JPH09207385A - Color printing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To economize the amount of a ribbon used without developing hard-to-read character or the like by a method wherein the processing of a color painting command is performed by outputting the interior of the region of a contour information on the basis of the color information of the region to be printed in normal mode, or by outputting the contour portion of the contour information on the basis of the color information of the region to be printed in economy mode. SOLUTION: At the step a1, a command is inputted. At step a2, whether the inputted command is a color printing command or not is judged. At the step a3, when the inputted command is a color painting command, whether the color painting command is in a normal mode or in an economy mode is judged. At the step a4, when the color painting mode is in a normal mode, the interior of the region, which is defined by a contour information so as to be printed on the basis of the contour information and color information, is painted out in the color defined by the color information of the region to be printed in order to perform normal color printing. Or, at the step a5, when the color printing mode is in an economy mode, the interior of the region, which is defined by the contour information so as to be printed, is painted out in white and further, new contour information and color information is obtained. At the step a6, the contour portion of the contour information is painted in the color defined by the color information of the region to be printed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention transmits print data including a command and various information from an external device such as a host computer, receives the transmitted print data, and outputs the color data.
Belongs to the technical field of color printing method and apparatus for printing,
In particular, a page description code is transmitted from an external device such as a host computer, and the transmitted page description code is once converted into intermediate data such as run length data, vertex coordinate data and bitmap data. , Which belongs to the technical field of a color printing method and apparatus for expanding the converted intermediate data into bitmap data for each basic color and then printing this.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a host computer such as a personal computer, an operator draws a screen by using a page description language, that is, by inputting codes or data defining the screen. This page description language is designed to be easy for an operator to recognize and to reduce the number of input data. An example is shown in FIG. In the figure, for example, page description code 101 shows an example of the page description code for drawing a circle having a center coordinate of (1000, 1875) and a radius of 500 in black. Hereinafter, the page description code refers to data defining a figure or character input according to the page description language.

In order to print a screen drawn by an operator by a color printer such as a color ink jet printer, the basic colors corresponding to the screen are C (cyan), M (magenta) and Y. Bitmap data for each (yellow) and K (black) is required. This bitmap data has 1-bit data indicating the presence / absence of printing for each dot or pixel corresponding to the two-dimensional position on the output of the color printer, and as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Has a data length of 2481 × 3508 bits for a screen of 1 page composed of 2481 × 3508 pixels.

In such a color printing apparatus, a method in which a page description code sent from a host computer is converted into intermediate data which can be easily expanded into bit map data is widely used. For example, when the page description code is the code data "draw a circle", it is converted into intermediate data indicating a regular polygon having many vertices. Then, the converted intermediate code is expanded into bit map data and output to the output means. When the page description code is converted into intermediate data and the converted intermediate code is expanded into bit map data in this way, the bitmap data is directly output from the page description code.
The bit map data can be expanded faster than the data expansion process.

Various formats have been proposed for this intermediate data, and an example of converting the curve figure into vertex coordinate data indicating each vertex of a linear figure approximating the curve figure (referred to as a vertex coordinate format) is given. , An example of converting coordinate data indicating a print start position and a print end position for each scanning line of a pixel forming means (for example, a laser in the case of a laser printer) (called a run length format), a bit map data corresponding to a page description code -When the data is already stored in the storage means, an example of converting it into a storage address indicating the position where the bitmap data is stored, or bitmap data
There is an example in which it is processed as intermediate data after being expanded into data. In the case of the last example, since the intermediate data already developed in the bitmap data is used, the intermediate data may be output as it is. Further, the same color printer converts a plurality of specific page description codes into run length format intermediate data and other specific description codes into vertex coordinate format intermediate data. May have intermediate data in the form of.

