JP2000324279A - Image processing method, printer and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce as much as possible influence exerted by the execution of calibration on printing, while maintaining print quality equal to or more than specified quality level in the case of performing the calibration that makes the print specification of a printer a prescribed one. SOLUTION: In the case this system decides that it is a timing for executing calibration before performing printing (S302), the system discriminates whether print data is made by monochromatic printing or color printing (S303). In the case of color printing in this decision, calibration is immediately executed (S305), and the printing is performed (S306). Meanwhile, in the case of monochrome printing in the decision, calibration is carried out (S308) after printing is performed (S306). Thus, it is possible to decide whether calibration is to be executed prior to printing, according to the extent of the necessity of calibration of an image to be printed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image processing method, a printing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus, and more particularly, to calibration for setting printing characteristics in a printing apparatus to predetermined ones.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional printing apparatus, in particular, a color laser beam printer (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "LBP") or the like, when a full-color image is printed, the color tone and gradation are preferably maintained at a predetermined value. It is known that calibration is performed at the same time. This is due to the aging of parts in the printing device, the amount of toner used, the number of printed sheets,
Furthermore, printing characteristics may change due to various factors such as changes or differences in the environment where the printing device is placed, such as temperature and humidity.

The calibration performed by a printing apparatus such as the above-described LBP is usually performed at a constant cycle or under a constant condition according to the elapsed time from the start of printing and the number of printed sheets. That is, immediately before printing (for example, after receiving print data) or during printing, it is determined whether or not such a cycle or condition is satisfied. To execute the application.

The contents of this calibration are as follows:
In the case of the above-described LBP, the density of a patch image formed of toner on a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer body is read by an optical sensor, and data such as an output γ correction table used when processing image data is changed based on the density. , To be updated.

[0005]

By the way, the aforementioned L
In a printing apparatus that performs color printing such as BP, in addition to color printing, monochrome characters and images may be printed. In such a case, the printed color image and monochrome image have the required print quality. Levels may be different.

[0006] However, the conventional calibration is performed at the above-described constant cycle and condition regardless of the type of the image to be printed. For this reason, for example, for a user who wants to execute monochrome image printing without requiring a very high print quality, it is felt that the time until the print result is obtained by performing the calibration is long, In addition, there is a problem that the print standby time for calibration is longer than the print time, and the throughput is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to execute a calibration at an appropriate timing in accordance with the type of an image to be printed, thereby obtaining a printed product. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method, a printing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus capable of minimizing the influence of the execution of calibration on print throughput while maintaining the order at or above a certain level.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided:
An image processing method for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of a printing device to a predetermined one, wherein the type of print data used for a printing process by the printing device is determined, and the type of the printing data is determined according to the determined type of the printing data. And determining the execution timing of the calibration for the printing process.

[0009] A printing apparatus for performing a calibration for setting print characteristics to a predetermined one, comprising: discriminating means for discriminating a type of print data used in a printing process; Execution timing determining means for determining the execution timing of the calibration for the printing process.

Further, an information processing apparatus for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined one, comprising: a discriminating means for discriminating a type of print data used for a printing process by the printing apparatus; And execution timing determining means for determining the execution timing of the calibration for the print processing in accordance with the type of the print data.

Preferably, in the step of determining the execution timing of the calibration, when the type of the determined print data is data of monochrome printing, the calibration is performed after the printing process.

In the step of determining the execution timing of the calibration, when the type of the determined print data is monochrome print data, the number of times that the type of print data is determined to be the monochrome print data has reached a predetermined number or more. It is characterized in that calibration is sometimes performed.

Further, the step of judging whether or not it is time to execute the calibration is performed according to a case where the discriminated print data is data of monochrome printing and a case of color printing data, respectively. The determination is made by giving a predetermined width to the determination criterion.

According to the above configuration, when performing calibration, the execution timing can be determined according to the type of data to be printed. In this case, for example,
If the print data is data for monochrome printing, execute the calibration after printing without printing immediately, or execute the calibration after performing monochrome printing several times while avoiding the execution of calibration. Since it is possible to determine with a predetermined width whether to execute the calibration,
The execution timing can be determined according to the degree to which calibration is required for each type of print data.

[0015]

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

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a color laser beam printer as a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the color laser beam printer of the present embodiment (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "LBP")
Reference numeral 1030 denotes a communication line 1002 with a host computer 1001 as an information processing device such as a personal computer.
And a printing system. LBP1
At 030, the printer controller 1031 is a control unit that controls the operation of the entire printer and executes data processing. That is, the printer controller 103
1 is a program ROM for storing a program describing the control processing procedure of the CPU 1033 for controlling data processing in the entire control unit.
In the above-described control by the CPU 1034 and the CPU 1033, the RAM 1035 used as a work area for interpreting control codes and data, performing calculations necessary for printing, and processing print data, etc., executes the above-described operation control and data processing. can do.

