JP2003312092A - Print controller, print control method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exhibit the capacity of a high speed, high performance data processor sufficiently while reducing the cost of a printer and to prevent printing with a quality unintended by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The printer detects the characteristics of a sheet in the way of carriage before printing (S106) and delivers sheet information to a PC (S108). The PC specifies the type of the sheet based on the sheet information, determines the print quality and performs print setting (S109). On the other hand, the PC receives print quality information selected by a user among a plurality of specified print qualities and makes a decision whether a mismatch is present between the print quality information and the determined print quality (S111). When a decision is made that a mismatch is not present, print data is generated (S120). <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 print control device, a print control method, a program, and a storage medium, and in particular,
A print control device that controls the operation of a printing device that conveys paper and prints on the paper, a print control method applied to the print control device, a program for causing a computer to execute the print control method, and the program The present invention relates to a storage medium in which is stored.

The above print control apparatus obtains information about a sheet to be printed before printing, generates print data based on the information, and performs print control, and informs the user to that effect when print setting trouble occurs. Notice.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A printing system for forming a color image and discharging a printed matter on which the image is printed is conventionally known.
It is generally composed of a printer capable of color printing, a host computer that controls the printer to generate print data, and a communication interface that connects both.

There are various printing methods for color printers. Among them, the ink jet method is one in which ink is ejected directly from a recording head onto a recording medium, which has a low running cost and is suitable for color recording. Since it has the advantage that noise is quiet, it has been used and attracted attention in a wide range of markets from business to home.

In the ink jet printer, various papers are used properly according to the use. Plain paper used in copiers, coated paper with silica coating on the surface to suppress ink bleeding and improve color development, glossy paper used to form photographic images such as silver salt photographs , OHP films for transparent originals, transfer papers and back print films for iron-printing on T-shirts. In addition, there are a wide variety of papers, including those that are familiar to users, such as postcards dedicated to inkjet printing for printing New Year's cards, which is a type of coated paper.

When printing on these papers, the user selects or inputs the type and size of the recording medium (paper) to be printed in advance as print settings on the printer driver,
It is configured to perform appropriate printing on a sheet based on the setting.

A general printing process flow in such a conventional ink jet printer will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 31 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of a conventional printing process performed between a user, a personal computer (PC) and an ink jet printer.

In step S3001, the user gives a print request to the PC. The print request is generally issued using a mouse or a keyboard. The configuration may be such that the instruction is given via a voice input device such as a microphone.

In step S3002, a printer driver for managing print settings and the like is activated in the PC. Actually, the printer driver is activated when the print setting screen displayed in response to the print request instruction shifts to a screen display for making detailed settings.

In step S3003, the PC displays the print setting contents preset in the printer driver using a display device such as a monitor.

In step S3004, when the user wants to obtain the status of the printer, the user issues a status request instruction to the PC. The status request here does not necessarily have to be performed.

In step S3005, step S30
When the status acquisition request in 04 is executed, the PC
Makes a status request to the printer.

In step S3006, step S30
When the status request in 05 is executed, the printer returns various status information to the PC, such as the presence / absence of paper, the remaining amount of ink, and the state of the communication interface between the PC and the printer.

In step S3007, the PC displays the contents of the status information on the monitor or the like.

[0016] In step S3008, the user displays the status information displayed in step S3007 and step S3007.
The print setting content displayed in 3003 is confirmed, and if the print setting is changed, a change instruction is given to the PC.

In step S3009, step S30
When there is a change instruction in 08, the PC displays the update information of the print setting reflecting the content on the monitor or the like.

Steps S3008 and S3009 are repeatedly executed as necessary, and the user can make desired settings.

In step S3010, the user instructs the PC to start printing. This starts the actual printing operation. If the application running on the PC does not display the detailed print setting screen, the process starts from this step.

In step S3011, the printer driver on the PC receives a print start instruction and generates print data corresponding to the print settings. Specifically, color conversion and 2
Various image processing such as digitization and command generation for printer control are performed.

In step S3012, the PC issues a print start request to the printer.

In step S3013, in response to the print start request, paper feed is started in order to convey the paper set in the tray or cassette of the printer to the print start position. If the paper is not set, the status is grasped and the PC is notified when the status is inquired.

In step S3014, a paper feeding operation is performed. At this time, the paper is conveyed to the printing start position.

In step S3015, step S30
In 05, the request for the status from the PC to the printer, which is left to the user's will, is always performed here.

In step S3016, the printer returns various status information such as the presence or absence of paper to the PC.

In step S3017, step S30
The status information obtained in 16 indicates that there is no paper or the power is off.
When it indicates that a trouble that may cause a problem in printing has occurred, the PC notifies the user of error information. This notification is performed by display on a monitor or the like, or by voice output using a sound source.

In step S3018, step S30
The print data generated in 11 is transmitted to the printer. In FIG. 31, the print data is transmitted at a certain time point and is shown to be completed in one transmission.
Actually, the data is divided and transmitted according to the memory capacity and the data processing capacity of the printer, or transmitted during the generation of print data.

In step S3019, the printer sends the received print data to the printer engine for printing.

The above is the outline of the printing process of the conventional general ink jet printer.

As described above, the user selects and sets the type of paper to be used for printing from among a large number of paper types in step S3008. However, the user selects and sets the type of paper. If you do not feel the need to do so, the printing will be performed in the print mode set by default. This is the case when printing is performed without calling the detailed print setting screen from the application (when the printing process starts from step S3010).

Further, in order to select and set the paper type each time the printing process is performed, the user must have knowledge about the printing paper and that the paper of the intended type can be accurately selected from the various kinds of paper. It is required to specify, but if this is not met, high-quality and high-speed printing cannot be realized.

If improper printing that does not match the paper type is performed, such as erroneous settings of the paper type or printing with the default settings, the following problems may occur. In other words, when printing is performed on plain paper with high-quality print settings for coated paper or glossy paper, there is a problem that the amount of ink is large and the ink bleeds, and ink is wasted and extra printing time is required. . Further, when printing is performed on a relatively expensive paper such as glossy paper with a low-quality print setting for plain paper, a desired image quality cannot be obtained and the paper is wasted. .

In view of these problems, a printer in which a sensor called a media sensor for detecting the characteristics of the paper to be printed is mounted and the type of the paper is specified based on the detected characteristics is considered. .

The flow of the printing process of the ink jet printer equipped with the media sensor will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 32 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a conventional printing process performed between an ink jet printer equipped with a media sensor, a user and a personal computer (PC).

Steps S3101 to S311
Since the processing up to 0 is the same as the processing from step S3001 to step S3010 shown in FIG. 31, description thereof will be omitted.

In step S3111, the printer driver on the PC receives the print start instruction and generates primary data corresponding to the print settings. The primary data is print data that does not depend on the type of paper, and the printer generates print data according to the type of paper. That is, the printer performs various kinds of image processing such as color conversion and binarization according to the paper type, and the PC does not depend on the paper type such as positioning of print objects and command generation for printer control. Perform processing. When printing image data such as a photograph, RGB multivalued data is transmitted to the printer.

In step S3112, the PC issues a print start request to the printer.

In step S3113, in response to the request to start printing, the paper set in the tray or cassette of the printer is conveyed to the detection position of the media sensor.
Start feeding.

In step S3114, step S31
The sheet feeding operation is performed in response to the sheet feeding start of 13. As a result, the sheet is conveyed to the detection position of the media sensor.

In step S3115, the media sensor detects (senses) the characteristics of the conveyed sheet. The media sensor is provided on the carriage on which the ink cartridge or the print head is mounted or in the middle of the transport path.

In step S3116, the type (media type) of the sheet currently being conveyed is specified from the detection result of the media sensor. This identification may be performed by calculation based on the obtained characteristic value (parameter) or by table reference. The characteristics of the sheet to be detected by the media sensor are not limited as long as the type of the sheet can be specified. For example, an optical sensor is used as the media sensor, and the media type is specified based on the optical characteristics of the reflected light and the transmitted light from the paper.

In step S3117, step S31
In 05, the request for the status from the PC to the printer, which is left to the user's will, is always performed here.

In step S3118, the printer returns various status information such as the presence or absence of paper to the PC.

In step S3119, step S31
The status information obtained in 18 indicates that there is no paper or the power is off.
When it indicates that a trouble that may cause a problem in printing has occurred, the PC notifies the user of error information. This notification is performed by display on a monitor or the like, or by voice output using a sound source.

In step S3120, step S31
The PC transmits the primary data generated in 11 to the printer. The method of transmitting the primary data is the same as the method of transmitting the print data in step S3018 shown in FIG.

In step S3121, the printer generates secondary data according to the type of paper specified in step S3116. Specifically, processing such as converting the transmitted RGB data into YMCK data and converting multi-valued data into binary data is performed.

In step S3122, the printer sends the print data (secondary data) generated by itself to the printer engine for printing. At this time, the printer body also controls printing according to the media type.

In this way, particularly, steps S3115 and S3
In 3116 and S3121, the print processing according to the media type is performed according to the output of the media sensor.

[0050]

However, the conventional ink jet printer, which is equipped with a media sensor capable of specifying the type of paper and automatically sets the print mode according to the type of paper, has the following problems. It was

1. In general, a printer equipped with a media sensor receives high-speed and high-performance because it receives primary data that does not depend on the type of paper and then generates print data suitable for the paper, that is, performs heavy processing such as image processing. An arithmetic processing unit is required. Specifically, a dedicated hardware such as a high-speed CPU, DSP, and ASIC is essential on the printer side, and even though a high-speed and high-performance PC is provided in the printing system, it is not possible to make full use of its capabilities. There was a problem of not having. There is also a problem that the cost of the printer is significantly increased by providing a high-speed and high-performance arithmetic processing device on the printer side.

