JP2000263873A - Printing method and apparatus and memory medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing method and apparatus capable of achieving the reduction of the number of printing papers to be used and the shortening of a printing time. SOLUTION: In a printer having a plurality of functions such as facsimile function, scanner function or the like other than printing function, an image characteristic judging means 210 judging the characteristics of printing data and image data, an automatic layout means 202 for automatically laying out a plurality of logic pages into one physical page to print the same and a layout determining means 203 determining the value of the number N of the logic pages laid out into one physical page on the basis of the characteristics of the image data judged by the image characteristic judging means 210 are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing method and apparatus, and a storage medium storing a control program for controlling the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a printing apparatus called an MFP (multifunction printer) has been known. this is,
This is a multi-function type printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile (FAX) function and a scanner function in one housing in addition to the printer function.

In a conventional MFP, regardless of whether data is received as a facsimile function or data received as a printer function, printing is performed as received without considering the printing purpose. That is, one logical page is laid out and printed on one physical page as it is.

[0004]

Therefore, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the printing is not always performed in an optimum layout for the user, so that the number of printing papers to be used is increased more than necessary. Accordingly, there is a problem that the printing time becomes longer than necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and a first object of the present invention is to reduce the number of printing paper sheets used and the printing time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing method and apparatus which can be achieved.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a storage medium storing a control program capable of smoothly controlling the above-described printing apparatus of the present invention.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for printing by a printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function. An image characteristic determining step of determining characteristics of print information and image data; an automatic layout step of automatically laying out and printing a plurality of logical pages in one physical page; A layout determining step of determining the value of the number N of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page based on the characteristics of the image data determined in the step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, further comprising a printing step of printing N logical pages into one physical page. The layout determining step determines the value of the number N of logical pages to be 1 when receiving data transmitted with low quality in the facsimile function, and replaces the determined logical page with one physical page. The printing is performed in the page by the printing process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, further comprising a printing step of printing N logical pages into one physical page. The layout determining step determines the value of the number N of logical pages to be 2 or more when data transmitted with high quality in the facsimile function is received, and determines the determined logical pages of 2 or more pages. It is characterized in that printing is performed in one physical page by the printing step.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, wherein when printing data is received as a printer function, the printing method is specified in the data. A font size recognizing step of recognizing a font size of the logical page, wherein the layout determining step determines a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the font size recognized in the font size recognizing step. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, wherein in the case of data received by the Internet facsimile function, the data is designated in the data. A font size recognizing step of recognizing a font size of the logical page, wherein the layout determining step determines a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the font size recognized in the font size recognizing step. And

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, wherein the layout determining step includes the steps of: receiving data by a facsimile function; The value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the resolution of the logical page.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method according to the first aspect, wherein the layout determining step includes a step of receiving print data as a printer function. The value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the resolution of the data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function. Image characteristic determining means for determining the characteristics of data;
An automatic layout unit for automatically laying out and printing in a page, and a layout for determining the value of the number N of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page based on the characteristics of the image data determined by the image characteristic determination unit Determining means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, further comprising a printing unit for printing N logical pages into one physical page. The layout determining means determines the value of the number N of logical pages to be 1 when receiving data transmitted at a low quality in the facsimile function, and converts the determined logical page to one physical page. The printing is performed by the printing unit during a page.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, further comprising a printing unit for printing N logical pages into one physical page. And the layout determining means includes:
When the data transmitted with high quality in the facsimile function is received, the value of the number N of the logical pages is set to 2
The above determination is made, and the determined logical page 2 or more pages are printed by the printing unit in one physical page.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the first object, when the printing device receives print data as a printer function in the printing device according to the eighth aspect, the printing device is designated in the data. A font size recognizing means for recognizing the font size being used, wherein the layout determining means determines the value of the number N of the logical pages according to the font size recognized by the font size recognizing means. And

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus of the eighth aspect, when the data received by the Internet facsimile function is specified in the data, Font size recognition means for recognizing the font size
The layout determining means determines a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the font size recognized by the font size recognizing means.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the thirteenth aspect, when the layout determining means receives data by a facsimile function, The value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the resolution of the logical page.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the eighteenth aspect, the layout determining means receives print data as a printer function. The value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the resolution of the data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium for controlling a printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function. A storage medium storing a program, wherein the control program determines characteristics of print information and image data, automatically lays out a plurality of logical pages in one physical page, and prints the logical pages. The image processing apparatus further includes a control module for performing control to determine the value of the number N of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page according to the characteristics of image data.