As shown in the figure, the program ROM 1034 stores an image as a processing program for performing predetermined image processing, which will be described later, based on print data from the host computer 1001 and generating an image object to be printed by the printer. Information generation 1041, color adjustment execution / judgment 104 which is a processing program for executing calibration, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 3 and the like, for updating predetermined table data in the processing of image information generation 1041.
4, and a paper supply / discharge port setting 1042 which is a processing program for performing control of single-sided printing or double-sided printing and setting of a paper supply port and a paper discharge port by user designation.

Further, the printer controller 1031 includes:
With the above configuration, print processing based on print data sent from the host computer 1001 is executed.
At this time, the input / output buffer 1032 is a host I / O that controls data input / output with the host computer 1001.
Data that is input / output via the / F unit 1048 is temporarily stored. Further, a bitmap image transfer unit 1040
Develops an image object generated by the image processing generation 1041 into a bitmap image, and generates an engine I / F
The data is transferred to the print engine unit 1036 via the unit 1046.

The LBP 1030 or its printer controller 1031 has an operation panel 103 for the user to perform various operations on the printer in addition to the above-described configuration.
7, a panel I / F unit 1047 for making a signal connection between the operation panel and the printer controller 1031; and an external memory 1038 such as a floppy disk used for storing print data and various information of the printer.
And the external memory 1038 and the printer controller 10
Memory I / F 103 for making a data connection with
9, a system bus 10 for connecting the above-described elements.
43.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view mainly showing the mechanism of the print engine unit 1036 of the above-described color laser beam printer.

The color laser beam printer 1030 is
As shown in FIG. 2, each element for configuring the print engine 1036 is stored inside the housing 2001.
The printer controller 1031 described above with reference to FIG.
A control board storage unit 2003 that stores a control board that configures an engine control unit 1049 that controls each print process (for example, a paper feed process) by each element in the print engine 1036 is also provided in the housing 2001. I have.

As a mechanism constituting the engine unit 1036, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 2005 by a laser beam, the electrostatic latent image is visualized, and the visual image is multiplex-transferred to the intermediate transfer member 2010. An optical processing mechanism for further transferring the multi-transferred color image to a transfer material (printing paper) 2027, a fixing mechanism for fixing the toner image transferred to the transfer material 2027, and a paper feeding mechanism for the printing paper 2027 And a transport mechanism for the printing paper 2027 are provided.

The optical processing mechanism is a laser scanner unit 202
0, and the laser driver 2006 drives a semiconductor laser (not shown) on and off in accordance with the bitmap image data supplied from the printer controller 1031, whereby the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser is The light enters the rotating polygon mirror 2007 and is swung in the main scanning direction. Then, the laser light oscillated in the main scanning direction is guided to the photosensitive drum 2005 via the reflection mirror 2008, and performs exposure scanning on the photosensitive drum 2005 in the main scanning direction. The photosensitive drum 2005 is charged in advance by a primary charger 2023 of the drum unit 2004, and is exposed to light by the above-described laser beam.
An electrostatic latent image is formed thereon. The latent images are developed by the respective color developing units 2012Y, 2012M, and 201 of the developing rotary 2011.
The toner image is visualized by the toner supplied from the 2C or black developing device 2012K.
When a voltage having a characteristic opposite to that of the toner image is applied, the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 2005 to the intermediate transfer member 2010.

When forming a color image, the intermediate transfer member 201
0, the developing rotary 2011 rotates in relation to the photosensitive drum 2005, and the yellow developing device 20
12Y, magenta developing device 2012M, cyan developing device 20
The developing process described above is performed in the order of 12C and then the black developing device 2012K. That is, the intermediate transfer member 2010 rotates four times, and yellow, magenta, cyan, and black visible images are sequentially formed during the rotation. In this case,
The transfer material is repeatedly conveyed every time these visible images are formed, and a full-color image is printed. On the other hand, when forming a monochrome image, the developing process is performed only with the black developing device 2012K, and the intermediate transfer member 2010 makes one rotation to form a black visible image.
A monochrome visible image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 2010.

The transfer of the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer member 2010 is performed by the registration shutter 2028 in which the transfer material 2027, whose transfer is kept on standby, is transferred to the transfer position. That is, the transfer material 2027 fed and conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the intermediate transfer body is pressed against the intermediate transfer body 2010 by the transfer roller 2013 by the paper feed processing mechanism, and
By applying a voltage having a characteristic opposite to that of the toner to 013,
The toner image on the intermediate transfer member 2010 is transferred to the transfer material 2027.

