JPH068537A - Printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily alter a table for controlling gradation by providing control means for printing image data according to print job read from a memory card by card reading means. CONSTITUTION:An operator sets a predetermined memory card 29 to a card operating unit 25, and presses a program button of a U/I 22. A controller 21, when sensing depression of the button, designates to read first image data in image data stored in the card 29 to the unit 25, and designates display of a set screen of a program print to a display controller 23. Thus, the unit 25 reads the first image data, expands the data, and transfers it to the controller 23. The controller 23 combines the data transferred from the unit 25 and a screen for setting predetermined print job, and displays it on a monitor.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a video printer is known which prints TV images in multiple gradations and in multiple colors. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration thereof, in which 1 is a control device including a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, 2 is a printing device,
Reference numeral 3 is a gradation control lookup table (hereinafter referred to simply as LU
Referred to as T), 4 is a frame memory, 5 is a monitor including a CRT, 6 is a button for instructing to start printing,
A user interface (hereinafter referred to as U / I) including buttons for various adjustments such as density adjustment, and 7 is an external device interface (hereinafter, the interface is referred to as I / F).
8) indicates an external device such as a TV camera or a VTR, and 9 indicates a bus. The printing device 2 may be a printer of any type, or a color printer,
A monochrome printer may also be used. It should be noted that the printing includes printing.

In the configuration of FIG. 13, when the UI 6 is instructed to take in the image data, the control device 1 takes in one screen of the image data currently input from the external device 8 through the external device I / F 7. The image is developed on the frame memory 4 and displayed on the monitor 5. Then, when a print start is instructed from the U / I 6 thereafter, the control device 1 reads out one print line from the frame memory 4 and supplies it to the printing device 2. By repeating this operation, the TV image is printed on the recording paper.

[0004]

However, in the conventional printer system, it takes a lot of time and labor to print many images continuously. That is, the conventional printer system has only the frame memory 4 for storing image data, and when printing a TV image, about 640 pixels in the horizontal direction and about 480 pixels in the vertical direction are sufficient. Therefore, since the frame memory 4 has only such a capacity, when many images are continuously printed,
For example, when the operator selects one image, the external device 8 is stopped until the printing of the image is completed,
Alternatively, it is necessary to repeatedly perform operations such as holding in a stop motion state, and it usually takes several minutes to print one image, so there is a problem that the operator is restrained for a long time. It was

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, for example, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 10 is connected to a bus 9, and image data to be printed on the PC 10 and its print job are created and stored. Aside
When printing an image, first, the control device 1 is made to read the print job from the PC 10. With such a configuration, the control device 1 automatically prints a predetermined number of images according to a print job, so that the operator is not restricted for a long time. Requires a single PC, so it is a large-scale system.

Further, since a conventional printer does not have a function of automatically printing a large number of images, a warning is given after the expendable supplies such as ink and recording paper are exhausted, and a PC is used. Then, when a large number of prints are automatically performed from the outside, there is a problem that the recording paper may run out in the middle and the operator must always be careful.

In the LUT 3, the pulse width of each strobe pulse is written, and the pulse width of each strobe pulse is the characteristic of the recording paper, the characteristic of the ink, the characteristic of the print head. In consideration of the above, it is set so that a desired γ characteristic can be obtained as a whole.
Therefore, when the ink or recording paper used is improved, the LUT3 also needs to be changed. However, since the conventional LUT3 is composed of a ROM, the printing apparatus 2 is disassembled and the R
It was necessary to replace the OM. There are also cases where it is desired to change the gradation characteristics depending on the source of the image, such as whether the image to be printed is an image recorded on a VTR or an image from a TV camera. In each case, it is necessary to disassemble the printing apparatus 2 and replace the LUT 3 each time, which is very troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer system having a simple structure and capable of easily and automatically printing many images in succession. It is a thing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer system capable of easily changing the gradation control table.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a printer system according to the present invention is a card for reading the contents of image data and print jobs from a memory card in which the contents of image data and print jobs are stored. A printer system including at least a reading unit, a control unit, and an image printing unit, wherein the control unit prints image data stored in the memory card according to a print job read from the memory card by the card reading unit. It is characterized by performing.

