JP2003303086A - Image processor, printer, bookbinding printing processing method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of binding output papers of a printer even if using the printer which cannot change the order of image transfer. <P>SOLUTION: If a bookbinding printing (a bookbinding print (opening to left) or a bookbinding print (opening to right)) is designated for the received printing data (step S204), the image processor changes the order of image data to be transferred to the printer 101 in response to whether the bookbinding print designation is opening to left or opening to right (step S209, see figure 6). The paper size designated by a printer driver is converted into the paper size as the image information or double size (step S210). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus to which image data is generated based on print data input from an external apparatus, and the image data is connected to a paper discharge apparatus capable of saddle stitching and bookbinding processing. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a printing apparatus, a bookbinding printing processing method, a program, and a storage medium that output to a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an image processing apparatus that generates image data that can be processed by a printing apparatus based on print data input from a host computer. A printing device is connected to the image processing device, and the image data generated by the image processing device is output to the printing device.

The above-mentioned printing apparatus has at least one paper discharge section, and also includes staple, sort, group,
There is a device to which a paper discharge device capable of various paper discharge processes such as bookbinding and punching can be connected. By connecting the paper discharge device to the printing device as described above, the above various processes can be performed. For example, a bookbinding printing function can be realized by connecting a paper discharge device having saddle stitching and bookbinding processing functions to the printing device.

Here, in order to realize the bookbinding printing function, a method of performing page replacement processing and paper size conversion processing by an application executed on the host computer, and a page by a printer driver executed on the host computer. There is a need for a method of performing page replacement processing and paper size conversion processing, a method of performing page replacement processing and paper size conversion processing by the printing device according to bookbinding designation from the printer driver, and the like.

With the bookbinding printing function by the application, a desired result is not always obtained in relation to the control operation of the printing apparatus and the sheet discharging apparatus connected thereto. At present, not all applications support the bookbinding printing function.

In the bookbinding printing function by the printer driver, the setting on the printer driver is complicated. Also,
There is no guarantee that the desired result will be obtained due to the relationship with the control operation of the printing device and the optional paper ejection device.

Therefore, in order to obtain a desired result at the time of bookbinding printing, normally, a printer driver performs paper size designation, double-sided printing designation, stapling designation, bookbinding printing designation, and a combination of the above-mentioned designations in an image processing apparatus. After making the adjustments to the printing device and making the specified settings to the printing device, the page replacement process (allocation process) in the printing device,
Bookbinding printing is realized by performing processing such as output paper size calculation and stapleability.

[0008]

However, in the above-described method which is usually performed, page replacement processing is performed in the printing apparatus, so that the printing apparatus receives image data corresponding to all pages of print data. A storage capacity to hold is required. In order to deal with this, it is conceivable to increase the memory capacity or to provide a hard disk, but these will increase the manufacturing cost of the printing apparatus.

Further, a printing apparatus to which a paper discharge apparatus capable of saddle stitching and bookbinding processing is connected does not have an image transfer order changing processing function due to restrictions on control within the printing apparatus and internal resources. There are cases.

A first object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus, a bookbinding print processing method, which is capable of binding output sheets of a printing apparatus into a book, even when a printing apparatus which cannot change the image transfer order is used. To provide a program and a storage medium.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus, a bookbinding print processing method, a program, and a storage medium capable of outputting an output sheet suitable for bookbinding even without the image transfer order changing function. Especially.

[0012]

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention generates image data based on print data input from an external device, and the image data is subjected to saddle stitching and bookbinding processing. An image processing device for outputting to a printing device to which a possible paper discharge device is connected, and when bookbinding printing is designated by the external device, the transfer order of the image data to be transferred to the printing device is adapted to the bookbinding output image. And a paper size conversion unit that converts the paper size specified by the external device into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output when bookbinding printing is specified by the external device. Printing the image data in the changed transfer order together with designation information including at least the print output paper size and the bookbinding print designation from the external device. Characterized in that it comprises a transfer means for transferring to the location.

Further, in the image processing apparatus, the transfer order changing means may be different depending on whether left-opening bookbinding printing is specified as the bookbinding printing or right-opening bookbinding printing is specified. In addition, the transfer order of the image data transferred to the printing device is changed.

Further, in the image processing apparatus, when the bookbinding is designated by the external device, a blank sheet is added to the image data according to presence / absence of double-sided designation from the external device and the total number of pages of the image data. A blank page determination unit that determines whether to generate a page, and if it is determined to generate the blank page by the blank page determination unit, and calculate the number of blank pages based on the total number of pages of the image data, And a blank page generation unit for generating the calculated number of blank pages.

