JP2000156829A - Printer and method for processing picture data in the printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer and its picture data processing method capable of processing printing data including plural images in a main scanning direction like index printing, etc., even in limited memory capacity or the like as to a printer for reading out picture data photographed by a digital camera or the like directly (without utilizing a host) and printing out the data. SOLUTION: When picture data processing part 112 reads out line data for a line from picture data obtained by reading out an original picture data for a picture out of plural pictures to be printed in one main scanning and restoring the read data and executes prescribed picture processing for the read data, a picture data control part 118 copies the line data in a band buffer 116. The processing described above is repeated for all pictures to be printed out in one main scanning, and when the data of all pictures in the line are collected in the band buffer 116, similar processing is repeated for a succeeding line. After collecting the data of pictures for all lines necessary for a band, these data are sent to a printing processing part 13 and printed out. The above processing is repeated in each band to print out plural pictures arranged in the main scanning direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for photographing with a digital camera or the like and reading image data stored in a memory card or the like directly (without passing through a host) for printing. The present invention relates to a technique for processing image data in the printer when performing the processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital cameras have become widespread as their performance has improved. Conventionally, when printing image data taken by such a digital camera,
The image data stored in a PC card or the like is once read into a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer) and then printed by a printer connected to the personal computer.

[0003] When image data photographed by a digital camera is printed by a printer via a personal computer, there is an advantage that a user can edit the image data more freely than a conventional silver halide photograph. For example, if a user uses dedicated application software on a personal computer, an index for printing a plurality of photographs out of a large number of images taken with a digital camera on one sheet of printing paper (hereinafter simply referred to as paper). Printing and the like can be performed freely.

In such index printing, for example, a large number of images of about 20 sheets in length and width (5 × 4) are printed in a reduced form on a postcard-size sheet, so that image data read into a personal computer is reduced. Processing, etc., and a large amount of work memory is required. With the above-mentioned application software, a so-called spool file is created on a personal computer, and a part of the necessary image is acquired and reduced each time. And so on.

Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 by taking an example of performing index printing via a normal inkjet printer using application software on a personal computer as described above. Note that this inkjet printer has a band buffer, and performs printing by developing image data for each band.

As shown in FIG. 8, an example of index printing is to print 20 sheets of paper 1 of a postcard size or A4 size.
Each reduced image A1, A2, A3,...
Is a case where four sheets are printed in the horizontal direction and five sheets are printed in the vertical direction when the main scanning direction X is the horizontal direction and the paper feeding direction (sub-scanning direction) Y is the vertical direction. As described above, index printing in which a large number of images are printed on one sheet requires more processing than ordinary printing in which one image is printed on one sheet.
The printing throughput also increases.

Referring to FIG. 9, a flow of processing in a personal computer and a printer when performing index printing by application software on the personal computer will be described. First, of the image data shot by a digital camera and stored in a PC card or the like in a file format compressed by the JPEG method or the like, all image data necessary for the above index printing is expanded (the original uncompressed image data). (S1), and a spool file of the restored image data is created and stored on the hard disk (S2).

Then, for each band, a part of the image necessary for the band is acquired (S3), and then processing such as reduction is performed (S4). Thereafter, the data is copied (developed) to the band buffer (S5). The above processing of S3 to S5 is performed for all images (A1, A2, A3, A4, that is, A, B, C, D in the example of FIG. 8) (No in S6). If all the image data necessary for the band is available (Yes in S6), the image data developed in the band buffer is printed (S7). Then, the processing of S3 to S7 is repeated for all the bands of the image data necessary for the index printing (No in S8), and when the processing of all the bands is completed (Yes in S8), the first-stage image in the index printing is obtained. (Images A1 and A in FIG. 8)
2, A3, A4, that is, A, B, C, D) is completed.

When a plurality of images (four images in the example of FIG. 8) are included in the main scanning direction, such as in index printing, application data on a personal computer generates and processes print data as described above, And print it.

