JP2001301248A - Printing controller, printing system, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique related to a printing controller and a printing system which can make rasterization efficient. SOLUTION: When an object including variable pages each composed of a fixed part which has the same contents in a plurality of books and a variable part which can be different in each of the books is to be printed by a plurality of the number, a fixed data FD and a variable data VD as rasterize data respectively corresponding to the fixed part and the variable part of the variable pages of the object are extracted from a rasterize data storage part 21 on the basis of a page list LP showing a page constitution of the object, etc. Rasterize data of the variable pages in each book of the object is generated by combining the extracted fixed data FD and variable data VD. This technique is efficient because it is enough to form the rasterize data of each book only for the variable part while the fixed data FD for the fixed part is shared.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for improving the efficiency of a rasterizing process based on digital data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a plurality of booklets (number of copies), there is a printed matter in which only a specific page has different contents for each book, and in this specific page, a variable portion having different contents for each book ( More precisely, there are a fixed portion having the same content over a plurality of booklets. As such a printed matter, for example, a booklet having an address portion on the cover corresponds to the booklet. In this case, the address portion of the cover corresponds to the variable portion, and the periphery of the address corresponds to the fixed portion.

[0003] When printing such a printed matter, rasterization processing for generating rasterized data based on document data (digital data) described in a page description language or the like is performed for each page. In particular, even in the specific page (variable page) described above, rasterized data for each booklet is generated based on each document data having a different address portion for each booklet.

[0004]

However, when such a rasterizing process is performed on a variable page, a portion having the same contents over a plurality of booklets in a portion other than the address portion (variable portion) is described above. Despite the presence of (fixed portion), rasterized data must be created for each booklet based on each document data for the entire variable page.
There is a problem that the rasterizing process is inefficient.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique relating to a print control device and a print system capable of improving the efficiency of rasterizing processing.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a fixed portion having the same contents over a plurality of booklets and a variable portion which can have different contents for each booklet. What is claimed is: 1. A print control apparatus in a printing system for printing a plurality of print objects including variable pages in a booklet, comprising: rasterization storing fixed data as rasterized data for the fixed portion and variable data as rasterized data for the variable portion. Data storage means, and the fixed data and the variable data respectively corresponding to the fixed part and the variable part of the variable page of the print object based on the page configuration information representing the page structure of the print object, and the rasterized data. Extracting from the storage means and combining the extracted fixed data and variable data Ri, characterized in that it and a rasterized data generating means for generating a rasterized data of the variable page in each of the plurality of booklets of the printing object.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the print control apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising data output means for outputting rasterized data of each page to a print output apparatus, wherein the data output means is provided. Rasterized data for each page of the printing object including the variable page is output in a desired order for each booklet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the page configuration information on the variable page included in the print target is:
The fixed portion is associated with one piece of rasterized data common to the plurality of booklets, and the variable portion is associated with different rasterized data for each booklet, thereby being constructed as common information across the plurality of booklets. It is characterized by having.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the third aspect, the page configuration information includes a plurality of parts of a plurality of rasterized data including the fixed data and the variable data for the variable page. A page list including a file list in which a part is included, a variable flag indicating whether each part is variable data, and a reference position of each part in the file list for each part included in the variable page. The rasterized data generation means, for each part included in the variable page, when the variable flag of the part is off, recognizes that the part is fixed data, and The rasterized data existing at the corresponding reference position in the list is extracted as fixed data corresponding to the part. However, when the variable flag of the part is ON, the part is recognized as a variable part, and the position is obtained by adding a value considering the number of the booklet to the corresponding reference position in the file list. By extracting existing rasterized data as variable data corresponding to the page, the fixed data and the variable data for the variable page are specified and extracted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the required number of variable data corresponding to the number of print booklets for the variable portion is stored in the rasterized data using the file list. Warning means for determining whether or not the required number of variable data exists in the means, and displaying a warning when it is determined that the required number of variable data does not exist in the rasterized data storage means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system, wherein the printing control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects and the printing control apparatus outputs the printing control based on a printing control output from the printing control apparatus. A print output device for performing print output of the object.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as the print control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. Features.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <A. Configuration><OverallConfiguration> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a printing system 1 according to the present invention. This printing system 1
A printing system that performs printing based on document data (digital data) of a target printed material, and includes a print control device 20 and a print output device 30.