Further, in the above image processing apparatus, the blank page determining means determines whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 4 when both sides are designated from the external device. Is determined.

Further, in the above image processing apparatus, the blank page determining means determines a blank page depending on whether or not the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 2 when there is no double-sided designation from the external device. Is determined.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention is based on the designation information input from the image processing device and the image data input from the image processing device in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image. A printing device for performing printout and discharging the output paper to a paper discharge device capable of saddle stitching and bookbinding processing, and holding means for holding the saddle stitchable sheet number of the paper discharge device, and the designation information. When there is saddle stitching designation such as bookbinding printing designation and stapling designation, the image data for two pages is output as one page, and the input image data is assigned to the output memory and held by the holding unit. A comparison hand for comparing the number of sheets that can be saddle-stitched and the number of sheets of output paper obtained by allocating the input image data to the output memory. When, characterized in that it comprises a discharge destination determining means for determining a discharge destination of the output paper in comparison the sheet discharging device according to the comparison means.

Further, in order to achieve the first object, the present invention comprises an external device, and an image processing device for generating image data based on print data input from the external device.
Bookbinding printing using a printing apparatus that performs printout based on image data generated by the image processing apparatus, and a paper discharge apparatus that can bind output sheets from the printing apparatus by saddle stitching and bookbinding processing In the processing method, when the bookbinding printing is designated by the external device, the image processing apparatus changes a transfer order of image data to be transferred to the printing apparatus so as to match a bookbinding output image. And a booklet printing designation from the external device, a paper size conversion step of converting the paper size designated from the external device into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output, the print output paper size and the With specification information including at least the bookbinding print specification from an external device,
And a transfer step of transferring the image data to the printing device in the changed transfer order.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention is based on the designation information input from the image processing apparatus and the image data input from the image processing apparatus in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image. A bookbinding print processing method using a printing device that performs printout, and a paper discharge device capable of bookbinding output sheets from the printing device by saddle stitching and bookbinding processing, wherein the printing device comprises: If the designation information includes bookbinding printing designation and saddle stitching designation as stapling designation, two pages of image data are output and one page of the input image data is assigned to the output memory, and an allocation process is held in advance. The number of sheets that can be saddle-stitched in the sheet discharging device and the number of output sheets obtained by allocating the input image data to the output memory are compared. A comparing step of, characterized in that it comprises a discharge destination determination step of determining a discharge destination of the output sheet in said sheet discharge apparatus according to the comparison result of the comparing step.

Further, in order to achieve the first object, the present invention generates image data based on print data input from an external device, and the image data can be saddle-stitched and bound into a booklet. A program for executing image processing to be output to a printing device to which the device is connected, and when bookbinding printing is designated from the external device, a transfer order of image data to be transferred to the printing device is adapted to a bookbinding output image. And a paper size conversion step of converting the paper size specified by the external device into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output when bookbinding printing is specified from the external device. And specification information including at least the print output paper size and the bookbinding print specification from the external device, and the transfer order in the changed transfer order. And having a transfer step of transferring the image data to the printing device.

Further, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention is based on the designation information input from the image processing apparatus and the image data input from the image processing apparatus in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image. A program executed on a printing device for performing print output and discharging the output paper to a paper output device capable of output saddle stitching and bookbinding processing, wherein the designation information includes bookbinding print designation and stapling designation. When stapling is designated, an allocation step of allocating the input image data to the output memory by using the image data of two pages as the output of one page, and the pre-held number of saddle stitchable sheets of the paper discharge device. , A comparison step of comparing the input image data with the number of output sheets obtained by allocating the input image data to the output memory, and the comparison step. And having a discharge destination determining step of determining a discharge destination of the output sheet in said sheet discharge apparatus according to the comparison result of the flop.

In order to achieve the above first or second object, the present invention is a storage medium, characterized in that one of the above programs is stored in a computer-readable manner.

[0023]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a printing system using an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system includes a host computer 102, an image processing apparatus 103 connected to the host computer 102 via an interface 104 such as a network, and an image processing apparatus 103 connected to the printer interface 111. The printing apparatus 101 is configured to include a printing apparatus 101 and a sheet discharging apparatus 112 that is connected to the printing apparatus 101 via a printer interface 113. Here, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 101 is a laser beam printer and does not have a function of changing the transfer order of image data. The paper discharge device 112 is controlled by the printing device 101 via the printer interface 113 and realizes various post-processing functions such as stapling, sorting, grouping, bookbinding, and punching.