In developing the intermediate data into bitmap data, one page of intermediate data is bitmapped data.
There is a method of expanding the data into a plurality of areas (bands) and a method of expanding intermediate data into bitmap data for each area (called a band processing method). The former method is a method of providing a storage means for storing one page of bitmap data. On the other hand, in the latter method (band processing method), one page is divided into a plurality of areas, an intermediate code is stored for each area, and the intermediate code can be expanded into bitmap data. Prepare at least two, and use the storage means alternately while
This is a method of sequentially expanding the data into bitmap data. According to this method, it is sufficient to use at least two storage means having a storage capacity capable of expanding the intermediate code of one area in one page into the bitmap data, so that the intermediate code can be set in units of one page. The total storage capacity of the storage means for storing the expanded bit map data can be smaller than that of the method of expanding the bit map data into the bit map data.

[0007]

In such a color printing apparatus, if there is an area in which color information is registered, that area is color printed based on the registered color information. Specifically, pattern data (for example, one pattern data is stored in the color printing device or sent from the host computer, which indicates the print density for each basic color. The contour of the area to be printed sent from the host computer by using 4 × 4 = 16 pixels and painting a predetermined pixel among a plurality of pixels with a corresponding color according to the print density). Based on the information indicating the portion, pattern data is spread over the area to be printed (called a screen process) to form bitmap data for each basic color to form a pattern. Store in the memory. Then, the bitmap data for each basic color is output to the print engine corresponding to each basic color to perform color printing.

Since a large amount of ink or ribbon is used for printing the area as compared with printing of character information or the like, color printing of an area in which color information is registered is more expensive than monochrome ink or monochrome ribbon. A certain color ink or color
A large amount of ribbon will be used. Therefore, when there is an area in which color information is registered, it is difficult to repeatedly print for checking the layout and the like.
Therefore, in order to save the amount of color ink or color ribbon used at the time of checking, a method of selecting a draft mode and performing draft printing (thinning-out printing) has been considered. However, the amount of color ink or color ribbon used cannot be saved so much even if draft printing is performed. Further, when draft printing is performed, if the character information or the like is included, the character becomes difficult to read, and it is difficult to check the character. The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and provides a color printing method and apparatus capable of saving the amount of color ink or color ribbon used without making characters difficult to read. The challenge is to provide.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes contour information indicating the contour of an area to be printed inputted from the outside, color information and various commands. In the color printing method for performing color printing based on print data, it is possible to set a saving mode and a normal mode, and to process a color painting command which is one of the inputted commands. If the normal mode is set, the inside of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed, and the saving mode is set. If it exists, the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed. In the color printing method according to the first aspect of the present invention, when print data including outline information indicating the outline of an area to be printed, color information, and a color painting command is sent from an external device such as a host computer. , It is judged whether the normal mode or the saving mode is set, and if the normal mode is set, the printing is performed within the area to be printed indicated by the contour information. Output based on the color information of the area to be printed, and if the saving mode is set, output only the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information based on the color information of the area to be printed. To do. As a result, the amount of color ink or color ribbon used can be saved without making characters difficult to read, and the original color of the area to be printed can be expressed.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the same as the claim 1.
In the color printing method described in (1), when the saving mode is set, the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is determined so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined. It is configured to output based on the color information of. The color printing method according to claim 2 is a region to be printed such that the overlapping state of regions can be determined when the saving mode is set when print data is input from the outside. The contour portion of is output based on the color information of the area. As a result, the overlapping state of the regions can be reproduced, and the original print result can be easily imagined.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as the claim 2
In the color printing method described in the paragraph 1, when the saving mode is set, the contour portion of one of the plurality of areas among the contour portions of the areas generated by the overlapping of the plurality of areas. It is configured to output only the contour part that is. In the color printing method according to the third aspect, when the saving mode is set, the contour portion of the area where the plurality of areas overlap each other is one of the plurality of overlapping areas. Only the contour portion of the area, for example, only the contour portion of the area drawn at the top is output. Thereby, the overlapping state of the regions can be easily determined.

The invention described in claim 4 is the same as the claim 2.
Or the color printing method described in any one of 3 above, the color printing method is configured to output at least a region other than a contour portion of a region to be printed with a predetermined color. According to the color printing method of claim 4, when the saving mode is set,
The outline portion of the area to be printed is output so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined based on the color information of the area to be printed, and at least the area outside the outline portion of the area to be printed has a predetermined color, for example, white. To output. As a result, it is possible to easily perform the process of outputting the contour portion of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined.