In the above mechanism, the photosensitive drum 2005
And a developing device of each color, that is, a yellow developing device 2012Y,
Magenta developing device 2012M, cyan developing device 2010C,
The black developing device 2012K is provided detachably, and the developing devices other than black are provided in the developing rotary 2011. The reflection mirror 2008 is a semi-transmissive mirror, and a beam detector 2009 is arranged on the back surface side. The beam detector 2009 detects the laser beam, and the detection signal is given to the printer controller 1031. The printer controller 1031 generates a horizontal synchronization signal that determines the exposure timing in the main scanning direction based on the detection signal of the beam detector 2009, and the horizontal synchronization signal is output to the engine control unit 1049.
Further, the cleaner 2022 removes residual toner on the photosensitive drum 2005, and the removed toner is stored in the drum unit 2004 as waste toner.
The pre-exposure lamp 2021 is for light-eliminating the photosensitive drum 2005.

A transfer roller 2013 for pressing the transfer material at the time of transferring the toner image to the transfer material is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure, and a mechanism for driving this movement is provided. ing. Thereby, the intermediate transfer member 2010
While the toner images of the four colors are formed, they are located below the solid line in the drawing so as not to disturb the formed images,
It is separated from the intermediate transfer member 2010. Intermediate transfer member 2
After the formation of each color toner image is completed at 010, the transfer material 2
At the timing of transferring the color image to 027, the transfer roller is moved to an upper position indicated by a broken line in the figure by a cam member (not shown) of the drive mechanism. That is, the sheet is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 2010 via the transfer material 2027 with a predetermined pressure. At this time, as described above, a predetermined voltage is applied to the transfer roller, whereby the toner image on the intermediate transfer body 2010 is transferred to the transfer material 2027.

In the above-described printing operation, in this embodiment, printing with two types of resolutions can be performed.
Printing at the same resolution. Resolution 120
In the case of printing at 0 DPI, the speed of exposure scanning of the photosensitive drum 2005 with laser light is the same as that at 600 DPI, and the number of dots per line is doubled. Further, the dot density in the sub-scanning direction is doubled by setting the rotation speed of the intermediate transfer member to の of 600 DPI in the sub-scanning direction and １ ／ of that in the sub-scanning direction.

The transfer material 2027 onto which the toner image has been transferred as described above is conveyed to a fixing mechanism, where the toner image is fixed. The fixing mechanism includes a fixing device 2 for fixing the toner image transferred to the transfer material 2027 by heat and pressure.
014, the fixing device 2014 includes a fixing roller 2015 for applying heat to the transfer material 2027, and a transfer material 202.
And a pressing roller 2016 for pressing the fixing roller 7 against the fixing roller 2015. Each of these rollers is a hollow roller and has a heater 2017,
2018. When the rollers are driven to rotate, the transfer material 2027 is simultaneously conveyed. The heating drive of the heaters built in each roller is controlled by the engine control unit 1049 so that a predetermined fixing temperature is obtained. The LBP of the present embodiment changes the passage time of the fixing device 2014 according to the type of paper, such as plain paper or thick paper. For example, in the case of thick paper, it is necessary to make the heating time of the toner image longer than fixing the toner on plain paper because of the difference in the material, so that the passage time is made longer. Alternatively, or alternatively, the heating temperature of the fixing device may be switched.

The printing paper (transfer material) feeding mechanism has a cassette 2024 for accommodating the transfer material 2027 and a manual feed tray 2025, and selectively feeds the print paper of the cassette 2024 or the print paper of the manual feed tray 2025. It is configured to be paper. The cassette 2024 is a housing 2001
The cassette 2024 is provided with a size detecting mechanism for electrically detecting the size of the printing paper in accordance with a set position of a partition plate (not shown) therein. From the cassette 2024, the pickup roller 20
26 is driven to rotate, the sheet is fed one by one from the uppermost printing sheet, and the printing sheet is
8 is conveyed. The pickup roller 2026 is intermittently driven to rotate by a driving unit (not shown) every time paper is fed, and the cam portion makes it possible to feed one print sheet per rotation.

The paper feed roller 2038 conveys the printing paper to a position where the leading end thereof corresponds to the registration shutter 2028. The registration shutter 2028 presses the fed printing paper and releases it to release the printing paper. Stop and release the paper. The operation of the registration shutter 2028 is controlled so as to be synchronized with the main scanning of the laser beam.

The manual feed tray 2025 is provided so that a part of the manual feed tray 2025 protrudes out of the housing 2001 in response to the sheet feeding from the cassette described above.
The printing paper loaded on the paper 25 is fed by a feed roller 2029 toward a registration shutter 2028.

Next, the printing paper transport processing mechanism includes a transport roller 203 that transports the printing paper released from being pressed by the registration shutter 2028 to the position of the intermediate transfer member 2010.
9 and the printing paper discharged from the fixing device 2014
001 and each flapper 2036 and 2037 for guiding to the discharge tray FD formed above
0, 2041, 2042, and driving means (not shown) for driving these rollers.

