JP2000108467A - Image displaying device, printing and book binding device using the same, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image displaying device with which the state of a booklet can be checked in a short period of time at a low cost, a printing and book binding device in which the image displaying device is used, and a recording medium. SOLUTION: A worker assigns the finishing of a booklet in an image displaying program. As a result, the image of the booklet, which is the simulation of a booklet accompanied by covers and line boards in accordance with the above-mentioned assignment, is displayed. When staplers ST are displayed near the back cover, it is proved that an assigned booklet is a side stitched one shown in figure (a). When staplers ST are displayed at the middle of an open booklet, it is proved that an assigned booklet is a saddle stitched one. Thus, without the actual production of a booklet, the finished state of the booklet can be seen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display device capable of displaying a booklet image, a printing and bookbinding device using the same, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a bookbinding apparatus that binds printed matter by binding or the like, only the contents of a document, such as the color, shape, and image of characters, are displayed on a display before moving to printing and bookbinding. The operator checks the document screen, corrects it if necessary, specifies the size and color of the paper, the binding method such as flat binding and saddle binding, and the finishing means such as stapler etc. Printing and bookbinding. If necessary, the paper, the binding method, the binding means, and the like are re-designated, and a desired booklet is finally created.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, it is not possible to confirm what kind of printed and bound booklet can be obtained by designating the finish unless printing and binding are performed on a trial basis. If the paper size, color, binding method, binding means, etc., other than the contents of the booklet are not the desired ones, they cannot be confirmed without re-outputting, and it takes a lot of time to finally obtain the booklet. And cost was needed.

[0004] The present invention is intended to overcome the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and provides an image display apparatus capable of viewing the state of a booklet in a short time and at low cost, a printing and bookbinding apparatus and a recording medium using the same. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an image display apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has a designating means for designating finishing information relating to printing and bookbinding of a booklet, and an image display apparatus which obtains the finishing information in accordance with the finishing information. Display means for displaying a booklet image simulating the physical form of the booklet to be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising:
Data acquisition means for acquiring document data representing the contents of the booklet is provided, and the booklet image simulates the physical form of the booklet obtained by printing and binding the document data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the first or second aspect, the display means further includes a document image which is an image obtained by printing the document data. The display device further includes a switching unit that can be displayed and switches the display on the display unit between a booklet image and a document image.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image display device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the finish information includes an item relating to a color of a booklet. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image display device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the finish information includes an item on a booklet binding method. It is characterized by.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image display apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the designating means transmits the expected finish specification to the finish information. It is specified as

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print bookbinding apparatus comprising: an image display unit comprising the image display device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects; and a booklet image displayed on the display unit. And print bookbinding means for generating a booklet corresponding to.

An apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the printing and binding apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein the specifying means is configured to output the finishing information from the printing or bookbinding resources of the printing and bookbinding means. It is characterized by specifying.

Further, a recording medium according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for displaying an image by a computer is recorded, and which designates finishing information relating to booklet printing and bookbinding. A program for realizing a function and a display function of displaying a booklet image simulating the physical form of the booklet obtained according to the finish information is recorded.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. First Embodiment >><< 1-1. System Configuration >> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a print bookbinding apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a system configuration of the printing and binding apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the printing and binding apparatus 1 prints a document such as a document and an image, and automatically binds the book to generate a booklet as a product from the printed matter.
Prior to the generation, the apparatus also has an image display device that simulates and displays an image of the physical form of the booklet, so to speak. The printing and binding apparatus 1 is a computer in which the editing clients 10 and 10, the scanner input client 20, the scanner 25, the server 30, and the printing and binding machine 40 are electrically connected to each other via a bus line BL via an interface (not shown). System.

The editing client 10 is a computer having an internal structure such as a CPU, a memory and a hard disk (not shown), a color display 10a as display means, and peripheral devices such as a mouse 10b and a keyboard 10c as input means. Creates and edits data, saves it on the hard disk inside the computer or the hard disk 36 described later in the server 30, specifies various registrations and finishes in an image display program described later, displays booklet images, and instructs execution of printing. Can be operated.

The scanner input client 20 is the same color display 20 as the editing client 10 described above.
a, a computer having a peripheral device such as a mouse 20b and a keyboard 20c and an internal structure, and a scanner 25 capable of capturing an image of a document is electrically connected to the scanner input client 20. Therefore, the scanner input client 20 can perform operations such as processing of an image captured by the scanner 25, and otherwise has the same functions as the editing client 10.