In order to achieve the second object, the storage medium according to claim 16 is the storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the control program receives data transmitted with low quality in a facsimile function. If you do
A control module for determining the value of the number of pages N of the logical page to 1 and controlling the determined logical page to be printed in one physical page is provided.

In order to achieve the second object, a storage medium according to claim 17 is the storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the control program receives data transmitted with high quality in a facsimile function. If you do
A control module for determining a value of the number N of the logical pages to be 2 or more, and controlling to print the determined two or more logical pages in one physical page. .

In order to achieve the second object, a storage medium according to claim 18 is the storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the control program, when receiving print data as a printer function, A control module for recognizing a font size specified in the data and controlling to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the recognized font size.

In order to achieve the second object, the storage medium according to the nineteenth aspect is the storage medium according to the fifteenth aspect, wherein the control program is configured to execute the processing when the data is received by the Internet facsimile function. A control module for recognizing a font size specified in the data and controlling to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the recognized font size.

In order to achieve the second object, a storage medium according to claim 20 is the storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the control program, when receiving data in a facsimile function, stores the data in the facsimile function. A control module for performing a control to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to a resolution.

Further, in order to achieve the second object, the storage medium according to claim 21 is the storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the control program, when receiving print data as a printer function, A control module for performing control to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to a resolution of data.

[0028]

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

(First Embodiment) First, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system having a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the printing system is composed of a host computer 100 and this embodiment. (Multifunction printer: MFP) 107 according to the first embodiment.

The host computer 100 includes an application 101, a print information analyzer 102, an image information generator 103, a print command generator 104, and a print environment detector 10.
5. It comprises a screen display control unit 106.

The printing apparatus 107 has a printer function, a facsimile (FAX) function, and a scanner function in one housing. The printing device 107 includes a printer engine 111, a printer controller 112, and a scanner 1.
Consists of sixteen.

The printer controller 112 includes a print information control unit 108, a printer engine control unit 109, a RAM
(Random access memory) 110, printer receiving unit 1
13, a facsimile (FAX) receiving unit 114 and a scanner receiving unit 115, and a scanner 116 is connected to the scanner receiving unit 115.

The printing command generation unit 104 and the printing environment detection unit 105 of the host computer 100
Is connected to the printer receiving unit 113 of the printer.

In FIG. 1, a host computer 100
The print information analysis unit 102 and the print command generation unit 104 in the host computer 100 are started at the same time as the start.
Then, when the user executes the print processing while using the application, the application 101 sends the print information to the print information analysis unit 102, and the print information analysis unit 1
02 generates image information from the print information, generates a print command to the image information generation unit 103 in the same manner, and
04. Then, the image information generating unit 103 converts the image information into bitmap data,
The print data is sent to the printing device 107 in accordance with the print start command of 04.

The print start command sent from the host computer 100 is sent to the printer engine 111 through the print information control unit 108 and the printer engine control unit 109 in the printer controller 112. And
The printer engine control unit 109 controls the printer engine 11
When the data transfer enable notification is detected from No. 1, the image data is sent to the printer engine 111.

The printing environment of the printer engine 111 is sent to the host computer 100 through the printer engine control unit 109 and the print control unit 108. And
The print environment detection unit 105 receives the print environment information from the printing device 107 and notifies the print environment to the print information analysis unit 102 and the screen display control unit 106. The printer engine 111 is a printer unit that performs electrophotographic printing. Although not shown, a known recording medium transport function, a semiconductor laser unit, a photosensitive drum, a developing unit, a fixing unit, a drum cleaning unit, and a separation unit are provided. Printing is performed by an electrophotographic process including

Further, the facsimile data is received by the facsimile receiving section 114. The facsimile receiving section 114 may be connected to a so-called ordinary telephone line or may be connected to a dedicated line. The data from the scanner 116 is received by the scanner receiving unit 115. Each data received by the facsimile receiving unit 114 and the scanner receiving unit 115 is analyzed as print information and sent to the printer engine 111.

To summarize new points of the printing apparatus 107 according to the present embodiment different from the conventional one, as shown in FIG. 2, an image characteristic determining means 201 for determining characteristics of print information and image data, and a plurality of logical Automatic layout means 2 for automatically laying out and printing pages in one physical page
02, and a layout determining unit 203 that determines which logical page should be laid out in one physical page based on the characteristics of the image data determined by the image characteristic determining unit 201.

In the printing system having the configuration shown in FIG.
The process shown in FIG. 3 is performed by the printer controller 112 of the printing apparatus 107.

Hereinafter, the printing apparatus 107 according to the present embodiment will be described.
The processing operation performed by the printer controller 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when data is received, the processing routine of FIG. 3 is called.

