the i-th physical page and performs imposition processing for arranging document data.

In step S2205, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the i-th physical page is a page to be printed on the front side.
If it is determined that the page is to be printed on the front side, the process advances to step S2207, and the bookbinding application 104 draws only the registration marks of the finished page whose post-processing order is odd for the i-th physical page.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2205 that the page is to be printed on the back side, the process advances to step S2206, and the bookbinding application 104 draws only the registration marks of the finished page whose post-processing order is even for the i-th physical page. .
Finally, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the i-th physical page is the last page (step S2208). If it is not the last page, the counter i is incremented by 1 (step S2209), and the process returns to step S2204. .
The bookbinding application 104 repeats the above processing for all physical pages.

  In this manner, the bookbinding application 104 can print adjacent register marks on different sheet surfaces when two or more register marks for different post-processing steps exist on the sheet. Thus, even when a large number of finishing sizes for different post-processing steps are set for the book file, the number of registration marks printed on the same side of the paper can be suppressed. Therefore, even when there are many register marks of different finished pages, there is an effect that it becomes easy to identify the register marks of each finished page.

<< Embodiment 7 >>
<Print registration marks only on the first and last page>
The bookbinding application 104 can also be set to print registration marks only on the first / last sheet.
In the “Register Mark Setting” window in FIG. 28, “Apply a register mark only on the front surface of the first sheet” 1705 is used to set an odd-numbered register mark to be printed only on the front surface of the first sheet in the case of duplex printing setting. It is a check box. Also, “Apply a registration mark only on the back side of the final sheet” 1706 is a check box for setting to print even-numbered registration marks only on the back side of the final sheet in the case of duplex printing setting.
Both the “Apply a register mark only on the front side of the first sheet” check box 1705 and the “Apply a register mark only on the back side of the last sheet” check box 1706 and the “Print even numbered register marks on the back side of the cut sheet” check box 1704 Setting is possible only when is ON.

FIG. 31 shows the “Apply a register mark only on the front surface of the first sheet” check box 1705 and the “Apply a register mark only on the back surface of the last sheet” check box 1706 when the layout described in FIG. 16C is performed. It is a figure which shows an example of the output result at the time of turning on. As described above, the registration mark of the finished page 1 to be cut first (that is, the odd-numbered registration mark) is printed only on the front surface and the first sheet, and the registration mark of the finished page 2 to be cut second (that is, the even-numbered registration mark). The register mark) is printed only on the back side and on the final sheet.
On the other hand, FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an example of an output result obtained by printing a registration mark only on the top sheet. When printing is performed only on the top sheet in this way, there is a problem that the register marks printed on the back side are not visible because they are printed on the back side of the top sheet. On the other hand, in FIG. 31 which is the output result of the bookbinding application 104, the registration mark printed on the back side is printed not on the first sheet but on the back side of the final sheet, so the number of output sheets on which the registration mark is printed is minimized. There is an effect that the register marks printed on the back side can be easily seen.

Here, the registration face printing surface determination process according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a registration mark printing surface determination process executed in the bookbinding application 104.
First, in step S2401, the bookbinding application 104 sets an initial value 1 to the counter i.
In step S2402, the bookbinding application 104 acquires book attribute information including a printing method from the book file.
In subsequent step S2403, the bookbinding application 104 acquires the layout data Y generated in the flowchart of FIG.
In step S2404, the bookbinding application 104 performs layout processing for drawing the layout data and arranging the document data on the i-th physical page.

In step S2405, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the i-th physical page is a page to be printed on the front side.
If it is determined that the page is to be printed on the front side, the process advances to step S2406, and the bookbinding application 104 determines whether the page is the first page.
If it is determined that the page is the first page, the process advances to step S2407, and the bookbinding application 104 draws a registration mark only at the position of the finished page where the post-processing order is odd with respect to the i-th physical page, and the process advances to step S2408. .

In step S2408, the bookbinding application 104 determines whether it is the last page. If the bookbinding application 104 determines that the page is not the last page, the bookbinding application 104 increments the counter i by 1, and returns to step S2404.
On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not the first page (No in S2406), the process proceeds to step S2408, and the bookbinding application 104 determines whether it is the last page.
If it is determined that the page is not the last page, the bookbinding application 104 increments the counter i by 1, and returns to step S2404.
Then, the bookbinding application 104 repeats the above-described processing until it is determined as the final physical page in step S2408.
If it is determined in step S2408 that the i-th physical page is the last page, in step S2410, the bookbinding application 104 draws a registration mark only at the position of the finished page whose post-processing order is even.
Then, the bookbinding application 104 ends the registration mark printing surface determination process.