[0010]

Recently, image data processing functions almost the same as those of a personal computer have been provided, and image data taken by a digital camera or the like and stored in a memory card or the like is directly read (without a host). 2. Description of the Related Art Printers that perform printing after performing predetermined image processing (hereinafter, referred to as photo printers) have been put to practical use.

The configuration of such a photo printer can be roughly divided into a print processing unit that performs the same operation as a conventional printer, and a photo processor that performs image data processing similar to a personal computer on image data read from a memory card or the like. This photo printer is very convenient because it is possible to print image data taken by a digital camera without using a personal computer. Therefore, if such a photo printer can be provided at a low cost, it is expected that the use of both will be further promoted as the resolution of the digital camera becomes higher.

However, such a photo printer is
As described above, since the image data processing function similar to that of a personal computer and the function of a normal printer are integrated, considering the overall cost and the like, the processing capability and speed of the CPU built in the photo printer, Further, the capacity of the RAM as a work memory is naturally limited. That is, even though image data processing similar to that of a personal computer is performed, the CPU of such a photo printer is limited in terms of processing capacity and speed as compared with the CPU of a personal computer. There is also a limit on the capacity of the buffer memory for temporarily storing. In particular, when it is necessary to temporarily store a large number of image data in a memory or the like and then perform processing such as reduction, such as in the above-described index printing, the capacity of the buffer memory or the like may not be sufficient. In the case of performing index printing using application software on a personal computer as described above, especially in recent personal computers, a very high-performance CPU is often provided, and the RAM as a work memory is often sufficient. It didn't matter too much, as it could be stored on the hard disk in a format. However, it is a difficult task for a photo printer to perform many operations involving image data processing, such as index printing, without slowing the processing throughput in a limited memory resource.

Conventionally, effective proposals for solving such a problem have hardly been made from the viewpoint of the configuration of a photo printer and a control method of image data processing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer which performs image processing by performing a predetermined image processing by directly reading (without passing through a host) image data stored in a memory card or the like by taking a picture with a digital camera or the like, and printing the image data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of processing print data including a plurality of images in a main scanning direction, such as the above-described index printing, among limited memory capacity and the like, and a method of processing the image data.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, for example, in the case of the above-described index printing or the like, for each image arranged in the main scanning direction, an original image data file is read and restored. Each time, data of n lines (n is 1 or the band height of the image × 1 / the number of lines required for the band) is read out from the image data, reduced, and the like, and subjected to the band buffer. When the processing for one band is completed, the band data of the band is sent to the print processing unit for printing.

Thus, even when a plurality of images are included in the main scanning direction, such as index printing, image data can be processed in the printer, and such index printing can be performed without depending on an application on the host. Can be. In particular, since printing is performed by performing buffering in band units, such index printing or the like is possible even if a buffer memory of only several megabytes is secured.

That is, according to the present invention, the compressed original image file data for providing each partial image included in the image data to be printed in one main scan is provided. Image data processing means for performing predetermined image processing including restoration and generating bit image format image data, and generating image data from the original image file data as needed by the image data processing means. And a control unit for performing control so as to read out and use a related part.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As described above, the printer according to the present embodiment directly reads (not through a host) image data captured by a digital camera or the like and stored in a memory card or the like, performs predetermined image processing, and performs printing. This is a photo printer that performs the operation, and is a serial inkjet printer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The printer according to the present embodiment is roughly divided into a photo image processing unit 11
And a print processing unit 13.

The print processing unit 13 includes a print engine unit including an ink jet print head, a carriage mechanism, a paper feed mechanism, and the like (not shown), a print control unit for controlling the print engine unit, and the like. This is a part that performs the same operation as the printer.

The photo image processing section 11 is, for example, a section for performing image data processing similar to that of a personal computer on image data read from the memory card 10, and includes an image data processing section 112, a band buffer 116, an image data control section, and the like. And a portion 118.

