JPH06290236A - Layout design system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate control over descentralized operations, specially, the progression conditions thereof when the operation are decentralized and performed by using plural layout design devices when the layout of printed matter is designed. CONSTITUTION:The layout design system is constituted by connecting the layout design devices 1a, 1b, and 1c to a communication means (a). The respective devices 1a, 1b, and 1c output signals at the start and end of each process of the operations. Then, the control means 11 of the device 1a totalizes the signals on the basis of the kinds of processes corresponding to the respective signals and the printed matter to generate transaction information indicating the progression extent of the transaction. The control means 11 outputs the transaction information to the devices 1a, 1b, and 1c according to indications from the respective devices 1a, 1b, and 1c. Then, operators of the devices 1a, 1b, and 1c schedule efficient operations and advance the operations.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a design stage in a printing process, and is a layout design including a plurality of layout design devices for simulating and creating layouts of catalogs, leaflets, magazines, etc. on a display screen. The present invention relates to a system, and more particularly to a layout design system capable of outputting created data as data that can be diverted to another printing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a design stage in a printing process, a designer lays out each page based on a basic layout plan including a photo manuscript, a character manuscript, a line drawing, etc. on a layout paper including information such as the number of steps and the number of divisions. I was studying. Then, the layout finally decided as a result of such examination is instructed to the printing company by the allocation instruction sheet.

However, in the case of producing a printed matter of a catalog having a large number of pages, deciding the layout of the printed matter by the above-mentioned method requires a great deal of labor and time. Therefore, recently, a technique (allocation device or the like) has been proposed in which the layout and design of printed matter at the design stage are examined on a display screen using a computer system.

The purpose of these devices is to efficiently carry out the design study work, which was conventionally done manually by a designer, by using a computer system. Here, the concrete working means and operating method of the allocating device will be briefly described. First, a photograph original used for design study is input from an image input device such as a flat head scanner and registered in a computer. . For the text original, data input by a word processor or the like is taken into a computer and registered, or registered by directly inputting it from a keyboard of a computer system.

Next, the designer performs the work, which was conventionally performed by trial and error on the layout paper, on the display. In other words, the layout area is displayed on the display in correspondence with the layout sheet of the printed matter,
Call the registered document (image data, character data) to set the photo layout position and size, the text layout position and size, and perform the same setting operations for figures, flat screens, ruled lines, etc. The apparatus is configured to perform a layout simulation of a printed matter by trial and error and output the finally determined layout result to a hard copy apparatus such as a color printer.

That is, the allocating device is a device in which the work conventionally performed on the layout sheet by the designer is simply replaced on the display of the computer system so that the operation can be performed efficiently. Then, to the printing company, the output from the hard copy device is used as the allocation instruction sheet, or the created data is directly submitted as the allocation instruction data. When data is submitted as layout instruction data, a separate device is required to process the data submitted to the printing company so that it can be used in the plate making process.

[0007]

By the way, the conventional design study work is not a temporary work, and printed materials such as leaflets and catalogs are always issued in a fixed cycle. Printed materials such as leaflets and catalogs are characterized in that the layout configuration and contents are rarely changed each time they are issued, and they are often diverted from the previously issued printed materials. Further, the leaflet has a characteristic that the layout is very complicated. this is,
In the case of a leaflet, a lot of products (photos, characters) are posted on one sheet of paper, and the layout is complicated in order to give different appeal to each product. In addition, the catalog has a characteristic that the number of pages is large although the layout is not so complicated.

Further, printed materials such as magazines are also issued on a regular basis, but compared with leaflets, catalogs, etc., because articles that have recently occurred due to the characteristics of the printed materials are posted, they are diverted from the previously issued printed materials. rare. The contents of the layout are not so complicated, and are mainly composed of characters (sentences). This is because there is a strong tendency for the reader to read how easy it is to read. However, the composition of the entire magazine (page composition of gravure, articles, special features, etc.) is fixed. Recently, many free magazines mainly on photographs have appeared.