2. In order to specify the paper type on the printer side, a reference table and numerical calculation parameters that are judgment criteria are stored in the ROM inside the printer. To change these tables and parameters, you must rewrite the ROM. Therefore, it cannot be done easily. That is, the rewriting of the ROM in a peripheral device such as a printer involves a risk that the peripheral device will not operate if it fails, and therefore cannot be easily performed.

3. In the conventional printing system, once printing is started, printing is performed in a print mode suitable for the paper without notifying the user of the paper type. Therefore, for example, a user who wants to print on plain paper that is printed with relatively low print quality
If the printer is instructed to print without checking the paper set in the printer, if glossy paper is set in the printer and the result of the paper specified by the media sensor is also glossy paper, Prints in a high-quality print mode suitable for glossy paper.
As a result, the print quality of the printed matter after printing is satisfactory, but the user feels that expensive paper and ink are useless, and at the same time, the printing time is useless.
One of the causes of these problems is that there is no means or procedure for confirming the user's intention by notifying the user of the result after specifying the paper type.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a print control apparatus which enables the high-speed and high-performance data processing apparatus to fully exhibit its capabilities and enables the cost reduction of the printer. Print control method, program,
It is a first object to provide a storage medium.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print control device, a print control method, a program, and a storage medium that can easily change a reference table for specifying a paper type and a parameter for numerical calculation. The purpose is 2.

A third object is to provide a print control device, a print control method, a program, and a storage medium that consumes no ink or media and wastes printing time.

[0057]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention of claim 1, in a print control device for controlling the operation of a printing device which conveys a sheet and prints on the sheet, Characteristic information output means for detecting characteristics of the paper and outputting characteristic information during conveyance of the paper before printing, paper specifying means for specifying the standard of the paper based on the characteristic information, and A deciding means for deciding the print quality on the paper based on a standard, a receiving means for receiving print quality information selected by a user from a plurality of predetermined print qualities, and a print quality decided by the deciding means. The judgment means for judging whether or not there is a mismatch between the print quality information received by the receiving means, and the judgment means for judging that there is no mismatch, Print control apparatus characterized by having a first generating unit that generates print data based on the print quality as determined by the constant means.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the first aspect, the determination by the determination means is performed by comparing with a print quality that can be selected for each type of paper defined in advance. It is characterized by being done.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the first aspect, when the determination unit determines that the matching is established, the sheet standard specified by the sheet specification unit is set. The printing quality determined by the determining unit is further included in the unit.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print control apparatus according to the first aspect, when the determination unit determines that the inconsistency has occurred, the user is informed of the inconsistency. And a second generation unit configured to generate print data based on the new print quality selected again by the user as a result of the notification by the notification unit.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the print control method applied to the print control apparatus for controlling the operation of the printing apparatus which conveys a sheet and prints on the sheet,
A detection step of detecting the characteristics of the paper during the transportation of the paper before printing, a paper identification step of specifying the standard of the paper based on the characteristics detected by the detection step, and a standard of the paper A determining step for determining the print quality for the paper, a receiving step for receiving print quality information selected by a user from a plurality of predetermined print qualities, a print quality determined by the determining step, and the receiving step. The determination step of determining whether or not there is a mismatch with the print quality information received by the determination step, and the determination step when the determination step determines that no mismatch has occurred. And a first generation step of generating print data based on print quality. It is.

According to the invention of claim 31, claim 3
In the print control method described in No. 0, the determination in the determination step is performed by comparing with a print quality that can be selected for each type of paper defined in advance.

According to the invention of claim 32, claim 3
In the print control method according to item 0, when it is determined in the determination step that there is a match, the sheet standard specified in the sheet specification step and the print quality determined in the determination step are set to the user. Is further provided.

According to the invention of claim 33, claim 3
In the print control method described in item 0, a notification step of notifying the user of the occurrence of the inconsistency when the determination step determines that the inconsistency has occurred,
It further comprises a second generation step of generating print data based on a new print quality selected again by the user as a result of the notification by the notification step.

Further provided is a program for causing a computer to execute the print control method, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the print control method as a program.

[0066]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 301 in the drawing denotes a data processing device for generating print data and controlling a connected printer. Here, it is assumed that the data processing device 301 is a personal computer.
It is written as "1". The PC 301 also plays a role of receiving instructions and inputs from the user regarding print settings.

A printer 302 is connected to the PC 301, and forms an image based on the print data generated by the PC 301. Although it is assumed here that the printer 302 is an inkjet color printer, it may be a printer of another type.

A communication interface 303 connects the PC 301 and the printer 302. The communication interface 303 may be any interface, whether wired or wireless, as long as it realizes bidirectional communication. For example, a USB is a serial interface.
(Universal Serial Bus), IEEE 1394 interface, Ethernet (registered trademark) interface, IrDA (Infrared Data Association) interface, IEEE 802.11 interface, power line, etc. As parallel interfaces, Centronics (registered trademark) interface, SCSI (Small Comput)
er System Interface) is assumed.

As described above, the printing system according to the first embodiment is not a stand-alone device, but has a configuration in which the data processing device and the printer for image formation are connected by a specific bidirectional interface.

FIG. 4 shows a printer 302 and a PC 301.
3 is a block diagram showing the functional internal configuration of FIG.

The printer 302 includes various functional blocks 40.
4 to 409. The PC 301 is composed of various functional blocks 410 to 417. However, in both the printer 302 and the PC 301, functions that are considered to be unnecessary in describing the present embodiment are omitted. The communication interface 303 is assumed to be composed of USB.

In the printer 302, 404 is a paper recognition sensor (media sensor) that detects information for specifying the paper type and size of the recording medium P. The recording medium P is assumed to be loaded on a paper feed tray, a cassette, or the like provided in the printer 302. As a method of specifying the type and size of the paper, a method of premarking the paper as a recording medium and optically detecting the mark, a method of embedding an IC card in the paper, and a specific light irradiated on the paper There are various types such as a method of optically detecting reflected light (regular reflection light and diffuse reflection light), a method of directly or indirectly measuring surface roughness, a method of measuring light transmittance. Other methods such as paper weight, thickness, friction coefficient, permittivity, electric resistance, and water absorption,
There is a method of taking a two-dimensional image and discriminating it from the feature amount. These methods may be used alone or in combination. The sheet recognition sensor 404 in the present embodiment may be of any type as long as it has a function of determining the type and size of the sheet on the conveyance path, but the carriage may include an ink cartridge and a printing head. Shall be able to be mounted on.

Reference numeral 405 is a paper specification processing unit for specifying the type and size of the paper based on the output result of the paper recognition sensor 404. The sheet identification processing unit 405 identifies the type and size of the sheet using a sheet determination table 406 described later.

Reference numeral 406 is a paper determination table in which standard values are stored in advance, and is used by the paper specification processing unit 405 when specifying the paper type and size. It is possible to update the values in the table from the PC 301.

Reference numeral 407 is an I / F control unit which controls the interface function of the printer 302. Since the communication interface 303 is composed of USB, the I / F control unit 407
Is configured by a controller on the side of the USB peripheral device, and performs transmission of paper information, reception of print data and control commands, and the like. If there is a request, the error information of the error generated in the printer 302 and the status information such as the communication status are also transmitted to the PC 301.

A print control unit 408 receives print data transmitted from the PC 301 and expands it in the printer engine. The print data to be transmitted is already printed on the PC 30 based on the print settings including the type and size of paper.
The data is image-processed on the first side. Here, the printer engine is controlled in accordance with a print control command included in the print data. The print control commands are specifically various commands for controlling the binary data for printing (in some cases, intermediate data before binarization), the ink ejection amount, the number of passes, the printing direction, and the paper conveyance amount. Composed of. When the printer 302 is an electrophotographic printer, various commands for controlling process conditions such as a transfer voltage and a fixing temperature may constitute a print control command.

A printing unit 409 is also called a printer engine. Printing is performed on the recording medium P based on the print data developed by the print control unit 408. This printer 3
An ink jet printer 02 forms an image by ejecting ink.

In the PC 301, 410 is the PC 301
Is an I / F control unit that controls the interface function of. I /
The F control unit 410 is configured by a controller on the USB host side and has a function as a USB host. U
Some of the functions as an SB host are OS (Operating Syst)
It is also configured by software such as em) and printer driver.

A printer driver 411 is used to perform various settings for printing, print data generation, and printer control on the PC 301, and is composed of software. It is composed of various functional blocks 412 to 414.

Reference numeral 412 is a print setting processing section for making various print settings including paper settings and print quality settings. It has a function of receiving instructions and inputs from the user and displaying or notifying the set contents. The print setting processing unit 412 is the core of the present invention, and has a function of automatically performing paper setting based on the paper information sent from the printer 302. The contents relating to the automatic print setting function including paper setting and the determination of the occurrence of inconsistency will be described later.

Reference numeral 413 is a data generation processing unit for print data. Specifically, various image processes such as color conversion and binarization are performed in accordance with the print settings made by the printer 302 and the print setting processing unit 412. In addition, a printer control command for controlling printing is also generated based on the created data.

Reference numeral 414 is a data generation table used when the data generation processing unit 413 generates data. This table can also be updated and added.