The image data processing section 112 performs predetermined image processing including restoration on the original image data file read from the memory card 10 to generate bit image format image data. That is, the image data processing unit 112
Is an original image data file reading unit 112a that reads an original image data file in the memory card 10 that stores image data captured by a digital camera or the like, and is read by the original image data file reading unit 112a and is subjected to JPEG compression or the like. Restoration processing unit 112b for restoring (expanding) the image data file being
A line data reading unit 112c for reading n-th line data from the image data restored by the image data 12b, and a resizing processing unit 112d for reducing or expanding the line data read by the line data reading unit 112c
Performs contrast adjustment, brightness adjustment, color balance correction, saturation adjustment, memory color reproduction, sharpness improvement, noise reduction, contour correction, etc., which were conventionally performed on the personal computer side (for example, an image correction function of a printer driver setting). And an image correction unit 112e. The image data stored in the memory card 10 is, for example, image data that has been compressed by the JPEG method. Therefore, a decompression processing unit 112b is provided to read (decompress) the compressed image data by the image data reading unit 112a and then perform another predetermined image processing. Further, in the present embodiment, the image correction unit 112e performs the above-described image correction processing according to what size the image after the resize processing by the above-described resize processing unit 112d has become, as described later. This can be performed using either the image after the resize processing or the image before the resize processing.

The band buffer 116 holds one band of image data prior to printing.

The image data control section 118 causes the image data processing section 112 to generate image data in a bit image format, and performs control for reading and using a relevant portion of the image data as needed.

FIG. 2 shows the external configuration of the printer according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG.
Although there is not much difference from a conventional ink jet printer or the like, a card insertion portion 21 into which the memory card 10 is inserted is provided. In addition, an operation panel unit 23 for performing various operational settings and the like, a paper feeding unit 25 and a paper discharging unit 2
7 and the like are provided.

The operation of the printer according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, it is assumed that the index printing as shown in FIG. 8 is performed in relation to the conventional example, and a case in which a reduction process as an image resizing process is required will be described. In the present embodiment, when a plurality of images (four images in the example of FIG. 8) are included in the main scanning direction such as index printing, image data is generated and processed in line units, and printing processing is performed in band units. It is characterized by performing.

First, the user first inserts the memory card 1 into the card insertion section 21 of the printer of the present embodiment shown in FIG.
In addition to inserting 0, various instruction settings for printing are performed by the operation panel unit 23. Here, A
It is also assumed that index printing is set as shown in FIG.

The subsequent operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the original image data file reading unit 112a reads an original image data file corresponding to the image A1 in FIG. 8 stored in the memory card 10 from among the images to be index-printed (step S3).
0). Since the original image data file stored in the memory card 10 is compressed image data according to a method such as JPEG, the restoration processing unit 112b performs restoration (expansion) processing (step S31). The line data reading unit 112c reads the first line data from the restored image data (step S32), the resize processing unit 112d performs reduction processing as resize processing, and the image correction unit 112e performs necessary correction processing. (Step S33). The line data on which the processing such as reduction is performed is copied to the band buffer 116 (Step S).
34). Then, the processing of the first line data is performed for all the remaining images (FIG. 8) existing in the main scanning direction.
Are performed on the images A2, A3, and A4) (No in step S35), and when all the images are completed (Yes in step S35), the second line data is processed (steps S36 and S37). N
o). That is, the original image data file corresponding to the image A1 in FIG. 8 is read again, and after restoring, the second line data is read, the processing such as reduction is performed, and then the line data subjected to processing such as reduction is processed. Is copied to the band buffer 116 (steps S30 to S34), and the image
The processing is also performed for the second line data of each of 2, 2, and 3 (No in step S35). The above processing,
Repeat until the image data of the number of lines required for one band is available (No in step S37). When all the image data of the number of lines required for one band are copied to the band buffer 116 (Yes in step S37), the band data A printing process is performed (step S38). Such processing is performed for all bands necessary for printing the images (images A1, A2, A3, and A4 in FIG. 8) existing in the first row in the main scanning direction (No in step S39), and When the band processing is completed (Ye in step S39)
s) First-stage image (images A1, A2, A3 in FIG. 8)
The printing of A4) is completed.