The server 30 includes an editing client 10,
Scanner input client 20 and print binding machine 40
(Furthermore, the printing machine 41 and the bookbinding machine 42 that constitute them)
A computer that can communicate with And server 3
0 has various functions in addition to the same functions as those of the editing client 10 as described below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the server 30 and its connection to the outside. In FIG. 2, the editing client 10 or the scanner input client 20 is generally referred to as clients 10 and 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 30 includes a CPU 31,
ROM 32 in which basic programs are stored, RAM 33 in which various data such as an image display program, a resource information table, finish information table data, and document data described in detail below are stored, and a program for first installing the image display program A reading unit 34 for reading files and various data from a recording medium RM such as a magnetic disk or a CD-ROM, an input unit 35 for receiving input from an operator through an input device such as a mouse 30b or a keyboard 30c, an installed image display program And a hard disk 36 for storing document data as a base, a color display 30a for displaying a booklet image and a document image, which will be described later, various registration screens and setting screens, and the like. It is connected by a line IB.

The internal bus line IB of the server 30
Are the clients 10 and 20 and the bookbinding machine 40 described above.
Are connected to an external bus line BL to which the is connected, thereby functioning as a set of computer systems. The editing client 10, the scanner input client 20, and the server 30 form an image display device.
In addition, a printing bookbinding apparatus 1 is formed by adding a printing bookbinding machine 40. Then, the CPU 31 in the server 30 executes the image display program to read out the document data specified by the clients 10 and 20 from the document data stored in the hard disk 36,
It is displayed on the color display 10a, 20a or 30a of the client 10, 20 or server 30 in the print format specified in the finish information table. When the finishing format is determined, the document data and finishing information are transmitted to the printing and binding apparatus 40, whereby printing and bookbinding are performed, and the booklet is output from the printing and binding apparatus 40 as a booklet.

The computer system can communicate with other devices (not shown) through a bus line BL to exchange image display programs and various data. In that case, bus line B
An online system formed by L and another device functions as a recording medium. The image display program may be stored in the ROM 32 or the hard disk 36 in advance, and may be read out and stored in the RAM 33 for use. In such a case, the ROM 32 or the hard disk 36 functions as a recording medium.

The printing bookbinding machine 40 prints out document data which is data representing the contents of a booklet.
1 and a bookbinding machine 42 that binds the printed matter output by the printing machine 41 to generate a booklet.
The printed matter printed by the printing machine 41 is sent to the bookbinding machine 42 via a stacker (not shown) provided therein, and the printing machine 41 and the bookbinding machine 42 cooperate with each other under the control of the server 30. Printing and bookbinding can be performed as a series of operations. Note that the bookbinding machine 42 can switch the number and position of binding with a stapler described later.

With the above configuration, the printing and bookbinding apparatus 1 performs the following booklet image display and printing / binding work.

<< 1-2. Processing Procedure >> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing by the image display program. Hereinafter, the flow of the booklet image display processing by the image display program will be described with reference to FIG.

Client 10, 20 or server 3
In order to register print bookbinding resources such as the type of paper prepared in the bookbinding printing machine 41 and the binding method and binding means prepared in the bookbinding machine 42 from 0, the following can be used. Is displayed (step S
1). In this embodiment, the following paper registration screen and binding method registration screen are prepared as registration screens.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a paper registration screen of the printing press 41. With this screen, the paper tray T provided in the printing press
Settings can be made for the sheets stored in 1 to T4 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, each paper tray T1 on the paper setting screen
Edit button EB provided corresponding to.
Clicking on 0b, 20b or 30b brings up a screen for changing the registered contents, and in that screen,
The paper size and paper color stored in the paper tray can be registered. In the example of FIG. 4, white A4 size paper and white A
3 shows a case where three size paper, red A3 size paper, and light blue A4 size are stored. Note that these stored papers are merely examples, and other paper sizes and colors can be stored in each of the trays T1 to T4, and the paper settings can be made according to them.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a binding registration screen of the bookbinding machine 42. With this screen, a bookbinding method of the printed matter printed by the printing machine 41 by the bookbinding machine, that is, registration of each item of paper binding can be performed. Specifically, when a check box CB provided corresponding to each binding registration item on the binding registration screen is clicked with the mouse 10b, 20b or 30b, each binding item that can be performed by the bookbinding machine 42 is registered. be able to. In the example of FIG. 5, flat stitching by a stapler, saddle stitching, perfect binding by an adhesive, perfect binding by an aziro, and thread binding by a thread,
A binding method such as side wing and a binding means such as a stapler and a binder can be registered. Here, the binding method and the binding means are only examples, and other than these can be registered according to the function of the bookbinding machine.