The image processing apparatus 103 includes an external interface 105 connected to the interface 104 and a CP.
U 106, hard disk 108, and RAM 110
And a printer communication unit 109, and these blocks are connected via an internal bus 107. CPU 106
Reads and executes a program stored in the program area 108b of the hard disk 108 to control the entire apparatus and perform various processes. The hard disk 108 is provided with the program area 108b, a spool area 108a for storing print data received from the host computer 102 via the external interface 105, and a work area 108c for providing a work area for the CPU 106. RAM1
10 is an image memory 110a and a work memory 110.
b. The image memory 110a is a memory that stores image data generated based on print data. The work memory 110b is a memory that stores the program read from the hard disk 108 and temporarily stores the result of the arithmetic processing of the CPU 106 and the like. The printer communication unit 109 is communicatively connected to the printing apparatus 101 via the printer interface 111.

The print data transmitted from the host computer 102 is received via the external interface 105, and the received print data is temporarily spooled in the hard disk 108 under the control of the CPU 106.
8a. Next, the CPU 106 reads the print data from the spool area 108a and generates image data based on this print data. The generated image data is written in the image memory 110a in the RAM 110. Then, under the control of the CPU 106, the image data is read from the image memory 110a and sent to the printing apparatus 101 via the printer communication unit 109. The printing apparatus 101 forms an image represented by the image data from the image processing unit 103 on a sheet. Then, the printing apparatus 101
In accordance with a command from the image processing apparatus 103, the paper on which the image is formed is sent to the paper discharge device 112, and the paper is discharged from the paper discharge device 112.
The sheet is discharged to the designated discharge destination in.

Next, the structure of the paper discharge device 112 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the paper discharge device 112 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a saddle stitcher section 19 of the paper discharge device 112 of FIG.
3 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the detailed configuration of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper discharge device 112 includes a buffer entrance flapper 12 for switching the discharge destination of the paper discharged from the printing device 101 to the plurality of trays 1 or the saddle stitcher section 19, and The saddle stitcher flapper 13 is provided, and the buffer entrance flapper 12 and the saddle stitcher flapper 13 are controlled to perform a switching operation according to a command from the image processing apparatus 103. Each tray 1
Is moved up and down by the tray elevating motor 18, and the tray 1 designated as the discharge destination is positioned at a predetermined position.
Here, when the tray 1 is designated as the discharge destination of the sheet, the sheet is guided by the buffer entrance flapper 12 to the conveying roller 14, and then passes through the knurled belt 17, the conveying roller 5, and the sheet discharging roller 3 to deal with the sheet. It is discharged to the tray 1.

When the paper discharge destination is designated in the saddle stitcher section 19, the paper is the saddle stitcher flapper 13
Thus, the paper is guided to the vertical path 15 and the paper is sent to the saddle stitcher section 19 through the vertical path 15.

In the saddle stitcher section 19, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the sheet sent through the vertical path 15 is conveyed from the sheet carry-in section 191 to the aligning section 192. Matching unit 19
A plurality of sheets are held in the bundle 2 in a bundle. Printer 1
When all the sheets discharged from 01 are conveyed to the aligning unit 192, the central portion of the sheet bundle held by the aligning unit 192 becomes
It is stapled by the stitch portion 193. Then, the sheet bundle with the central portion stapled is temporarily conveyed by the bundle conveying section 194.
After being loaded into the
The sheet is conveyed to the folding / paper discharging unit 195. Fold / Paper Discharge Unit 195
Discharges the stapled sheet bundle after folding the stapled sheet bundle in half at the center.

When bookbinding printing (that is, saddle stitching and half-folding) is instructed from the host computer 102, the image processing apparatus 103 outputs the image data generated based on the print data to the printing apparatus 101 together with the instruction. The printing apparatus 101 forms an image on a sheet based on the image data, and the sheet is sent to the saddle stitcher section 19 of the sheet discharging apparatus 112. Then, as described above, the sheet bundle is bound (saddle-stitch staple and folded in two) and discharged.

Next, designation of bookbinding printing on the host computer 102 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen displayed by the printer driver of the host computer 102 of FIG.