The print control device 20 converts the document data (electronic page data) such as data in a page description language and PDF (Portable Document Format) data into R.
This is an apparatus that outputs rasterized data to the print output device 30 after generating rasterized data by performing IP processing (rasterizing processing). The document data can be obtained by the print control device 20 receiving the document data from another client computer (hereinafter also referred to as “client”) C connected to the communication line CL via the communication line CL.

The print output device 30 actually performs print output on each print sheet using toner or various kinds of ink based on data output from the print control device 20.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a page configuration of a printing target printed by the printing system 1. As shown in FIG. The print target PT includes three pages PG1, PG2,
PG3. Here, it is assumed that three print targets PT having these three pages PG1, PG2, and PG3 are printed. FIG. 3 shows the print object P
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a page configuration of each booklet PT1, PT2, and PT3 of T.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the page PG
1 is a plurality (three in this case) of booklets PT1, PT2, P
A portion (hereinafter, referred to as a “fixed portion”) FP1 (FIG. 2) having the same content over T3, and a portion (hereinafter, referred to as a “variable portion”) that can have different content for each of the booklets PT1, PT2, and PT3 ) VP1 (FIG. 2). As described above, the page PG1 has the same content over a plurality of booklets as the “fixed portion FP (FP
1) and a "variable portion VP (VP1)" which may have different contents for each booklet. Similarly, the page PG2 is a page having a fixed part FP2 and a variable part VP2. On the other hand, the page PG3 has a configuration having the fixed portion FP3 but not having the variable portion.

In this specification, a page composed of a “fixed part FP” and a “variable part VP” is referred to as a “variable page”.
Shall be called. The above pages PG1 and PG2 are
Each corresponds to this variable page. On the other hand, a page composed of only the “fixed portion” is referred to as a “fixed page”, and the above-described page PG3 corresponds to the fixed page.

As described above, the printing object PT is a printed material including the variable pages (here, PG1 and PG2) including the fixed portion FP and the variable portion VP. Is printed in a plurality of booklets.

Next, the print control device 20 will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a hardware configuration of the print control device 20.

The CPU 2 is connected to a storage unit 3, a media drive 4, a display unit 5, an input unit 6, a communication unit 7, an output buffer memory 8, and the like via a bus line BL and an input / output interface IF.

The storage unit 3 includes a semiconductor memory such as a ROM and a RAM, and a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk (magnetic storage device). The storage unit 3 stores an OS (operating system), which is basic software, and an application software program (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “program”) for causing the computer system to function as a print control device. Can also be stored. further,
The storage unit 3 stores various data used in the above program, document data transmitted from the client C, and the like.

The media drive 4 includes a CD-ROM, D
The information recorded therein is read from a portable recording medium 9 such as a VD (Digital Versatile Disk) or a flexible disk. The read information can be used as it is, or can be used after being temporarily stored in the storage unit 3. For example, in addition to being able to read and execute the above program from the recording medium 9 on which the program is recorded, it is also possible to temporarily store the program in the hard disk of the storage unit 3 and execute it.

The display unit 5 has a color display and the like, and the input unit 6 has a keyboard and a mouse. The operator, via the display unit 5 and the input unit 6,
Select the data to print, specify the printing order,
It is possible to set the number of copies, for example.

The communication section 7 exchanges data with the outside. For example, the communication section 7 can receive various data (eg, document data) transmitted from the external client C via the communication line CL. is there.