The registration contents thus obtained are stored in the RAM 33 as a resource information table (step S).
2). This resource information table is stored in the hard disk 36 at the end of the work, and is used as a default value when the image display program is next executed.

Next, the image display program opens a finishing designation screen for designating the finishing state of the booklet on the color display, and displays the printing bookbinding resources of the usable printing bookbinding machine 40 registered in the resource information table. Then, the operator designates the finished state of the booklet based on the information (step S3).

FIG. 6 is a view showing a finish designation screen. As shown in the figure, on the finish designation screen, designation items such as a cover, an interleaf, a text, and a binding are provided, and a selection button SB is provided for each of the designation items. The operator presses the selection button SB of the item to be designated with the mouse 10.
By clicking the buttons b, 20b, or 30b, a selection screen (not shown) for them is started up, and a list of the print bookbinding resources stored in the resource information table is displayed. Then, it is possible to select and specify any one of the print bookbinding resources for each specified item. The specified items specified in this way are stored in the finish information table.

Although not shown, for the sake of convenience, the generation of a booklet combined with a binder is also included in the options in the binding specification item, and the generation in the binder format can be selected. I have. If the stapler specifies flat binding or saddle stitching as the binding method, the number of staplers to be bound by the stapler, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. A designation screen for designating a binding position (specifically, a distance between staplers) is displayed, and the operator also designates them. By the way,
FIG. 6 illustrates a case where red A3 paper is specified for the cover, light blue A4 paper is specified for the interleaving paper, and white A4 paper is specified for the text, and flat binding is specified for the binding.

When such designation is made, the image display program creates a finish information table in the RAM 33 (step S4).

After that, the operator operates the editing client 1
When an operation for prompting image display is performed on any of the servers 0, 20 and the server 30, the image display program starts executing an image display routine (step S5). Then
A booklet image, which is an image simulating the finished state of the booklet according to the finish information in the finish information table, is displayed on the color display 10a, 20a or 30a (step S6). Here, the “booklet image” means an image that represents the appearance of the booklet (both in a closed state and in an open state) as a three-dimensional or physical form.

Then, if necessary, the operator issues an instruction to switch the display state of a document image which is an image of a printed matter which has been printed only by printing a booklet image or document data (step S7), and the image display routine is started. In the process, the display state is switched to the designated display state, and the booklet image or the document image is displayed on the color display 10a, 20a or 30a (step S).
6).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a booklet image display screen when perfect binding is designated. Immediately after creating a new document, the cover is displayed with the booklet closed as shown in FIG. When proceeding to the next page, the operator inputs an instruction to open a page by the input unit, and the processing of the image display routine is performed, so that the display screen shown in FIG. The pages move as if turning pages, and the state of the booklet changes accordingly. Here, FIG.
Shows a double-page spread state of the perfect binding, and an image of a stapler or a binder is not displayed in the image. In FIG. 7 (the same applies to FIGS. 8 and 9 described later), the colors of the cover and the slip sheet are red and light blue, respectively, and the color of the paper on which the text is printed is white.

On the other hand, FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing booklet image display screens when flat stitching and saddle stitching are designated, respectively. In FIG. 8A, at a position near the spine of the closed booklet, the cover is translucent, and the stapler ST thereunder can be seen through the cover, so that the flat stapling can be performed. It is clear that the booklet is specified. Further, in FIG. 8B, the stapler ST is displayed at the center of the double-page booklet, which indicates that the booklet has the saddle stitching specified.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing a booklet image display screen when flat stitching and saddle stitching are designated, respectively. As described above, in the first embodiment, when flat binding or saddle stitching is specified at the time of specifying the finish,
The number of bindings and the binding position can be specified. On the other hand, the booklet image BG is displayed on the booklet image display screen in which the stapler ST display number and display position are reflected. As a specific example, FIG.
The distance between the staplers is the distance d1 and d2 (d
1> d2), which are different from each other. Also,
In FIG. 9A, the stapler ST is compared with FIG. 8A.
The number of bindings is different, and more specifically, FIG.
In FIG. 9A, three locations are bound, whereas in FIG. 9A, two locations are bound.