According to the invention of claim 5, the print data including the contour information indicating the contour of the area to be printed, the color information and various commands is sent to the color printing device to perform the color printing. The color printing method can be set to the saving mode and the normal mode, and when the normal mode is set,
When a saving mode is set, a command indicating that the area inside the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information about the area to be printed is sent, and if the saving mode is set, the normal mode is set. The command is sent in place of the command indicating that the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a color printing method, an external device such as a foscotone printer sends print data including contour information indicating a contour of an area to be printed, color information and various commands to the color printing device. When performing color printing by using the normal mode, a command is sent to output in the area of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information based on the color information of the area to be printed when the normal mode is set, and the saving mode is set. When the mode is set, a command indicating that the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed is sent. Thus, color printing can be performed in a normal mode or in a saving mode in which the amount of color ink or color ribbon used is saved by a command sent from an external device to the color printing device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the color printing apparatus includes input means for inputting print data including contour information indicating a contour of a region to be printed, color information and various commands. A mode setting means for setting a saving mode and an output data forming means for forming output data based on the print data input by the input means, and a color painting command is input. When the saving mode is set, the output data of the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is formed based on the color information of the area to be printed. It comprises a data forming means and an output means for printing out based on the output data. According to another aspect of the color printing apparatus of the present invention, when print data including area information indicating a contour of an area to be printed, color information, and a color painting command is input from an external device such as a host computer, When the saving mode is set in the mode setting means, the output data forming means outputs the output data of the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information to the printing area. It is formed based on the color information of and is given to the output means. As a result, the saving mode for performing color printing by saving the amount of color ink or color ribbon used can be set on the color printer device side, and in the saving mode, the area to be printed. The original color of can be expressed.

The invention described in claim 7 is the same as claim 6
In the color printing apparatus described in the paragraph (1), the output data forming means, when the saving mode is set, the plurality of areas among the contour portions of the areas generated by the overlapping of the plurality of areas. The output data is formed so as to be output only by the contour portion which is the contour portion of one area in the. The color printing apparatus according to claim 7 is an output device.
The data forming means, when the saving mode is set,
Regarding the contour part of a region where a plurality of regions are overlapped, output is performed so that only the contour part of one region of the plurality of overlapped regions, for example, only the contour part of the region drawn on top is output. Form the data. As a result, the overlapping state of the regions can be reproduced, and the original print result can be easily imagined.

The invention described in claim 8 is the same as the claim 7.
In the color printing apparatus described in the paragraph (1), the output data forming means, when the saving mode is set, outputs the output data in which a predetermined color is at least in an area of the area to be printed, which is not a contour portion. -Forms data. The color according to claim 8.
In the printing apparatus, the output data forming means determines the overlapping state of the areas of the contour portion of the area to be printed based on the color information of the area to be printed when the saving mode is set. In addition to forming output data that can be output so as to be discriminated, output data that forms a predetermined color in at least the non-contoured area of the area to be printed is formed. This makes it possible to easily form output data for outputting the contour portion of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a color printing method and apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a color printing device of the present invention, which uses a band processing method. Color
The printing device is connected to the host computer 1 via a communication line 5, and is provided with a control circuit 2, various display and parameters.
A panel 3 and a print engine 4 for setting the data and the like are provided. The control circuit 2 is an input interface circuit (I /
F) 11, CPU (central processing unit) 12, ROM (read only memory) 13, RAM (read / write memory) 1
4, an input / output interface circuit (I / F) 15 and an output interface circuit (I / F) 16. These constituent elements are connected to the communication bus 17, and data is exchanged via the communication bus 17.

In the ROM 13, a program for receiving a page description code or the like sent from the host computer 1 and storing it in the receiving buffer 28, a page description code or the like stored in the receiving buffer 14 are stored in the intermediate. A program for converting the data into intermediate data, a program for expanding the intermediate data into bitmap data for each basic color, and a developed bitmap data for each basic color via the output interface circuit 16. Program to output to the print engine 4 corresponding to each basic color,
Based on the parameters stored in the parameter memory 27, a program for performing normal mode color printing or saving mode color printing for saving the amount of color ink or color ribbon used The parameters stored in the parameter memory 27 based on various displays on the panel 3 and the operation of the panel 3 via the output interface 15.
A program for changing the data is stored. Further, the ROM 13 is a bitmap data forming a character specified by a character description code included in the page description code.
RO that stores data and outline data
I have M.