The output buffer memory 8 is composed of a semiconductor memory or the like, and stores rasterized data which is print output data. Rasterized data generated by a rasterized data generating unit 22 (FIG. 5), which will be described later, is transferred to the output buffer memory 8 and then output to the print output device 30.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the print control device 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the print control device 20 has a rasterized data storage unit 21, a rasterized data generation unit 22, and a data output unit 23 as functional components.

The rasterized data storage unit 21 stores fixed data FD, which is rasterized data for the fixed part FP, and variable data VD, which is rasterized data for the variable part VP (see FIG. 6).

The rasterized data generator 22 stores each fixed data F to be stored in the rasterized data storage 21.
D and variable data VD are generated. The generated data FD and VD are stored in the rasterized data storage 21 described above.

The rasterized data generating section 22
Is a print target based on page configuration information (such as a page list LP and a file list LF) indicating a page configuration of a print target from a plurality of fixed data FD and variable data VD stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21. Fixed data FD and variable data VD respectively corresponding to the fixed part FP and the variable part VP of the variable page of the object PT
Are extracted from the rasterized data storage unit 21 and the extracted fixed data FD and variable data VD are combined (in other words, combined) to convert the rasterized data R of the variable page in each of the plurality of booklets of the print target. Generate.

Further, the data output unit 23 outputs the rasterized data R of each page to the print output device 30.

<B. Operation> Next, the operation of generating rasterized data for each page will be described with reference to the conceptual diagram of FIG.

The rasterized data storage unit 21 stores the page P as fixed data for the print target PT.
Rasterized data (ie, fixed data) FD1 corresponding to the fixed portion FP1 of G1 (see FIG. 3);
Rasterized data (ie, fixed data) FD2 corresponding to the fixed portion FP2 of G2 and rasterized data (ie, fixed data) FD3 corresponding to the fixed portion FP3 of the page PG3 are stored. The rasterized data storage unit 21 stores the print target PT
As the variable data for page PG1
Rasterized data (ie, variable data) VD1, VD2, VD3 for each booklet for P1 (FIG. 2);
Rasterized data (ie, variable data) VD for each booklet for the variable portion VP2 of the page PG2 (FIG. 2)
4, VD5, and VD6 are further stored. As the data FD and VD, those generated by the rasterized data generation unit 22 are stored,
What is generated outside the print control device 20 is a communication line C
L (FIG. 1) and the communication unit 7 of the print control device 20 (FIG. 4)
May be stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21 via the.

The type of rasterized data stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21 is managed by a file list LF. FIG.
Is a conceptual diagram showing an example of such a file list LF. As shown in FIG. 7, in the file list LF, numbers are assigned to the fixed data FD1 to FD3 and the variable data VD1 to VD6 in this order, and the file name of each data corresponding to each number. Each data is managed by associating them. That is, in the file list LF, a plurality of rasterized data including fixed data FD and variable data VD for variable pages are listed. Here, as described below, since the rasterized data of each page is generated by combining these rasterized data, each of the plurality of rasterized data listed in the file list LF is generated by the rasterized data generation of each page. It can be said that it is "parts (parts)".

The rasterized data generating unit 22 includes, from among the plurality of fixed data FD and variable data VD stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21, page configuration information (a page list LP and a file list LP) representing a page configuration of a print target. Based on LF), the fixed data FD and the variable data VD corresponding to the fixed part FP and the variable part VP of the variable page of the print target PT are extracted from the rasterized data storage unit 21.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the page list LP. As shown in FIG. 8, this page list LP
Shows information on the page configuration of the print target PT.

More specifically, the page list LP includes information on the number of pages (here, three pages PG1, PG2, PG3 are included) included in the print target PT, and information on each page PG1, PG2. , PG3 in each page (part placement information)
And are included. The configuration information in each page includes “number of parts” included in each page and information on each part. Among these, as information on each part, the “position in the list” indicated as a number indicating the reference position of the arrangement order in the file list LF (FIG. 7) of the part, the “composition method” with the previous part (overwriting and The information includes information such as “transmission”, an “offset” amount from a predetermined position in the printing paper, and a “variable flag (variable flag)” indicating whether or not the part is the variable data VD.