Further, according to the present invention, when the automatic printing is started, the required number of recording sheets or the like is calculated according to the contents of the print job, and is compared with the currently set number of recording sheets. If the number is small, a warning to that effect is issued, and if the number is large, printing is performed to avoid running out of recording paper and the like during automatic printing.

Further, the printer system of the present invention comprises card reading means for reading a memory card in which the gradation control table is written, control means, and printing means having memory means in which the gradation control table is written. In the printer system including at least the control means, the gradation control table read from the memory card by the card reading means is written in the memory means of the printing means.

[0013]

In the memory card, the image data and the print job for the image data stored in the card, that is, information defining what image data to print, in what order, and how many sheets to print are written. ing.
The control means first reads the print job from the card reading means, reads the image data from the memory card in the order determined by this print job, and prints the number of sheets designated by the print job. Here, the image data stored in the memory card can be data-compressed by an appropriate high-efficiency coding method.

Thus, desired images can be continuously and automatically printed in a desired order from a large number of images stored in the memory card.

At that time, the control means compares the number of sheets designated in the print job with the number of sheets of recording paper set in the printer. If the number of sheets set is small, a warning is issued, and the number is large. In this case, since printing is started, it is possible to prevent the recording paper and the like from running out during printing.

Further, when a memory card in which the gradation control table has been written is set in the card reading means, the control means reads the gradation control table from this memory card and reads the read gradation control table. The table is written in the memory means of the printing means. Therefore, even when it is necessary to change the gradation control table due to various factors, the gradation control table can be easily performed without performing troublesome work such as disassembling the printing means and replacing the ROM.

[0017]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a printer system according to the present invention, in which 20 is a bus, 21 is a control device,
22 is a U / I, 23 is a display controller, 24 is a monitor, 25 is a card operating device, 26 is a frame memory, 2
7 is a printing device, 28 is a memory, 29 is a memory card, 3
Reference numeral 0 represents an external device I / F, and 31 represents an external device.

In FIG. 1, the control device 21 centrally manages the operation of each part of the printer system, and is composed of a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits. The details of the operation will be described later.

The U / I 22 is for instructing various operations to the control device 21, and is provided with various operation buttons as shown in FIG. 2, for example. The function of each button will be described in detail later, but is roughly as follows. The memory button 32 and the print button 33 are buttons for performing the same print processing as in the related art. For example, an image to be printed is selected from the images input from the external device 31 by the memory button 32.
The image data can be printed by fetching the image data in No. 6 and pressing the print button 33.

The card print button 34 is a button for instructing execution of a program print described later.
The program button 35 is a button for calling the program print setting screen on the monitor 24. The multi button 36 is a button for calling up the monitor 24 with a multi print setting screen for printing a plurality of images on one recording sheet. The image quality button 37 is a button for calling the image quality correction setting screen on the monitor 24 when performing image quality correction when printing an image. The system button 38 is a button for calling the print mode or other system setting screen on the monitor 24. The record (REC) button 39 is a button for writing the image data written in the frame memory 26 into the memory card 29. The monitor button 40 is for switching the source of the video signal to be displayed on the monitor 24.
It is possible to selectively display, on the monitor 24, the image written in, the image stored in the memory card 29, or the image from the external device 31. The forward button 41 is a button for forwardly advancing the screen to be reproduced and displayed when the image data read from the memory card 29 is displayed on the monitor 24, and the reverse button 42 is for backward. It is a button for frame advance. The selection button 43 is a button for confirming numerical values of various parameters input on various setting screens. The execute button 44 is a button for confirming and ending all the items set in various setting screens. Four
Reference numerals 5 to 48 are buttons for moving the cursor displayed on the screen of the monitor 24 to the left, right, up, and down, respectively, and 45 is a value when a numerical value is input on the setting screen. One has a function of a so-called down button, and 46 also has a function of a so-called up button that adds one value when a numerical value is input on the setting screen.

The display controller 23 controls the display of various screens such as a menu screen and a screen requesting input from the U / I 22 on the screen of the monitor 24 including a color CRT or a color liquid crystal display device. A known configuration may be used.