As described above, in this embodiment, for each image to be processed, each time the original image data file in the memory card 10 is read, one line of data is read from the restored image data and reduced. After the processing of the number of lines for one band is completed, the band data of the band is sent to the print processing unit 13 for printing.
With this method, even when a plurality of images are included in the main scanning direction such as index printing, image data can be processed in the printer, and such index printing can be performed without depending on an application on the host. . In particular, since printing is performed by performing buffering in band units, such index printing or the like is possible even if a buffer memory of only several megabytes is secured.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The schematic configuration of the printer according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted with reference to FIGS.

In the first embodiment, the first line image (images A1, A2, A3,
After processing all of 4), the next line is similarly
First-stage image (images A1, A2, A3, and A4 in FIG. 8)
Is processed, that is, after the processing of all the images for the line is completed, the process proceeds to the next line. In the second embodiment, the image A1 of the first-stage image is processed for the line. Is processed, the next line of the image A1 is processed next, and so on, for the same image, the number of lines for one band is first processed, and then the process proceeds to the next image.

The operation after setting the index printing by the user will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First,
The original image data file reading unit 112a reads an original image data file corresponding to the image A1 in FIG. 8 stored in the memory card 10 from among the images to be index-printed (step S40). Note that the memory card 10
Is compressed image data according to a method such as JPEG.
b performs a restoration (expansion) process (step S41). The line data reading unit 112c reads one line of data from the restored image data (step S4).
2) The resizing processing unit 112d performs a reducing process as a resizing process, and the image correcting unit 112e performs a necessary correction process (step S43). The line data subjected to the processing such as the reduction is copied to the band buffer 116 (step S44). Then, the above line data processing is performed for the number of lines of one band of the image (image A1 in FIG. 8) (No in step S45), and when the processing is completed for the number of lines of one band (Yes in step S45)
s) This time, the original image data file corresponding to the image A2 in FIG. 8 is read, one line of data is read from the restored image data, and processing such as reduction is performed and copied to the band buffer 116 (step S40). ~ S44),
Similarly, for all the images A1, A2, A3, and A4 in the main scanning direction, such that the processing is performed for the number of lines of one band of the image (the image A2 in FIG. 8) (No in step S45). The processing is performed until the processing for one band is completed (No in step S46), and when the processing for one band of the images A1 to A4 is completed (Yes in step S46), the printing processing of the band data is performed (step S47).
The above processing is repeated by the required number of bands of each image (No in step S48), and when the processing of all the bands is completed (Yes in step S48), the first-stage image (images A1 and A2 in FIG. 8) , A3, A4) are completed.

In this embodiment, as described above, each image to be processed is stored in the memory card 10 each time.
The original image data file is read out, data is read out line by line from the restored image data, and processing such as reduction is performed and held in the band buffer 116. When processing of the number of lines for one band is completed, The band data is sent to the print processing unit 13 for printing.
With this method, even when a plurality of images are included in the main scanning direction such as index printing, image data can be processed in the printer, and such index printing can be performed without depending on an application on the host. . In particular, since printing is performed by performing buffering in band units, such index printing is possible even if a capacity of several megabytes is secured as the buffer memory.

Next, a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic configuration of the printer of the present embodiment is also substantially the same as that of the above-described first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. That is, the printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a photo image processing unit 41 and a print processing unit 13 as shown in FIG. The print processing unit 13 is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment described above.

The photo image processing section 41 is, for example, a section that performs image data processing similar to that of a personal computer on image data read from the memory card 10 in a manner substantially similar to the photo image processing section 11 of the first embodiment. , An image data processing unit 412, a band buffer 416, and an image data control unit 418. In the present embodiment, a title selection unit 420 is further provided.

The image data processing unit 412 in the photo image processing unit 41 includes the image data processing unit 112 of the first embodiment.
Similarly, the original image data file reading unit 412a,
Restoration processing unit 412b, line data reading unit 412
c, includes a resize processing unit 412e and an image correction unit 412f.
A rotation processing unit 41 that performs rotation processing when image data needs to be rotated, such as index printing rotated by 0 degrees.
2d.