The design creation work of printed materials such as leaflets and catalogs as described above is carried out by deciding the overall configuration, deciding the products to be posted, deciding the layout based on the previously issued printed matters, and making a decision from the examination of the layout. The designer is doing it by repeating trial and error. Further, in the case of a magazine, similarly, the entire structure is determined, the contents such as articles are determined, information is collected, and the layout is determined.

The actual layout examination work is carried out in a catalog,
In a magazine, etc., many pages have to be processed, and it is a situation that only a few designers can do, and many designers work in a distributed manner. In addition, a dedicated designer is prepared for each genre to perform distributed work. The existence of the chief designer who manages the work progress of those works is an important factor, and the progress of the work is influenced by the management ability of the chief designer.

In other words, when the above-mentioned layout device is used in the above-mentioned work mode, the layout work is not only performed by using the computer, but also the originals (photographs, characters) for the layout work are transferred to the computer. There is more work to enter, and in terms of usability, there are many other chores (operation management, etc.) that the designer has to do in addition to the layout.
In terms of usability, the designer's thinking ability has not been fully demonstrated.

[0012] In addition, low-resolution data is usually used as the photographic data used in the allocating device, and when compared with the printing data used in the layout scanner device, the resolution is 1/20 to 1/50. Since the quality of image data is low, the layout screen created by the layout device cannot be directly used for printing. Therefore, it is necessary to input image data again with a plate-making device such as a layout scanner and output a film for plate-making according to the layout performed by the designer.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to manage the manuscripts necessary for the layout in accordance with the printed matter producing process, and by using these manuscripts, It is an object of the present invention to provide a layout design system in which a plurality of designers can be distributed to efficiently perform design work, and the layout distribution work and its progress can be centrally managed.

[0014]

A layout design system according to the present invention is designed to input material data such as image data and character data, set a layout area for allocating the material data, and allocate the material data to the layout area. A layout design system for a printed matter, comprising a plurality of layout design devices for performing processing, output processing of these processing results, and the like. Data transfer means for transferring data generated by each of the above processes to each other when dispersedly performed by the device, and progress status data provided in each of the layout design devices and indicating a progress status based on start and end of each process. And a progress output means for outputting
A means for solving the above-mentioned problems is provided with a distributed processing management means for totaling the progress status data output from the progress status processing means.

The data transfer means includes a communication means for transferring various data, and the progress management means includes:
The progress status data output from each of the layout design devices may be aggregated using the communication unit, and the progress status data aggregated based on an instruction from each of the layout design devices may be output to each of the layout design devices. preferable.

[0016]

According to the above configuration, the layout design system connects the plurality of layout design devices by the communication means of the data transfer means for transferring data, and transfers the data between the layout design devices. It enables distributed processing of each processing in each layout design device. Further, in each layout design device, progress status data is output based on the start and end of each process, and the progress status management means collects and aggregates the progress status data through the communication means, and each layout design device. Since the progress status data that has been aggregated is output to each layout design device based on the instructions from, the operator who uses each layout design device can grasp the progress status of each process without an administrator, and the worker can Work can be performed efficiently according to the progress of each process.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The layout design system of this embodiment is configured to build a system from a plurality of computer workstations (layout design devices), and each layout design device has an image input device by a main processing function. And a color printer as an image output device. Also, in each layout design device, input of material data in the layout design process, layout design on paper, output of laid out paper, etc. are performed in a distributed manner, and work on a plurality of printed materials is simultaneously performed at each workstation. In addition, when one printed matter has a plurality of pages, the layout design work for one printed matter can be simultaneously distributed and processed by a plurality of workstations.

First, the basic structure of each layout designing device for constructing the layout designing system will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a layout design apparatus according to the present invention. That is, the layout design device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image input unit 2 including a flatbed scanner or a drum scanner, an interactive input unit 3 including a tablet, a digitizer, a mouse, a keyboard, a color display,
An image display means 4 including a frame memory and the like, a calculation unit,
A layout design device body 5 including a main storage unit,
The storage means 6 is composed of an external storage device such as a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk, the image output means 7 is composed of a hard copy device such as a color printer, and the data output means 8 is connected to the data communication means.