The card operating device 25 includes a memory card 29.
The data stored in the memory card 29 is read, and the print job created by the U / I 22 is written in the memory card 29. As will be described later, in this embodiment, the image data stored in the memory card 29 is assumed to be data-compressed by an appropriate high-efficiency encoding method, so the card operating device 25 does not compress the compressed image data. It is provided with a means for extending.

The frame memory 26 is a memory for temporarily storing image data to be printed by the printing device 27, and can store, for example, image data of about 640 pixels (horizontal direction) × 480 pixels (vertical direction). Composed of memory.

The printing device 27 prints the image data supplied from the frame memory 26, and may be of any type, and may be a color printer or a monochrome printer.

The memory 28 is for writing a gradation control table, and is composed of an EPROM, an EEPROM, a non-volatile RAM, a RAM whose power source is backed up, or the like.

As the memory card 29, a so-called IC card having a CPU and a semiconductor memory mounted therein, a card-shaped memory having only a semiconductor memory mounted therein, an optical card, or the like can be used. Digital still camera system (Digital Still Ca
It is assumed that an 8-Mbit static RAM used in the mera System) is installed.

The memory card 29 is set in the digital still camera, and the photographed image data or the card operating device 25 is set in the frame memory 26.
There is a case where the image data written in is stored and used as an image memory card, and a case where the gradation control table is written. The memory structure when storing the image data is shown in FIG. 3A. Seems like ID
Information, address information of image information, related information of image information,
An area in which the print program information and the image information are written is set.

In FIG. 3A, information indicating that the memory card is a memory card in which image data is stored is written in the ID information area, and each stored image is stored in the address information of the image information. Information indicating from which address in the memory space of the memory card to which address is stored is written. The image information is an area in which image data taken by a digital still camera is accumulated, and as shown in FIG. 3B, image reproduction information is stored in addition to the image data. The image data may be written to the memory card 29 as it is without data compression, but here, in order to store a large amount of image data in one memory card 29, a high efficiency coding method, for example It is assumed that the data is compressed by the high efficiency coding method using the adaptive discrete cosine transform and the Huffman coding method. Also, as shown in FIG. 3C, the image reproduction information includes an ID number indicating what number of image data the image data is, a data amount after data compression,
Also, reproduction information that defines the hue, brightness, sharpness, contrast, etc. when the image is printed is written.

It is important to be able to set the hue, brightness, sharpness, contrast, etc. when printing in this way for each image. That is, it may be necessary to correct the image quality when printing due to the difference in the source of the image data or the quality of the exposure even when shooting with a digital still camera. In such a case, conventionally, it is necessary to set the content of the correction each time or to leave the information of the image quality correction by writing a memo or the like, but according to the present invention, the image quality corresponding to the image Since the content of the correction is stored, the image quality is always corrected and printed with the same content, so that the labor required for the image quality correction can be greatly reduced.

The related information of the image information is an area in which grouping information for multi-printing, that is, information indicating a combination of images in multi-printing and its arrangement is written, and the multi-button 3 of the U / I 22 is used.
6, the first stored image of the memory card 29 is stored in the upper left of the recording paper, the third stored image is stored in the upper right of the memory card 29, and the seventh stored in the memory card 29, as shown in FIG. 4A. 4B in the area of the related information of the image information of the memory card 29 when it is set to print the image stored in the lower left and the image stored in the sixth in the lower right. The number of the image to be arranged next is written in the item of each image. Note that “0” written in the item of image 6 in FIG. 4B indicates that it is the last image to be grouped. In addition, here, it is assumed that the following arrangement is set from left to right and then from top to bottom. Further, although FIG. 4B shows that only one grouping information of multi-print can be set, it is natural that a plurality of grouping information can be set.