The bookbinding printing is designated by the host computer 1.
02 on the user interface screen by the printer driver. This user interface screen is
For example, it has a screen configuration as shown in FIG. 4, and it is possible to set printing details such as stapler mode, bookbinding printing, double-sided printing, and paper size on this screen.
Here, regarding bookbinding printing, it means normal printing that does not perform bookbinding printing, bookbinding printing that outputs an image that opens a book from the left (left opening), bookbinding printing that outputs an image that opens a book from the right ( There are three binding print settings (open right).

Regarding double-sided printing, there are three settings: OFF, which means single-sided printing, long-edge binding that outputs an image folded at the long side of the paper, and short-side binding that outputs an image folded at the short side of the paper. There is.

Regarding the stapler mode, the stapler is turned off, one-point staple is performed at the upper left of the output image (upper left), one-place staple is performed at the upper right of the output image (upper right), and the left two of the output image. In 2 places staple (left) that staples in two places, 2 places staple (right) that staples in 2 places in the output image, and saddle stitcher section 19 (Fig. 3), staple in the center of the paper of the bookbinding image. There are seven settings for saddle stitching.

Regarding the paper size, when bookbinding printing (left opening) or bookbinding printing (right opening) is selected, the paper size that is actually output is not set, but the image image size is set. Is.

The above settings are made in the printer driver, but normally, due to the mechanical limitation of the printing apparatus 101 and the sheet ejection apparatus 112, those which cannot be combined cannot be selected by the printer driver as much as possible. Has been done. For example, if the maximum paper size of the printing apparatus 101 is A3, and if bookbinding printing is selected, a limitation is set in the printer driver so that A3 cannot be selected as the paper size.

Here, regarding the limitation of the printer driver, when the bookbinding printing function is realized by the application as described in the prior art, when the bookbinding printing function is realized by the printer driver, the image processing is performed as in this embodiment. In all cases, such as the case where the bookbinding printing function is realized by the apparatus 103 or the printing apparatus 101, combinations that limit the bookbinding printing to be executable are considered.

Next, regarding the page order of the print data sent from the host computer 102 to the image processing apparatus 103 and the page order of the image data sent from the image processing apparatus 103 to the printing apparatus 101 when bookbinding printing is designated. This will be described with reference to FIG. 5A is a diagram schematically showing the page order of print data sent from the host computer 102, and FIG. 5B is an image sent from the image processing apparatus 103 to the printing apparatus 101 when bookbinding printing is designated. It is a figure which shows the page order of data typically.

The host computer 102 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, print data is sent in page order. That is, the transfer order of the print data is ascending order. Here, there are some printers in which the transfer order of print data can be selected by the setting on the printer driver, but in the present embodiment, as described above, the print data is sent from the host computer 102 to the image processing apparatus 103 in ascending order. Shall be provided.

Bookbinding printing (open left) as bookbinding printing designation
Alternatively, when bookbinding printing (right-opening) is designated, the image processing apparatus 103 transfers the image data to the printing apparatus 101 in consideration of the sheet conveyance control of the sheet discharging apparatus 112 (see FIG. 2 or 3). Change the order.

For example, in the case of outputting 3 pages of 12 pages and opening to the left, from the host computer 102, as shown in FIG. 5A, # 1, # 2, # 3, # 4, # 5, # 6. #
The print data 7, # 8, # 9, # 10, # 11, # 12 are sent to the image processing apparatus 103 in the order of pages. The image processing device 103 generates image data based on the print data. Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, the order of the generated image data of each page is # 6, #.
7, # 8, # 5, # 4, # 9, # 10, # 3, # 2, #
The image data is changed in the order of 11, # 12, and # 1, and the image data is transferred to the printing apparatus 101 in the changed order. When right-opening is designated, the image processing apparatus 103 changes the order of image data to # 7, # 6, # 5, # 8, # 9, # 4.
The order is changed to # 3, # 10, # 11, # 2, # 1, # 12, and the image data is transferred to the printing apparatus 101 in the changed order.

Here, in the case of the above-described 12-page three-sheet output and left-opening bookbinding printing, assuming that N (= 12) is the total number of pages, the page order is changed using the following formula.
It should be noted that this change is performed within a range in which the page number is negative or does not exceed the total number N of pages.

