JP2003175652A - Printer with overlay function, and printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set appropriate printing conditions in sample printing for forms registered in a printer. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving an instruction of sample printing for the form from a user, a form sample printing part 321 of a printer driver 320 transmits a form sample printing command to the printer 10. At the printer 10, form information registered in a form information storage part 120 is read out, and the printing condition is set on the basis of printing condition information included in the form information. Under the printing condition in which a form intermediate code included in the form information is set, plotting development to a bit image is carried out to sample-print the form. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device,
In particular, it relates to a printing device having an overlay function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer having a so-called overlay function in which a form such as a ruled line pattern is registered in a printer and characters and the like based on print data sent from a printer host and a form registered in the printer are overlapped and printed. There is.

In such a printer, for example, the form information created on the printer host using the application software is accepted and stored in association with information for identifying the form, for example, a registration number. Then, when an instruction to perform overlay printing and a registration number of the form are received from the printer host together with information such as characters to be printed (text information), the form information stored in association with the registration number is read, and the body information and Image data that overlaps the form information is generated and printing is performed.

In a printing system composed of a printer having an overlay function and a printer host, when one-way communication is employed in which only the communication from the printer host to the printer is performed and the printer information is not notified to the printer host, The printer host does not know what form is registered in the printer. For this reason, in a printing system including a printer with an overlay function and a printer host, a list of registered form registration numbers, form names, etc. is printed so that the user can confirm the registered forms. It has a function to do.

[0005]

However, the print result of the form cannot be known from the list of form registration numbers, form names, and the like. Therefore, it is conceivable that the printing system is provided with a form sample print function for actually printing the form by designating the form registration number or the like.

By the way, the form can be registered in the printer in the form of an intermediate code which is a set of drawing commands which can be interpreted by the printer. This intermediate code is drawn and developed into a dot image in the printer during printing processing and printed as a form.

Since this intermediate code has contents according to the print conditions set when the form is generated, for example, resolution, paper size, etc., in order to print the form as a sample, the resolution set when the form is generated, You must make print settings that match the paper size.

However, even if the printer host tries to issue a sample print command for the form, the printer host does not know the information about the resolution and the paper size set in the form. Unable to make settings. If a sample sample print command is issued without setting appropriate resolution and paper size in this way, the printer may not print anything or may print out of the paper, which is not preferable.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to set appropriate printing conditions when printing a sample of a form registered in a printing device.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for printing a form used for overlay printing, wherein code information for printing the form and A storage unit that stores form information including information about print conditions, and, when receiving a print command for the form, sets the print conditions based on the information about the print conditions included in the form information. Then, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a form printing unit that generates image data based on the code information included in the form information and prints the form.

Here, the storage means can store a plurality of form information, and the print command of the form includes:
Information for specifying the form information to be printed is included, and the setting of the print condition and the printing of the form can be performed for the specified form information. The information on the print condition includes the resolution and the paper size. It is possible to include at least one.

In order to solve the above problems, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for printing a form used for overlay printing, wherein code information and printing condition information for printing the form. Storage means for storing the form information including, and when receiving the print setting command of the form, the print condition is set based on the information regarding the print condition included in the form information, and when the print execution command of the form is received, the There is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a form printing unit that generates image data based on code information included in the form information and prints the form.

Here, the information regarding the printing conditions may include at least one of resolution and paper size.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, according to a third aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing form information including code information for printing a form used for overlay printing and information regarding printing conditions is provided. A printer system configured to include a printer and a printer host that outputs a print command to the printer, wherein the printer host includes a form print instruction receiving unit that receives a form print instruction from a user, and a received form. And a form print command output unit for outputting a form print command to the printer based on the print instruction of the printer. When the printer receives the print command of the form from the printer host, the information about the print condition included in the form information. The print conditions are set based on Under the printing conditions, the generated image data based on the code information included in the form information, the printer system comprising: a form printing means for performing printing form is provided.

Here, the information regarding the printing conditions may include at least one of resolution and paper size.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the outline of the hardware configuration of a printing system to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in the figure, the printing system includes a computer 30 for realizing various processes by application software, a printing process by a printer driver, etc., and a printer 1 connected to this computer 30.
And 0. In this embodiment, the computer 30 functions as a printer host that generates a print command and sends it to the printer 10. Then, the printer 10 functions as a printing device that performs printing based on the received print command. The configuration of the printing system is not limited to this.

The computer 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31 for executing various programs and a RAM (Random) for temporarily storing data and programs.
Access Memory) 32, ROM (Read Only Memory) 33 in which various data and various programs for controlling the computer 30 are stored in advance in a non-volatile manner,
Also, an interface 34 is provided for controlling data transmission / reception to / from a peripheral device such as the connected printer 10.

The computer 30 has a display device 21 such as a color display, an input device 22 such as a mouse and a keyboard, a media reading device 23 for reading data from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and an internal or external auxiliary storage. The device 24 is connected. Of course, the configuration of the computer 30 is not limited to this.