The print program information is an area in which a print job is written, which image is printed in what order and how many sheets are to be printed. Figure 5
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a print job set by the U / I 22 and written in the area of the print program information. According to this example, first five images of the first image are printed, and then the tenth image is printed. The third image is printed three times, then the second image is printed one sheet, then the one set as multi-print 1 is printed three times, and the one set as multi-print 2 next Is printed, and finally three indexes are printed, and the print job ends. When executing this print job, the control device 21 determines which image and which position based on the grouping information written in the item of the multi-print 1 of the related information of the image information when executing the job 4. It is natural to decide what to place. The same applies to the multi-print 2 of job 5. In addition, in FIG. 5, the index is a job for multi-printing all the images stored in the memory card 29 in numerical order, for example, one recording paper is divided into 16 or 25, and is multi-printed by this index job. All the images stored in the memory card 29 can be listed.

The memory structure for storing image data has been described above. However, in the case of a memory card in which the gradation control table is written, as shown in FIG. In addition to being written, an ID indicating that the gradation control table is written in the memory card is written.

When the memory card 29 is set in the card operating device 25, the control device 21 reads the ID of the memory card 29, and when the memory card recognizes that the image data is stored, U / I2
2 is waited for operation, but when it is recognized that the gradation control table is written, the content is read and written in the memory 28.

Next, the operation of each part of the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described together with the operation performed by the operator. First, the case of creating a print job will be described. First, the operator inserts a predetermined memory card 29 into the card operating device 25.
And press the program button 35 of the U / I 22. When the control device 21 detects that the program button 35 is pressed, the control device 21 instructs the card operating device 25 to read the first image data from the image data stored in the memory card 29, and The display controller 23 is instructed to display the program print setting screen. As a result, the card operating device 25 reads the first image data, decompresses the data, and transfers it to the display controller 23. Display controller 2
3 displays the image data transferred from the card operating device 25 and a screen for preset print job setting on the monitor 24 in combination. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the screen, and the monitor 24 is requested to set whether or not the job 1 is a job for printing the image 1 which is the first image together with the first image. The text information to be displayed is displayed. The number of pixels of the image read out from the memory card 29 and expanded is 640 pixels (horizontal direction) x
It has about 480 pixels (vertical direction), and this image is on monitor 2
4 will be displayed in a predetermined area.
Therefore, the image displayed on the monitor 24 is enlarged or reduced according to the number of pixels in the image display area of the monitor 24. Further, in FIG. 7A, 50 indicates a cursor.

When the job 1 can print the image 1, the operator presses the selection button 43 while the display of FIG. 7A is displayed. However, when the user wants to print the third image first, The image is frame-advanced by the forward button 41. At this time, the control device 21 displays the forward button 4
Each time 1 is pressed, the card operating device 25 is instructed to read the next screen. When the image 3 is displayed on the monitor 24 in this way and the selection button 43 is pressed in that state,
The control device 21 determines to print the image 3 as the job 1, and then instructs the display controller 23 to display a screen requesting the input of the number of prints. This allows the monitor 2
For example, the screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed at 4. When the selection button 43 is pressed in this screen state, the number of prints is set to one, but by inputting a desired value with the up button 46 and pressing the selection button 43, the number of prints can be set to a desired value. You can Note that FIG.
In B, the illustration of the image 3 is omitted. The same applies hereinafter.

When the setting of the image and the number of prints is completed as described above, the setting of job 1 is completed. At that time, if the execution button 44 is pressed, the setting of the print job is completed, and the monitor 24 displays a predetermined value. Although the initial screen is displayed, when the selection button 43 is pressed, the screen shown in FIG. 7C is displayed.
A screen for setting the job 2 is displayed as shown in FIG.

The above is the operation for setting a job for printing one image on one sheet of recording paper, but when performing a multi-print job or index job, for example, in the state of FIG. 7A or 7C Press the button 45 or the up button 46. Thus, for example, a screen in which a multi-print job can be selected as shown in FIG. 8A or a screen in which an index job can be selected as shown in FIG. 8B can be displayed, and a multi-print job or an index job can be selected from this screen. Is made possible.

When the execution button 44 is pressed after the desired job is set by repeating the above operations, the control device 21 fixes all the set jobs, and the contents of the confirmed jobs are stored in the memory card 29. The print job information is written in the print program information area and the print job setting process ends.