Reference numeral 415 denotes a central control unit for controlling various functions of the PC 301, which is composed of a CPU.

A print setting input operation unit 416 is operated by the user. It is composed of various input devices and is used to reflect the user's intention in print settings.

Reference numeral 417 is a setting information notification unit for notifying the user of print settings. Specifically, the notification is made by displaying on an image display device (not shown) such as a monitor, or by a voice from a speaker (not shown).

As described above, in the printing system according to the first embodiment, the printer 302 having the paper recognition sensor 404 and having the function of specifying the paper, the paper information specified by the printer 302 and the instruction by the user, A PC 301 having a function of generating print data and a control command based on the selection, a printer 302, and a P
It is configured by a communication interface 303 that connects the C 301 and is capable of bidirectional communication.

FIG. 5 shows a printer 302 and a PC 301.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the above.

504 in the printer 302 is a ROM
A CPU (central control unit) that controls each unit according to the firmware stored in 505 and the RAM 506.

Reference numeral 505 denotes a ROM which stores a program code of firmware for performing a paper specifying process which realizes a function peculiar to this embodiment. This program code is read and executed by the CPU 504. RO
The M505 is composed of a flash ROM, but may be any other type as long as it is a non-volatile storage medium. Also, R
The OM 505 also stores a table for paper determination.

Reference numeral 506 denotes a RAM (memory). The CPU 504 writes or reads data as needed, or data is read from the USB controller 510 by direct memory access and stored in the RAM 506, or vice versa. USB read from RAM506
It writes to the control unit 510.

Reference numeral 507 denotes a printer engine for printing, which is composed of an ink jet type head, a cartridge in which ink is mounted, and its control circuit.

Reference numeral 508 is a dedicated circuit or DM for controlling printing.
ASIC (Application Sp
ecific Integrated Circuit).

Reference numeral 509 denotes a media sensor for obtaining information for specifying the type and size of paper. The type of sensor does not matter as long as the above functions can be realized.

Reference numeral 510 is a USB control unit for controlling communication with the USB host. Transfer of print data is mainly performed using bulk transfer. This USB control unit 510 is
Low speed of 1.5 Mbps, full speed of 12 Mbps, and 480M compliant with USB 2.0 standard
Although it is assumed that the high speed of bps is supported, the high speed is not always required.

Next, 511 in the PC 301 is a CPU (central control unit) that controls each unit according to the programs stored in the hard disk drive 516 and the RAM 512.

Reference numeral 512 denotes a RAM (memory), and the CPU 511 writes and reads data as necessary, reads data from the USB control unit 513 by direct memory access and stores the data in the RAM 512, and vice versa. USB read from RAM512
It writes to the control unit 513. Printer driver 4
At the time of starting 11, the program code of the printer driver 411 is loaded on the RAM 512.

Reference numeral 513 is a USB control section for controlling communication with a USB device. It has a function of controlling and managing other USB devices (which may be connected to the communication interface 303) including the printer 302.

An input device control unit 514 controls the input device 517. Input device 517 and PC
As the interface with 301, a serial interface such as PS / 2 or USB is used. The input device control unit 514 may be adapted to accept voice input.

Reference numeral 515 is a display device control section for generating and converting a signal to be sent to the display device 518.

Reference numeral 516 is a hard disk drive (HDD) which stores the program code of the printer driver 411 which realizes the function peculiar to this embodiment. This program code is read and executed by the CPU 511. In place of the hard disk drive 516, for example, FD, MO, CD-RW, DVD-RA
A non-volatile storage medium such as M, a flash memory, or a tape device, and a drive unit thereof may be used.

Reference numeral 517 is an input device composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and various instructions are input by user's operation. In the case of voice input, the input device 517 is composed of a microphone.

A display device (monitor) 518 is composed of a cathode ray tube, a liquid crystal device, or the like.

In the present embodiment, screen display is assumed as the notification means to the user. However, when performing voice output, the display device control unit 515 is replaced with a voice output control unit and the display device 518 is used. Replace with a voice output device such as a speaker.

As described above, in the printing system according to the present embodiment, the printer 302 equipped with the media sensor 509, the display device 518, and the input device 517 are provided.
It is configured by a PC 301 to which the above are connected, and a USB interface 303 connecting the printer 302 and the PC 301, and does not require any special hardware except the media sensor 509.

FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing in the first embodiment. This flow is performed by the user, the PC 301, and the printer 302 when there is a print instruction.
The print processing performed between and is shown.

In step S101, the user issues a print request to the PC 301. The print request is generally issued by designating and executing a print command from the menu of the operating application, and a mouse or keyboard is used for this designation and execution. Note that this may be realized via a voice input device instead of a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse.

In step S102, the print setting screen is displayed on the display device 518 of the PC 301 in response to the print request instruction, and when the print setting screen shifts to the screen display for making detailed settings, A printer driver 411, which is software for managing print settings and the like, is activated.

In step S103, step S102
In response to the activation of the printer driver 411 in
Requests the printer 302, which should print, to acquire the paper information in order to confirm the type and size of the paper to be printed. At this time, not only the paper information,
Information about the printer engine 302 such as the presence or absence of paper in the tray or cassette, the state of the interface, the type of ink cartridge, the amount of ink remaining, and the like can also be requested.

In step S104, the printer 302, which has received the request for acquisition of paper information, starts paper feeding to carry the paper set in the tray or cassette of the printer 302 to the print start position.

In step S105, the printer 302 performs a paper feeding operation. At this time, the paper is the media sensor 509.
Is conveyed to a position where detection (sense) is performed.

At step S106, the media sensor 5
Information for identifying the type and size of the paper is detected by 09. The media sensor 509 is provided on the conveyance path so that the type and size of the paper can be sensed, and the media sensor 509 is configured to perform the sensing after feeding the paper.

At step S107, the media sensor 5
From the output result of 09, the paper identification processing unit 405 refers to the paper determination table 406 and identifies the type and size of the paper.

In step S108, step S103
The printer 302, which has received the sheet information acquisition request, transmits the sheet information specified in step S107 to the PC 301. If information other than paper information is requested, that information is also transmitted.

In step S109, the PC 301 automatically sets printing based on the transmitted paper information. The contents of print settings and the flow of processing will be described later. It should be noted that, when performing the paper setting based on the paper information among the print settings, it is also determined here whether or not there is a mismatch between the paper setting and the paper setting arbitrarily designated by the user.

In step S110, the PC 301 displays the print setting information including the contents automatically set in step S109 on the display device 518. Also, step S109
If there is a discrepancy between the content of the automatic paper setting and the content of the user setting, the fact is displayed on the display device 518 to warn or warn the user.

In step S111, it is determined whether or not there is a mismatch between the paper setting based on the paper information and the print quality set by the user. The criteria for determining the occurrence of inconsistency and the procedure for the determination will be described later. In addition, it is also determined whether or not the change instruction by the user, which is performed when there is a mismatch between the content of the automatic paper setting and the content of the paper setting designated by the user, is appropriate. However, this determination is made when the setting contents are fed back in step S114.

In step S112, step S111
If it is determined that there is a mismatch, the PC 301 displays the fact on the display device 518 to warn or warn the user. Although the cautions and warnings are displayed by displaying a dialog on the screen of the display device 518, the user may be alerted with a voice when the dialog is opened. The contents of the displayed dialog will be described later.

At step S113, step S110.
When the user confirms the print setting information displayed on the display device 518 and changes the content of the print setting, or when the user changes the content of the print setting according to the warning displayed on the display device 518 in step S112. , And input the changed portion and contents to the PC 301.

In step S114, step S113
If the setting has been changed in step S111, the process returns to step S111 in order to check again whether or not there is a mismatch between the changed content and the paper setting. The same applies when the user gives an instruction to eliminate the mismatch between the automatic paper setting and the setting made by the user.

In step S115, if there is no problem in the setting change result, the PC 301 displays on the display device 518 the updated print setting information in which the change contents input in step S113 are reflected.

The user operates the display device 5 in step S115.
It is possible to repeat the setting change in step S113 again by seeing the updated print setting information displayed in 18, and to obtain the desired setting.

In step S116, when the user determines that the desired printing cannot be performed on the fed paper, the user gives an instruction to stop the printing.

In step S117, the PC 301 that has received the print cancel instruction requests the printer 302 to discharge the fed paper without printing it.

In step S118, the printer 302
Discharges the sheet that has been conveyed to the sense position and stopped.

In step S119, the user gives an instruction to start printing. This starts the actual printing operation.
It should be noted that the print processing in the case where the application running on the PC 301 directly starts printing without displaying the detailed print setting screen will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In step S120, the printer driver 411 on the PC 301 receives a print start instruction and generates print data corresponding to the print settings. In particular,
The printer driver 411 executes various image processes such as color conversion and binarization, and generates commands for printer control such as a printing method and a carry amount.

In step S121, step S120
The print data generated by the
Send to 2. In FIG. 1, print data is transmitted at a certain point in time, and it seems that the data transmission is completed in one transmission. However, in reality, it depends on the memory capacity and data processing capacity of the printer 302 side. Then, the print data is divided and transmitted, and the print data is sequentially transmitted even while the print data is being generated.

In step S122, the printer 302 sends the received print data to the printer engine 507,
Print. Since the paper has already been conveyed to the print start position, the printer engine 507 sends the paper from that position according to the print width and ejects ink to form an image.