First, the purpose of printing is determined in step S301. That is, whether the data received by facsimile is to be printed, or the host computer 1
It is determined whether to print the data sent from 00 or the like. As a method of this determination, it is possible to make a determination based on which reception port of the facsimile or the printer has been received.

In the description here, two functions of the facsimile function and the printer function are described, but it is possible to add some function that requires printing in the future.

If it is determined in step S301 that the facsimile-received data is to be printed, the process proceeds to step S302, in which the method of processing the data of the transmission source as the destination, that is, the quality mode of the processed data is high quality. It is determined whether the data is present or low quality (whether it has been processed as high quality data or low quality data). If it is determined that the mode is the low-quality mode (processed as low-quality data), step S303 is performed.
To 1 and set the value of the number N of logical pages to 1 (N = 1).
Set to. If it is determined that the mode is the high-quality mode (processed as high-quality data), step S
Proceeding to 304, the value of the number N of logical pages is set to 2 (N
= 2), that is, set to 2-UP. Step S30
3 or after the process of step S304 is completed, the process ends.

As described above, N = 2 when the data is processed as high-quality data on the transmission side, and N = 1 when the data is processed as low-quality data. That is, since the logical page is reduced and arranged on the physical page by performing N-UP, the value of N is reduced for data which is difficult to see when the logical page is reduced. The value of N is increased in a range that does not cause inconvenience to.

By doing so, it is possible to optimally lay out and print the data received by facsimile on a physical page.

As a method of determining the number N of logical pages, for example, when the transmission source is G3 facsimile, N
= 1, N = 2 for a standard higher than G3 such as super G3 facsimile.

Further, it is obvious that there are various methods other than the above-described methods for determining the quality of the data processing executed in step S302, and the value of N is determined based on these determination conditions. It is possible.

In steps S303 and S304, N = 1 and N = 2. However, depending on data, the value of N can be set to another numerical value such as "4" or "6". Needless to say, there is.

Further, the present invention can be applied to reception of a so-called Internet facsimile or the like.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that the data sent from the host computer 100 or the like is to be printed as a printer function, the flow advances to step S305 to identify the size of the font to be used from the contents of the print data. . This is possible by recognizing the font size specified by the commands, since the print data includes commands for specifying the font size.

In step S305, for example,
If it is determined that the print data is composed of only characters whose font size is smaller than 10 points, the process proceeds to step S306. For example, printing is performed with characters whose font size is 10 points or more to 20 points. If it is recognized that the data is data, the process proceeds to step S307.
If it is determined that the print data is composed of characters of points or more, the process advances to step S308.

In step S306, the value of the number N of logical pages is set to 1 (N = 1). In step S307, the value of the number N of logical pages is set to 2 (N = 1).
(N = 2), that is, 2-UP, and further, in step S3
08, the value of the number N of logical pages is set to 4 (N = 4),
That is, they are set to 4-UP.

These steps S306 and S30
After the processing of Step 7 and Step S308, the present processing operation is ended.

Steps S306 and S307
The processing executed in step S308 is performed by the printer controller 11 inside the printing apparatus 107.
2 may be performed, or may be performed by a printer driver or the like on the host computer 100 side.

Further, a specific command for controlling on / off of a mode for automatically determining a layout is prepared, and a printer driver or the like of the host computer 100 turns on / off a mode for automatically determining a layout. Is more controllable, so that the operability is further improved.

FIG. 4A shows, for example, the page created by application software, and FIG. 4B shows the layout of the page shown in FIG. 4A as 2-UP (that is, N = 2) with respect to the printing paper. Each state is shown.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system having a printing apparatus according to this embodiment.
In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the above-described first embodiment, the printer controller 112 has been described as being inside the printing apparatus 107. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. A controller (hereinafter, referred to as an image processing device) 112 is a printing device 107
Alternatively, the image processing apparatus 112 may be configured to be connected to the printing apparatus 107 and the host computer 100 via the network 501 or through a direct connection.

The configuration, operation, and effects of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0063]

As described in detail above, according to the printing method and apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to lay out a logical page on a physical page again according to the printing purpose, and to perform printing without increasing the cost. The effect that speed and printing cost can be improved is produced.