The data communication means is a layout scanner 9 or CTS (Computerized) used in plate making.
It is connected to the Typesetting System 10 and can transfer the layout data output from the layout design device. The layout design device 1 having the above-described configuration is basically composed of one well-known computer workstation.

Next, each function will be briefly described. The image input means 2 has a known function of inputting image data such as a photograph. Regarding the image data, the data input by the plate-making scanner device or the like may be input from another device (layout scanner device) or the like by using a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk, a communication means, or the like. It is necessary to input the image data input by the layout scanner device into the layout design device 1, perform a layout design, and output the layout data by the data output means 8 to re-input the image data by the plate-making scanner device in the plate-making process. Since there is no need to input the photograph once, it is possible to reduce the work load that has been performed in the past and to reduce work mistakes such as input mistakes.

That is, conventionally, in the design stage, low-resolution image data with a small amount of data is used in order to reduce the load on the storage medium and the arithmetic processing unit of the workstation and the performance of the scanner connected to the workstation. In many cases, it is necessary to repeatedly perform image data input, trimming, and image processing performed at the design stage for high-resolution image data with a layout scanner device at the plate making stage. By using the data, the work in the plate making stage can be saved.

The interactive input means 3 has a well-known function of interactively giving an input instruction in each functional process. That is, the interactive input means 3 is used for inputting business information and character data, and also for inputting instructions such as the image input and the basic layout input. Regarding the character data, data created by a word processor, DTP (Desk Top Publishing), a dedicated typesetting device or the like may be input using a floppy disk or a communication means.

The storage means 6 has a large capacity capable of storing various data such as business information, material data, basic layout information, and progress data, and various storage devices can be used as described above. On the other hand, the calculation unit of the layout design apparatus main body 5 has a well-known function of performing calculation processing based on a program stored in the main storage unit, and, for example, an image display is performed based on an instruction from the dialogue input unit 3. Display control function for controlling display of material data such as image data, character data, and graphic data stored in storage means such as a memory or a hard disk at a desired portion of the basic layout displayed on the color display of the means 4. Is to have.

Further, the computing unit displays each material data on the display unit 4 based on the instruction of the interactive input unit 3 as described above, and lays out the data such as the allocation position and size of the material data. It has a well-known function of generating it as data and storing it in the storage means 6. Further, the calculation unit can read the layout data once created and stored and display it on the image display means 4, and can change the layout data based on an instruction from the dialogue input means 3.

The image output means 7 is a hard copy machine for outputting material data laid out for proofreading and compiling as images and characters. The data output means 8 has a function of outputting desired data, such as layout data or character data, from the created layout page data.

Next, the operation of the layout designing apparatus constructed as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 2 along the work flow. In the business information input process (S1), business information is input through the dialogue input means 3. As business information, business names (names of catalogs, magazines, etc.), book configurations (number of pages, etc.), dimensions, materials Points, plate making specifications (plate size, presence of register marks, etc.), plate making book specifications (saddle stitching,
The side-stitching or the like) is input and stored in the storage unit 6. It becomes possible to manage the data created thereafter with this business name.

Further, in the business information, in addition to the data of the initial input, one business (printed matter) is shown as the business progresses.
Whether or not each material used for each page has been input, and whether or not all the material data used for that page has been input and layout and design work can be performed for each page in one job, and layout design work Layout, design stage, comp output stage for calibration,
It is divided into output stages of layout data for plate making after proofreading, and at each stage, the work of each page is to register whether the work has started or finished,
These data are stored in the storage means 6 as a progress situation data table for each business name.

Note that each material data is managed by the business name and each material data name. Each page of each job is also managed by the page name. The job name, the material data name, and each page name are code No. in this embodiment. (The work name and the material name may be a combination of the code No. and a name indicating the content of the work or the content of the material data). Further, the date and time of material data input, work start, and work end are input to each progress status data.

In the present embodiment, according to the above-mentioned work information, when a plurality of works are simultaneously worked in parallel using a plurality of layout design devices, progress status data is input from each layout design device as described later, In addition, the operator and manager of each layout design device can check the progress status, eliminating the need for conventional human management for each material input work and layout / design work of each work, reducing the workload. is doing.

In the material information input process (S2), first, the operator gives an instruction of the business name to be the object of the material data input. That is, if the worker inputs the business name,
A list of business names input by the business information input process is displayed and a selection is made from them. Subsequently, each material data such as image data and character data is input (the data name is also input) from the material input means and stored in the material storage means.

At this time, the arithmetic unit adds the input of the data corresponding to the material data name to the material information of the business name corresponding to the input material data. Then, in each layout design device, it is possible to confirm the material input status by looking at the file of the material information. Therefore, by the above operation, the manuscript rearranging which is conventionally performed and the manuscript submission management to the printing company can be performed by one hand. And in the case of printed materials that are often reused such as leaflets and catalogs, the same material data may be repeatedly used, but since the material data is managed by the business information having the progress status data at the time of input, Once the material data is input, the material data can be searched based on the business information, and the material data can be easily searched and used any number of times and years thereafter. In addition, when reviewing products to be posted such as leaflets and catalogs, material data can be freely called and confirmed based on business information.

The basic layout information input process (S3) is
The task name as the target of the layout information to be input is designated, and then the basic layout information is input by the interactive input means 3 and stored in the storage means 6. The basic layout information is equivalent to a layout sheet, has a layout format (paper configuration, size, etc.) as data, and is the basis of the layout data, which is data such as the layout and size of each material data. It is a part.
Further, the basic layout information is basically input for each page or double-page spread when the printed matter corresponding to the business name has a plurality of pages. At this time, the calculation unit may register that the basic layout information has been input, for each page of the job corresponding to the job name of the job information, similarly to the material data.

As a result, the layout sheet is created on the layout design apparatus, and the basic layout information created once and stored in the storage means can be repeatedly used, and the basic layout information input in advance is used. It is easy to create a plurality of various patterns derived from information. As described above, the basic layout information is the basic part of the layout data, and the layout data is created by allocating material data on the layout area included in the basic layout information and adding its position and size as data. Is.

Therefore, the layout and size of a part of the material data can be added to the basic layout information and stored in the storage means. By inputting it in the information, for example, by inputting the allocation position such as the title and shop name to be posted on the leaflet in advance,
You can reduce the work load of repeated layout design,
It is possible to provide consistent layout quality.

In the layout design process (S4), first, the operator designates a job name to be laid out and a page to be laid out and designed from the printed matter corresponding to the job name to be printed. The arithmetic unit reads the basic layout information and material data corresponding to this instruction from the storage unit and causes the display unit to display the basic layout information and the material data. Regarding the material data, instead of displaying it directly on the display means, only the material data name is displayed,
The interactive input means may display the material data name on the display means after the material data name is selected and the allocation position and size of the material data are instructed.

When the business name and page name are specified for layout as described above, the arithmetic unit registers in the business information that the layout work for the page name of the business name has started. To do. Next, the layout position and size are designated by the interactive input means, which is registered in the basic layout information as layout data, and the layout and designed material data is displayed on the display means. Further, based on the layout data once registered, the material data is displayed on the display means, the position and size of these material data are instructed and changed from the interactive input means, and the layout data is updated based on the change result. May be.

When the operator finishes inputting and changing layout data and proceeds to at least the stage where final layout data can be output, and when registering this as final layout data or when finishing work. By instructing the end of the layout design from the dialogue input means, the arithmetic unit registers in the work information that the layout work of the page with the work name is finished.