Here, the operation of extracting the fixed data FD and the variable data VD corresponding to the fixed part FP and the variable part VP of each page of a plurality of booklets will be described. This operation is performed, as described above, on the page list L
This is performed based on P.

For example, according to the page list LP,
(1) Two parts correspond to the page PG1, (2) The first part of the page PG1 corresponds to a file whose position in the file list LF = 1 as a reference position, and (3) ) It can be seen that the second part of the page PG1 corresponds to a file having a position = 4 as a reference position in the file list LF.

Since the variable flag (variable flag) relating to the first part is OFF, it is understood that the first part is fixed data.

As described above, when the variable flag is OFF,
Recognizing that the part is the fixed data FD, the rasterized data existing at the corresponding reference position (here, 1) in the file list LF is extracted as the fixed data. Specifically, the position of the first part in the list (= 1)
Is used as it is, and a file (here, page1.tif) associated with the position (= 1) in the list is extracted.
Therefore, as shown in FIG.
In both T2 and PT3, in each first page PG1, FD1 is extracted as a file corresponding to the first part.

On the other hand, since the variable flag (variable flag) relating to the second part is ON, it is understood that the second part is variable data.

As described above, when the variable flag is ON, the part is recognized as the variable data VD, and the booklet number is considered with respect to the corresponding reference position (here, 4) in the file list LF. The rasterized data existing at the position to which the added value is added is extracted as variable data. Specifically, instead of using the position (= 4) in the list of the second part as it is, a different value (here, (booklet number-
1)) is used, and a file (here, variable1.ti) associated with the position having the value after the addition is used.
f) can be extracted. As a result, for the first booklet PT1, the file (variable1.tif) associated with the 4+ (1-1) = 4th position in the file list LF is extracted, and the second booklet PT1 is extracted. As for PT2, a file (variable2.tif) associated with the 4+ (2-1) = 5th position is extracted,
4+ (3-1) = 6 for the third booklet PT3
The file associated with the th location (variable3.ti
f) is extracted (see FIG. 3).

Here, as shown in the above-mentioned page list LP, for example, the page configuration information on the variable pages included in the print target includes one rasterized data (common in a plurality of booklets) in a fixed portion. By associating fixed data FD) with different rasterized data (variable data VD) for each booklet, the variable portion is constructed as common information across a plurality of booklets. Therefore, compared to a case where a plurality of page configuration information is separately constructed according to each of a plurality of booklets, there is no need to redundantly hold information on fixed portions of a plurality of booklets, and the page configuration information is efficiently saved. It is possible to build well.

As described above, the fixed data FD and the variable data VD for the page PG1 can be extracted. Similarly, the page PG2 and the page PG
3 also includes fixed data F for each page of each booklet.
It is possible to extract D and variable data VD.

Then, the rasterized data generating section 22
Combines the fixed data FD and the variable data VD, which are the rasterized data extracted in this way, so that a plurality of booklets PT1 and PT
2 and PT3, and generates rasterized data R for each page.

In the combination process (in other words, the combination process), the rasterized data of each page is generated by combining the fixed data FD and the variable data VD using the information in the “offset” and the “composition method”. You.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show this printing system 1.
6 is a flowchart showing the operation in. The operation of the printing system 1 will be further described with reference to these drawings. Here, a case will be described in which processing is performed on a print job in which three booklets PT1, PT2, and PT3 of the same type as shown in FIG. 3 are to be printed.

As shown in FIG. 9, after the processing is started, in step SP10, a file list LF and a page list LP used in this print job are obtained.