As described above, the flow of the printing process shown in FIG. 1 is the basis of the present invention. The sheet information obtained after the printer 302 feeds the sheet is once returned to the PC 301 side, and the PC 301 prints. It is configured to generate data. Further, since the print data can be generated on the PC 301 side, the printer 302 can be configured inexpensively and simply. Furthermore, the printer driver 411 determines the inconsistency between the sheet setting based on the sheet sense result and the sheet setting by the user and communicates with the user, thereby maximally reflecting the user's intention and making an error. It is possible to perform preferable image formation with extremely few print settings. Therefore, the user can be freed from complicated operations, wasteful consumption of ink and media can be prevented, and an efficient printing environment can be obtained.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing when there is no print instruction in the first embodiment.

In step S201, the user gives an instruction to start printing. This causes the actual printing operation to start, but in this case, the print settings are not changed, and the print processing is advanced based on the preset settings. That is, the print data is generated and printing is performed without confirming or changing the content of the print settings.

Since the processing contents from step S202 to step S208 are the same as the processing contents from step S102 to step S108 shown in FIG. 1, their description will be omitted. By these processes, the sheet is fed to the sense position and conveyed, the sheet information is detected, and the sheet information is transmitted to the PC 301.

In step S209, it is determined whether or not there is a mismatch between the paper setting based on the paper information and the setting content preset by the user or the default setting content. The criteria for determining the occurrence of inconsistency and the procedure for the determination will be described later.

Since the processing contents from step S210 to step S216 are the same as the processing contents from step S112 to step S118 shown in FIG. 1, their description will be omitted. By these processes, step S2
When it is determined that the inconsistency occurs in 09, the user is warned to that effect, and the user's instruction or determination is requested. Depending on the judgment, the printing is stopped, and the sheet conveyed to the sheet sense position is discharged.

In step S217, if the print setting has been changed in the process flow up to now, a trigger is applied to start printing under the changed condition. That is, the user requests the PC 301 to start printing again.

Since the processing contents from step S218 to step S220 are the same as the processing contents from step S120 to step S122 shown in FIG. 1, their description will be omitted. By these processes, when the setting contents are changed, the PC 301 that has received the print start request again
Performs subsequent print data generation and print control.

In this way, also in the case where the application running on the PC 301 starts the direct printing without displaying the detailed print setting screen, the printer 302 is the same as the case described with reference to FIG. Returns the paper information obtained after the paper is fed to the PC 301 side, and the PC 3
01 generates print data. Compared with the conventional printing system, it seems that the user's burden is increased because it is necessary to change the setting contents again or to issue a start instruction after printing starts, but in reality there is a mismatch of settings. Unless it happens, the burden on the user does not increase.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the type of paper (media type) targeted in the first embodiment.

There are many types of paper that can be set by the printer driver 411 of the ink jet printer in the first embodiment, from general paper to special paper.
These paper types can be selected from the list of paper types of the printer driver 411. The list selection screen of the printer driver 411 will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the size of the target paper (media size) in the first embodiment.

Printer 302 in First Embodiment
There are many paper sizes that can be set by the printer driver 411 of the above, and these paper sizes can be selected from the paper size selection list. In addition, regarding an irregular-sized sheet not included in the selection list, a media size can be arbitrarily input and designated by using a user-defined command. The list selection screen and the media size input screen will also be described later.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the paper type (media type) determination process and the print setting process reflecting the determination result in the first embodiment.

At step S801, the media sensor 5
The type of paper (media type) is grasped on the basis of the paper sense result of 09. Here, as shown in a table for reference in FIG. 9 described later, the paper types are classified into six, and which of these is grasped.

In step S802, it is determined whether the media type is set in the automatic setting mode.
The automatic setting mode is a mode in which the media type is automatically set according to the result detected by the media sensor 509 of the printer 302. If this mode is not selected, the user will need to set the media type manually. If the media type automatic setting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S803, and if the user-specified manual setting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S804.

In step S803, it is determined whether the print quality automatic setting mode for automatically setting the print quality is set. The print quality automatic setting mode is a mode in which the optimum print quality for the paper is automatically set according to the set media type. If this mode is not selected, the user needs to set the print quality manually. If the print quality automatic setting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S809, and if the user manual setting mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S810.

In step S804, it is determined whether there is a difference between the media type automatically set based on the sense result and the media type manually specified by the user. However, since the number of paper types that can be manually selected or input by the user is larger than the number of types 6 by the automatic setting shown in FIG. There is. In that case, it is determined whether or not they belong to the same category. For example, glossy film and glossy paper can be classified into the same category in terms of forming the same photographic image. Further, when it is determined that they are included in the same category, the type name (media type name) by the automatic setting shown in FIG. 9 is reflected as the set value. If the media types are different, the process proceeds to step S805, and if they match or the categories match, the process proceeds to step S803.

In step S805, step S804
Then, the user is notified that the media type automatically set based on the sense result and the media type manually specified by the user are different.

In step S806, the user determines which of the media types to be used, the media type automatically set based on the sense result and the media type manually specified by the user. If the media type automatically set based on the sense result is used, the process proceeds to step S807, and if the media type manually specified by the user is used, the process proceeds to step S808.

In step S807, the media type automatically set based on the sense result is set as the set value.

In step S808, the media type manually designated by the user is set as the set value. At this time, not only the already set value may be selected, but another media type may be selected and the setting may be changed.

In step S809, in response to the selection of the print quality automatic setting mode, the print quality is automatically determined by referring to the reference table shown in FIG. 9 based on the set media type. Set. Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

In step S810, since the print quality is set in the manual setting mode designated by the user, the print quality automatically set based on the set media type and the print quality manually set by the user. Determine if there are any inconsistencies. The criteria for determining the mismatch will be described later. If it is determined that there is a mismatch, the process proceeds to step S811, and if it is determined that the match is achieved, the process proceeds to step S813.

In step S811, the user is notified of the occurrence of inconsistency.

In step S812, the user determines which the print quality should be matched with. If the print quality is automatically set based on the set media type, the process proceeds to step S809. If the print quality is manually specified by the user, the process proceeds to step S813.

In step S813, the print quality manually specified by the user is adopted. At this time, not only the print quality already set by the user is adopted, but another print quality may be designated and the setting may be changed.

As described above, when the mode for automatically setting both the media type and the print quality is designated, the media type is automatically set based on the sensing result of the media sensor 509, and the set media type is set. Automatically set the print quality according to. In this case, the user does not need to perform any designation operation or input operation.

On the other hand, when the setting of the media type is manual setting, the media type designated by the user and the media type automatically set based on the sense result are compared in the printer driver 411. As a result of the comparison, when it is determined that they match, the paper setting is automatically performed. If they do not match, by notifying the user to that effect, it is possible to obtain an opportunity to confirm the user's intention and avoid erroneous paper settings.

When the print quality setting is manual setting, the printer driver 411 sets the print quality specified by the user and the print quality automatically set based on the media type.
Compare within. If the result of the comparison shows that they match,
The print quality is set automatically. If there is a mismatch, by notifying the user of that fact, it is possible to set the optimum print quality in accordance with the user's intention.

As described above, the sheet setting (the type setting among them) and the print quality setting are performed based on the sheet information based on the sense result.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a reference table for determining print quality based on the media type. Here, the media is classified into 6 types.

As the paper type (media type), plain paper / thick paper, coated paper, glossy paper, glossy film, OHP, T-shirt transfer paper / cloth are set here. This classification differs depending on the performance and function of the media sensor, but even if more classifications are possible, there is no need to increase the number of classifications unless the final printing quality and control contents are the same. The divisions shown in FIG. 9 are merely examples.

As print quality, three types of high quality, standard and high speed are set. The classification of print quality is not limited to this, and may be another classification number.

The reference table reference method will be described below.

⊚ is a setting specified by default, and is a printing quality set when the user does not specify anything or when the printing quality setting is set to the automatic setting mode and the optimum printing quality for the paper is selected. For example, in the print quality automatic setting mode, when the media type is "coated paper", the print quality is automatically set to "high quality" by referring to this reference table. In the default setting, a default setting when priority is given to print quality and a default setting when priority is given to print speed may be provided so that the user can select.

◯ indicates the print quality that can be selected on the paper.

Δ indicates that a problem may occur if printing is performed on this paper with this print quality, and in the present embodiment, the user will be warned.

X is a print quality that cannot be selected even when the user manually selects it.

When the print quality manually specified by the user is the print quality that indicates the setting caution Δ and the setting not possible ×, a warning or warning is issued to the user and erroneous printing is performed in accordance with the user's intention. You can guide the settings to not be done.

Here, description will be given taking a certain sheet as an example.

“Glossy paper” is selected as the paper setting. The selection of glossy paper may be a result of automatic setting based on the sense result or a result manually specified by the user. At this time, the print quality setting is not the automatic mode but the manual mode manually specified by the user, and the print quality specified in the manual mode is “high speed”. This may be the case when the setting contents at the time of printing before that remain as they are.

When printing is executed in this "high speed" print quality setting state, even though relatively expensive glossy paper is set in the printer 302, printing of low print quality cannot utilize the characteristics of the paper. Will be done. This is not an effective use of the media, and when printing is restarted, the media, ink, and time required for printing are wasted.

In such a case, in the present embodiment, it is pointed out to the user that the printing quality "high speed", which cannot be set with glossy paper, is selected, so that various wastes can be prevented.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog displayed on the display device 518 when pointing out a mismatch.