Next, the operation and operation for selecting an image and setting the layout when setting the multi-print will be described. First of all, the operator uses the specified memory card 2
9 is set on the card operating device 25, and the multi-button 36 of the U / I 22 is pressed. The control device 21 has a multi button 36
When it is detected that is pressed, the card operating device 25 is instructed to read all the image data stored in the memory card 29, and the display controller 23 is caused to display the multi-print setting screen. Give instructions. As a result, the card operating device 25 reads out all the image data stored in the memory card 29,
The data is decompressed and transferred to the display controller 23. On the other hand, the display controller 23 uses the card operating device 2
The image data transferred from 5 is displayed on the multi-screen, and the cursor is displayed at a predetermined image position, for example, the position of image 1. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing an example of the screen. The screen of the monitor 24 is divided into 16 parts, and although omitted in the drawing, images 1 to 16 are displayed in the respective areas, and the upper left corner is displayed. A rectangular cursor 51 is displayed in the field of the image 1 to be displayed. At this time, it goes without saying that each image is reduced to have a predetermined size. The screen of the monitor 24 is 16 in FIG. 9A.
Although it is divided, it is clear that it may be divided into 25.
In the case of 16 divisions as shown in FIG. 9A, when 17 or more images are stored in the card memory 29, the first 16 images are displayed as the first page, and the subsequent images are the second page. The page feed of the split screen can be performed by the forward feed button 41 or the reverse feed button 42.

Now, in the state of the screen shown in FIG. 9A,
The cursor 51 is moved to a desired image position by operating the cursor buttons 45 to 48, and the selection button 43
By pressing, the image to be multi-printed and its position can be set. For example, now image 1,
If four images are selected in the order of image 3, image 7, and image 6, the monitor 24 displays a numerical value indicating the selected order in the area of the selected image as shown in FIG. 9B. Then, when the execute button 44 is pressed in the state shown in FIG. 9B, the control device 21 recognizes which image and how it is arranged, creates grouping information, and as shown in FIG. Write in the related information area of the image information.

In the above description, the case where four images are printed on one sheet of recording paper has been taken as an example, but as multi-printing, more images can be printed on one sheet of recording paper. Of course there is.

Next, the operation and operation when setting the parameters for image quality correction will be described. First, the operator sets a predetermined memory card 29 in the card operating device 25 and presses the image quality button 37 of the U / I 22. When the control device 21 detects that the image quality button 37 has been pressed,
The card operating device 25 is instructed to read out the image data of the image 1 from the memory card 29, and the display controller 23 is instructed to display the image quality correction setting screen. Thereby, the card operating device 25 reads the image data of the image 1, decompresses the data, and transfers the data to the display controller 23. Further, the display controller 23 synthesizes the image data transferred from the card operating device 25 and a predetermined screen for image quality correction, and displays it on the monitor 24. FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of the screen, and the monitor 24 displays an image 1 (not shown) and a menu for setting correction values of hue, brightness, sharpness, and contrast. Note that, here, the correction value of each item is set by determining the correction amount from the standard value.

For example, if the brightness of the image 3 is to be corrected, the forward button 41 is pressed twice in the state of FIG. 10A. As a result, the monitor 24 displays the image 3 and a menu for setting the correction value, as in FIG. 10A. Therefore, the cursor 52 may be moved to the item of brightness with the cursor buttons 47 and 48, and a desired correction value may be input with the down button 45 or the up button 46. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a state in which the brightness correction value is set to +3. When the execute button 44 is pressed in this state, the control device 21 fixes the correction value, and the confirmed correction value of the image 3 is displayed. Write in the image reproduction information area.

Next, the operation and operation during image printing will be described. First, as in the conventional case, the operation and operation for selecting and printing an image to be printed each time are as follows. When printing an image from the external device 31, the source is switched with the monitor button 40 to display the image from the external device 31 on the monitor 24, and the stop motion or frame advance function of the external device 31 is used. The image to be printed is displayed on the monitor 24 as a still image. When the memory button 32 is pressed in that state, the control device 21 writes the image data of the screen in the frame memory 26. Then, when the print button 33 is pressed, a message for requesting the setting of the selected image (not shown) and the number of prints is displayed on the monitor 24, for example, as shown in FIG. In this state, when the number of prints is set by the down button 45 or the up button 46 and the execute button 44 is pressed, the control device 21 first obtains the number of recording papers stored in the printing device 27,
It is determined whether the number of stored sheets is more or less than the set number of prints. If more recording papers than the set number of prints are stored, it is determined that printing is possible, and the printing device 27 is instructed to start printing.
The image data is transferred from the frame memory 26 to the printing device 27 for each printing line. This allows memory button 3
The image selected in 2 is printed.