In this manner, the bookbinding application 104 is set so that the registration marks of the finished pages that are cut odd-numbered (odd-numbered registration marks) are printed only on the front surface of the top sheet. Further, the bookbinding application 104 is set so that the registration marks of the finished pages that are cut evenly (even-numbered registration marks) are printed only on the back surface of the final sheet.
By doing so, even when it is desired to minimize the paper on which the registration marks are printed, the registration marks printed on the front and back surfaces are easy to see without being hidden, so that the operator's labor can be further reduced.

<< Other Embodiments >>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

As mentioned above, according to each embodiment mentioned above, it becomes easy to identify the register marks for a plurality of different post-processing steps printed on the same sheet. Therefore, the convenience of the operator in charge of post-processing by the nearline finisher or the offline finisher can be improved, and the occurrence of work errors can be suppressed.
Therefore, it is possible to distinguish the mark of the cutting position (register mark) of different post-processing devices.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (16)

Setting means for setting attribute information of the color or shape of the bleed position mark for each post-processing device;
Generating means for generating drawing data including a mark position marker of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting means;
Transmitting means for transmitting drawing data generated by the generating means;
An information processing apparatus. Setting means for setting the attribute information of the color or shape of the odd-numbered cutting position mark whose cutting order is odd, and the color or shape attribute information of the even-numbered cutting position mark of the cutting order;
Generating means for generating drawing data including a mark position marker of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting means;
Transmitting means for transmitting drawing data generated by the generating means;
An information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit further generates the drawing data including a number indicating a cutting order when post-processing is performed by the post-processing apparatus at a position of each bleed position mark.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the generation unit further generates the drawing data including name information related to a name of a post-processing apparatus that performs cutting indicated by the number together with a number indicating the cutting order.   The generating unit prints the drawing data so that a cut-off position mark of a finish size with an odd cutting order is printed on the front surface, and a cut-off position mark of a finish size with a cutting order even number is printed on the back surface. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, which generates   The generating means prints the cut-out position mark of the finished size with the odd cutting order printed on the front surface of the top sheet, and prints the cut-off position mark of the finished size with the even cutting order printed on the back surface of the final paper. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drawing data is generated as described above. Job ticket generating means for generating a job ticket including the color or shape cut-off position mark based on the attribute information by the setting means,
7. The transmission unit transmits the drawing data to an image processing apparatus, and transmits a job ticket including the cut-off position mark of the color or shape generated by the job ticket generation unit to a post-processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims. An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus,
A setting step for setting attribute information of the color or shape of the bleed position mark for each post-processing device;
A generation step of generating drawing data including a cut-off position mark of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the drawing data generated by the generation step;
An information processing method including: An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus,
A setting step for setting the color or shape attribute information of an odd-numbered trimming position mark whose cutting order is odd and the color or shape attribute information of an even-numbered trimming position mark whose cutting order is;
A generation step of generating drawing data including a cut-off position mark of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the drawing data generated by the generation step;
An information processing method including: On the computer,
A setting step for setting attribute information of the color or shape of the bleed position mark for each post-processing device;
A generation step of generating drawing data including a cut-off position mark of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the drawing data generated by the generation step;
A program for running On the computer,
A setting step for setting the color or shape attribute information of an odd-numbered trimming position mark whose cutting order is odd and the color or shape attribute information of an even-numbered trimming position mark whose cutting order is;
A generation step of generating drawing data including a cut-off position mark of the color or shape based on the attribute information by the setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the drawing data generated by the generation step;
A program for running   12. The program according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, in the generation step, the drawing data including a number indicating a cutting order when post-processing is performed by the post-processing apparatus is further generated at the position of each cutting position mark.   The program according to claim 12, wherein the generation step further includes generating the drawing data including name information related to a name of a post-processing apparatus that performs cutting indicated by the number together with a number indicating the cutting order.   In the generating step, the drawing position mark having a finishing size with an odd cutting order is printed on the front surface, and the cutting position mark with a finishing size having an even cutting order is printed on the back surface. 14. The program according to claim 10, wherein the program is generated.   In the generating step, the cut-off position mark of the finished size with an odd cutting order is printed on the front surface of the first paper, and the cut-off position mark of the finished size with an even cutting order is printed on the back surface of the final paper. The program according to claim 14, wherein the drawing data is generated. A job ticket generating step of generating a job ticket including the color or shape cut-off position mark based on the attribute information by the setting step;
16. The transmitting step transmits the drawing data to an image processing apparatus, and transmits a job ticket including the color or shape cut-off position mark generated by the job ticket generating step to a post-processing apparatus. The program according to any one of the above.

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