In the dialog, the currently set paper type and print quality are shown, and information indicating that there is a problem with the currently set print quality and what kind of print quality should be changed is displayed. Has become.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the size (media size) of the paper and the presence / absence of the paper and the media size setting process in the first embodiment.

In step S1001, it is determined based on the sensing result of the media sensor 509 whether paper is set in the tray or cassette of the printer 302.

In step S1002, step S10
According to the result grasped at 01, if paper is set in the tray or cassette of the printer 302, the process proceeds to step S1003, and if no paper is set, the process proceeds to step S1004.

In step S1003, the size of the paper (media size) is grasped based on the sensing result of the media sensor 509.

In step S1004, the user is notified of "no paper" based on the determination result that no paper is set.

In step S1005, the user is notified of the absence of paper, and the user determines whether or not to cancel the printing. When canceling the printing, the process ends. When printing is performed, the process proceeds to step S1006.

In step S1006, the user sets paper in the tray or cassette of the printer 302 to continue printing. In addition, after displaying a dialog for confirming whether or not the paper is set on the display device 518,
The processing after setting the paper may be restarted via the PC 301, or the processing may be restarted by automatically detecting that the paper is set. Further, the printer 302 may be provided with a button for restarting the process. that time,
Considering the cost of the printer 302, the restart button is made to share not only the printing restart but also other functions.

In step S1007, the size of the set paper is grasped by the media sensor 509, and the flow advances to step S1003.

In step S1008, step S10
03 or in step S1007, it is determined whether or not there is a sheet size that matches the sheet size that can be set by the printer driver 411 shown in FIG. 7, that is, whether or not it is a standard size. In the case of the standard size, the process proceeds to step S1009, and in the case of the irregular size that does not match the size of the sheet shown in FIG. 7, the process proceeds to step S1010.

In step S1009, it is determined whether or not the paper size automatic setting mode for automatically setting the paper size is selected. The paper size automatic setting mode is a mode in which the size of the paper is automatically set according to the sensed paper information. If the automatic setting mode is selected, go to step S1013. If the manual setting mode designated by the user is selected, go to step S1013.
Proceed to 1014 respectively.

In step S1010, since the media size is irregular, the display device 518 displays an input dialog for the user to manually input the paper size. The configuration of the input dialog will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S1011, the user inputs the media size in accordance with the input dialog displayed on the display device 518.

In step S1012, step S10
The media size is set according to the media size input in 11.

In step S1013, it is determined whether or not the function of enlarging or reducing the image or document to be printed according to the media size, that is, the enlarging / reducing function is enabled. When the enlargement / reduction function is enabled, even if the size of the paper set in the printer 302 and the media size specified by the operating application are different, the enlargement according to the size of the paper is performed. -By performing reduction processing, printing with an appropriate margin and a print area that does not exceed the paper size is realized. Therefore, when the enlargement / reduction function is effective, the media size setting process ends. On the other hand, if the enlargement / reduction function is invalid, the process advances to step S1019.

In step S1014, since the media size is manually set by the user, it is determined whether the media size automatically set based on the sense result is different from the media size manually specified by the user. To do. If the media size is different, step S1
If the media size is the same, go to step S10.
Proceed to 13.

In step S1015, the user is notified of the fact that the media size is different.

In step S1016, the user determines which one of the media size automatically set based on the sense result and the media size manually designated by the user is to be matched. If the media size is automatically set based on the sense result, the process proceeds to step S1017. If the media size is manually specified by the user, step S101 is performed.
Go to 8 respectively.

In step S1017, the media size automatically set based on the sensing result is adopted as the media size setting.

In step S1018, the media size manually specified by the user is adopted as the media size setting. At this time, not only the already set media size is designated as the setting value, but also another sheet size may be designated to change the setting content.

In step S1019, it is determined whether the media size set by the printer driver 411 is different from the media size defined in the application. If the media sizes are different, step S120
If the same, the setting process ends.

In step S1020, since the media size is different, the user is notified of that fact.

In step S1021, it is determined whether or not to cancel the printing itself. When canceling printing, the media size setting process ends. Then, the fed paper is ejected as it is. To continue the processing, the process proceeds to step S1022.

In step S1022, the user manually sets the media size. Specifically, the application is opened, and the specified media size is adjusted to the media size set by the printer driver 411.

As described above, when the paper is not set in the printer 302, the user is notified of the fact before the printing is started, and the user is asked whether or not to continue the printing. When continuing, the procedure until the user sets paper in the printer 302 and restarts the process is described in the printer driver 411.
Supported by the user interface.

When the media size is set in the automatic setting mode and the enlargement / reduction function is enabled, the media size is set based on the sensing result of the media sensor, and the image is adjusted according to the set media size. The formation takes place. Even if the media size specified by the application is different from the media size set by the printer driver 411, the enlargement / reduction function automatically prints in accordance with the actual media size without any user's trouble. It can be performed.

When the enlargement / reduction function is disabled, the media size based on the paper setting of the printer driver 411 is compared with the media size specified by the application. As a result of the comparison, when the media sizes are the same, the user does not need to be aware of the setting of the media size. If they are different, by notifying the user to that effect, it is possible to set the media size in accordance with the user's intention. If such a notification is not made and the media size on the application side is the printer driver 41
If the media size is set to be larger than the media size according to the paper setting of No. 1, an image larger than the paper is formed, and ink adheres to the inside of the printer such as the platen and the transport guide in the inkjet printer. Something like that happens. This attached ink is
The next paper to be fed will also become dirty, which is a serious problem. This embodiment can avoid such a problem.

As described above, the media size is set based on the paper information based on the sense result.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a print dialog displayed when a print command is executed by an operating application.

Reference numeral 1101 is a print dialog,
The display areas 1102 to 1108 are included.

Reference numeral 1102 is an area for displaying the name, status, etc. of the printer for printing.

Reference numeral 1103 is a field in which one selected from the manufacturer name and model name of a plurality of printers is displayed. The user selects a printer from a list of a plurality of printers displayed by clicking the right side mark. If you do not click the right mark, the printer that is set as the default printer is displayed.

A button 1104 is used to display the properties of the printer displayed in the field 1103. By pressing this button 1104, the printer driver 411 is activated, and detailed print setting contents such as paper type, size, and print quality are displayed. Using this display, print settings can be made.

Reference numeral 1105 is an area for displaying the print range. One can be selected from the options to print all, print only the currently open page, or print only the specified page.

Reference numeral 1106 is an area for displaying the number of copies to be printed. The user can specify the number of copies by inputting a value.

Reference numeral 1107 is an OK button. Area 1
When it is determined that there is no problem with the setting conditions of 102 and 1105, printing is started by pressing the OK button 1107.

Reference numeral 1108 is a cancel button. If there is a problem with the setting conditions of the areas 1102 and 1105, the cancel button 1108 is pressed to cancel the printing.

The display content shown in FIG. 12 is merely an example, and it is important that the printer driver 411 is activated at a certain timing when the user attempts printing.

The functions for making various settings and determining inconsistency described so far are realized by the program code that constitutes the printer driver 411. However, some or all of them are stored in the printer driver 411 such as the OS or application. You may make it implement | achieve by software. When the OS includes the function, the function can be realized not in a specific printer but in any printer and its connection environment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a setting dialog displayed when the print mode and various paper settings are made.

Reference numeral 1201 denotes a print setting dialog, which includes display areas 1202 to 1226. This dialog is displayed by pressing the property button 1104 shown in FIG. Since there are a large number of items to be displayed in this dialog 1201, setting items are displayed in a tab sheet so that the setting items are classified according to their contents and are easy to see.

Reference numeral 1202 is a tab for overall settings. Display the contents related to printing in general. Details will be described later.

Reference numeral 1203 is a page setting tab. Displays the contents related to various page settings such as paper size, print direction, number of copies, print layout (printing multiple pages). It should be noted that the tab 1203 accepts an instruction and an input for changing the setting content by the user.

Reference numeral 1204 is a special effect tab. Displays a selection screen for the functions used to give special effects such as various image corrections and sepia tones to images.

Reference numeral 1205 denotes a utility tab. Display the selection screen for functions such as head adjustment and cleaning.

Reference numeral 1206 denotes a simple display area in the overall setting tab 1202. Display a print image according to the settings.

Reference numeral 1207 is an area for displaying the set paper type (media type).

Reference numeral 1208 is a field for displaying the type of paper. In the case of automatic setting described below, the type of paper specified based on the sense result is displayed here. When the user manually specifies the paper type, by clicking the mark on the right side of the field 1208, the media type list shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, and the user can select from the list. . The new paper type may be additionally input to the list.

A check box 1209 is selected when the type of paper is automatically set. When the check box 1209 is selected, the paper type specified based on the sense result is displayed in the media type field 1208.

Reference numeral 1210 is a check box selected when the type of paper is manually set. When this check box is selected, the user can manually set the paper type. The check box 1210 for manual setting and the check box 1209 for automatic setting have an exclusive relationship, and only one of them can be selected. Even if the automatic setting check box 1209 is selected, if the media type is selected from the list in the media type field 1208, the manual setting is performed, and the manual setting check box 1210 is activated.

Reference numeral 1211 is an area for displaying the set paper size (media size).

Reference numeral 1212 is a field for displaying the media size. In the case of the automatic setting described below, the media size specified based on the sense result is displayed here. When the user manually specifies the media size, by clicking the mark on the right side of the field 1212, the media size list shown in FIG. 7 is displayed, and the user can select from the list. Note that a new paper size may be additionally input to the list.