Conventionally, the layout of the original of photographs and characters is examined by trial and error on a layout sheet, and the magnification and trimming of the photographs are manually changed by changing the layout. In addition, when changing the text original, the copy was recreated and laid out, but as described above, the layout design apparatus of the present embodiment can instantly check the layout result, and change the photograph and the text. Similarly, since it can be performed almost in real time and the result can be confirmed instantly, the designer's thinking work can be fully utilized. The display size can be changed and displayed to an arbitrary size so that the designer can easily perform the work.

It is also possible to confirm the progress of the layout design work. Previously, the chief designer wrote the progress status of each layout page on each page and managed the progress status automatically based on the layout design result and the instructions of each designer. Is managed and can be confirmed for each work.

In the hard copy output process (S6), the laid out page or the entire printed matter is printed out for proofreading of the designer or as a comp. Then, when a hard copy is output to the final layout data file, the arithmetic unit registers this as a comp output in the business information. At this time, for example, when the layout data file is opened for comp output, the comp output start is registered in the business information, and when the file is closed, the comp output end is registered in the business information. To be done.

When the layout data is output to the plate making apparatus such as the layout scanner or the CTS by using the communication function after the comp output, the fact that the plate making output has been registered in the business information is registered. To be done. Also in this case, for example, similarly to the case of comp output, when the layout data file is opened, the output start is registered in the business information, and when the file is closed, the output end is registered in the business information. .

The output layout data is compatible with the plate making apparatus. For example, if high resolution data for plate making is used as the image data, the image data assigned by the layout data is used. Can be used as it is, and the layout scanner can output the layout data as it is or by making a slight correction or correction as a plate-making film.

When low-resolution image data is used, it is necessary to re-input the plate-making image data and redo trimming and other image processing.
The data such as the position and size of the material data of the layout data is used as it is in the layout scanner as well, and the setting values for character data and the setting values for image processing of image data are also used as they are. You can In addition to the communication means, data output to each device is performed using a movable storage medium such as a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk.

Conventionally, since the image data could not be diverted, the operator separately inputs the printing data with the layout scanner 9 while looking at the comp and the like. If the layout scanner device uses high-resolution image data and outputs character data as high-resolution image data, all data can be made equivalent to the data of the layout scanner device. When color correction or the like is not required, it is possible to directly output to a plate-making film output device such as an image setter without performing layout by the plate-making device such as the layout scanner 9.

As a result, since the data created in the layout design work can be used as it is in the plate making process, the amount of work in the expensive layout scanner 9 can be reduced, and the layout work can be performed by the designer and the operator of the layout scanner 9. It is possible to reduce the work load because it does not need to be performed twice, and it is possible to reduce work mistakes such as mistakes caused by the operator performing the actual layout while looking at the layout decided by the designer. It is possible to rationalize the plate making process. The image input unit 2, the image output unit 7, and the data output unit 8 in the layout design apparatus 1 do not need to be provided in all the layout design apparatuses 1, and are mainly provided in the layout design apparatus 2 for image input and output. It should be provided.

Next, a layout design system of this embodiment, which enables distributed processing of layout work by using a plurality of layout design apparatuses 1 having the above-mentioned functions, will be described. FIG. 3 is an example in which the layout designing devices 1 and 3 described above are connected by a communication means a. The layout design devices 1a, 1b, 1c have the same configuration as the layout design device 1 and are connected to each other by a well-known communication means a, and the layout design devices 1a, 1b, 1c communicate with each other. It is possible to transfer each created data at high speed between the layout design apparatuses 1a, 1b and 1c via the communication means a.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the mounting means of each layout design device. The layout design device 1a has a configuration including image input means, and is mainly used as a device exclusively for material input. However, the layout design device 1a is the same as the layout design device 1 except for some functions, and also has the function of performing the layout design work described above. The layout design device 1b is a device that performs a layout design for each seed, and is a device in which the functions of image input, image output, and data output are deleted from the layout design device 1.
It should be noted that the layout design device 1 is used by using the communication means a.
It is possible to exchange data between a, 1b, and 1c.