In step SP20, rasterized data for each page of each booklet of the print target PT in the print job is generated, and the print output device 30
Output to

More specifically, first, as shown in FIG.
In step SP21, a page number (here, 1) on the page list LP is acquired, and step SP2
In step 2, information (file information) on each part included in the page PG1 of that number (= 1) is obtained. The specific operation is as described above. Here, first, information on the first part is obtained.

At the next step SP23, a file for the first part (file name = page1.tif)
(Ie, the fixed data FD1) is extracted from the rasterized data storage unit 21 and transferred to the output buffer memory 8 (FIG. 4).

Then, in the next step SP24,
It is determined whether another part exists on the page.

If it is determined that another part is still present, a process for proceeding to the next part (for example, a process such as counting up the part number) is performed in step SP25, and the next part ( Here, information on the second part) is acquired. Then, in step SP23, a file for the second part (file name = variable1.tif)
(That is, the variable data VD1) is extracted from the rasterized data storage unit 21 and transferred to the output buffer memory 8. Then, according to the synthesis method (here, “transmission”) specified in the second part, the first part
File for the part (file name = page1.ti
f) and a file (file name = variable1.tif) for the second part.

If it is determined in step SP24 that the processing of each part included in the page has been completed, the process proceeds to step SP26. In step SP26,
A process of outputting the rasterized data for the page (here, page PG1) generated in the output buffer memory 8 to the print output device 30 is performed.
Thus, the processing for the first page ends.

Next, the process proceeds to step SP30 (FIG. 9) to determine whether or not the next page exists in the booklet.
Here, since the next page PG2 exists in the booklet PT1, the process proceeds to step SP35 to perform a process for proceeding to the next page (for example, a process such as counting up a page number). After that, in step SP20, the process for the page PG2 is performed.

When the processing for page PG2 in step SP20 is completed, steps SP30 and SP3
After the process at 5, the process for page PG3 is performed at step SP20. Then, the process again proceeds to the determination process of step SP30, and it is confirmed that the next page in the booklet ST1 does not exist (the page PG3 is the last page), and the printout process for the booklet PT1 ends. .

In the next step SP40, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all booklets. Here, since the booklets PT2 and PT3 still remain, in step SP50, the booklet counter counts up, the page counter is reset, and the like, and the process proceeds to the next booklet PT2.

Thereafter, similarly, the processing in step 20 is repeated for each page, thereby obtaining the booklet P
The print output process at T2 can be performed. After the printout process for the booklet PT3 is performed in the same manner after the booklet PT2, if it is determined in step SP40 that all the processes included in the job have been completed, the process for the job ends. .

By such processing, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the first page PG1 of the first booklet PT1 is printed out by using the fixed data FD1 and the variable data VD1. Second booklet PT1
The page PG2 has the fixed data FD2 and the variable data VD
4, the third page PG3 of the first booklet PT1 is printed out using the fixed data FD3. Subsequently, the first page PG1 of the second booklet PT2 is subjected to print output processing by using the fixed data FD1 and the variable data VD2, and the second page PG2 of the second booklet PT2 is converted to the fixed data FD2 and the variable The printout processing is performed by using the data VD5, and the printout processing of the third page PG3 of the second booklet PT2 is performed by using the fixed data FD3. Further, the first page PG1 of the third booklet PT3 is subjected to print output processing using the fixed data FD1 and the variable data VD3, and the third booklet P3 is printed.
The second page PG2 of T3 is subjected to print output processing by using the fixed data FD2 and the variable data VD6, and the third page PG3 of the third booklet PT3 is changed to the fixed data F
Print output processing is performed by using D3.

As described above, according to the print control apparatus 20, the fixed data and the variable data corresponding to the variable pages of the print target are stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21 based on the page configuration information of the print target. By extracting and combining the extracted fixed data and variable data, rasterized data of variable pages in each of a plurality of booklets of the printing target is generated. Therefore, by sharing the fixed data related to the fixed part, the fixed data once created and stored in the rasterized data storage unit 21 is reused, and the rasterized data for each booklet is created only for the variable part. Therefore, there is no need to re-create rasterized data for variable pages for each booklet based on document data for each booklet (in other words, re-create rasterized data for fixed portions that have the same contents over multiple booklets) Need not be performed), and the efficiency of the rasterizing process can be improved.

