JP2002281284A - Copying method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a copying method which allows a trial print to be made, as a user pays a reasonable charge before obtaining a copy (hereinafter production copy) the user desires among copied copy media and makes the copying service side not disadvantageous in this service. SOLUTION: The method comprises (S02) printing an image with a visible water mark inserted therein on a recording paper upon (yes in S01) an instruction for a trial print, (S03) outputting a trial print end signal thereafter, (S04) printing on the recording paper, without inserting a visible water mark, (no in S01) if no instruction is given for the trial print, and (S05) outputting a copy end signal thereafter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a copying machine,
In particular, the present invention relates to a copying apparatus that separately counts unnecessary and necessary ones of copied copying media and determines an appropriate charging amount in a copying job desired by a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a service in which a user can operate a copying machine by himself / herself in a public facility such as a library, a convenience store, or the like. Further, in the prior art described in, for example, JP-A-5-227408, the result of output to a copy medium is displayed on a display device in advance, and the user can select whether or not to actually copy to the copy medium. There was something.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the charge is made uniformly for each copy, trial printing cannot be performed freely, and the same result is obtained even for undesired copies such as failed copies. The amount is charged. In particular, in the case of a color copying machine, the user's request and operation are generally complicated, and the billing amount is also large. Further, in the prior art described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-227408, the apparatus is large-scaled and does not completely match the actual copy result on the copy medium, so that the result desired by the user is not always displayed correctly. There was a problem that it was not possible.

According to the present invention, the user can perform trial printing by paying an appropriate fee before obtaining a copy desired by the user (hereinafter referred to as "final printing") from the copied copy medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying apparatus which is not disadvantageous to the above.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a copying method according to the present invention is a copying method for a copying apparatus.
It is characterized in that a visible watermark is inserted into the recording paper and printed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a copying method for a copying apparatus, in which a trial printing is performed by inserting a visible watermark into recording paper when a trial printing is instructed. A test printing end signal output step of outputting a test printing end signal after the test printing printing step is completed, and printing without inserting a visible watermark on the recording paper when the test printing is not instructed. A normal printing step; and a copy end signal output unit that outputs a copy end signal after the normal printing step is completed.

The copying method according to a third aspect of the present invention is the copying method according to the second aspect, further comprising:
A storing step of storing a fee based on the test print end signal or the copy end signal is included.

In a copying method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the copying method according to the third aspect, the storing step changes a charge amount to be stored depending on the presence or absence of a test printing end signal. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the copying method according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the test print end signal and the copy end signal are further output. And a counting step of counting the number of times of performing the operation.

A copying method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the copying method according to the fifth aspect, further comprising:
A display step of displaying the number of times counted in the counting step.

In this way, in the present invention, the copying machine can have the "test printing mode". In the "test printing mode", a visible watermark can be inserted and copied. Further, the visible watermark may be always inserted into a portion of the document image data having significant information.

Further, the copy amount in the "test printing mode" and the copy amount in the normal copy mode may be separately counted. Also, a function of transmitting each copy amount to another device may be provided. In this case, the charge in the trial printing mode may be lower than the charge in the normal copy mode. Furthermore, the billing amount in the trial printing mode may be lower than the billing amount in the normal copy mode, and the number of trial printings may be limited for one actual printing.

When the number of test prints is limited, it is preferable to reduce the amount of charge or make it free of charge when no limit is imposed. In addition, when the copy is not made free of charge, when collecting the copy in the “test print mode”, the charge amount may be further reduced or the charge may be made free. Further, a function of displaying both counting results in the copying apparatus main body may be provided.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a copying apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general digital copying machine. In FIG. 1, a document image can be copied (copied) by transferring image data read by a scanner 4 to a printer 5 via a data bus 6 and printing it. At this time, by temporarily storing the image data in the memory 3 and processing the image data by the CPU 1, the image data is transferred to the printer 5, so that the original image can be subjected to various processings and copied, and the editing / editing desired by the user can be performed. Processing work becomes possible.

For this reason, it is possible to insert a visible watermark into the original image data. As a method of inserting a visible watermark, for example, a character such as "test print" or "sample" is thinly overlapped on a copy image, so that the copied document image can be inserted without significant damage. Various methods can be considered for overlapping characters, such as size, color, insertion angle, and number of characters. In addition to the characters, specific designs can be used.