Reference numeral 1213 is a check box selected when the size of the paper is automatically set. When the check box 1213 is selected, the size of the paper specified based on the sense result is displayed in the media size field 1212.

Reference numeral 1214 is a check box to be selected when the user manually sets the size of paper. If this check box 1214 is selected,
The user can manually select the paper size.
The manual setting check box 1214 and the automatic setting check box 1213 have an exclusive relationship, and only one of them can be selected. Even if the automatic setting check box 1213 is selected, if the media size is selected from the list in the media size field 1212, the manual setting is performed, and the manual setting check box 1214 is activated.

Reference numeral 1215 is a check box selected when automatically enlarging / reducing. When the check box 1215 is checked, as described in the processing shown in FIG. 11, a setting mismatch occurs between the paper setting by the printer driver 411 and the paper setting defined by the application. However, matching can be achieved by the processing on the printer driver 411 side.

Reference numeral 1216 is an area for displaying the set print quality.

Reference numeral 1217 is a field for displaying the print quality. In the case of automatic setting, the print quality automatically selected according to the type of paper displayed in the media type field 1208 is displayed in the field 1217. In case of manual setting, this field 121
By clicking the mark on the right side of 7, a plurality of print qualities listed in the reference table shown in FIG. 9 are displayed in a list, and the user can select from the list.

Reference numeral 1218 is a check box selected when the print quality is automatically set. When the check box 1218 is selected, the print quality corresponding to the paper type displayed in the media type field 1208 is automatically selected by referring to the reference table shown in FIG. Displayed in field 1216.

Reference numeral 1219 is a check box selected when manually setting the print quality. When the check box 1219 is selected, the user can manually select the print quality. Note that the manual setting check box 1219 and the automatic setting check box 1218 have an exclusive relationship, and only one of them can be selected. Even if the automatic setting check box 1218 is selected, if the media size is selected from the list in the print quality field 1217, the manual setting is performed, and the manual setting check box 1219 is activated.

Reference numeral 1220 is a button used for setting the print quality in detail, and by selecting this button 1220, the screen for detailed setting is displayed. In the present embodiment, the print quality that can be set automatically is three levels.
With the manual setting, more levels of print quality can be set. However, since the selectable print quality is limited depending on the type of paper, it is not possible to set all the prepared print quality levels.

Reference numeral 1221 is a field for selecting a paper feeding method. The user selects either manual feeding or auto sheet feeder.

Reference numeral 1222 is a check box selected when color adjustment is automatically performed. When the check box 1222 is active, color adjustment is automatically performed. In the default setting, the automatic setting check box 1222 is active.

Reference numeral 1223 is a check box selected when the color adjustment is manually set. When the check box 1223 is selected, the user can manually set the color tone on the detailed setting screen (not shown). Check box 1 for manual setting
223 and the automatic setting check box 1222 have an exclusive relationship, and only one of them can be selected.

Reference numeral 1224 denotes an OK button. If the user determines that there is no problem with the setting conditions shown in the print setting dialog 1201, the OK button 1224 is pressed to set the conditions, and the dialog 1
201 is closed and the display returns to that shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 1225 denotes a cancel button. By pressing the cancel button 1225, the settings at the time when the print setting dialog 1201 is displayed are returned.
The dialog 1201 is closed, and the screen returns to the display shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 1226 is a help button. If there are any unclear points about the contents related to various print settings managed by the printer driver 411, this button is pressed to show the related explanation.

Although not described here, a configuration may be adopted in which an update button for updating the setting content is added.

As described above, the print setting dialog 120
1 has a screen configuration in which items required by the user are gathered together, and it is possible to instantly confirm what kind of print settings are made.

Further, the automatic setting mode (automatic setting check boxes 1209, 1213, 12 shown in FIG. 13 is used.
By selecting 18), the setting can be automated. At that time, the printer 302 and the printer driver 411 can be configured to check what settings have been made, and communication can be established with the user. As a result, it is possible to realize a printing system in which erroneous printing is less likely to occur, that is, preferable image formation can be performed while giving priority to the user's intention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a warning dialog displayed when the media type specified based on the sense result is different from the manual setting by the user.

Reference numeral 1301 is a warning dialog, and 13
It is composed of each display area from 02 to 1305.

Reference numeral 1302 is an area that expresses the purpose of the warning. Not only text information but also images such as illustrations that convey the meaning of the warning are displayed.

Reference numeral 1303 is an area for displaying the content of the warning. Here, the warning content is displayed, and the content for confirming which of the media type specified based on the sense result and the media type specified by the user is set is displayed. In FIG. 14, it is confirmed to the user whether the media type specified based on the sense result may be set.

Reference numeral 1304 denotes an OK button.
By pressing the button 1304, the media type specified based on the sense result is set.

Reference numeral 1305 denotes a cancel button. By pressing the cancel button 1305, the media type manually specified by the user is set.

As described above, when there is a difference between the setting of the media type based on the sense result and the setting of the media type designated by the user, the fact is notified to the user,
It asks the user which setting to prioritize.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog displayed when it is detected that no paper is set in the tray or cassette of the printer 302.

This dialog is composed of an image that briefly expresses the purpose of the warning, the content of the warning, an OK button for restarting the processing after setting the paper (processing shown in FIG. 10), and the like.

As described above, not only the detected result is displayed, but also the subsequent recovery procedure is shown, so that a printing environment friendly to the user can be provided.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an input dialog displayed when the user selects a sheet of irregular size.

Reference numeral 1601 denotes an input dialog, which is 16
It is composed of each display area from 02 to 1609.

Reference numeral 1602 is an area for the user to select the unit of input value when manually inputting the media size. Here, it is possible to select from two units of mm and inch.

1603 is mm as a unit of input size
This is a check box to select when using.

1604 is in as a unit of input size
This is a check box to be selected when using ch.
Check box 1604 and check box 1
There is an exclusive relationship with 603, and only one of them can be selected.

Reference numeral 1605 denotes an area where the user manually inputs the paper size. In the present embodiment, the input is made with a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, but the input may be made with a voice input device.

A field 1606 is a field for inputting the length of the paper in the width direction of the paper size.

A field 1607 is a field for inputting the length of the paper in the longitudinal direction of the paper size.

Reference numeral 1608 is an OK button. This OK
By pressing the button 1608, the input value can be confirmed, and then the value is reflected in the paper setting.

Reference numeral 1609 denotes a cancel button. The input value is not newly set by pressing the cancel button 1609, and the currently set size is used. However, when the irregular media size is selected, the setting of the media size cannot be completed unless some value is input and set.

As described above, the user can set the paper of any size. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which the once-input size setting is named and saved so that it can be used in subsequent print settings.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a warning dialog displayed when the size of the paper set in the printer 302 is different from the setting made by the user.

In this dialog, it is confirmed whether or not the image which expresses the purpose of the warning, the content of the warning, and the size of the paper set in the printer 302 specified based on the sense result are used as the print setting. The contents are displayed.

As described above, when there is a difference between the media size based on the sense result and the media size specified by the user, the user is notified of that, and the user is asked to determine which setting has priority. .

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a warning dialog displayed when it is determined that there is a mismatch between the size of the paper set in the printer 302 and the paper size specified by the application.

In this dialog, an image that briefly expresses the purpose of the warning, the content of the warning, and the content for confirming whether to change the size setting on the application side by giving priority to the paper size set by the printer driver 411 are displayed. .

In this way, when there is a difference between the media size set by the printer driver 411 and the media size set by the application, the user is notified of that, and which setting has priority. Ask the user to make a decision.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the information necessary for paper setting out of the print settings such as the paper type and size, and the paper fed from the tray or the cassette are conveyed. Gained by making sense along the way,
By utilizing this, it is possible to automatically perform print settings suitable for the paper without wasting the user's hand and wasteful consumption of ink and media.

In particular, a printing system can be constructed at a higher speed and at a lower cost by generating print data and controlling the printer on the side of a high-speed and high-performance data processing device such as a PC.

Further, by determining the inconsistency between the print setting based on the paper information obtained as a result of the sense and the print quality manually set by the user, the user's intention is further taken into account and improper printing is performed. It is possible to provide a printing system that minimizes

In this embodiment, the flow of setting has been described as the type of paper (media type) and the size of paper (media size) to be sensed. However, only one type of information, the media type, should be sensed. According to the configuration, the print quality may be automatically set and the user may be notified according to the mismatch determination. In other words, it is not possible to realize complete automation of print settings because the media size cannot be automatically set, but it is possible to sufficiently fulfill the purpose of setting print quality.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The configuration of the second embodiment is basically the first.
The configuration is the same as that of the embodiment. Therefore, in the description of the second embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of the printing system according to the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, the paper specification processing section 1
912 and sheet determination table 1914 to PC 190
The sheet identification processing unit 405 and the sheet determination table 406, which are provided on the second side and provided on the printer 302 side in the first embodiment, are deleted.

Since the paper specifying process is performed on the PC 1902 side, the paper recognizing sensor 404 is used in the printer 1901.
Is transmitted to the PC 1902 side via the I / F control unit 407.

A computer 1909 controls various settings for printing, generation of print data, and control of the printer 1901.
02 is a printer driver to be executed on the computer and is configured by software.

The sheet identification processing section 1912 determines the sheet determination table 19 based on the output information from the sheet recognition sensor 404.
14, the type and size of the paper is specified. Output information from the paper recognition sensor 404 is sent to the PC 1902 via the communication interface 303.