The flapper 2037 switches the discharge tray F formed on the upper part of the housing 2001 by the switching operation.
D, or a paper discharge tray F formed on the side of the housing 2001
The discharge destination can be switched to any of U.

Further, double-sided printing can be performed by the switching operation of the flapper 2036. That is, 20
Reference numeral 30 denotes a reversing sheet feeding unit,
2032 and 2033, and a flapper 2034. In the case of performing duplex printing and performing face-down printing (double-sided printing in which the front side of the printing paper is on the lower side in the drawing and the back side is on the upper side in the drawing) in the discharge tray FD, the transfer material 2027 is first printed from the back side printing. Will be In this case, the cassette 20
When the sheet is fed from the sheet 24 (arrow in the figure), the reverse side is printed first (arrow), and then the sheet is guided to the reversing sheet feeding unit (arrow,) by switching the conveyance of the flapper 2036 and conveying the conveyance rollers 2035, 2031. And
When a sensor (not shown) detects the rear end of the transferred transfer material 2027, the transfer roller 2031 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the flapper 2034 is switched to transfer the transfer material 2027 to the transfer path of the transfer roller 2032. The sheet is accommodated in the reversing sheet feeding unit 2030 in parallel with the sheet feeding cassette 2024 (arrows,). At this time, the surface on which the printing of the transfer material is performed (the back surface) is in a state facing upward in the drawing. Thereafter, when it is specified that the sheet feeding is to be performed from the reversing sheet feeding unit 2030, the sheet passes through the transport roller 2033 and the sheet feeding roller 2038 (arrow), and is again transferred to the intermediate transfer body 201
0, the surface is printed through the fixing device 2014 (arrow),
By switching the flappers 2036 and 2037, the paper is discharged to the discharge tray FD (arrow 10) or the discharge tray FU (arrow 11). On the other hand, in the case of performing face-up printing by performing double-sided printing (double-sided printing in which the front side of the sheet is lower in the figure and the back side is upper side in the figure when the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray FU), for example, The sheet is discharged to the sheet feeding unit 2030, and thereafter, the front side is printed, and further, the sheet is fed from the reversing sheet feeding unit 2030 to print the back side.

An operation panel 2002 constituting an operation panel unit 1037 is attached to the housing 2001 of the LBP 1030. The operation panel 2002 is provided with a switch group for an instruction input operation, an LED display and an LCD display for information display. Also, the housing 2001
Inside, an external memory unit 2043 constituting an external memory unit 1038 used for storing print data and the like is attached.

The printing process or printing operation based on the configuration of the LBP 1030 described above will be described below.

When the host computer 1001 instructs execution of printing by a user's instruction, a control code and print data for printing are sent from the host computer 1001 via a communication line 1002.
Input / output buffer 103 via host I / F 1048
2 temporarily stored in the RAM at a predetermined timing.
1035.

The CPU 1033 has a program ROM 10
Image information generation 104 which is a program stored in
1, the image data is processed and the figures, characters,
Image information on image data and the like (image object) is generated.

In the generation of the image information, the R, G, B luminance data sent from the host computer 1001 is converted into C, M, Y, K density data corresponding to each color of the toner. It is necessary to perform binarization for obtaining bitmap data, and image processing such as luminance / density conversion, color correction, UCR, output γ correction, and binarization are performed. The calibration according to the present embodiment is performed on a table used for output γ correction in the image processing. The tables used in these image processes are stored and used in the RAM 1035 during printing.

When the image information of all the image objects in one page is generated, the information is developed into a bitmap image to be actually printed by a bitmap image development / transfer unit 1040, and then sent to a print engine unit 1036. . In the print engine unit 1036, the printing operation is performed based on the bitmap data as described above.
For example, in the case of single-sided printing, paper is fed from a cassette, printing is performed on the paper, and then the paper is discharged from a paper discharge port FD. In the case of double-sided printing, when performing face-down printing, the image on the back side is first developed in the bitmap image developing / transferring unit 1040, and the developed bitmap image on the back side is printed by the printing device engine unit 1036. After the paper is fed from the cassette and printed on the printing paper, the paper is discharged to the reversing paper feeding unit 2030. Subsequently, the image of the front surface is developed in the bitmap image development / transfer unit 1040, and the developed bitmap image of the front surface is sent to the printing device engine unit 1036, so that the printing paper fed from the reversing paper supply unit 2030 After printing is performed on the surface of the sheet, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge port FD.

Next, the process of color adjustment execution / judgment 1044 which is a program for executing the calibration of this embodiment will be described.