However, when the number of recording sheets is smaller than the number of print sheets, it is necessary to replenish the recording sheets in the middle of printing, so it is judged that printing is impossible and the printing apparatus 27 is instructed to start printing. Instead, a warning message requesting the supply of recording paper is displayed on the monitor 24. In this case, when the control device 21 determines that the recording paper is replenished and the number of stored sheets is larger than the number of printed sheets, the control device 21 instructs the printing device 27 to start printing, and the frame memory 26 reads 1
The image data is transferred to the printing device 27 for each printing line.
As a method for detecting the number of recording papers, for example, a method of detecting the weight or thickness of the recording papers stored and determining the number of recording papers currently stored from the weight or thickness of one recording paper, or an ink sheet When the cassette for storing the recording paper is set as a set, there is a method of obtaining the remaining amount of the recording paper from the remaining amount of the ink sheet.

When printing the image stored in the memory card 29, the source is switched by the monitor button 40 to display the image from the card operating device 25 on the monitor 24, and the forward button 41, reverse button. The feed button 42 is operated to display the image to be printed on the monitor 24. When the memory button 32 is pressed in that state, the control device 21 writes the image data of the screen in the frame memory 26. At this time, the control device 21 also takes in the image reproduction information set for the image and stores it in the internal memory (not shown in FIG. 1). After that, when the print button 33 is pressed, a message requesting the setting of the selected image and the number of prints is displayed on the monitor 24 as in the case of FIG. In this state, when the number of prints is set by the down button 45 or the up button 46 and the execute button 44 is pressed, the control device 21 first causes the printing device 2
The number of recording sheets stored in 7 is calculated, and it is determined whether the number of stored recording sheets is larger or smaller than the set number of prints.
When the number of recording sheets is smaller than the number of prints, the printing device 27 is not instructed to start printing,
A warning message requesting the supply of recording paper is displayed on the monitor 24. If more recording papers than the set number of prints are stored, image reproduction information is given to the printing device 27 to start printing. And the image data is transferred from the frame memory 26 to the printing device 27 for each printing line. As a result, each unit of the printing device 27 is set to a state that satisfies the given image reproduction condition,
Printing is done.

Next, the case of performing the program print will be described. When the memory card 29 is set in the card operating device 25 and the card print button 34 is pressed,
The control device 21 reads the print program information of the memory card 29, first finds the total number of prints set for each job, and also finds the number of recording papers stored in the printing device 27. It is determined whether the number is larger than the number. If more recording sheets than the total number of prints are stored, the jobs set by this print program are executed in the order of job numbers.

At this time, when the job is a job for printing one image on one sheet of recording paper, the controller 21
Reads the image data selected in the job from the memory card 29 and writes it in the frame memory 26, reads the image reproduction information and gives it to the printing device 27,
Instruct to start printing. As a result, the number of images set in the job is printed as the number of images set in the image reproduction information.

When the job is multi-print, the control device 21 first reads the related information of the image information of the memory card 29, recognizes the image set in the multi-print job and its arrangement, Next, those images are sequentially read from the memory card 29 and written in a predetermined area of the frame memory 26. At that time, each image is naturally reduced to a predetermined magnification. After that, the control device 21 instructs the printing device 27 to start printing, and transfers the image data from the frame memory 26 to the printing device 27 one printing line at a time. As a result, the multi-print in which the image set by the related information of the image information is arranged as set is obtained.