As described above, in the printing system according to the second embodiment, the printer 1901 equipped with the paper recognition sensor 404 for outputting the parameter for specifying the paper and the paper based on the parameter obtained on the printer 1901 side. Is configured by a PC 1902 having a function of specifying print data and a function of generating print data and a control command based on a user's instruction or selection, and a communication interface 303 which connects the two devices and is capable of bidirectional communication.

In this configuration, since the paper specifying processing unit 1912 is provided on the PC 1902 side instead of the printer 1901 side, it is possible to easily change the parameters and judgment criteria for specifying the paper simply by updating the software of the printer driver 1909. You can

FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing in the second embodiment. This flow is performed by the user, the PC 1902, and the printer 1 when there is a print instruction.
901 shows a printing process performed with the printer 901.

The flow of the print processing in the second embodiment is basically the same as the flow of the print processing in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that the printer 1901 does not perform the paper specifying process.
This is a point to be performed on the PC 1902 side. Specifically, the paper identification process performed by the printer 302 after the sensing operation in step S106 in the first embodiment is executed by the PC 1 as shown in step S2008 in the second embodiment.
In step 902, the process is performed immediately before the print setting process in step S2009.

In the second embodiment, the paper specification processing section 1
The PC 190 uses a paper determination table 1914 and a determination processing algorithm that are used when 912 performs paper-specific processing.
The change can be made on the second side, and this has an advantage that the change can be made more flexibly as compared with the case where the change is made on the printer 302 side as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing when there is no print instruction in the second embodiment.

The flow of the print processing in the second embodiment is basically the same as the flow of the print processing in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that the printer 1901 does not perform the paper specifying process.
This is a point to be performed on the PC 1902 side. Specifically, the paper identification process performed by the printer 302 after the sensing operation in step S206 in the first embodiment is performed by the PC 1 as shown in step S2108 in the second embodiment.
In step 902, the process is performed immediately before the mismatch determination process in step S2109.

As described above, even when the application running on the PC 1902 starts the printing directly without displaying the detailed print setting screen, the paper information obtained after the paper is fed is temporarily returned to the PC 1902 side. By returning the print data and generating the print data, the same effect as the flow of the process shown in FIG. 21 can be obtained.

In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the paper information (output value of the paper recognition sensor 404) obtained after feeding the paper is returned to the PC 1902 side once to generate print data. It is configured to do. By this, P
Since the print data can be generated on the C1902 side, the printer 1901 can be inexpensively and simply configured. Further, it is possible to construct a printing system in which the inconsistency with the manual setting by the user is judged in the printer driver 1909 and the user communicates with the user, thereby maximally reflecting the user's intention and having very few incorrect print settings. You can As a result, even in the second embodiment, the user is freed from complicated operations, wasteful consumption of ink and media can be prevented, and an efficient printing environment can be obtained.

In particular, in the second embodiment, since the paper specifying process is performed on the PC 1902 side instead of the printer 1901 side, it is possible to easily change the contents of the process and the criteria for judgment. PC1 is also difficult to deal with on the printer 1901 side, such as recognition of new media.
This can be realized simply by updating the printer driver 1909 on the 902 side.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the structure of the printing system according to the third embodiment.

Reference numeral 2201 is a digital camera which produces a digital image by a CCD or CMOS image sensor. This digital camera 2201 has not only an imaging function but also an image taken by the digital camera 2201.
The printer 2202 directly connected to the printer 2202 has a function of generating data for printing and controlling the connected printer 2202. Further, it also plays a role of receiving the instruction and input from the user regarding the print setting and displaying the setting content.

A color printer 2202 is connected to the digital camera 2201. This printer 22
Reference numeral 02 forms an image based on the print data and the control command generated by the digital camera 2201. The type of multivalued data is not particularly limited as long as it can be handled in the printer 2202.

Reference numeral 2203 is a communication interface for connecting the digital camera 2201 and the printer 2202. The communication interface 2203 is composed of a serial interface having a small connector shape. Specifically, USB, IEEE1394 interface, Ir
A DA interface, an IEEE802.11b interface, a Bluetooth interface, etc. are assumed, but any interface may be used regardless of wired or wireless as long as it realizes bidirectional communication. Further, after the captured image is recorded in a storage medium such as a memory card built in the digital camera 2201, the memory card itself is removed from the digital camera 2201 and inserted into the slot of the printer 2202 to perform printing. May be. In that case, the type of memory card does not matter.

As described above, the printing system according to the third embodiment is not a single device, but is composed of the digital camera 2201, the printer 2202 and the communication interface 2203.

FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram of a system according to the third embodiment.

The printer 2202 is an ink jet printer and is composed of various functional blocks 2304 to 2310. Digital camera 22
01 is composed of various functional blocks 2311 to 2317. However, the functions of the printer 2202 and the digital camera 2201 which are considered to be particularly unnecessary in describing the third embodiment are omitted.

The communication interface 2203 is 2.4G.
Bluetooth is a wireless standard that uses the Hz band.
Interface.

In the printer 2202, 2304 is a paper recognition sensor (media sensor) for detecting information for specifying the type and size of the recording medium P. The recording medium P is assumed to be loaded on a paper feed tray, a cassette, or the like provided in the printer 2202. The description of the means for specifying the type and size of the paper is the same as that of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

Reference numeral 2305 denotes a paper specification processing section for specifying the paper based on the output result of the paper recognition sensor 2304. In the third embodiment, the paper specification processing unit 2305
However, the type and size of the paper are specified by numerical calculation using the sensor output value as a parameter. The user may be allowed to change the mathematical formula used for the numerical calculation.

An I / F control unit 2306 controls the interface function of the printer 2202. Since the communication interface 2203 is a Bluetooth interface, the I / F control unit 2306 includes a baseband chip, an RF module, and a link controller, and performs transmission of paper information and reception of print data and control commands. The I / F control unit 2306 also transmits error information generated in the printer 2202 and status information such as communication status to the digital camera 2201 if requested.

Reference numeral 2307 denotes YMC for the RGB multi-valued color image data sent from the digital camera 2201.
A color conversion processing unit that converts the data into K data. The color conversion processing unit 2307 also performs various image corrections.

Reference numeral 2308 denotes the YM in the color conversion processing unit 2307.
It is a binarization processing unit that converts image data that has become multi-valued data of CK into binary data. Although there are many binarization methods, the binarization processing unit 2308 uses an error diffusion method.

Reference numeral 2309 denotes a printing unit 2 which prints data to be printed.
The print control unit is expanded to 310. Binarization processing unit 23
Using the print data binarized in 08, the printing unit 2310 is controlled according to the print control command sent from the digital camera 2201. Specifically, various controls that are changed according to the characteristics of the paper, for example, control of the amount of ejected ink and change of the number of passes are executed.

Reference numeral 2310 denotes a printing unit, which is also called a printer engine. Printing is performed on the recording medium P based on the print data developed by the print control unit 2309.

Next, in the digital camera 2201, 2
An I / F control unit 311 controls the interface function of the digital camera 2201. It is composed of a Bluetooth controller. Some functions may be implemented by firmware.

Reference numeral 2312 denotes a printer driver for performing various settings for printing, generation of print data, and control of the printer 2202 on the digital camera 2201, and is composed of software. Printer driver 23
12 includes a print setting processing unit 2313 and a control command generation processing unit 2314. The printer driver 2312 is not composed of other software as a printer driver like the printer driver 411 of the PC 301 described in the first embodiment.
It is configured as a part of the firmware function inside the digital camera 2201.

The print setting processing section 2313 performs various print settings including paper settings and print quality settings. That is, it has a function of displaying or notifying the set contents in response to an instruction or input from the user, and a function of automatically making a paper setting based on the paper information sent from the printer 2202. The contents of the automatic print setting function including paper setting and the mismatch occurrence determination function are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The control command generation processing unit 2314 generates a printer control command for performing print control.

Reference numeral 2315 is a central control unit for controlling various functions of the digital camera 2201 and is composed of a CPU.

A setting input operation unit 2316 is composed of buttons for reflecting the user's intention in the print settings.

Reference numeral 2317 denotes a setting information etc. notifying section for notifying the user of the print setting contents, which also serves as a liquid crystal display device provided for previewing a taken image and displaying a menu.

As described above, the printing system according to the third embodiment has the function of specifying the type and size of the paper by mounting the paper recognition sensor 2304 and converting multi-valued image data into binary data for printing. A printer 2202 having a function, a paper camera specified on the printer 2202 side, a digital camera 2201 having a function of generating image data and a control command based on a user's instruction or selection, and the two devices are connected. It is configured by a communication interface 2203 capable of bidirectional communication.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing in the third embodiment. This flow is performed by the user and the digital camera 2201 when there is a print instruction.
The print processing performed between the printer 2202 and the printer 2202 is shown.

The flow of print processing in the third embodiment is basically the same as the flow of print processing in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the binary data that can be immediately used on the printer 302 side is generated on the PC 301 side. However, in the third embodiment, image processing is performed on the printer 2202 side. Also, conversion from multi-valued data to binary data is performed.

Steps S2401 to S241
Since the processing up to 9 is the same as the processing from step S101 to step S119 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, respectively, description thereof will be omitted. Step S
In the processing from 2401 to step S2419,
After obtaining the paper information, it is determined that there is a mismatch, and the user gives a final print start instruction. The point that the user acquires the paper information before starting printing is also the same as in the first embodiment.