The data output unit 23 outputs the rasterized data for each page of the printing object including the variable page in a desired order for each booklet. Can be printed in a desired order for each booklet. Therefore, fixed pages are printed by the number of booklets separately from the variable pages on each of the print objects of a plurality of booklets, and when collating, these fixed pages are collected for each booklet. This eliminates the need to perform operations such as inserting a separately printed variable page into a corresponding portion of each booklet, so that a print target including a variable page can be efficiently printed.

<C. Others> In the above embodiment,
It is necessary to prepare variable data of the same number as the number of print booklets in a print job for each variable portion VP of a variable page. On the other hand, using the file list LF, it is determined whether or not a necessary number of variable data corresponding to the number of print booklets exists in the rasterized data storage unit 21 for the variable portion VP, and the necessary number of variable data corresponding to the number of print booklets is determined. When it is determined that the number of variable data does not exist in the rasterized data storage unit 21, a warning display can be performed. This warning display is displayed on the display unit 5 (FIG. 4) by characters (for example,
"Insufficient number of variable parts" or a graphic.

According to such a warning display, the necessary rasterized data does not exist (is insufficient).
Can be notified to the operator, so that it is possible to take necessary measures such as performing the operation of generating the insufficient rasterized data by using the print control device 20 by the operation of the operator.

In the above embodiment, the case where the same type of print target is printed out (the case where a print target having a common variable page and a common fixed page is printed out) will be described. However, the present invention is also applied to a case where print objects of different types are printed out (for example, a case where print objects having a common variable page but not having a common fixed page are printed out). Is possible.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which different types of printing objects are printed out. In a book (BOOK) A of a first type of printed matter and a book (BOOK) B of a second type of printed matter, the first page PG is
Although it is a common variable page including the fixed part FP and the variable part VP, the second and subsequent pages have different fixed pages from each other. Specifically, in the book A, the second page PG2 has the fixed data FD.
2 and the third page PG3 are composed of the fixed data FD3, whereas the book B is the second page PG3.
2 is fixed data FD4 (different from fixed data FD2),
The third page PG3 is configured by the fixed data FD5 (different from the fixed data FD3) and further includes a fourth page PG4 (not present in the book A). Different from each other.

Even in such a case, the first page PG1 is a common variable page including the fixed part FP and the variable part VP, and the present invention can be applied.

In the above embodiment, the “booklet”
Has been described as including multiple pages,
This “booklet” may be composed of one page alone (specifically, only one variable page).

Further, in the above embodiment, the rasterized data corresponding to the variable portion VP (FIG. 2, etc.) is different data VD1, VD2, VD3 for a plurality of booklets PT1, PT2, PT3 (see FIG. 3). Although described, the same data may be used in a plurality of booklets (for example, PT2 and PT3).

[0070]

As described above, claims 1 to 7 are as described above.
According to the invention described in the above, fixed data and variable data corresponding to the variable page of the print target are extracted from the rasterized data storage unit based on the page configuration information of the print target, and the extracted fixed data and By combining variable data, rasterized data of variable pages in each of a plurality of booklets of a print target is generated. Therefore, the fixed data of the fixed portion having the same content can be shared among a plurality of booklets, and the rasterized data for each booklet can be created only for the variable portion, so that the efficiency of the rasterizing process can be improved.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the data output means outputs the rasterized data for each page of the print target including the variable page in a desired order for each booklet. The print output device having received the print target can print the print target including the variable page in a desired order for each booklet. Therefore, fixed pages are printed by the number of booklets separately from the variable pages on each of the print objects of a plurality of booklets, and when collating, these fixed pages are collected for each booklet. This eliminates the need to perform operations such as inserting a separately printed variable page into a corresponding portion of each booklet, so that a print target including a variable page can be efficiently printed.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the page configuration information on the variable page included in the print target is such that the fixed part is associated with one rasterized data common to a plurality of booklets, and The variable portion is associated with different rasterized data for each booklet, so that the information is constructed as common information for a plurality of booklets. Therefore, compared to a case where a plurality of page configuration information is constructed for each of a plurality of booklets, it is not necessary to redundantly hold information on fixed portions of a plurality of booklets, so that the page configuration information is constructed efficiently. It is possible to