The RAM 14 has, for example, 1 memory as shown in FIG.
Band memories 21 to 2 for storing intermediate data for each band such as band (1) to band (4) obtained by dividing a page into four
3. Band buffers 24 and 25 for storing bit map data expanded for each band, and page description code as intermediate data
A work memory 26 for temporarily storing various data in a process of converting the intermediate data into bitmap data, a process of outputting the bitmap data to the print engine 4, etc. , Parameters for memorizing various parameters
It has a data memory 27, a reception buffer 28 for storing received data, and the like.

The intermediate data stored in each of the band memories 21 to 23 is composed of a packet and shape intermediate data or a packet and character intermediate data. Each packet is
It is provided for each page description code and is composed of an identifier, color data, position data, pointer data and the like. The identifier stores in what format the intermediate data is stored, for example, specifies the address of the font ROM, specifies the polygon shape data in the shape intermediate data group, or the shape intermediate data group. It indicates whether the run length data or the address of the bit matte data is designated. If polygonal shape data is specified, it is to fill the inside of the area indicated by the shape data, or draw the outline portion of the area indicated by the shape data. It also has an identifier that distinguishes whether it is. The color data indicates the color of characters and figures and is obtained from the page description code. The position data indicates the position of a character or graphic on a page, and is determined from the page description code or the order in which the page description code is sent. The pointer data is an address indicating a storage location of intermediate data corresponding to the shape of a character or a figure. For example, when the curve is approximated by a polygon, the stored address of the vertex coordinate data defining the shape of the polygon is indicated. If the page description code is a character code, the bitmap data of the character corresponding to the character code is written.
Font R in which data and outline data are stored
Indicates the OM address. In addition, shape intermediate data other than a predetermined pattern such as characters, for example, intermediate data defining a polygon or run length data is stored in the intermediate shape data group storage area, and pointer data indicates its address.

In the case of the color printer shown in FIG. 1, after the page description code for one page is stored in the reception buffer 28,
The intermediate data is converted into intermediate data of a format suitable for the type of the page description code, and the converted intermediate data is stored in the band memories 21 to 23 corresponding to each area (band). Then, the band processing is executed while alternately using the two band buffers 24 and 25, and the output for one page is executed.

The input means in the present invention corresponds to the input interface circuit 11, and the mode setting means corresponds to the panel 3. Further, the output data forming means in the present invention is realized by the CPU 12 which operates according to the program stored in the ROM 13. The output means in the present invention corresponds to the print engine 4.

Next, the operation of the color printer of the present invention when various commands are sent from the host computer 1 will be described. The color printing apparatus of the present invention, in accordance with the setting state of the parameter indicating the mode stored in the parameter memory 27, color printing in normal mode or color ink or color ribbon. Saving mode to save usage
Color printing is performed.

The operation of setting the parameter indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 by the key operation of the panel 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Panel 3 usually shows [R
EADY] is displayed. (Fig. 4a) In this state, the "Online" key is operated to display [OFF LINE] on the panel 3. (Fig. 4b) Next, operate the "MENU" key to display [Whi
te Fill? ] Is displayed. (Fig. 4c) In this state, operate the "SET" key to display [N
[O] is displayed. (Fig. 4d) When setting the normal mode, operate the "SET" key in this state. As a result, for example, the flag indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 becomes "0". When setting the saving mode, the "NEXT" key is operated in the state of FIG. 4d to display [YES] on the panel 3. (FIG. 4
e) Then, in this state, the "SET" key is operated. As a result, for example, the flag indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 becomes "1". If the flag indicating the mode is set to "0" to indicate the setting of the normal mode and set to "1" to indicate the setting of the saving mode, is the normal mode set? The determination as to whether the saving mode is set is made by determining whether the flag indicating the mode is "0" or "1".