Further, according to the storage medium of the present invention, there is an effect that the printing apparatus as described above can be controlled smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system having a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a page created by the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and the same
It is a figure showing the state laid out as -UP.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system having a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 host computer 101 application 102 print information analysis unit 103 image information generation unit 104 print command generation unit 105 print environment detection unit 106 screen display control unit 107 printing device (MFP) 108 print information control unit 109 printer engine control unit 110 RAM (random) (Access memory) 111 Printer engine 112 Printer control 113 Printer receiving unit 114 Facsimile (FAX) receiving unit 115 Scanner receiving unit 116 Scanner 201 Image characteristic determining means 202 Automatic layout means 203 Layout determining means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/387 G03G 15/00

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A printing method for printing by a printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function, comprising: an image characteristic determining step of determining characteristics of print information and image data; An automatic layout step of automatically laying out and printing a logical page in one physical page, and the number of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page based on the characteristics of the image data determined in the image characteristic determining step A layout determining step of determining a value of N. 2. A printing step of printing N logical pages in one physical page, wherein the layout determining step includes the step of printing the logical page when low quality data is received in a facsimile function. 2. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the number N is determined to be 1, and the determined one logical page is printed in one physical page by the printing step. 3. A printing step of printing N logical pages into one physical page, wherein the layout determining step includes the step of printing the logical page when high quality data is received in the facsimile function. 2. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the number N is determined to be two or more, and the determined two or more logical pages are printed in one physical page by the printing step. 4. When a print data is received as a printer function, a font size recognition step of recognizing a font size specified in the data is provided, and the layout determination step is performed by the font size recognition step. 2. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the font size. 5. In the case of data received by the Internet facsimile function, the data processing apparatus includes a font size recognition step of recognizing a font size specified in the data. 2. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the font size. 6. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein in the layout determining step, when data is received by a facsimile function, the value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the resolution of the data. Method. 7. The layout determining step, when print data is received as a printer function, determines the value of the number N of the logical pages according to the resolution of the data. Printing method. 8. A printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function, wherein image characteristic determining means for determining characteristics of print information and image data; Automatic layout means for automatically laying out and printing in one page, and the value of the number N of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page are determined based on the characteristics of the image data determined by the image characteristic determining means. A printing apparatus comprising: a layout determining unit. 9. A printing method for printing N logical pages in one physical page, wherein the layout determining means receives the data transmitted with a low quality in the facsimile function and sets the logical page. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the value of the number N is determined to be 1, and the determined one logical page is printed by the printing unit during one physical page. 10. A printing unit for printing N logical pages in one physical page, wherein the layout determining unit receives the data transmitted at a high quality in the facsimile function and outputs the logical page. Number N
9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the value of is determined to be two or more, and the determined two or more pages are printed by the printing unit in one physical page. 11. When the printer receives print data as a printer function, it has font size recognizing means for recognizing a font size specified in the data, and the layout determining means recognizes the font size by the font size recognizing means. The value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the font size obtained.
The printing device according to the above. 12. In the case of data received by the Internet facsimile function, there is provided a font size recognizing means for recognizing a font size specified in the data, and the layout determining means recognizes the font size by the font size recognizing means. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the value of the number N of the logical pages is determined according to the font size. 13. The printing method according to claim 8, wherein, when data is received by the facsimile function, the layout determining means determines the value of the number N of the logical pages according to the resolution of the data. apparatus. 14. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said layout determining means determines a value of the number N of said logical pages according to a resolution of the data when print data is received as a printer function. Printing equipment. 15. A storage medium storing a control program for controlling a printing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function in addition to a printer function, wherein the control program includes print information and image data. Data characteristics are determined, a plurality of logical pages are automatically laid out and printed in one physical page, and the number N of logical pages to be laid out in one physical page is determined based on the determined characteristics of image data. A control module for controlling to determine the value of the storage medium. 16. The control program, when receiving data transmitted with low quality in a facsimile function, determines the value of the number N of logical pages to be 1, and
16. The storage medium according to claim 15, further comprising a control module for controlling to print one determined logical page in one physical page. 17. The control program, when receiving data transmitted with high quality in a facsimile function, determines the value of the number N of the logical pages to be 2 or more, and 16. The storage medium according to claim 15, further comprising a control module for controlling to print the first page in one physical page. 18. The control program, when print data is received as a printer function, recognizes a font size specified in the data, and determines the number of pages of the logical page according to the recognized font size. The storage medium according to claim 15, further comprising a control module for controlling to determine a value of N. 19. The control program, in the case of data received by the Internet facsimile function, recognizes a font size specified in the data,
16. The storage medium according to claim 15, further comprising a control module for controlling to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to the recognized font size. 20. The control program according to claim 1, further comprising: a control module for performing a control to determine a value of the number N of the logical pages according to a resolution of the data when the data is received by a facsimile function. The storage medium according to claim 15, characterized in that: 21. The control program according to claim 1, wherein the control program includes a control module for controlling, when print data is received as a printer function, the value of the number N of the logical pages to be determined according to the resolution of the data. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein: