JP5294556B2 - Image forming apparatus, special printing confirmation method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus usable transparent developer is transparent when printed on paper, a program for special print confirmation side Honami beauty.

  In general, there is a printing apparatus as an apparatus that takes in image data supplied from a host computer and forms an image based on the image data. An example of the printing method is an electrophotographic method. In this electrophotographic printing apparatus, a photosensitive drum is charged by a charger, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum with writing light corresponding to image data. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner attached by a developing device to obtain a visible image. Next, the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum to the sheet and fixed on the sheet with heat or pressure.

In such an electrophotographic printing apparatus, conventionally, a transparent toner is printed on a part or all of an image to be printed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The image portion printed with such transparent toner is glossy, and the image quality is improved.
JP 2006-251722 A

  However, in the conventional printing apparatus, when the print result is viewed in a preview display before printing, it is not possible to confirm in which part the transparent toner is printed. For this reason, it is impossible to confirm whether or not the intended printing result can be obtained, and there is a problem that the transparent toner is printed in an inappropriate place or the transparent toner is not printed in an intended place. there were.

  On the other hand, if a special transparent toner that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays is used as a transparent toner, tampering / counterfeiting suppression marks (background patterns) can be printed on bills, checks, etc., and the security effect can be enhanced. . In this case, if a mark (background pattern) to be printed with transparent toner can be confirmed in the preview display, a security problem occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem , and if a security problem occurs when an image portion to be printed with a transparent toner can be confirmed before printing, the confirmation cannot be performed. image forming apparatus that, the purpose of providing a program to the special printing check how Honami beauty.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is a first image data printed using a developer other than a transparent developer and a first image data printed using the transparent developer. A first image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the first image among the image data received by the reception unit; Generating a second image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the second image among the image data received by the receiving unit; And a display for displaying the second image generated by the second generation unit on the image display device so as to overlap the first image generated by the first generation unit. Control means And, wherein the display control unit, the pre-Symbol second image, a color different from the color at the position of the second image of the first image is printed using the transparent developer Discriminating means for controlling to display on the image display device using a specific color for displaying an image to be displayed, and discriminating whether or not the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed The display control means does not perform the superimposition when the determination means determines that the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed. Only the first image generated from the first image data generated by the generating means is displayed on the image display device before printing.
The special print confirmation method according to claim 4 includes: first image data printed using a developer other than a transparent developer; and second image data printed using the transparent developer. A receiving step for receiving, and a first image for generating a first image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the first image among the image data received by the receiving step. A second generation for generating a second image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the second image among the image data received by the generation step and the reception step steps and, displaying said second image generated by the second generating step, by superimposing a first image generated by said first generating step is displayed on the image display device And a control step, the display control step, a pre-Symbol second image, a different color from the color at the position of the second image of the first image, the transparent developer using a specific color for displaying an image to be printed using controlled to be displayed on the image display device, whether the second image is a predetermined image with a security problem when viewing The display control step performs the superposition when the determination step determines that the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed. Instead, only the first image generated from the first image data generated by the first generation step is displayed on the image display device before printing.

According to the present invention, for example, the first image to the transparent developer is transparent when printed on paper in an image forming apparatus such as available, is printed using a developer other than the transparent developer And each image data of a second image to be printed using the transparent developer. Of the received each image data, based on the image data of the first image to generate a first image to be displayed in the table shown device before printing. Also, among the received each image data, based on the image data of the second image, has been subjected to predetermined color, and generates a second image to be displayed in the table shown device before printing . Then, a second image said generated by superimposing the first image the generated display before printing Viewing device.

  Accordingly, the user can confirm the second image to be printed using the transparent developer before printing. Therefore, it is possible to easily find in advance an error that the transparent developer is printed at an inappropriate place or the transparent developer is not printed at an intended place.

Further, it is determined whether or not the second image to be printed using the transparent developer is a predetermined image (for example, a tint block image), and the second image is the predetermined image. when it is determined that, without the overlay, only the first image generated by said first generating means is displayed before printing Viewing device.

  Accordingly, if the image portion to be printed with the transparent developer can be confirmed before printing, when a security problem occurs, the confirmation cannot be performed, and the security effect is improved.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer control system including an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic laser beam printer.

  In FIG. 1, 1500 is a printer, 3000 is a host computer, and 4000 is a scanner, which are connected via a network. Although not shown, the printer 1500 includes a laser, a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing device, a transfer device, a fixing device, and the like. Then, the laser outputs a laser beam corresponding to the image data and irradiates the photosensitive drum charged by the charger. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum, and a developing device attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and develops it to make a visible image. Next, the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum to the sheet by the transfer unit, and fixed on the sheet by heat or pressure by the fixing unit.

  In the printer 1500, 12 is a CPU for the printer, and 13 is a ROM. The ROM 13 includes a font ROM 13a, a program ROM 13b, and a data ROM 13c. The CPU 12 executes a control program stored in the program ROM 13 b or a control program stored in the hard disk storage device (HDD) 14. By this execution, the CPU 12 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 15. The HDD 14, which is an external memory, is a storage device that stores image data for printing in addition to a control program, and access control is performed by a disk controller (DKC) 20.

  Reference numeral 19 denotes a RAM which functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 12.

  The scanner 4000 reads image information from a document and sends the image information to the printer 1500 via the device input unit 21.

  The printer 1500 receives image data from the host computer 3000 via the input unit 18 and receives image data from the scanner 4000 via the device input unit 21. The CPU 12 of the printer 1500 performs predetermined image processing on the received image data to convert the received image data into print data, and the print data is transferred to the print unit (printer engine) 17 via the print unit interface (I / F) 16. Output to.

  An operation unit 1501 is provided with a UI (User Interface) panel or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the host computer 3000 and the printer 1500 connected via the network 1000.

  Image data is transmitted from the host computer 3000 to the printer 1500 via the network 1000. The printer 1500 analyzes the received image data, develops it into a bitmap, and stores it in the HDD 14. The bitmap data stored in the HDD 14 is displayed as a preview on the UI panel or the like of the operation unit 1501 (D1), converted into print data, and output to the printing unit 17 (D2). Also, the bitmap data stored in the HDD 14 is sent to the host computer 3000 via the network 1000 and displayed as a preview on the display (D3).

  Note that the printer 1500 can perform printing using transparent toner, and allows an image portion (drawing object) to be printed with the transparent toner to be confirmed in advance in a preview display (D1, D3). For this purpose, the printer 1500 can be set in advance to display the transparent toner image preview (ON) or not (OFF). Further, at the time of preview display, a specific color for display when previewing an image portion (drawing object) to be printed with transparent toner can be designated. The user designates the specific color in advance.

  A method for displaying a preview of a transparent toner image in the printer 1500 having the above-described configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the transparent toner image preview display process executed by the CPU 12 of the printer 1500.

  When image data is transmitted from the host computer 3000, it is determined in step S31 whether the setting for preview display of the transparent toner image is ON or OFF. If it is ON, the process proceeds to step S32. If it is OFF, the process proceeds to step S36. In step S36, a normal display process in which the transparent toner image is not preview-displayed is performed, and the preview display process is terminated.

  In step S32, it is determined whether or not a specific color for preview display of the transparent toner image is designated. If it is designated, the process proceeds to step S35, and if not designated, the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S33, the color of the drawing object that is printed with the normal toner that is not the transparent toner at the position where the transparent toner image is printed is detected. In step S34, a color that does not overlap the detected color is selected from predetermined transparent toner candidate colors.

  In step S35, the drawing object to be printed with the transparent toner is preview-displayed in the designated or selected color. In this preview display, naturally, a drawing object that is printed with normal toner that is not transparent toner is also displayed.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, before the transparent toner image is printed, an image in which an image portion to be printed with the transparent toner is displayed in a specific color is displayed as a preview. The toner image can be confirmed. As a result, it is possible to easily find in advance a mistake that the transparent toner is printed at an inappropriate place or the transparent toner is not printed at an intended place.

  In the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus (printer 1500) is a laser beam printer, but the image forming apparatus (printer 1500) may be an ink jet printer. In this case, however, transparent ink is used instead of transparent toner.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  Since the configuration of the second embodiment is basically the same as the configuration of the first embodiment, in the description of the second embodiment, the same parts as the configuration of the first embodiment are used. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the first embodiment is used, and only different portions will be described.

  In the second embodiment, for example, a special transparent toner that emits light when irradiated with ultraviolet rays is printed as a background pattern on a bill such as a bill or check. The drawing object to be printed with the transparent toner is displayed with the background color of the background.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a transparent toner image preview display process executed by the CPU 12 of the printer 1500 according to the second embodiment.