The printer 10 is, for example, a laser type page printer. Laser page printers
A cartridge filled with toner is provided in the housing, and printing is performed by transferring the toner to a print medium such as recording paper. However, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be an inkjet serial printer, or another device having a printing function.

The printer 10 has an interface 11 for controlling data transmission / reception with the computer 30, a CPU 12 for executing various programs, a RAM 13 for temporarily storing print data and the like, various data for controlling the printer 10, various programs, etc. Is stored in a nonvolatile manner in advance, an auxiliary storage device 15 for storing form information, a toner cartridge, a photosensitive drum,
The printer engine 16 includes a laser light irradiation mechanism, a paper feeding mechanism, and a paper feeding / discharging mechanism for performing a paper feeding / discharging process of a print medium.

Next, the functional configuration realized in the computer 30 and the printer 10 by the printing system will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

As shown in the figure, a printer driver 320 is built on the computer 30. The printer driver 320 receives a print command from the user, generates a print command for printing a document or the like designated as a print target, and outputs the print command to the printer 10.

In this embodiment, the printer driver 3
20 includes a form sample printing unit 321.
The form sample printing unit 321 receives a sample print command for performing sample print of the form registered in the printer 10 from the user, generates a print command for executing sample print, and outputs the print command to the printer 10.

FIG. 5 shows the form sample printing section 321.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen provided to a user for receiving a sample print command. In the figure, the form sample print instruction screen 500 includes a form number input field 500a, an execution button 500b, and a cancel button 500c.

In this way, the form sample printing unit 32
In the case of the sample print command, 1 receives the registration number of the form and prints the form corresponding to the registration number as a sample. That is, in the present embodiment, since it is assumed that bidirectional communication between the computer 30 and the printer 10 is not performed, the form sample printing unit 321 does not know what form is registered in the printer. Therefore, the form to be sample-printed is specified by receiving the registration number.

In the present embodiment, the print number is used to specify the form on which the sample printing is performed. However, for example, a form name input field may be provided and the sample name may be used.

The printer driver 320 loads the printer driver program read by the RAM 32 into the CPU 31.
Is constructed on the computer 30 by executing. The printer driver program for this purpose can be distributed by being recorded in a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. And, this recording medium,
By reading with the media reading device 23, the printer driver program can be installed in the computer 30. It can also be installed via a computer network such as the Internet.

In FIG. 2, the printer 10 comprises a command receiving section 111, a form printing condition setting section 112, an image data generating section 113, a print executing section 114 and a form information storing section 120. The command receiving unit 111, the form printing condition setting unit 112, and the image data generating unit 113 are constructed by the CPU 12 performing processing in accordance with the printer control program stored in the ROM 14. The print execution unit 114 is constructed by the printer engine 16. Further, the form information storage unit 120 is constructed on the auxiliary storage device 15.

The command receiving unit 111 is a computer 3
The printer 1 receives a print command sent from
The print processing is controlled at 0.

The form printing condition setting unit 112, when the print command received by the command receiving unit 111 is a form sample print command, sets the paper size and resolution for the specified form, which will be described later. The form size 121c and the resolution 121d are read out from the form information 121 registered in 120.
(See FIG. 3) and are set as printing conditions.

The image data generator 113 performs processing for converting form data represented by a print command or an intermediate code into image data. In particular,
The print command or form data is converted into raster data that is a set of dots (rasterize) according to the paper size and resolution set as the print conditions, and color conversion processing is performed as necessary.

The print execution unit 114 executes printing based on the image data generated by the image data generation unit 113.

The form information storage unit 120 stores the registered form information. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the data structure of the form information 121 stored in the form information storage unit 120. As shown in the figure, the form information 121 includes a registration number 121a and a form name 12
1b, paper size 121c, resolution 121d, and
It is configured to include form data 121e. However,
The configuration of the form information 121 is not limited to this.

The registration number 121a is an identifier for identifying the registered form information. The registration numbers can be added, for example, in the order in which the printer 10 receives the registration. Alternatively, a registration number within a predetermined range may be prepared in advance, and the user may specify any one of the registration numbers to register the form information.

The form name 121b is a name given to the form registered by the user. Form name 1
21b may be used as information for specifying the form.

The paper size 121c is information indicating the paper size of the registered form.

The resolution 121d is information indicating the resolution of the registered form.

The form data 121e is data representing a form pattern such as a ruled line in the form of an intermediate code which is a set of drawing commands interpretable by the printer 10. However, the form data 121e is not limited to the intermediate code and can be expressed in other formats. For example, a print command format, a bitmap format, or the like.

The paper size 121c and the resolution 1
21d may be included in the header information of the form data 121e, for example. Also, form data 1
21e may be pointer information indicating the recording location of the data instead of the data body.

The registration of the form information 121 in the form information storage unit 120 can be performed by, for example, creating a form using an application running on the computer 30 and transmitting the information to the printer 10. At this time, the form name 121b, the paper size 121c, the resolution 121d, etc. of the form information 121 are set.