Further, no document is displayed in the booklet image BG on the booklet image display screen of FIG. 9B. As described above, this image display program is also compatible with a case where it is desired to view only the state of the booklet before the document data is created, and the booklet image BG can be displayed without the document data.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a booklet image display screen when the binder format is designated, in which an image of the ring R of the binder is displayed. Also, in FIG. 10A, the booklet generated in the binder format is one.
Only pages are displayed. FIG. 10B shows the booklet as a two-page spread. In this way, the display state of only one page and the display state of the double-page spread can be switched in accordance with the above-mentioned designation by the worker. Here, the case of the binder format is shown as an example, but this display can be selected by other binding means regardless of the finish designation.

In the booklet images BG shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10, images of the cover and the slip sheet other than the document D and the image of the stapler ST described later are stored in the hard disk 36 in advance. Are displayed as necessary, and are converted to a color according to the designation of the finishing information table (and the arrangement of the stapler ST is also the same) and displayed.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a document image display screen. FIG. 11A shows a document image DG of only one page, and FIG. 11B shows a document image DG in a double-page spread state. are doing. Step S7 above
If the user does not know the final finished specification when specifying the display state in the above, the document data is created as in a normal document creation tool such as a word processor and displayed by the document image DG as shown in FIG. When the specification is known, it is possible to designate the finish and display the booklet image BG in a finished state according to the finish. Thus, the display can be switched between the document image DG and the booklet image BG. Also,
Immediately after a new document is created, the document is displayed by a document image DG similar to a normal document creation tool such as word processing software as shown in FIG.

In the above, the document image D
G and the booklet image BG, and one-page display and double-page display can be selected as finish specifications irrespective of the finish designation in step S3. However, when the finish is not specified as described above, the display using the booklet image cannot be performed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the booklet image BG simulating the physical form of the booklet obtained by printing and binding according to the finishing information table designated by the operator is displayed. Therefore, the finished state of the booklet can be viewed without actually generating the booklet, so that the state of the booklet can be viewed in a short time and at low cost.

Further, since the booklet image BG simulates the physical form of the booklet obtained by printing and binding the document data, the state of the document can be seen simultaneously with the state of the booklet.

The color displays 10a, 20a
Alternatively, since the display in 30a can be switched between the booklet image BG and the document image DG, if the user wants to check the finished state of the booklet, the booklet image B
When displaying G and giving priority to high-speed display, a highly versatile display such as displaying the document image DG can be performed.

Further, since the finish information table includes items relating to the color and binding method of the booklet, the color and binding method of the paper can be confirmed before the booklet is generated.

Further, the printing and bookbinding apparatus 1 uses the booklet image B displayed on the color display 10a, 20a or 30a.
In order to generate a booklet corresponding to G, it is shorter and shorter than when a final booklet is generated after repeating the operations of actually generating a booklet, checking the finish state, and changing the finish information, and the like. A desired booklet can be obtained at a low cost.

Further, from among print bookbinding resources relating to printing or bookbinding that the printing bookbinding apparatus 1 registered in the resource information table has, each item of the finishing information table is selectively designated. It is not necessary to check every time the user designates a document, the work can be performed efficiently, and a desired booklet can be obtained in a shorter time and at lower cost.

<2. Second Preferred Embodiment> Next, a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a print bookbinding apparatus 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The print bookbinding apparatus 2 includes editing clients 11 and 11, and a printer 50. The editing client 11 is a computer having substantially the same internal configuration as the server 30 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and an image display program similar to that of the first embodiment is prepared in advance by the editing clients 11, 11. Is installed on the hard disk in the storage medium RM. Then, the image display program is read into the internal RAM and executed by an instruction of the operator through input means such as the mouse 11b and the keyboard 11c.
Further, the document data, the resource information table and the finish information table are also stored in the RAM.