  When the image data is transmitted from the host computer 3000, it is determined in step S41 whether the setting for preview display of the transparent toner image is ON or OFF. If it is ON, the process proceeds to step S42, and if it is OFF, the process proceeds to step S47. In step S47, normal display processing that does not display a transparent toner image as a preview is performed, and the preview display processing ends.

  In step S42, it is determined whether or not a specific color for transparent toner preview display is designated. If it is designated, the process proceeds to step S46, and if not designated, the process proceeds to step S43. In step S46, the drawing object to be printed with the transparent toner is preview-displayed in the designated color. Note that the fact that the specific color for the transparent toner preview display is designated (YES in S42) is considered that the transparent toner image is permitted to be displayed as a preview. In this preview display, naturally, a drawing object that is printed with normal toner that is not transparent toner is also displayed.

  In step S43, it is determined whether or not the transparent toner is used for printing the tint block. If it is used for printing a tint block, the process proceeds to step S47, and the transparent toner image is not preview-displayed. As a result, the preview display of the background pattern with a security problem can be avoided.

  On the other hand, if it is not used for printing the tint block, the process proceeds to step S44 to detect the color of the drawing object that is printed with the normal toner that is not the transparent toner at the position where the transparent toner image is printed. In step S45, based on the color of the drawing object detected in step S44, a background color for previewing the drawing object to be printed with the transparent toner is selected.

  In step S46, ROP (Rasterizing OPeration) processing of the color of the drawing object detected in step S44 and the background color selected in step S45 is performed. Then, a preview display is performed with the color of the drawing object detected in step S44 transmitted through the background color selected in step S45. The ROP process is a logical operation process that is performed when two or more drawing objects (raster images) are overlaid. By simply overwriting two or more drawing objects in a vertical relationship, the ROP process is overwritten. In addition, effects such as “watermark” and “inversion” can be provided.

[Other Embodiments]
The object of the present invention is achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is a process of reading the program code.

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

  Moreover, the following can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM or the like. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  The present invention also includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Cases are also included.

  Furthermore, a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the following processing is also included in the present invention. That is, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer control system including an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a host computer and a printer connected via a network. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a transparent toner image preview display process executed in the CPU of the printer. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a transparent toner image preview display process executed by a CPU of a printer according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

12 CPU (first generation means, second generation means, display control means)
14 HDD
17 Printing section (image forming device)
18 Input unit (reception means)
1500 Printer 1501 Operation unit (image display device)
3000 Host computer 4000 Scanner

Claims (5)

Receiving means for receiving first image data printed using a developer other than the transparent developer and second image data printed using the transparent developer;
First generation means for generating a first image to be displayed on an image display device based on image data of the first image among the image data received by the reception means;
Second generation means for generating a second image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the second image among the image data received by the reception means;
Display control means for displaying the second image generated by the second generation means on the image display device so as to be superimposed on the first image generated by the first generation means ;
The display control means includes
Previous SL second image, wherein the color at the position of the second image of the first image is a different color, specific for displaying an image to be printed using the clear developer Control to be displayed on the image display device using color,
A discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed;
The display control unit generates the first generation unit without performing the superposition when the determination unit determines that the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed. An image forming apparatus, wherein only the first image generated from the first image data is displayed on the image display device before printing.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined image having a security problem when displayed is a tint block image. The transparent developer image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transparent toner or the transparent ink. Receiving a first image data printed using a developer other than the transparent developer and a second image data printed using the transparent developer;
A first generation step of generating a first image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the first image among the image data received by the reception step;
A second generation step of generating a second image to be displayed on the image display device based on the image data of the second image among the image data received by the reception step;
A display control step of displaying the second image generated by the second generation step on the image display device so as to be superimposed on the first image generated by the first generation step ;
The display control step includes:
Previous SL second image, wherein the color at the position of the second image of the first image is a different color, specific for displaying an image to be printed using the clear developer Control to be displayed on the image display device using color,
A determination step of determining whether or not the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed;
The display control step generates the first generation step without performing the superposition when the determination step determines that the second image is a predetermined image having a security problem when displayed. A special print confirmation method, wherein only the first image generated from the first image data is displayed on the image display device before printing.   A computer-readable program for causing a computer to execute each step of the special print confirmation method according to claim 4.

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