In the case of a color printer as in this embodiment, for example, a full-color visible image is formed using four color toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). . In this case, as described above, the performance of the toner, the developing device, the photosensitive drum, and the like changes due to various factors such as aging, temperature, frequency of use, and the like as a result. Printing characteristics such as density and hue may change. Therefore, for the purpose of maintaining the print characteristics at a predetermined value, calibration may be performed, for example, at fixed time intervals or every print count. The color adjustment execution / judgment 1044 according to the present embodiment first determines whether or not calibration is necessary, and if it is necessary, the C adjustment is performed on the intermediate transfer member 2010 by the same procedure as in normal full-color printing. , M, Y, and K, the LBP1 of the present embodiment is formed so as to form a predetermined patch image.
031, and detects the patch density using the color sensor 2044 (see FIG. 2). Execute / determine color adjustment 1044
Further generates image information 1041 based on the detected density.
The processing for updating the contents of the γ correction tables for C, M, Y, and K used in the above is performed.

It is needless to say that the contents of the calibration are not limited to those described above, and any of known calibrations including a process to be calibrated may be used.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a printing process in the laser beam printer of the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, when the power is turned on to the LBP 1030, this processing is started. First, the respective parts of the LBP are initialized, and wait for transmission of print data from the host computer 1001 (step S30).
0). If no data is received, necessary processing other than the printing processing is executed, or a sleep state is entered to reduce power consumption (step S301). Generally, data reception from the host device, such as print data, is performed independently by an interrupt process and executed in parallel with the print process. However, in the description of the present embodiment, to simplify the description, Is shown as one flow.

When print data is received from the host computer 1001 (step S300), print processing is executed in accordance with the data. In this embodiment, before printing is performed, the printer performs calibration at the time of execution. It is determined whether or not the state is to be executed (step S302).

The judgment and the processing related to the calibration according to the judgment are mainly performed by the above-described color adjustment execution / judgment 1044. As a criterion for determining whether or not it is the timing for executing the calibration, various types such as the number of prints and the elapsed time from when the power is turned on can be used. In the present embodiment, the number of prints is used. It should be noted that the execution timing determination criteria such as the number of prints may be set in the host computer. If it is determined that it is time to execute the calibration, it is determined in step S303 whether the received print data is color print data or monochrome print data. If it is determined that the print data is color print data, the calibration is performed in step S305 as described above. On the other hand, if it is determined that the print data is monochrome print data, the calibration is not executed immediately, and the print data is executed after the printing is completed.
A flag is set to that effect (step S304). In addition,
When the calibration is performed, the counter of the number of printed sheets, which is a reference for determining the execution timing, is of course cleared.

After the above process, a color or monochrome printing process is executed in step S306. In this case,
When color printing is performed, printing is performed immediately before that. The printed sheet (transfer material 2027) is discharged out of the housing 2001 by the end of the printing process.

When the printing process is completed, step S307
In step S3, a flag indicating whether or not to execute the above-described calibration is checked. If the flag is set, the calibration is executed in step S308, and then the flag is initialized (step S309). Printing of the received data ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the printer performs calibration when printing is performed, if the image to be printed is in color, the calibration is performed before printing. However, if the image to be printed is monochrome, calibration is not performed before printing, and calibration is performed after printing, so in monochrome printing that does not require much print quality, The printing result can be obtained for the time being by omitting the execution of the calibration, and since the calibration is executed after that, it is possible to prevent the print quality in the case of performing the monochrome printing from being unlimitedly degraded.

<Second Embodiment> In this embodiment, when it is determined that an image or the like to be printed at the timing at which calibration should be performed is monochrome, the calibration including printing after printing is performed up to a certain limit. It is possible to avoid it.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a printing process by the LBP 1030 of this embodiment.

As in the first embodiment, when print data is received from the host computer 1001 (steps S400, S401), it is determined in step S402 whether or not it is time to execute calibration. If it is determined that it is time to execute the calibration, it is determined whether the print data received from the host computer is color print data or monochrome print data (step S4).
03).

If it is determined that the print data is color data, calibration is performed (step S406) and then print processing is performed (step S408), as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, when it is determined that the print data is monochrome data, in the present embodiment, the number of times that the process has been reached, that is, the number of times that the monochrome printing is performed at the timing of performing the calibration, is counted. The counter is incremented (step S404). In other words, the value of this counter indicates the number of times that the printing has been performed without performing the calibration, even though it is the timing at which the calibration must be performed, and this counter is configured in the RAM 1035.

Next, in step S405, the value of the counter is checked to determine whether or not the value exceeds a certain limit value. This limit value (the number of times of the limit) is such that when the printing is continued without performing the calibration in spite of the timing at which the calibration has to be performed, the color adjustment is good even if the calibration is performed thereafter. It is determined in consideration of the case where it may not be performed.

Therefore, when it is determined that the above-mentioned counter value exceeds a certain limit value, calibration is executed in step S406. The certain limit value may be set by an instruction from the host computer or may be set by operating the operation panel unit 1037 of the printer. Alternatively, the program R
It may be stored in the OM 1034. After performing the calibration, the value of the counter is initialized (step S407), and thereafter, the printing process is executed as in the case where the print data is the color print data (step S408).