By inserting a visible watermark in this way, a copy image itself desired by the user can be confirmed on a copy medium (for example, paper), and it can be determined that the image is a test print or the like. Because it is a watermark, it is difficult to remove it by cutting it out and cannot be used as a copy without a watermark (final printing). At this time, a visible watermark can be always inserted into a portion of the document image data having significant information (that is, a portion that is not a blank portion). In this case, it becomes more difficult to remove the watermark. As described above, it is possible to provide a service for performing test printing at low cost before the user obtains final printing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation example in this embodiment. In the copying apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a "test printing mode" key as one of the function keys 8, for example. Before starting copying,
By pressing the "test printing mode" key, "test printing" is displayed on the LCD panel 7. Set the copy original on the scanner, and if necessary, perform editing and processing operations such as scaling, trimming, deformation, color conversion, color correction, and synthesis using the function keys 8 and the like.
Press 0.

The copying machine determines whether the mode is the "test printing mode" (S01), and if the mode is the "test printing mode" (S0).
1: 1: Yes), a visible watermark is inserted and copying is performed (S02). If it is a normal copy, copying is performed without a visible watermark (S04). In the "test printing mode", a "test printing" end signal is sent (S03), a copy end signal is sent subsequently (S05), and only a copy end signal is sent for normal copying (S05).

The "test printing" end signal / copy end signal can be used as follows. That is, for example, FIG.
And stores, for example, 100 yen by the copy end signal and 50 yen by the "test printing" end signal. That is, the user can relatively easily perform the trial printing by setting the price of the “final printing” and the “test printing” differently and setting the latter at a low price.

In addition, the trial printing fee is set even lower,
For example, it is possible to set a service so that test printing can be performed at a low price, for example, up to two times for one final printing.
As such a fee collection method, it is also possible to transmit the above-mentioned signal to a cash register or a POS terminal so as to adjust the fee.

In addition, two counters, a normal copy counter and a "test printing counter", are installed in a counter (counting device) installed in the copying machine main body, and counting is performed separately by the above-mentioned signals. It can be used for maintenance. The above-mentioned counter corresponds to the memory 3 shown in FIG.
The function can be realized by U1.

In the above, as another billing method,
If the number of trial printings is limited, the price may be lower or free compared to the case where no limitation is made. Further, when the copy is not free, there is a method in which the user is prompted to collect a copy of the test print at a register or the like, and when the copy is collected, the price is further reduced or made free. These charging methods allow the user to more easily perform trial printing. In particular, when a copy is collected by a register or the like, the used paper can be appropriately collected, and the environmental load can be reduced.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Before obtaining a copy (final printing) desired by the user, test printing can be performed at an appropriate fee, and use can be limited such that only the trial printing is performed and the final printing is not performed. As a result, in self-service copying business services,
The convenience for the user can be improved without being disadvantageous to the service provider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation panel of the copying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an external view showing a configuration in which a toll collection device is mounted on the copying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the copying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Description of Signs] 1 CPU 2 Display keyboard control (part) 3 Memory 4, 12 Scanner 5, 13 Printer 6 Data bus 7 LCD panel 8 Function key 9 Clear key 10 Start key 11 Numeric keypad 14 Toll collection device

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A copying method for a copying apparatus, wherein a visible watermark is inserted into a recording sheet for printing when test printing is instructed. 2. A copying method for a copying apparatus, comprising: when a test print is instructed, a test print printing step of inserting a visible watermark into recording paper for printing; A test printing end signal output step of outputting a test printing end signal, a normal printing step of printing without inserting a visible watermark on recording paper when test printing is not instructed, and after the normal printing step ends. A copy method, comprising: copy end signal output means for outputting a copy end signal. 3. The copying method according to claim 2, further comprising a storing step of storing a fee based on the test print end signal or the copy end signal. 4. The copying method according to claim 3, wherein the storing step changes the amount of the stored fee depending on the presence or absence of a test printing end signal. 5. The copying method according to claim 2, further comprising a counting step of counting the number of times the test print end signal and the copy end signal have been output. . 6. The copying method according to claim 5, further comprising a display step of displaying the number of times counted in said counting step.