FIG. 5 shows the operation when various commands are sent from the host computer 1 with the parameters indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 set as described above. A description will be given based on the flowchart shown. In step (a1), it is determined whether or not a command is input from the host computer 1, and when the command is input, the process proceeds to step (a2). In step (a2), the input command is a color painting command (for example, "fil" in PostScript which is one of page description languages).
If it is a color painting command, the process proceeds to step (a3), and if it is not a color painting command, the process proceeds to step (a7). At step (a3), it is judged whether the parameter indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 is set to the normal mode or the saving mode, and the normal mode is set. If so, the process proceeds to step (a4), and if the economy mode is set, the process proceeds to step (a5). In step (a4), based on the contour information and the color information sent from the host computer, the area of the area to be printed, which is indicated by the contour information, is filled with the color of the color information of the area to be printed. Color
Perform printing. In step (a5), the area of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is filled with white, new contour information and color information are obtained, and the process proceeds to step (a6).
In step (a6), the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is drawn in the color of the color information of the area to be printed. In step (a7), it is determined whether the input command is a contour drawing command. If it is a contour drawing command, the process proceeds to step (a6), and if it is not a contour drawing command, the process proceeds to step (a8). In step (a8), it is determined whether the input command is a color information registration command. If it is a color information registration command, the process proceeds to step (a9) to register the color information, and the command must be the color information registration command. If so, go to step (a10). In step (a10), it is determined whether the input command is a contour information registration command. If it is a contour information registration command, the process proceeds to step (a11) to register contour information, and it must be a contour information registration command. Step (a1
Proceed to 2). In step (a12), the command error
Performs command error processing such as displaying messages.

An outline drawing command from the host computer 1 (for example, in the above-mentioned PostScript, "stroke"
FIG. 7 shows a process (step (a6)) of drawing the contour part shown in FIG.
An example of the graphic output in FIG. 8 will be illustrated, and a packet representing the graphic will be illustrated in FIG. Now, assume that the triangle 51 is drawn on the rectangle 52 as shown in FIG. 7A, and the circle 50 is drawn on the rectangle 52 and the triangle 51. At this time, the host computer 1 draws the color information "yellow" of the rectangle 52, its contour information, and a contour drawing command instructing to draw its contour portion, and the color information "red" of the triangle 51, its contour information, and its contour information. A contour drawing command instructing to draw the contour portion, color information “black” of the circle 50, the contour information and a contour drawing command instructing to draw the contour portion, and the like are sequentially sent.

When the CPU 12 first receives the color information "yellow" of the rectangle 52 drawn at the bottom, it makes a step (a)
R as the currently specified color information as shown in 9).
It is registered in the parameter memory 27 in the AM 14. Next, when the outline information of the rectangle 52 is received, the step (a1
As shown in 1), based on the information, shape contour data indicating the contour information of the rectangle 52 is created and registered as shape intermediate data. After that, when the contour drawing command is received, the packet (522 in FIG. 8) is stored in the band memory 21 in the RAM 14 based on the color information registered previously and the shape intermediate data and the position coordinates for printing the rectangle 52, though the description is omitted. To 23 are performed. That is, the process of forming a packet having a value indicating drawing an outline, for example, an identifier set to “20” is performed. Continue to triangle 51 and circle 5
With respect to 0, the same process as described above is performed to form packets (512 and 502 in FIG. 8) representing the triangle 51 and the circle 50. Such packets (522, 512, 502)
If the intermediate data indicated by is expanded into the band buffers 24 and 25 and output as a bitmap, the contour portion 6 of the rectangle 52
2 is yellow, the outline 61 of the triangle 51 is red, and the circle 5
An output as in FIG. 7c is obtained in which the contour portion 60 of 0 is drawn in black. Thus, the processing of outputting the contour portion of the area to be printed based on the color information of the area to be printed is performed.

Next, in the case where the "saving mode" is set, the area to be printed indicated by the contour information shown in FIG. 5 is filled with white (step (a5)) and Processing for drawing the outline portion (step (a
6)) will be described in detail by exemplifying the graphic output in FIGS. 6 and 7, and further in FIG. 8 exemplifying the packet representing the graphic. Here, white means a color in which no ink is output (cyan, magenta, yellow are 0, and when black is used, black is also 0).
In other words, the printing paper is generally white, and if no ink is output, the area looks like the color of the printing paper. Therefore, such output is expressed as "painting in white". As before, the rectangle 52 as shown in FIG. 7a.
It is assumed that a triangle 51 is drawn above the circle, and a circle 50 is drawn above the rectangle 52 and the triangle 51. At this time, the color information “yellow” of the rectangle 52 from the host computer 1 and its contour information and a color painting command for instructing to fill the area, and the color information “red” of the triangle 51 and its contour information and its A color painting command for instructing to fill the area, color information "black" of the circle 50, its contour information, and a color painting command for instructing to fill the area are sequentially sent.

The CPU 12 has a rectangle 52 drawn at the bottom.
When the color information "yellow" of the RAM1 is received, it is used as the currently specified color information as shown in step (a9).
4 is registered in the parameter memory 27. Next, when the contour information of the rectangle 52 is received, the shape contour data indicating the contour information of the rectangle 52 is created based on the information as shown in step (a11), and is registered as the shape intermediate data.
After that, when a color painting command is received, a packet (520 in FIG. 8) is formed in the band memories 21 to 23 in the RAM 14 based on the color information previously registered and the position coordinates for printing the shape intermediate data and the rectangle 52. Perform processing to This time,
Since the "saving mode" is set, the area is filled with white, and the contour portion 62 is drawn with a predetermined line width based on the contour information based on the yellow color information. Yes, but do it as follows: First, areas other than the identifier of the above-mentioned packet (520 in FIG. 8) are copied into the same band memories 21-23. Then, the color information of the packet of the copy source is changed to "white", and the identifier is set to a value indicating that the area of the area indicated by the shape intermediate data is filled based on the color information, for example, "10". (521 in FIG. 8). This is the process corresponding to step (a5). After that, the identifier of the copy destination packet is set to a value indicating that the contour portion of the area indicated by the intermediate shape data is drawn, for example, "20" (522 in FIG. 8).
This is the process corresponding to step (a6). Here, the width of the contour portion may be set so as to have a predetermined width, or the size of the figure shown by the shape intermediate data (for example, the size of the outer frame called the bounding box of the figure). It may be set according to. At this point, the intermediate data of the rectangle 52 indicated by these two packets (521, 522) is transferred to the band buffer 24,
If the bitmap is expanded to 25 and output, the contour portion 62
The output is obtained as in FIG. 6a, where is drawn in yellow. Subsequently, the same processing as described above is performed on the triangle 51 to form two packets (511 and 512 in FIG. 8).
Here, if the packets 521, 522 and 511 are sequentially output, a part of the bitmap data of the band buffers 24 and 25 that have been bit map expanded so as to be output as shown in FIG. Overwritten,
As shown in FIG. 6b, the output is obtained in which the outline portion 62 of the rectangle 52 has the portion overlapping the triangle 51 erased. When the packet 512 is further output to this, an output as shown in FIG. 6c in which the outline portion 61 of the triangle 51 overlaid on the rectangle 52 is drawn in red is obtained. Furthermore, yen 50
The same process is performed for two packets (501 and 502 in FIG. 8), and when these packets are sequentially output, the outline part covered by the overlapping of the circles 50 is erased in white in FIG. 6d. The output as shown is obtained, and finally, as shown in FIG. 6e, the outline portions 62, 61 and 60 of the rectangle 52, the triangle 51 and the circle 50 are printed so that the overlapping state of the regions can be discriminated. It will be output based on the color information to be output. As described above, by filling the inside of the area to be printed with white, the outline of the area where the figures are overlapped and covered is removed, and the outline of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined. Is output based on the color information of the area to be printed. As described above, the screen filling process requires the process of calculating and determining the pixels to be printed according to the density of the color information as described above. In this case, it is not necessary to calculate pixels, so that the processing can be easily performed.

Further, in the above description, at the stage of forming the intermediate data, it is discriminated whether or not it is the "saving mode", and two types of the intermediate data are prepared according to the discrimination result. Thus, the bit buffers 24 and 25 may be sequentially processed at the time of bit map expansion, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the intermediate data is left as it is (500, 510, 52 in FIG. 8).
0), the "saving mode" may be determined when the bit map is expanded in the band buffers 24 and 25. In this case, when the packets 500, 510 and 520 are processed, if the mode is "saving mode", first, the position coordinate data is sent.
Based on the intermediate data and the shape intermediate data, the bitmaps in the band buffers 24 and 25 corresponding to the area are overwritten with "0" representing white. After that, a process of expanding the contour portion to a bitmap with a predetermined width and further overwriting it may be sequentially performed.

Further, when the saving mode is set, the outline portion of the area to be printed is output based on the color information of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be discriminated. However, when the saving mode is set, the contour portion of the area to be printed may be output based on the color information of the area to be printed. That is, when in the "saving mode", the color painting command is replaced with the contour drawing command. For example, in step (a5) and step (a6) of FIG. 5, instead of creating two packets as described above, the outline portion is changed from "10" indicating that the area in the packet is filled with the identifier in the packet. This can be realized by only changing to “20” indicating drawing. That is, FIG.
Packets 500, 510, 520 of packet 502,
The processing of changing to 512, 522 may be performed. At this time, the process proceeds from step (a7) to step (a6), and only the outline portion of the region to be printed is drawn, so that the process of filling the region to be printed with white is unnecessary and the process is simplified. The output in this case looks like Figure 7c,
The overlapping state of the areas cannot be determined.

Further, the color painting command sent from the host computer 1 to the color printing device may be selectively used in the normal mode and in the saving mode. That is, when the host computer 1 sends the print data in the saving mode (for example, when the operator specifies the saving mode by the keyboard, etc.), the area is designated according to the color information. A save mode different from the normal mode is searched by searching for the color paint command in the print data file of the normal mode containing the color paint command instructing to paint. It is only necessary to replace the color painting command of the above with a new print data file and send it as the print data of the saving mode to the color printing device. In the color printing apparatus that receives this print data, in step (a2) of FIG. 5, whether the color painting command is used in the normal mode or the saving mode is used. Judge as "YES". Then, in step (a3), instead of determining whether or not the mode is the saving mode, it is determined whether or not the command is a color painting command for the saving mode. If you do this, you can save money.
When a color painting command for printing is sent, as described above, the process of steps (a5) and (a6) fills the area of the area to be printed with white, thereby overlapping the figures. The outline of the part that is hidden is removed.

Further, for example, when Postscript, which is one of the page description languages as described above, is used, the host computer 1 sends print data in the saving mode, according to the color information. "F" that indicates to fill the area
A new print data is created by retrieving the "fill" command from the print data file in the normal mode containing the "ill" command and replacing it with a command that draws a line "stroke". It is also possible to use a data file and send it to the color printer as print data in the saving mode. The print data corresponding to the "saving mode" in which the "fill" is replaced with the "stroke" is the step (a) of FIG. 5 in the "normal mode".
The command that should be judged as "YES" in the judgment of "whether the command is a color painting command" in 2) is replaced with the "outline drawing command" judged in step (a3). Therefore, when the color printing apparatus receives the print data for the "saving mode", as described above, the contour portion of the area to be printed is color printed based on the color information of the area. It will be. By doing so, at least an output that can be used for the purpose of confirming the layout and the like is obtained. In this case, in the color printing apparatus, it is not necessary to judge whether or not it is the "saving mode" as shown in step (a3) of FIG. Also, when the saving mode is set, the inside of the area to be printed is painted in white, but the outline part of the area to be printed is identified so that the overlapping state of the areas can be discriminated. Any processing may be performed as long as drawing can be performed based on the color information of the area to be printed.

In the above embodiment, the parameter indicating the mode of the parameter memory 27 is set by the key operation of the panel 3 provided on the color printing apparatus side. A parameter setting command is sent from the host computer 1 to the color printer by a key operation such as a keyboard of the computer 1 and the parameter memory 2 is sent.
It is also possible to set a parameter indicating the 7 mode. In this case, for example, the entered command is
If the step of determining whether or not the command is a command setting command is performed until "NO" is determined in step (a10) of FIG. 5 and the command error processing of step (a12) is performed, Good.

[0035]

As described above, the color according to claim 1
By using the printing method, the amount of color ink or color ribbon used can be saved without making characters difficult to read, and the original color of the area to be printed can be expressed. Further, by using the color printing method according to the second aspect, it is possible to reproduce the overlapping state of the areas, so that the original printing result can be easily imagined. Further, by using the color printing method according to the third aspect, it is possible to easily determine the overlapping state of the areas. Claim 4
If the color printing method described in (1) is used, it is possible to easily perform the process of outputting the contour portion of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined. If the color printing method according to the fifth aspect is used, a normal mode or a saving mode for saving the amount of color ink or color ribbon used by a command sent from an external device to the color printing device. Color printing can be performed. When the color printing apparatus according to claim 6 is used, a normal mode for performing normal color printing and a saving mode for performing color printing by saving the amount of color ink or color ribbon used. The mode can be set on the color printer side, and the original color of the area to be printed can be expressed in the saving mode. Further, by using the color printing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, it is possible to reproduce the overlapping state of the areas, so that the original printing result can be easily imagined. Further, by using the color printing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, it is possible to easily form output data for outputting the contour portion of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a color printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a page description code.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a graphic output from a color printing device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation of setting parameters.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the color printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an operation of filling the inside of a region to be printed with white.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an output graphic.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a packet representing each figure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1; host computer 2; control circuit 3; panel 4; print engine 11; input interface circuit 12; CPU 13; ROM 14; RAM 15; input / output interface circuit 16; output interface circuit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A color printing method for performing color printing on the basis of print data including contour information indicating the contour of an area to be printed, color information, and various commands, which is input from the outside. When a color painting command which is one of the inputted commands is processed, the normal mode is set and the print mode indicated by the outline information is set. The inside of the region to be printed is output based on the color information of the region to be printed, and when the saving mode is set, the contour portion of the region to be printed indicated by the contour information is printed. A color printing method characterized by outputting based on color information of a power region. 2. When the saving mode is set,
2. The color printing according to claim 1, wherein the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed so that the overlapping state of the areas can be discriminated. Method. 3. When the saving mode is set,
3. The color printing according to claim 2, wherein only the contour portion which is the contour portion of one of the plurality of areas is output, out of the contour portions of the areas generated by the overlapping of the plurality of areas. Method. 4. The color printing method according to claim 2, wherein at least an area of the area to be printed which is not a contour portion is output in a predetermined color. 5. A color printing method in which print data including contour information indicating a contour of an area to be printed, color information, and various commands is sent to a color printing apparatus to perform color printing. When the normal mode is set, the inside of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information is output based on the color information of the area to be printed. Command to indicate that you want to save
When a mode is set, a command indicating that the command in the normal mode is to output the contour portion of the area to be printed indicated by the contour information based on the color information of the area to be printed. A color printing method characterized by sending in place of the above. 6. Input means for inputting print data including contour information indicating the contour of an area to be printed, color information and various commands, and output based on the print data input by the input means. In a color printing apparatus having an output data forming means for forming data and an output means for printing out based on the output data, a mode setting means for setting a saving mode is provided. When processing a color painting command, which is one of the commands, the output data forming means sets the area to be printed indicated by the contour information when the saving mode is set. A color printing apparatus, wherein output data of a contour portion is formed based on color information of the area to be printed. 7. The output data forming means, when a saving mode is set, selects one of the plurality of regions from the contour portion of the region generated by the overlapping of the plurality of regions. 7. The color printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output data is formed so as to output only the contour portion which is the contour portion of one area. 8. The output data forming means, when the saving mode is set, forms the output data in which a predetermined color is present in at least the non-contoured area of the area to be printed. The color printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the color printing apparatus is provided.