1st page N / 2 2nd page N / 2 + 1 3rd page N / 2 + 2 4th page N / 2-1 5th page N / 2-2 6th page N / 2 + 3 7th page N / 2 + 4 8 Page N / 2-3 Page 9 N / 2-4 Page 10 N / 2 + 5 Page 11 N / 2 + 6 Page 12 N / 2-5 On the other hand, in the case of bookbinding printing (right opening), the above In case of bookbinding printing (open left), the equations for even and odd pages are swapped.

1st page N / 2 + 1 2nd page N / 2 3rd page N / 2-1 4th page N / 2 + 2 5th page N / 2 + 3 6th page N / 2-2 7th page N / 2- 3 8th page N / 2 + 4 9th page N / 2 + 5 10th page N / 2-4 11th page N / 2-5 12th page N / 2 + 6 Next, image data received from the image processing apparatus 103 is converted into an image. A process of allocating two data pages as one output page to the memory and an image output from the paper discharge device 112 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 6
FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically showing an image transfer order and an output image in the case of 12 pages 3 sheets output, left opening, and FIG. 6B is an image transfer order in the case of 12 pages 3 sheets output, right opening. It is a figure which shows an output image typically.

In the case of bookbinding printing (opening to the left) with 3 pages of 12 pages, as shown in FIG. 6A, the image data of the 6th and 7th pages is on the first side (front side) of the first sheet. Assigned. The image data of the 8th and 5th pages is assigned to the second side (back side) of this sheet. Similarly, 4
The image data for page 9 and page 9 is the first for the second sheet
The second side (back side) of this sheet, which is assigned to the front side
The image data of the 10th page and the 3rd page are allocated to the. Similarly, the image data of the 2nd and 11th pages is assigned to the first side (front side) of the third sheet, and the 12th and 1st page image data is assigned to the second side (back side) of this sheet. Is allocated. This is the paper discharge device 112.
In FIG. 3, the sheets carried in from the sheet carry-in section 191 shown in FIG.
This is because the sheets are stacked in a bundle on the No. 2 unit. Then, in the saddle stitcher section 19, the sheets in which the respective pages are assigned to the corresponding surfaces are saddle-stitched and folded in half, and the bookbinding as shown in FIG. 6A is finished.

Further, in the case of bookbinding printing (opening to the right) with 3 pages of 12 pages, as shown in FIG.
The image data of the page is assigned to the first side (front side) of the first sheet, and the image data of the fifth and eighth pages is assigned to the second side (back side) of this sheet. Similarly, the image data for the 9th and 4th pages is assigned to the first side (front side) of the second sheet, and the image data for the 3rd and 10th pages is assigned to the second side (back side) of this sheet. Assigned. Similarly, the image data of the 11th and 2nd pages are assigned to the first side (front side) of the third sheet, and the image data of the 1st and 12th pages are assigned to the second side (back side) of this sheet. Is allocated. As a result, the sheets on which the pages are assigned to the corresponding surfaces are finished into a booklet as shown in FIG. 6B.

Next, bookbinding printing control in the image processing apparatus 103 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of bookbinding printing control in the image processing apparatus 103 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the image processing apparatus 103 first receives the print data transmitted from the host computer 102 in step S201, and analyzes the received print data in subsequent step S202. Then, in step S203, the above step S202
Image data for print data of all pages is generated based on the analysis result of.

Next, in step S204, bookbinding printing (bookbinding printing (open left)) is performed on the received print data.
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not bookbinding printing (right opening) is designated. Here, bookbinding printing (open left)
Alternatively, when it is determined that bookbinding printing (right opening) is designated, it is determined in step S205 whether long-side binding or short-side binding is designated as double-sided designation.

When it is determined in step S205 that long-side binding or short-side binding is specified as the double-sided specification, it is determined in step S206 whether the total number of pages of image data is a multiple of four. . Here, when it is determined that the total number of pages of the image data is not a multiple of 4,
In step S207, the number of white pages required to make the total number of pages a multiple of 4 is generated and added to the image data. Then, the process proceeds to step S209. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S206 that the total number of pages of image data is a multiple of 4, the process skips step S207 and proceeds to step S209.

When it is determined in step S205 that the long-side binding or the short-side binding is not specified as the double-sided designation, it is determined in step S208 whether the total number of pages of image data is a multiple of 2. . Here, if it is determined that the total number of pages of the image data is not a multiple of 2, then in step S207, the number of white pages required to make the total number of pages a multiple of 2 is generated, and the number of white pages is set as the image data. to add. Then, the process proceeds to step S209. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S208 that the total number of pages of image data is a multiple of 2, the process skips step S207 and proceeds to step S209.