The band buffer 416 holds image data for one band prior to printing, similarly to the band buffer 116 of the first embodiment.

An image data control unit 418 controls the image data processing unit 412 to generate image data in a bit image format, and reads out and uses a relevant portion of the image data as needed.

By the way, when performing index printing or the like, a title (in this case, "INDEX BAN") shown in FIG.
NER ") is often printed at the same time. In such a case, the printer according to the present embodiment also has a title selection unit 420 that prepares a plurality of title formats to be printed in advance and selects which title to add. Details of the function and the like of the title selection unit 420 will be described later.

Here, the operation of the above-described printer of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the index printing, in which the image is arranged and printed so that the paper 2 is positioned at the right position when the paper 2 is placed sideways. As shown by the symbols A, B, C,..., T shown in the figure, the original image is printed in a state where it is rotated by 90 degrees.

Hereinafter, the operation of the printer of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, taking the case of performing such index printing as an example. First, the user inserts the memory card 10 into the card insertion unit 21 shown in FIG. 2 and performs various instruction settings for printing using the operation panel unit 23. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the index printing is set so that the paper is positioned at the right position when the paper is laid horizontally and viewed.

First, the original image data file reading section 4
12a reads an original image data file for one image (image B1) stored in the memory card 10 (step S70). Since the image data stored in the memory card 10 is compressed data by JPEG or the like, the image data is stored in the decompression processing unit 412b.
Performs a restoration (expansion) process (step S71). And
From the restored image data, the line data reading unit 412c generates an image (lines) of the number of lines necessary for one band (which is determined in advance by the image height × 1 / reduction ratio). The data is read (step S72). To the read image (line) data, the rotation processing unit 412d performs a rotation process for rotating the image by 90 degrees (step S73), and the resize processing unit 412e performs a reduction process as an image resize process, and The image correction unit 412f performs necessary correction processing (step S74).

Then, the image data of the first band is obtained from the image data subjected to the processing such as reduction in step S74, and the band data is copied to the band buffer (step S75).

Next, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the images required to generate one band (in this case, the first band) (step S7).
6) If not completed (No in step S76),
Returning to step S70, the processing of steps S70 to S75 is performed on the next image (image B2) as described above. That is, after reading and restoring the original image data file, image (line) data of a required number of lines is read, and each processing such as rotation and reduction is performed, and one band (first band) is obtained from the reduced image data. ) Image data is obtained, and the band data is copied to a band buffer.

In this way, all the images (in this case, the index printing as shown in FIG. 6) necessary to generate the band data for one band (in this case, the first band) are performed. The processes from steps S70 to S75 are repeated for the four images B1 to B4,
Thus, the band buffer (images B1 to B4) for one band (the first band) to be printed is stored in the band buffer.
Are generated in the image data of (1), respectively (in step S76, Ye is generated).
s), and sends the band data to the print processing unit 13 (step S77).

Then, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the bands (step S78). If the processing has not been completed (No in step S78), the processing proceeds to step S70. At this time, the next band (the second band)
In order to create the band data of step S70,
The second band data is obtained after performing the processes from S75 to S75 on the images B1 to B4, respectively. After sending the second band data to the print processing unit, the process for creating the third band data is started. In this case also, the processes from steps S70 to S75 are performed for the images B1 to B4, respectively. Obtain third band data. The above processing is repeated until the processing of all the bands is completed, and when the processing of all the bands is completed (Yes in step S78)
s), images B arranged in a line in the main scanning direction X of the sheet 2
Printing for 1 to B4 is completed.