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
Using the file list, it is determined whether or not a required number of variable data corresponding to the number of print booklets exists in the rasterized data storage means for the variable portion. If it is determined that the file does not exist in the storage unit, a warning is displayed. Therefore, the operator can be informed that the required rasterized data does not exist, so that the operator can take necessary measures.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a printing system 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a page configuration of a print target PT.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a page configuration of each booklet PT1, PT2, PT3.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware configuration of the print control device 20.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the print control device 20.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation of generating rasterized data of each page.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a file list LF.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a page list LP.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the printing system 1.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a detailed operation in step SP20.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of another print target PT.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 printing system 20 print control device 30 print output device FD, FD1 to FD5 fixed data FP, FP1 to FP3 fixed part LF file list LP page list PG1, PG2, PG3 page PT, PT1 to PT3 Print target (booklet) R ( Rasterized data VD, VD1 to VD6 (for each page) Variable data VP, VP1 to VP2 Variable part

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A printing control apparatus for a printing system for printing a plurality of booklets on a printing target including a variable page including a fixed portion having the same content over a plurality of booklets and a variable portion having different contents for each booklet. A rasterized data storage unit that stores fixed data that is rasterized data for the fixed part and variable data that is rasterized data for the variable part, based on page configuration information indicating a page configuration of the print target. By extracting fixed data and variable data respectively corresponding to the fixed part and the variable part of the variable page of the printing object from the rasterized data storage unit, by combining the extracted fixed data and variable data The variable in each of the plurality of booklets of the printing object Print control apparatus comprising: the rasterized data generating means for generating a rasterized data over di-, the. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, further comprising a data output unit that outputs rasterized data of each page to a print output device, wherein the data output unit includes the variable page. A print control device for outputting rasterized data for each page of a print target in a desired order for each booklet. 3. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the page configuration information about the variable page included in the print target includes one of the fixed portions common to the plurality of booklets. A print control device, wherein the print control device is constructed as common information across a plurality of booklets by associating rasterized data and associating different rasterized data for each booklet with the variable portion. 4. The print control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the page configuration information includes a file list in which a plurality of parts of rasterized data including the fixed data and the variable data for the variable page are listed. A page list having, for each part included in the variable page, a variable flag indicating whether each part is variable data and a reference position in the file list of each part. When the variable flag of each part included in the variable page is off, the rasterized data generating unit recognizes that the part is fixed data and determines a corresponding reference position in the file list. The rasterized data existing in the part is extracted as fixed data corresponding to the part. When the change flag is on, the part is recognized as a variable part, and the rasterized data existing at a position obtained by adding a value considering the booklet number to the corresponding reference position in the file list is added. A print control apparatus comprising: extracting the fixed data and the variable data of the variable page by extracting the variable data as the variable data corresponding to the page; 5. The print control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, using the file list, whether or not a required number of variable data corresponding to the number of print booklets exists in the rasterized data storage means for the variable portion. Warning means for performing a warning display when it is determined that the required number of variable data does not exist in the rasterized data storage means,
The print control device further comprising: 6. A printing system, comprising: a print control device according to claim 1; and a print output of the print target based on a print control output from the print control device. A print system, comprising: a print output device. 7. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to function as the print control device according to claim 1 is recorded.