When the job is an index job, the control device 21 sequentially reads all the images from the memory card 29, reduces the images at a predetermined magnification, expands them in the frame memory 26, and sends them to the printing device 27. Instruct to start printing. When all the images stored in the memory card 29 cannot be printed on one recording sheet, for example, 20 images are stored in the memory card 29, while 16 images are stored in the index job. Is set to multi-print, the control device 21 first reduces the first 16 images and writes them in the frame memory 26, and after the printing of the index is completed by a predetermined number, the remaining 4 images are printed. The data is read out, reduced, written into the frame memory 26, and printed.

The operation of the operator and the operation of the printer system in the case of using the memory card in which the image data is stored have been described above. Next, the case of using the memory card in which the gradation control table is written will be described. .

When the memory card 29 is set in the card operating device 25, the control device 21 sets the memory card 2
Read the ID of 9. When the memory card 29 recognizes from the read ID that the gradation control table has been written, the written gradation control table is read and written in the memory 28 of the printing apparatus 27. As a result, the gradation control table written in the memory card is set in the memory 28, and thereafter, gradation expression is performed by this gradation control table. Therefore, it is possible to easily obtain desired gradation characteristics by preparing a memory card in which various gradation control tables are written.

The above is the case where one gradation control table is written in one memory card.
When a plurality of gradation control tables are written in one memory card, for example, a gradation control table selection menu screen may be displayed on the monitor 24 so that the U / I 22 can be selected. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, it is also possible to record LUT data, that is, a gradation control table, as related information for each image data in the same memory card. When the printing of the image data is instructed, the control device 21 first reads the gradation control table attached to this image data and reads the memory 2
8 and then gives an instruction to start printing of the image data. Therefore, it is possible to switch the gradation control table for each image.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the types and arrangements of the buttons provided on the U / I are not limited to those shown in FIG. 2, and it goes without saying that various settings can be made. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the menu for setting a print job or setting a correction value for image quality correction is displayed superimposed on the image, but it may be displayed in a window. Further, the warning when the recording paper is insufficient is not limited to the message display, and a warning sound may be issued.

[0056]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a large amount of image data can be stored in a small memory card, and the print program thereof can be written. It is not necessary to dedicate a PC to the computer, and the entire system can be downsized.

Further, since printing can be automatically performed by the print program, unmanned operation can be performed without restraining the operator for a long time. Furthermore, since it is checked whether or not the recording paper is sufficient at the start of printing, it is possible to avoid an operation such as replenishing the recording paper during the operation even when performing an unmanned operation.

Further, according to the present invention, since the gradation control table can be easily changed, the difference in the source of the video signal,
It is possible to easily deal with a change in ink or recording paper of the printing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of U / I operation buttons.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a memory structure of a memory card in which image data is stored.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating multi-printing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating print program information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a memory structure of a memory card in which a gradation control table is written.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating print program settings.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating print program settings.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a multi-print setting.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating image quality correction setting.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a menu screen when printing is performed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of a memory structure of a memory card in which image data is stored.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional printer system.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a conventional printer system.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 ... Bus, 21 ... Control device, 22 ... U / I, 23 ... Display controller, 24 ... Monitor, 25 ... Card operating device, 26 ... Frame memory, 27 ... Printing device, 28 ... Memory, 29 ... Memory card, 30 ... External device I / F, 3
1 ... External device.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printer system comprising at least a card reading unit for reading the contents of the image data and the print job from a memory card in which the contents of the image data and the print job are stored, a control unit, and a printing unit. The control means, according to the print job read from the memory card by the card reading means,
A printer system for printing image data stored in the memory card. 2. The control means obtains the total number of prints set in a print job and the number of recording papers stored in the printing means before starting printing, and the number of recording papers is the total number of prints. 2. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein the print means is instructed to start a print job when the number of print jobs exceeds the limit. 3. The printer system according to claim 2, further comprising an alarm unit, wherein the control unit sets the total number of prints set in a print job prior to the start of printing and the recording papers stored in the printing unit. A printer system, wherein the number of sheets is calculated, and when the number of recording sheets is less than the total number of prints, the alarm means is instructed to generate an alarm. 4. A printer system comprising at least card reading means for reading a memory card in which a gradation control table is written, control means, and printing means having a memory means in which the gradation control table is written. The printer system, wherein the control means writes the gradation control table read from the memory card by the card reading means into the memory means of the printing means.