In the case of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, in the case of monochrome printing, the printing is executed while avoiding the execution of calibration before printing, and the subsequent calibration is performed until the number of times reaches a certain limit. Since the monochrome printing is performed without performing the operation, the printing can be performed in a relatively short time particularly when the printing of the monochrome image is continuously instructed. For example, when the number of prints serving as a criterion for the calibration execution timing is 100 and the limit value is 5 times, about 500 prints can be performed in a relatively short time.

<Third Embodiment> In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not to execute calibration for color printing and monochrome printing, respectively, with a certain margin for the execution timing of calibration.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a printing process by the LBP 1030 according to the present embodiment.

As in the above-described embodiments, when print data is received from the host computer 1001 (steps S500 and S501), it is determined whether the received print data is color print data or monochrome print data. A determination is made based on the received data (step S502).

If the result of this determination is that the print data is data for color printing, it is determined in step S503 whether it is time to execute calibration. This determination is made with a certain margin with respect to the execution timing shown in the above-described embodiment. That is, if the cumulative number of printed sheets is exceeded as a criterion, it is naturally determined that it is time to execute the calibration as in the above-described embodiments. If it is within a certain range close to the reference number, it is determined that it is time to execute the calibration, and the calibration is executed in step S506.

For example, in the case of the criterion that the calibration is executed when the power is turned on or when the number of printed sheets exceeds 100 from the previous execution of the calibration, the calibration is performed even when the number of sheets exceeds 90 and up to 100. It is determined that it is time to execute the action. That is, the judgment criterion in the present embodiment is 1
That is, there is a margin for zero sheets. Thus, for example, in the first and second embodiments, when the cumulative number of sheets when the execution timing of the calibration is determined is 98, the timing is not determined to be the calibration execution timing. When the data received from is the print amount for 100 sheets, nearly 100 prints will be performed in the state where the calibration is not performed, although the calibration is originally performed. In the present embodiment, the possibility of such a situation occurring can be reduced as much as possible. As described above, not only the number of printed sheets as in the present embodiment but also various other criteria can be used as the criterion for determining the execution timing.

If it is determined in step S503 that the image is not within the margin, or after the calibration is executed in step S506, the printing process is performed (step S503).
507).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S502 that the print data is monochrome, the flow advances to step S504 to determine whether it is time to execute calibration at that time. It should be noted that the number of sheets for this criterion is 100 as described above. If the result of determination is that it is time to execute calibration, step S50
In 5, it is determined whether the calibration execution timing is within the limit where there is no problem even if it is delayed. If it is determined that the delay cannot be further delayed (limit), calibration is executed (step S506).

The limit is, for example, from the above-mentioned reference number of sheets of 100 to 110 sheets. If the calibration is executed within this range, the effect can be normally obtained. It can be determined that the print quality is extremely deteriorated. That is, in the case of the present embodiment, there is a margin of 10 pages in the plus direction with respect to the criterion.

According to the above-described embodiment, the calibration execution timing is determined with a predetermined width, so that the printing throughput is reduced by the calibration execution and the print quality is reduced for both color printing and monochrome printing. It is possible to perform printing in which the positions are more appropriately balanced.

The above-described setting of the margin and the like may be performed by a command from the host computer or by an operation through the operation panel unit 1037 of the printer. Alternatively, set in advance, for example, program RO
It may be stored in M1034.

<Fourth Embodiment> In this embodiment, the calibration is executed when the printer is not directly related to the printing operation, and a decrease in the printing throughput due to the execution of the calibration is suppressed as much as possible. Things.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process related to calibration according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the case of the LBP 1030 of the present embodiment, the paper discharge tray FD or the paper discharge tray FU is provided with a full load sensor (not shown).
When a predetermined number of printed sheets are stacked on the tray, the sheet is discharged so that the printing operation is not performed. In addition, for example, when the above-described paper discharge tray becomes full during printing, control is performed so that printing cannot be restarted unless the user takes any action. Hereinafter, such a state is referred to as an operator call state.

The process shown in FIG. 6 is started when the operator is in the operator call state. First, the printer engine of the printer is checked to determine whether the calibration can be executed mechanically. A determination is made (step S600). Whether or not the calibration can be performed is to determine whether a mechanism such as a drum unit and a laser optical system for forming a patch on the intermediate body normally operates. If it can be executed, it is further determined whether the timing at which the calibration should be executed or whether it is within a predetermined margin with respect to the timing at which the calibration should be executed, as in the third embodiment (step S601). ). Here, when it is determined that it is within the margin, the calibration is executed (step S602). In the above description, the determination of color printing or monochrome printing and the subsequent processes according to the determination are not separately described. However, this is for simplification of the description. The same processing as shown in steps S503 to S506 is performed.