As shown in the figure, since the printing and bookbinding apparatus 2 of the second embodiment does not include bookbinding means, bookbinding (binding, etc.) is performed.
Cannot be performed by this system. Therefore, in the booklet image display processing according to the second embodiment, steps S3 and S4 in FIG. 3 are not executed, and only the document image is displayed in step S6. Otherwise, the process is the same as the process in the first embodiment. However, when a finish specification such as binding in a later process is known, the finish specification can be registered in the finish information table. In this case, booklet image display processing can be performed in the second embodiment in exactly the same manner as the processing in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the booklet image and the document image can be confirmed even though the system configuration does not include the bookbinding apparatus, and therefore, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

<3. Modifications> In the first and second embodiments, an example of the print bookbinding apparatus and the booklet image display processing by the apparatus has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, in the first embodiment, a printing bookbinding machine 40 is provided, and in the second embodiment, a printer 50 is provided.
However, even if a printing unit is not necessarily provided, the computer alone can function as an image display device by executing the image display program if the finish specifications in the subsequent process are known. In this case, the finish specification in the post-process is set in the finish information table.

Although the first embodiment describes that the document data and the finish information table are stored in the memory of the server 30, the storage location may be the memory of the client computer.

[0056]

As described above, according to the first to ninth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to display a booklet image simulating the physical form of a booklet obtained according to finishing information on printing and bookbinding of a booklet. , You can see the finished state of the booklet without actually generating the booklet,
You can see the booklet in a short time and at low cost.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the booklet image simulates the physical form of the booklet obtained by printing and binding the document data. You can also see the situation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the display on the display means can be switched between a booklet image and a document image. When the display is performed and the display speed is prioritized, a highly versatile display such as displaying a document image can be performed.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the finish information includes an item relating to the color of the paper of the booklet, the color of the paper can be confirmed before the booklet is generated.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the finish information includes an item on how to bind a booklet, it is possible to confirm a binding state before generating a booklet.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the expected finish specification is specified as finish information, the finish state of the booklet can be viewed even when there is no printing device or bookbinding device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a booklet corresponding to a booklet image displayed on an image display means comprising the image display device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects is provided. It is possible to obtain a desired booklet in a shorter time and at a lower cost than when a final booklet is generated by repeating operations such as actually generating a booklet, confirming a finished state, and changing finishing information. it can.

According to the invention of claim 8, in particular, since the finishing information is specified from the printing or bookbinding resources of the printing and binding means, it is necessary for the operator to check the resource every time the finishing information is specified. In addition, the work can be performed efficiently, and the desired booklet can be obtained in a shorter time and at lower cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a print bookbinding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal structure of a server and a connection with the outside.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing by an image display program.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a paper registration screen of the printing press.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a binding registration screen of the bookbinding machine.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a finish designation screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a booklet image display screen when perfect binding is designated;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a booklet image display screen when flat stitching and saddle stitching are designated;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a booklet image display screen when flat stitching and saddle stitching are designated;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a booklet image display screen when a binder format is designated.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a document display screen.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a print bookbinding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 printing and binding apparatus 10, 11 editing client (image display device, image display means) 10a, 11a, 20a, 30a color display (display means) 10b, 11b, 20b, 30b mouse (designating means) 10c, 11c, 20c, 30c Keyboard (designating means) 20 Client for scanner input (image display device, image display means) 30 Server (image display device, image display means) 31 CPU 32 ROM (recording medium) 33 RAM (data acquisition means) 34 reading Unit 36 hard disk 40 printing and binding machine 50 printer BG booklet image DG document image RM recording medium

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus comprising: a designation unit for designating finishing information relating to printing and bookbinding of a booklet; and a display unit for displaying a booklet image simulating a physical form of the booklet obtained according to the finishing information. Image display device. 2. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising data acquisition means for acquiring document data representing the contents of a booklet, wherein said booklet image is obtained by printing and binding said document data. An image display device, which simulates the physical form of a printed booklet. 3. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is further capable of displaying a document image, which is an image obtained by printing document data, and displaying the document image on the display unit. An image display device, further comprising switching means for switching between the booklet image and the document image. 4. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the finish information includes an item on a color of a paper of the booklet. 5. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the finish information includes an item on a booklet binding method. 6. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation unit designates a scheduled finish specification as the finish information. apparatus. 7. An image display means comprising the image display device according to claim 1, a print bookbinding means for generating a booklet corresponding to the booklet image displayed on said display means, A printing and binding apparatus comprising: 8. The print bookbinding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the designation unit designates the finishing information from resources related to printing or bookbinding possessed by the print bookbinding unit. apparatus. 9. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for displaying an image by a computer is recorded, wherein: a designation function for designating finishing information relating to printing and bookbinding of a booklet; and a physical form of the booklet obtained according to the finishing information. A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing a display function of displaying a simulated booklet image.