The layout design device 1c is a device mainly configured to output the created data. The layout design device 1a is the same as the layout design device 1 except for some functions, and also has the function of performing the layout design work described above. Then, the above-mentioned business information for managing these devices in common is stored in these three layout design devices 1a, 1b, 1c. The layout design device 1a is provided with a management unit 11 that manages this business information.

The management unit 11 is basically the above-mentioned arithmetic unit, and is used for each layout design device 1a, 1a.
Data of start and end of each process output at the start and end of each process from b and 1c are totaled and output as a progress status management table described later. Further, the storage location of the business information is one of the three layout design apparatuses 1a, 1b, 1c, for example, a storage means of the layout design apparatus 1a. And
Layout design device 1 that does not store business information
In b and 1c, when performing registration to the business information, the communication function is used to output a signal for starting and ending each process, and this signal is input by the layout design device having the management means 11. The management means 11 registers the business information and updates and stores the content of the business information.

Further, the contents of the work information can be referred to from the layout design devices 1b and 1c which do not store the work information. Based on the instruction from each layout design device 1b and 1c, Management means 1
1 calls the business information file and communicates with a
Output through each layout design device 1b, 1c
The progress status of the work is displayed on the display screen of 1, and can be confirmed by the workers of the layout design apparatuses 1b and 1c.

FIG. 5 shows an output example of the progress status for one job. As shown in FIG. 5, when outputting the progress status of a job, the job name is output (job),
The types of printed materials such as leaflets, catalogs, and magazines are output (genre). Also, the number of pages (number of pages) of the printed matter,
The number of products (number of products, number of articles in the case of magazines) printed on the printed matter, and the number of photographs (number of photographs) used on the printed matter are output. Further, the number of pages for which layout design work has been completed (layout), the number of pages for which comp output has been completed (comp output), and the number of pages for which layout data has been output for platemaking (platemaking output) are output.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, each page of the printed matter corresponding to the business name is displayed as a rectangular frame 12. And below each rectangular frame 12, ...
The number of pages from the front cover is displayed, and the pages excluding the display and the back cover are spread, and two rectangular frames 12 ... Are displayed adjacent to each other. .. showing the three situations are displayed above the respective rectangular frames 12. Each of the progress information displays 13 indicates layout work, comp output, layout data output for plate making (plate making output). When nothing is displayed, the progress display 13 ... indicates a state in which work cannot be performed, a state in which material data has not been input in layout work, a state in which final layout data has not been input in comp output, and plate making output. In, the comp is not output.

Then, when a work is possible from the above state, a white square is displayed, and when the actual work is started,
The lower half of the open square is filled. Then, when the work is completed, a filled square is displayed. The layout work, comp output, plate making output progress status display 13 is color-coded, for example, the layout work is blue, the comp output is red, and the plate making output is black.

Further, the progress display 13 ... is displayed when the material data is input, the basic layout information is input, the basic layout information for layout and the material data are read, the layout data is finally registered, and the final layout data is displayed. When the business information in which the progress status is registered at the time of outputting the hard copy and outputting the layout data to the plate making apparatus is called, the registration status of each data is displayed.

For example, in the business information, if the input is registered for all of the material data and basic layout information for each page, a blue white outline is displayed as the progress status display 13 of the layout work of the page. When a square is displayed and registration of basic layout information and material data has been registered for the above page, a blue square with the lower half filled in is displayed, and the final layout data storage registration has been made. If it does, a square filled with blue is displayed.

Similarly, in the comp output, when the storage of the final layout data is registered, a red white square is displayed as the progress display 13 of the comp output of the page, which corresponds to the layout data. If there is a registration for starting hardcopy output, a red square with the lower half filled is displayed, and if there is a registration for ending the hardcopy, a red square is displayed. Further, with respect to the plate-making output, the same display is performed based on the plate-making output only by changing the color of the progress information display to black.