Note that the processing described in each of the above embodiments,
In particular, the processes shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 are performed in the printer. In these processes, the determination of the calibration execution timing, the calibration execution,
Control such as printing processing may be performed on the host computer side.

By configuring the host computer so as to control the processing relating to the calibration, for example, when a plurality of printers are connected to the host computer via a network, the host computer is connected to these printers. Calibration can be managed uniformly according to each of the embodiments described above. As a result, in particular, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiments, it is possible to always make the printing characteristics, for example, the color tone and the gradation between the plurality of printers uniform.

In each of the embodiments described above, the printing method in the printing apparatus is an electrophotographic method using a laser beam. However, the printing method to which the present invention is applied is not limited to this. is there. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet printing apparatus such as a bubble jet method or a piezo method. As a printing device,
It is not limited to a printer, but may be a copying machine or the like.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the determination of the calibration execution timing and the like are determined based on whether the printing is color printing or monochrome printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Or other data such as images.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention, as described above,
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.) or may be applied to an apparatus including one device (for example, a copying machine or a facsimile machine).

Also, in order to operate various devices so as to realize the functions shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 of the above-described embodiment, for example, an apparatus connected to the various devices or a computer in a system is provided in the computer in the system. The present invention also includes a software program code for realizing the function, which is implemented by operating a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus according to a stored program to operate the various devices. .

In this case, the software program code itself implements the functions of the above-described embodiment. The program code itself and means for supplying the program code to a computer, for example, the program code The stored storage medium constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for storing such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer, or another program. Needless to say, the program code is included in the embodiment of the present invention even when the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized in cooperation with application software or the like.

Further, the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and then stored in the function expansion board or the function storage unit based on an instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention includes a case where a provided CPU or the like performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, when performing calibration, the execution timing can be determined according to the type of data to be printed. If the data is for printing, calibration is performed immediately after printing without performing printing immediately, or calibration is performed after performing monochrome printing several times without performing calibration. In addition, since the execution of the calibration can be determined with a predetermined width, the execution timing can be determined according to the degree to which the calibration for each print data is required.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the influence of the execution of the calibration on the printing throughput while maintaining the print quality at or above a predetermined level.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram mainly showing a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a mechanical structure of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure relating to calibration according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure related to calibration according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure relating to calibration according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure relating to calibration according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1001 Host computer 1002 Communication line 1030 Color laser beam printer (LBP) 1031 Printer controller 1032 I / O buffer 1033 CPU 1034 Program ROM 1035 RAM 1036 Engine unit 1037 Operation panel unit 1038 External memory unit 1039 Memory I / F 1040 Bitmap image development / Transfer unit 1041 Image information generation 1042 Paper supply / discharge port setting 1043 System bus 1044 Color adjustment execution / judgment 1047 Panel I / F unit 1048 Host I / F unit 2001 Housing 2002 Operation panel 2003 Control board collection unit 2004 Drum unit 2005 Photosensitive unit ( Drum) 2006 Laser driver 2007 Rotating polygon mirror 2008 Reflecting mirror 2009 Beam detector 2010 Intermediate Copy body 2011 Development rotary 2012Y Yellow developing device 2012M Magenta developing device 2012C Cyan developing device 2013 Transfer roller 2014 Fixing device 2015 Fixing roller 2016 Pressure roller 2017 Heater 2018 Heater 2020 Laser scanner unit 2021 Pre-exposure lamp 2022 Cleaner 2023 Primary charger 20 2025 Paper feed tray (hand tray) 2026 Pickup roller 2027 Transfer material (print paper) 2028 Registration shutter 2029 Paper feed roller 2030 Reverse paper feed unit 2031 Transport roller 2032 Transport roller 2033 Transport roller 2034 Flapper 2035 Transport roller 2036 Flapper 2037 Flapper 2038 Paper feed roller 2039 Transport roller 2040 Transport roller 2041 Transport Over La 2042 conveying roller 2043 external memory unit 2044 color sensor