As described above, in this embodiment, for each of the images B1 to B4 arranged in the main scanning direction, the band height of the image is read from the image data restored by reading the original image data file in the memory card 10. The image (line) data corresponding to the number of lines required for the band, which is determined by × 1 / reduction ratio, is read, processed such as rotation / reduction, and stored in a band buffer, and the image data corresponding to one band of images B1 to B4 Is completed, the band data of the band is sent to the print processing unit 13 for printing, and thereafter, the same process is repeated for each band to print the images B1 to B4. With this method, even when a plurality of images are included in the main scanning direction such as index printing, image data can be processed in the printer, and such index printing can be performed without depending on an application on the host. . In particular, since printing is performed by performing buffering in band units, such index printing is possible even if a capacity of several megabytes is secured as the buffer memory.

When an image captured by a digital camera is rotated by 90 degrees, a similar rotation process is performed on the title "INDEX BANNER" as shown in FIG. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the index printing may be performed in the original state without rotating the image. In this case, the paper feed direction Y of the paper 1
Is set in the vertical direction, the title is printed along the main scanning direction X of the sheet 1 so that the sheet 1 is placed in the vertical direction and viewed at the correct position.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the original image is rotated by 90 degrees and printed, the title is 9
When the paper 2 is rotated by 0 degrees and the paper feed direction Y of the paper 2 is set to the vertical direction, the title is placed along the paper feed direction Y of the paper 2 so that the paper 2 is placed in the horizontal direction to be in the correct position when viewed. Printed.

As described above, when rotating an image,
Accordingly, it is necessary to print the title in a rotated state. In the present embodiment, as described above, the title selection unit 420 has a title selection unit 420. In this title selection unit 420, in order to increase the efficiency of the processing, the title before the rotation processing and the title in a state where the title is rotated by 90 degrees are used. Both titles are prepared, and either the title before the rotation processing or the title rotated by 90 degrees is selected according to the presence or absence of the rotation processing related to the printing of the original image.
Send to 3. That is, the title selection unit 420 receives information indicating whether or not the rotation processing has been performed by the rotation processing unit 412d, selects a title according to the information, and sends the result to the print processing unit 13.

As described above, if two types of titles are prepared, a title corresponding to the case of performing the rotation processing may or may not be selected. This eliminates the need to perform the process, and simplifies the process.

Further, in the present embodiment, the image correction unit 412
f, when performing image correction processing on image data, as described above, depending on what size the image after the resize processing has become, the size of the image after the resize processing or the image before the resize processing is determined. The image correction processing is performed using one of them. That is, in order to reduce the processing amount of the image correction processing, the processing is performed using the smaller image, that is, the image having the smaller number of pixels. Therefore, when the original image is enlarged and printed, the image is corrected using the original image. Conversely, when the original image is reduced and printed, the image correction is performed on the reduced image. Is applied. Specifically, the image correction unit 41
2f receives the resizing processing information by the resizing processing unit 412e, performs the image correction processing using the image data before the resizing processing in the case of the enlargement processing, and performs the image resizing processing by the resizing processing unit 412e in the case of the reducing processing. An image correction process is performed using the image data. in this way,
By performing image correction using an image with a small number of pixels, the amount of data processing in the case of image correction can be reduced.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Images captured by a digital camera can be printed directly by a printer without using application software on the host, and image data processing is performed even when printing multiple images in the main scanning direction. Becomes possible.

Therefore, a large number of index prints can be performed without unnecessarily increasing the capacity of a memory or the like, and an easy-to-use printer can be provided at a lower cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating index printing with a rotation process, which is performed when a sheet is placed in a landscape orientation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating index printing without rotation processing, which is in a correct position when a sheet is placed in a portrait orientation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when performing the index printing shown in FIG. 8 using an application on a conventional personal computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 memory card 11 photo image processing unit 41 photo image processing unit 13 print processing unit 112 image data processing unit 412 image data processing unit 116 band buffer 416 band buffer 118 image data control unit 418 image data control unit 112a original image data file reading unit 412a Original image data file reading unit 112b Restoration processing unit 412b Restoration processing unit 112c Line data reading unit 412c Line data reading unit 112d Resize processing unit 412d Rotation processing unit 112e Image correction unit 412e Resize processing unit 412f Image correction unit 21 Card insertion unit 23 Operation panel section 25 Paper feed section 27 Paper discharge section 420 Title selection section