In addition, in the rectangular frames 12 ... Representing each of the above pages, the number of materials such as the number of products to be posted and the number of photos, the number of products and the number of photos that have been input are displayed before the layout work. When the data is registered, it is possible to switch to the reduced display of the layout screen of each page.

The business information file that enables the output as described above is managed by the management means 11 via the communication means a.
As a result, the layout designing apparatus which does not have the business information file can always access it. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a work management workstation to the layout design system, and a server workstation for storing the work information file is not required. Therefore, the layout design system of this embodiment does not have a workstation for business management or a server workstation for storing business information, which increases the facility cost of the entire system for business management. There is nothing to do.

As described above, according to the layout design apparatus of this embodiment and the layout design system using the layout design apparatus, the work management in the layout design-in process of the printed matter distributed by the plurality of workstations is centrally managed. It is possible to manage and facilitate management. Further, in distributed processing of layout design, input of material data, input of layout data, and output of layout data are often individually performed by different workers, but each worker uses each. From the layout design device,
You can call up the business information to know which page of which printed matter is workable, and each worker can easily and individually make an efficient work schedule without having to discuss work schedules. Therefore, each worker does not need to be particularly aware of work other than his / her own responsibility, other than checking the work information. Therefore, the work management becomes easy, and each worker can concentrate on the layout design work without the need to prepare and submit the documents for the work management.

Also, when the layout design of one printed matter is divided into pages and distributedly processed,
Since each worker and manager can confirm the progress of the layout of each page only by confirming the work information on the layout design device, an efficient work schedule can be planned.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, it is possible to add each layout design device according to the work scale and the number of workers, and connect them by the communication means a.
It is also possible to add an input means and an output means similarly if needed. It is also possible to install the layout design device at a remote location and perform the same work by the communication means a. For example, by installing the layout design device 1 at a print material production company, a publishing company or the like and a printing company. It becomes possible to apply. Further, as described above, by using high-resolution image data and character data, it is possible to reduce the work load of the plate making process.

[0062]

As described above, the present invention is a layout designing apparatus that can handle the work of the layout designing process of printed matter, and can also manage work. That is, by connecting a plurality of layout design device by the communication function, each layout design device outputs the start and end of each process as a signal, by totaling this and outputting to each layout design device,
It is possible to grasp the progress status of each process in each layout designing device that performs each process in a distributed manner. Therefore, it is not necessary for the administrator who manages the distributed processing to check the progress status of each processing and perform the work to put them together, and it is not necessary for each worker to report the progress of the processing that the worker is in charge of. It is possible to reduce the work load on workers and workers. Further, since each worker can grasp the progress status of the related processing in substantially real time, it is possible to efficiently perform the work from the work that can be processed, and improve the efficiency of the layout design work of the printed matter. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a layout design device of a layout design system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic work process in the layout design device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the layout design system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a function of each layout design device arranged in the layout design system.

FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining a progress situation data table displayed on the display means of the layout designing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 layout design apparatus (1a, 1b, 1c) 2 image input means 3 interactive input means 4 image display means 5 layout design apparatus main body (progress status output means) 6 storage means 7 image output means 8 data output means 11 management means (distributed) Processing management means) a Communication means (data transfer means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Yutaka Hirano 1-5-1 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Inside Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A process of inputting material data such as image data and character data, a process of setting a layout area for allocating these material data, a process of allocating the material data to the layout area, and a process of outputting these processing results. A layout design system for a printed matter, which comprises a plurality of layout design devices for performing the above-mentioned processes, which are provided in each of the layout design devices and each process of the layout design devices is performed in a distributed manner. Data transfer means for transferring data to each other, progress status output means provided in each of the layout design devices and outputting progress status data indicating a progress status based on the start and end of each processing, and the progress status Distributed processing management that aggregates progress data output from processing means Layout design system, characterized by comprising; and a stage. 2. The data transfer means includes a communication means for transferring various data, and the progress status management means aggregates the progress status data output from each layout design device using the communication means. Along with
A layout design system, which outputs progress status data aggregated based on an instruction from each layout designing device to each layout designing device.