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. An image processing method for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined one, comprising: determining a type of print data used for a printing process by the printing apparatus; Determining an execution timing of a calibration for a printing process according to the image processing method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the execution timing of the calibration includes a step of determining whether it is a timing at which the printing apparatus should execute the calibration. 2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that there is, the execution timing of the calibration for the print processing is determined according to the type of the determined print data. 3. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the type of the print data is distinguished depending on whether the print data is monochrome print data or color print data. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of determining the execution timing of the calibration includes executing the calibration after the print processing when the type of the determined print data is monochrome print data.
The image processing method according to 1. 5. The step of determining the execution timing of the calibration, wherein, when the type of the determined print data is monochrome print data, the number of times that the type of print data is determined to be the monochrome print data has reached a predetermined number or more. 4. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the calibration is performed at the time. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein in the step of determining the execution timing of the calibration, when the type of the determined print data is color print data, the calibration is performed before the print processing. Alternatively, the image processing method according to claim 5. 7. The step of judging whether or not it is time to execute the calibration is performed according to each of a case where the discriminated print data is data for monochrome printing and a case where it is data for color printing. 4. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the determination is made by giving a predetermined width to the criterion. 8. The predetermined width in the case of the monochrome print data delays the execution timing of the calibration, and the predetermined width in the case of the color print data is the calibration width. 8. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein the execution timing of the image processing is advanced. 9. A method for performing calibration for setting a print characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined property, wherein the image processing method is performed when printing cannot be performed by the printing apparatus. And determining whether the calibration can be performed in the printing device. When the determination determines that the calibration can be performed, it is determined whether or not the timing at which the printing device should perform the calibration. An image processing method, comprising: determining, when determining that it is time to execute calibration, executing calibration. 10. A printing apparatus for performing calibration for setting print characteristics to a predetermined one, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a type of print data used in a printing process; And an execution timing determining means for determining the execution timing of the calibration for the printing process. 11. The execution timing determining means includes timing determining means for determining whether or not it is time for the printing apparatus to execute calibration, and the execution timing determining means determines when the timing determining means executes calibration. 11. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when it is determined that there is, the execution timing of the calibration for the printing process is determined according to the type of the print data determined by the determination unit. 12. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the type of the print data is distinguished depending on whether the print data is monochrome print data or color print data. 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the execution timing determination unit executes the calibration after the printing process when the type of the print data determined by the determination unit is monochrome printing data. Printing equipment. 14. When the type of print data determined by the determination means is monochrome print data, the execution timing determination means determines when the number of times the print data has been determined to be monochrome print data has reached a predetermined number or more. 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein calibration is performed. 15. The printing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the execution timing determination unit executes calibration before print processing when the type of the print data determined by the determination unit is color printing data. Claim 14
A printing device according to claim 1. 16. The timing judging means gives a predetermined width to the judgment criterion according to each of the case where the print data judged by the judging means is the data for monochrome printing and the case where it is the data for color printing. 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the determination is made by: 17. The predetermined width in the case of the monochrome print data delays the execution timing of the calibration, and the predetermined width in the case of the color print data is the calibration width. 17. The printing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the execution timing of the printing is advanced. 18. A printing apparatus for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined property, wherein execution determining means for determining whether or not printing can be performed; A calibration determining means for determining whether or not the calibration can be performed when it is determined that the calibration cannot be performed; and a calibration when the calibration determining means determines that the calibration can be performed. And timing determining means for determining whether or not it is time to perform the calibration. When the timing determining means determines that it is the timing to perform the calibration, the calibration is performed. Printing device. 19. An information processing apparatus for performing calibration for setting a print characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined one, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a type of print data used for a printing process performed by the printing apparatus; An information processing apparatus, comprising: an execution timing determination unit that determines an execution timing of calibration for a print process according to the type of the print data. 20. The execution timing determining means includes timing determining means for determining whether or not it is a timing at which the printing apparatus should execute calibration, and the execution timing determining means determines at a timing at which the timing determining means executes calibration. 20. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein when it is determined that there is, the execution timing of the calibration for the print processing is determined according to the type of the print data determined by the determination unit. 21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the type of the print data is distinguished depending on whether the print data is monochrome print data or color print data. 22. The printing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the execution timing determination unit executes the calibration after the printing process when the type of the print data determined by the determination unit is monochrome printing data. Information processing device. 23. When the type of print data determined by the determination means is monochrome print data, the execution timing determination means determines when the number of times the print data has been determined to be monochrome print data has reached a predetermined number or more. 22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the calibration is performed on the data. 24. The printing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the execution timing determination unit executes the calibration before the printing process when the type of the print data determined by the determination unit is color printing data. Claim 23
An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 25. The timing criterion has a predetermined width according to each of a case where the print data determined by the determiner is monochrome print data and a case where the print data is color print data. 22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the determination is made by: 26. The predetermined width in the case of the monochrome printing data delays the execution timing of the calibration, and the predetermined width in the case of the color printing data is the calibration width. 26. The information processing apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the execution timing of the information processing is advanced. 27. An information processing apparatus for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of a printing apparatus to a predetermined one, comprising: an execution determining unit that determines whether or not printing can be executed by the printing apparatus; When the means determines that printing cannot be performed, the calibration determining means determines whether or not the calibration can be performed. The calibration determining means determines that the calibration can be performed. And timing determining means for determining whether or not it is time to execute the calibration. When the timing determining means determines that it is the time to execute the calibration, the calibration is executed An information processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 28. A storage medium storing a program readable by an information processing device, wherein the program is a process for performing calibration for setting a printing characteristic of the printing device to a predetermined one, and comprising: A storage medium, comprising: a process for determining a type of print data used in a process, and determining a timing of executing calibration for a print process according to the determined type of the print data.