Next, the processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of form information is registered in advance in the form information storage unit 120 of the printer 10.

The command receiving unit 111 of the printer 10
This process is started by receiving a form sample print command from the computer 30 (S101).

Printer driver 32 of computer 30
0 receives an instruction from the user via the form sample print instruction screen 500 as shown in FIG. 5, and sends the form sample print command together with the form number (registration number) entered in the form number input field 500a. To 111.

The command reception unit 111 determines whether the received print command is a form sample print command (S102).

As a result, if it is not the form sample print command, the normal print processing as in the conventional case is performed (S10).
7).

On the other hand, in the case of the form sample print command, the registration number included in the print command is acquired,
The form information 121 with the registration number is extracted from the form information storage unit 120 (S103).

Then, the form printing condition setting unit 112
Is the paper size 121c of the extracted form information 121
Then, the printing condition is set based on the resolution 121d (S104).

Next, the image data generator 113 causes the form data 121e of the extracted form information 121 to be displayed.
Is drawn and developed to generate image data for form printing that matches the paper size and resolution set as the printing conditions (S105).

Then, according to the image data generated by the image data generation unit 113, the print execution unit 11
The sample printing of the form is carried out by the printing execution by No. 4 (S106).

In step S101, the printer driver 320 replaces the form sample print command with
Two commands may be transmitted to the printer 10, that is, a command for setting print conditions with a specified form resolution and paper size and a command for printing the specified form. . At this time, the printer 10 performs the print condition setting process (S104) based on the command for setting the print condition, and the image data generating process (S105) based on the command for printing the specified form. ) Perform the subsequent processing.

Further, the resolution and the paper size are taken as an example of the printing conditions to be set, but the printing conditions are not limited to these. For example, only the resolution may be used, or color setting, page orientation, etc. may be added.

Further, in the above embodiment, in (S101), the command receiving section 111 of the printer 10 starts the sample printing by receiving the form sample print command from the computer 30.
The printer 10 is provided with a user interface for receiving a sample print instruction from the user.
The sample printing may be started even when the user directly receives the form sample printing instruction from the user.
In this case, the form designation is also accepted via the user interface. After that, the process (S10
3) The subsequent processing is similarly performed.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to set appropriate printing conditions when printing a sample of a form registered in the printing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a hardware configuration of a printing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a functional configuration realized by the computer 30 and the printer 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a data configuration of form information 121 stored in form information storage unit 120.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the processing of the printing system of the present embodiment.

5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a form sample print instruction screen 500. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Printer 11 ... Interface 12 ... CPU 13 ... RAM 14 ... ROM 15 ... Auxiliary storage device 16 ... Printer engine 21 ... Display device 22 ... Input device 23 ... Media reading device 24 ... Auxiliary storage device 30 ... Computer 31 ... CPU 32 ... RAM 33 ... ROM 34 ... Interface 111 ... Command reception unit 112 ... Form printing condition setting section 113 ... Image data generation unit 114 ... Print execution unit 120 ... Form information storage unit 320 ... Printer driver 321 ... Form signature printing section

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A printing device for printing a form used for overlay printing, comprising: storage means for storing form information including code information for printing the form and information about printing conditions; and a print command for the form. The print condition is set based on the information about the print condition included in the form information, and the image data is generated based on the code information included in the form information under the set print condition, A printing apparatus comprising: a form printing unit for printing. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit can store a plurality of form information, and the print command of the form is information for specifying form information to be printed. A printing apparatus, wherein the printing condition setting and the printing of the form are performed for the specified form information. 3. A printing device for printing a form used for overlay printing, comprising: storage means for storing form information including code information for printing the form and information on printing conditions; and a form print setting command. Then, the print condition is set based on the information regarding the print condition included in the form information, and when the print execution command of the form is accepted, the image data is generated based on the code information included in the form information, A printing apparatus comprising: a form printing unit for printing. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information regarding the printing conditions includes at least one of resolution and paper size. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication interface for communicating with a host computer, wherein the print command of the form is accepted via the communication interface. A printing device characterized by the above. 6. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface for receiving a print command of a form, wherein the print command of the form is received via the user interface. A printing device characterized by the above. 7. A printer having a storage means for storing form information including code information for printing a form used for overlay printing and information about printing conditions, and a printer host for outputting a print command to the printer. In the printer system configured, the printer host includes a form print instruction receiving unit that receives a form print instruction from a user, and a form print instruction that outputs a form print instruction to the printer based on the received form print instruction. When the printer receives a form print command from the printer host, the printer sets the print condition based on the information about the print condition included in the form information, and sets the print condition based on the set print condition. And code information included in the form information Printer system based generates image data, characterized in that it comprises a form printing means for printing the form. 8. The printer system according to claim 7, wherein the information regarding the printing conditions includes at least one of resolution and paper size.