In step S209, the order of the image data to be transferred to the printing apparatus 101 is changed depending on whether the bookbinding printing designation is left-opening or right-opening (see FIG. 6). Then, in step S210, the paper size specified by the printer driver is converted into a paper size as image information, that is, a paper size that is twice as large.

Next, in step S211, image information such as paper size designation, stapling designation, bookbinding printing designation, double-sided designation, etc. is transferred to the printing device 101, and in the following step S212, the image data is transferred in the corresponding transfer order to the printing device 101. Transfer to. Then, this process ends.

When it is determined in step S204 that bookbinding printing is not designated, the processing from step S211 is performed.

Next, bookbinding printing control in the printing apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of bookbinding printing control in the printing apparatus 101 of FIG. Here, in the printing apparatus 101, it is assumed that the value of the number of sheets that can be output in the saddle stitching and bookbinding processing of the paper discharge apparatus 112 is held in advance.

In the printing apparatus 101, as shown in FIG.
First, in step S301, the image information and the image data transmitted from the image processing apparatus 103 are received. Then, in step S302, the received image information is analyzed.

Next, in step S303, it is determined whether or not saddle stitching is designated as the staple designation based on the analysis result of step S302. If it is determined that saddle stitching is specified, in step S304, whether bookbinding printing (left opening) or bookbinding printing (right opening) is specified as the bookbinding printing specification based on the analysis result of step S302. Determine whether or not. If it is determined that bookbinding printing (left opening) or bookbinding printing (right opening) is designated, step S3.
In 05, the image data is assigned to the output memory depending on whether the bookbinding printing is left-opening or right-opening (see FIG. 6). Then, the process proceeds to step S306. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S304 that bookbinding printing (left opening) or bookbinding printing (right opening) is not specified, step S305 is skipped and step S3 is performed.
Proceed to 06.

In step S306, the value of the number of sheets that can be output in the saddle-stitching and bookbinding processing that is held in advance is compared with the number of sheets that can be output after the image data has been allocated to the output memory, and the output memory stores it. It is determined whether or not the number of output sheets after allocation exceeds the value of the number of outputtable sheets in the saddle stitching and bookbinding processing of the paper discharge device 212.
Here, when it is determined that the number of output sheets does not exceed the number of sheets that can be output, it is determined in step S307 whether long-side binding or short-side binding is designated as double-sided designation. If it is determined that long-side binding or short-side binding is specified as the double-sided specification, step S3
08, the discharge destination of the paper is set to the saddle stitcher unit 19
Specify in. Then, in step S310, the image data assigned to the output memory is output on a sheet,
This paper is discharged to the paper discharge device 112.

If it is determined in step S303 that saddle stitching is not designated as stapling, the number of output sheets after being allocated to the output memory in step S306 is the number of outputtable sheets in the saddle stitching and bookbinding processing of the paper discharge device 112. If it is determined that the value exceeds the value of, or it is determined in step S307 that neither long-side binding nor short-side binding is specified as double-sided designation, step S3
In 09, the discharge destination is designated to at least one of the trays 1. Then, in step S310, the image data is output onto a sheet, and the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharging device 112.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the printing apparatus 101 in which the image transfer order cannot be changed is used, the output sheets of the printing apparatus 101 can be bound and the printing apparatus 101 can be used. It is possible to eliminate factors such as an increase in the memory capacity necessary for changing the image transfer order in the above, or an increase in the cost of the printing apparatus such as mounting a hard disk.

Further, in realizing the bookbinding function, the bookbinding system can be easily realized by distributing the processing to both the image processing apparatus 103 and the printing apparatus 101.

The object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to supply a computer (or computer) of the system or apparatus. It is needless to say that this can be achieved by the CPU or MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer is executed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code. , The CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the case where the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is also included.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When bookbinding printing is specified from the external device, the transfer order of the image data to be transferred to the printing device is changed to match the bookbinding output image, and when the bookbinding printing is specified from the external device, it is specified by the external device. The paper size is converted to a print output paper size that matches the bookbinding output, and the image data is transferred to the printing device in the changed transfer order together with specification information that includes at least the print output paper size and the bookbinding print specification from the external device. Therefore, even when a printing apparatus that cannot change the image transfer order is used, the output sheets of the printing apparatus can be bound into a book.