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A compressed image file data which provides each partial image included in image data to be printed in one main scan is subjected to predetermined image processing including decompression, and is subjected to bit image format. Image data processing means for generating the image data of the above, and the image data processing means controls the generation of the image data as needed from the original image file data each time, and the reading and use of the related parts. A printer, comprising: control means. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein said original image file data is JPEG-compressed. 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the original image file data includes a plurality of images, and the plurality of images are printed by arranging them on a single print sheet in a predetermined arrangement. The control means restores the image data from the original image file data each time by the image data processing means, and executes n (n
Reads out data for one or more integers) lines and performs another predetermined image processing to generate bit image format image data for the n (n is an integer of one or more) lines. (1 is an integer of 1 or more). The image data for one line is stored in a band buffer, and when the processing for one band is completed, the band data of the band is controlled to be printed. 4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein n is 1. 5. The printer according to claim 3, wherein n is the number of lines required for the band, determined by the band height of the image × 1 / the reduction ratio. 6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein
The image data processing unit further includes, as the predetermined image processing, a rotation processing unit that can execute a rotation process of rotating an original image when printing to change the orientation of the image by a predetermined angle, and expanding or scaling the original image. A printer comprising a resize processing unit capable of executing a resize process for reducing. 7. The printer according to claim 6, wherein a title different from the original image can be printed.
At least two titles are prepared: a title before the rotation process, and a title obtained by rotating the title before the rotation process, and depending on whether or not to execute the rotation process as the predetermined image process. And a means for selecting and printing any of the title before the rotation processing and the rotated title. 8. The printer according to claim 6, wherein said image data processing means further includes an image correction section for performing a predetermined correction process on an original image as said predetermined image processing, and executes said resizing process. In this case, the image correction unit selects the image having the smaller number of pixels between the image before resizing and the image after resizing, and performs the predetermined correction process on the selected image. . 9. An image processing apparatus for performing processing of reading compressed original image file data, generating bit image format image data, and sending the generated image data to a print processing apparatus, wherein the print processing apparatus performs one main scan. Image data processing for performing predetermined image processing including decompression on the compressed original image file data for providing each partial image included in the image data to be printed by the printer to generate bit image format image data And a main control unit that controls the image data processing unit to generate image data as needed from the original image file data each time and read out and use related parts. Image processing apparatus. 10. A method of processing image data in a printer which reads a plurality of images stored as file data in a predetermined storage medium and prints the images arranged in a predetermined array on a single print sheet, comprising: For each image to be printed side by side,
An original image reading step of reading the compressed original image file data; a restoring step of restoring the read original image data; and n (n is an integer of 1 or more) lines of data from the restored original image data. Read, the n (n is an integer of 1 or more)
An image processing step of performing a predetermined image processing on the data of the line; and a buffering step of holding data of n (n is an integer of 1 or more) lines on which the predetermined image processing has been performed in a band buffer. The reading, restoring, image processing, and buffering steps of the original image are repeatedly executed until at least one band of band data is stored in the band buffer for all images to be printed side by side in the main scanning direction. A method for processing image data in a printer. 11. A printer capable of reading and printing compressed original image file data, the printer comprising:
A recording medium recording a program for controlling the printer in a case where a band data is obtained by dividing image data to be processed into a plurality of bands and a printing process is performed using the band data, For each image to be printed side by side in the main scanning direction, the program
A process of reading compressed original image file data; a process of restoring the read original image data; reading data of n (n is an integer of 1 or more) lines from the restored original image data; n is an integer of 1 or more)
A predetermined image processing to be performed on the data for the line, and a processing to hold the data for n (n is an integer of 1 or more) lines after the predetermined image processing in the band buffer. The reading, restoring, image processing, and buffering of the original image are repeatedly executed until at least one band of band data is stored in the band buffer for all the images to be printed side by side. Recording medium on which is recorded.