Further, according to the present invention, if the value of the number of saddle-stitchable sheets is held and the designation information includes booklet printing designation and saddle stitching designation as stapling designation, two pages of image data are obtained. As output for one page, the input image data is assigned to the output memory, the number of sheets that can be saddle-stitched is compared with the number of output sheets obtained by assigning the input image data to the output memory, and depending on the comparison result, Since the paper discharge destination of the output paper in the paper discharge device is determined, the output paper suitable for bookbinding can be output even without the image transfer order changing function.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing system using an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a paper discharge device 112 of FIG.

3 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing a detailed configuration of a saddle stitcher section 19 in the paper discharge device 112 of FIG.

4 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen displayed by a printer driver of the host computer 102 of FIG.

5A is a diagram schematically showing the page order of print data sent from the host computer 102, and FIG. 5B is an image sent from the image processing apparatus 103 to the printing apparatus 101 when bookbinding printing is designated. It is a figure which shows the page order of data typically.

FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically showing an image transfer order and an output image in the case of three pages of 12 pages output and left-opening;
FIG. 9B is a diagram schematically showing an image transfer order and an output image in the case of 12 pages 3 sheets output, right-opening.

7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of bookbinding printing control in the image processing apparatus 103 of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of bookbinding printing control in the printing apparatus 101 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 tray 19 Saddle stitcher section 101 printing device 102 host computer 103 image processing device 104 interface 105 External interface 106 CPU 108 hard disk 109 printer communication unit 110 RAM 111 Printer interface 112 Paper ejection device 191 Paper input section 192 Matching unit 193 Stitch part 194 Bundle transport section 195 Folding / Paper Ejector

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An image processing device for generating image data based on print data input from an external device and outputting the image data to a printing device connected to a paper discharge device capable of saddle stitching and bookbinding processing. Then, when bookbinding printing is designated from the external device, a transfer order changing unit that changes the transfer order of the image data to be transferred to the printing device so as to match the bookbinding output image, and the bookbinding printing designation from the external device. Then, a paper size conversion unit for converting the paper size specified by the external device into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output, the print output paper size and the bookbinding printing designation from the external device. An image processing apparatus, comprising: transfer information for transferring the image data to the printing device in the changed transfer order together with at least designation information. Processing equipment. 2. The transfer order changing unit transfers to the printing device differently depending on whether left-open bookbinding printing is designated as the bookbinding printing or right-open bookbinding printing is designated. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer order of the image data to be changed is changed. 3. When the bookbinding is designated by the external device, whether to generate a blank page to be added to the image data according to the presence or absence of the double-sided designation from the external device and the total number of pages of the image data. A blank page determining unit that determines whether or not the blank page determining unit determines to generate the blank page, and calculates the number of blank pages based on the total number of pages of the image data, and calculates the number of blank pages. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blank page generation unit that generates the blank page. 4. The blank page determining means determines whether to generate a blank page depending on whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 4 when double-sided designation is given from the external device. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image processing apparatus determines. 5. The blank page determining means determines whether to generate a blank page depending on whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 2 when there is no double-sided designation from the external device. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image processing apparatus determines. 6. A print output is performed based on the designation information input from the image processing apparatus and the image data input from the image processing apparatus in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image, and the output sheet is saddle-stitched and output. A printing device that discharges to a paper discharge device that can perform bookbinding processing, and a holding unit that holds the number of saddle stitchable sheets of the paper discharge device, and the designation information includes booklet printing designation and saddle stitching designation as stapling designation. And 1 page of image data for 2 pages
As output for pages, an allocation unit that allocates the input image data to an output memory, the number of saddle stitchable sheets held in the holding unit,
A comparing unit that compares the input image data with the number of output sheets obtained by allocating the image data to the output memory; and a discharge destination of the output sheet in the sheet discharging device according to a comparison result of the comparing unit. And a discharge destination determining unit for performing the printing. 7. An external device, an image processing device that generates image data based on print data input from the external device, and a printing device that prints out based on the image data generated by the image processing device. A bookbinding print processing method using a paper discharge device capable of bookbinding output sheets from the printing device by saddle stitching and bookbinding processing, wherein the image processing device has a bookbinding print designation from the external device. Then, a transfer order changing step of changing the transfer order of the image data to be transferred to the printing device so as to match the bookbinding output image, and when the bookbinding printing is designated by the external device, it is designated by the external device. A paper size conversion step for converting the selected paper size into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output, the print output paper size and the bookbinding printing from the external device Together with at least including specifying information and a constant, bookbinding printing processing method, characterized in that said at modified transfer order and a transfer step of transferring the image data to the printing device. 8. The transfer order changing step transfers to the printing device differently depending on whether left-opening bookbinding printing is specified as the bookbinding printing or right-opening bookbinding printing is specified. 8. The bookbinding print processing method according to claim 7, wherein the transfer order of the image data to be changed is changed. 9. The image processing apparatus, when the bookbinding is designated by the external apparatus, adds a blank sheet to the image data according to presence / absence of double-sided designation from the external apparatus and the total number of pages of the image data. A blank page determination step of determining whether to generate a page, if it is determined to generate the blank page by the blank page determination step, and calculate the number of blank pages based on the total number of pages of the image data, The bookbinding print processing method according to claim 7, further comprising a blank page generation step of generating the calculated number of blank pages. 10. The blank page determining step determines whether or not to generate a blank page depending on whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 4 when double-sided designation is given from the external device. The bookbinding print processing method according to claim 9, wherein the bookbinding print processing method is determined. 11. The blank page determining step determines whether or not to generate a blank page depending on whether or not the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 2 when there is no double-sided designation from the external device. The bookbinding print processing method according to claim 9, wherein the bookbinding print processing method is determined. 12. A printing device for performing print output based on designation information input from an image processing device and image data input in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image from the image processing device, and a saddle stitching and bookbinding process. A bookbinding printing method using a paper discharge device capable of binding output sheets from the printing device, wherein the printing device includes bookbinding printing designation and saddle stitching designation as stapling designation in the designation information. If there is, 1 page of image data for 2 pages
As an output for pages, an allocation step of allocating the input image data to an output memory, a number of saddle stitchable sheets that is held in advance, and
A comparison step of comparing the input image data with the number of output sheets obtained by allocating the image data to the output memory, and a discharge destination of the output sheet in the sheet discharge device is determined according to a comparison result of the comparison step. And a discharge destination determining step for performing the bookbinding printing processing method. 13. Image processing is performed to generate image data based on print data input from an external device, and output the image data to a printing device connected to a paper discharge device capable of saddle stitching and bookbinding processing. And a transfer order changing step of changing a transfer order of image data to be transferred to the printing apparatus so as to match a bookbinding output image when bookbinding printing is designated from the external apparatus, When the bookbinding printing is designated from, a paper size conversion step of converting the paper size designated by the external device into a print output paper size suitable for bookbinding output, the print output paper size and the external device A transfer step for transferring the image data to the printing device in the changed transfer order together with specification information including at least a bookbinding print specification. And a program having a program. 14. The transfer order changing step transfers to the printing device differently depending on whether left-opening bookbinding printing is specified as the bookbinding printing or right-opening bookbinding printing is specified. 14. The program according to claim 13, wherein the transfer order of the image data to be changed is changed. 15. When the bookbinding is designated from the external device, whether to generate a blank page to be added to the image data according to presence / absence of double-sided designation from the external device and the total number of pages of the image data. A blank page determination step for determining whether or not the blank page determination step determines to generate the blank page, and calculates the number of blank pages based on the total number of pages of the image data, and the calculated number of blank pages. 14. The program according to claim 13, further comprising: a blank page generation step of generating the blank page. 16. The blank page determining step determines whether or not to generate a blank page depending on whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 4 when there is a double-sided designation from the external device. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination is made.
The program described in 5. 17. The blank page determining step determines whether or not to generate a blank page depending on whether the total number of pages of the image data is a multiple of 2 when there is no double-sided designation from the external device. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination is made.
The program described in 5. 18. A printout is performed based on the designation information input from the image processing apparatus and the image data input from the image processing apparatus in a transfer order suitable for a bookbinding output image, and the output paper is saddle-stitched and output. It is a program executed on a printing apparatus that discharges to a paper discharge apparatus capable of bookbinding processing, and if the designation information includes bookbinding printing designation and saddle stitching designation as stapling designation, two pages of image data
As an output for pages, an allocation step of allocating the input image data to an output memory;
A comparing step of comparing the input image data with the number of output sheets obtained by allocating the output image data to the output memory, and a discharge destination of the output sheet in the sheet discharging device is determined according to a comparison result of the comparing step. And a discharge destination determining step. 19. A computer-readable storage medium having the program according to claim 13 stored therein. 20. A storage medium having the program according to claim 18 stored therein in a computer-readable manner.