Step S24 in the third embodiment
At 20, the printer driver 2312 on the digital camera 2201 receives a print start instruction and generates primary data corresponding to the print settings. The difference from the first embodiment is that the printer 2202 does not generate the print data according to the type of paper but the digital camera 2201 which is the data processing device. The digital camera 2201 only generates print data that does not depend on the type of paper. However, the digital camera 2201
Then, a control command corresponding to the type of paper is generated. Specifically, various image processes such as color conversion and binarization are performed by the printer 2202, and therefore, positioning of a print object and command generation for printer control suitable for a sheet are performed. RGB when printing image data such as photographs
That is, the multi-valued data will be transmitted to the printer 2202 as it is.

In step S2421, step S24
The primary data generated in 20 is transmitted to the printer 2202.

In step S2422, step S24
The printer 2 based on the control command generated in 20.
202 generates secondary data suitable for the type of paper.
Specifically, processing such as converting the transmitted RGB data into YMCK data and converting multi-valued data into binary data is performed.

In step S2423, the printer 220
2 sends print data (secondary data) generated by itself to the printer engine 2310, and printing is performed. that time,
Printing control suitable for the paper information is also performed.

In such a printing system,
Since it is necessary for the printer 2202 side to process multi-valued data, it is necessary to equip the printer 2202 side with a faster arithmetic processing unit or dedicated hardware. This is also disadvantageous in terms of cost, but when considered as a printing system, it is sufficiently practical because a PC having a high processing function as in the first embodiment is not used as a data processing device. This is because when a general-purpose digital camera is to have a printing function, it is very difficult for the digital camera to perform various image processes depending on the printer model. Have many printer profiles on the digital camera side, and
It is necessary to perform the same data processing as C, and unlike a PC, the profile cannot be updated easily. Rather, by adopting such a configuration, the same effect can be obtained even in a printing system that uses a device having no high processing capability such as a PC as a data processing device. Even if compared with the conventional example, by acquiring the paper information in advance, the user's intention is reflected to the maximum extent,
Further, it is possible to construct a printing system capable of performing preferable image formation.

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing when there is no print instruction in the third embodiment.

The flow of the print processing in the third embodiment is basically the same as the flow of the print processing in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the binary data that can be immediately used on the printer 302 side is generated on the PC 301 side. However, in the third embodiment, image processing is performed on the printer 2202 side. Also, conversion from multi-valued data to binary data is performed.

[0327] Step S25 in the third embodiment
The processing from 01 to step S2517 is performed from step S201 to step S2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Since the processes up to 17 are the same, the description thereof will be omitted.

Also in the case where the printing is started directly from the digital camera 2201 without confirming the setting, FIG.
Similar to the process shown in 5, the same effect can be obtained by obtaining the media sense result (data) after the print start request instruction.

In the third embodiment, some of the effects described in the first embodiment can be realized. That is, in the third embodiment, even if the printer 2202 is configured to convert multi-valued data to binary data, it is possible to determine the inconsistency with the user setting as in the other embodiments. By communicating with each other, it is possible to construct a printing system in which the intention of the user is reflected to the maximum extent and undesired printing is extremely reduced. In addition, the printing system as a whole can be constructed at a low cost, and a general-purpose digital camera can be used. This frees the user from complicated operations, prevents wasteful consumption of ink and media, and provides an efficient printing environment.

In the third embodiment, the case where a digital camera is used as the data processing device has been described, but as the data processing device, the same as in the first embodiment is used.
The same effect can be obtained by using C.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

In the fourth embodiment, the data processing device (PC, digital camera) in the first to third embodiments is used.
The print setting process including the determination of inconsistency performed on the printer side is performed on the printer side.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of a system according to the fourth embodiment.

Reference numeral 2601 denotes an ink jet type color printer for forming an image, and 2605 to 261
It is composed of various functional blocks up to 3.

A digital camera 2602 sends image data and print control commands to the printer 2601, and is composed of various functional blocks 2614 to 2619. However, description of functions that are not particularly necessary for describing the fourth embodiment will be omitted for both the printer 2601 and the digital camera 2602.

Reference numeral 2603 is a communication interface for connecting the printer 2601 and the digital camera 2602. Here, it is assumed that the Bluetooth interface is a wireless standard that uses the 2.4 GHz band. This interface is mainly used for communication with a small amount of data such as transmission and reception of print setting contents and status response.

Reference numeral 2604 is a memory card used when image data is transferred between the printer 2601 and the digital camera 2602. The type of memory card does not matter.

Reference numeral 2605 in the printer 2601 is a paper recognition sensor (media sensor) for detecting information for specifying the type and size of the recording medium P. The recording medium P is assumed to be loaded on a paper feed tray, a cassette, or the like installed in the printer 2601. The description of the means for specifying the type and size of the paper is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore will be omitted here.

Reference numeral 2606 is a paper identification processing unit which identifies the paper based on the output result of the paper recognition sensor 2605. In the fourth embodiment, the type and size of paper are specified by numerical calculation using the sensor output value as a parameter.

Reference numeral 2607 denotes a print setting processing section for making various print settings including paper settings and print quality settings.
Various print settings including paper settings are made based on the specified paper information. The contents of the automatic print setting function including paper setting and the processing function relating to the determination of occurrence of inconsistency are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Reference numeral 2608 is an I / F control unit which controls the interface function of the printer 2601. Since the communication interface 2603 is a Bluetooth interface, the I / F control unit 2608 is composed of a baseband chip, an RF module and a link controller, and transmits print setting contents. The I / F control unit 2608 also transmits error information generated in the printer 2601 and status information such as a communication state to the digital camera 2602 if requested.

Reference numeral 2609 is a memory card slot into which a memory card is inserted.

A color conversion processing unit 2610 converts RGB multi-valued color image data passed from the digital camera 2602 via the memory card into YMCK multi-valued data. The color conversion processing unit 2610 also performs various image corrections.

Reference numeral 2611 denotes the YM in the color conversion processing unit 2610.
This is a binarization processing unit that converts image data that has become multivalued data of CK into binary data. Binarization processing unit 2611
Then, the error diffusion method (Error Diffusion) is used as a binarization method.
Method) should be used.

Reference numeral 2612 denotes the printing unit 2 which prints data to be printed.
A print control unit 613 is developed. Binarization processing unit 26
Using the print data binarized in 11, the print unit 2613 is controlled according to the print control command generated in the print setting processing unit 2607. Specifically, the print control unit 2612 executes various controls that are changed according to the characteristics of the paper, for example, control of the ink ejection amount and change of the number of passes.

Reference numeral 2613 denotes a printing unit, which is also called a printer engine. Printing is performed on the recording medium P based on the print data developed by the print control unit 2612.

Next, reference numeral 2614 in the digital camera 2602 is an I / F control unit which controls the interface function of the digital camera 2602. Bluetooth
It is composed by the controller.

Reference numeral 2615 is a memory card slot into which a memory card is inserted.

Reference numeral 2616 denotes a central control unit for controlling various functions of the digital camera 2602, which is composed of a CPU.

Reference numeral 2617 is a setting information storage unit for storing the contents of the print settings set by the printer 2601 in the built-in memory.

Reference numeral 2618 denotes a print setting input operation unit,
The buttons are used to reflect the user's intention in the print settings. The print setting input operation unit 2618 is used to change various settings such as print quality and print settings set on the printer 2601 side.

Reference numeral 2619 denotes a setting information notification section for notifying the user of the contents of print settings. Here, the liquid crystal display device provided for previewing the captured image and for displaying the menu is also used as the setting information notification unit 2619.

As described above, the printing system according to the fourth embodiment has a function of specifying the type and size of the paper from the output value from the paper recognition sensor 2605 and performing various print settings, and printing multivalued image data. A printer 2601 having a function of converting into binary data for use, a digital camera 2602 having a function of generating image data,
The memory card 2604 includes a communication interface 2603 that connects the two devices and can perform bidirectional communication.

FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of printing processing in the fourth embodiment. This flow is performed by the user and the digital camera 2602 when there is a print instruction.
The print processing performed between the printer 2601 and the printer 2601 is shown.

The flow of the print processing in the fourth embodiment is basically the same as the flow of the print processing in the third embodiment shown in FIG. In the third embodiment, the print setting including the paper setting is performed on the digital camera side which is the data processing device. However, in the fourth embodiment, all the processes including the data generation are performed on the printer side. To do. In addition, in the fourth embodiment, the digital camera 26
02 and the printer 2601 are divided into large-capacity image data and other data such as control commands, and these data are transmitted via different means, that is, the memory card 2604 and the communication interface 2603, respectively. Send and receive.

In step S2701, when the user wants to change the print setting contents, the user gives an instruction to the digital camera 2602 about the changed portion and contents.

In step S2702, the user gives a print request to the digital camera 2602.

In step S2703, step S27
In response to the print request instruction in 02, the digital camera 2
602 issues a print setting information acquisition request to the printer 2601. At this time, not only the print setting information but also the presence / absence of sheets that may be set in the printer 2601,
It is possible to make an acquisition request together with the status of the interface between the digital camera 2602 and the printer 2601 and the information of the printer engine 2613 such as the type of ink cartridge and the remaining amount of ink. At the time of this request, basic print setting conditions such as print quality and media size set on the digital camera 2602 side are also transmitted to the printer 2601 side.

[0359] Steps S2704 to S270
The processing up to 7 has the same contents as the processing from step S2404 to step S2407 shown in FIG. 25, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted. In the processing from step S2704 to step S2707, the printer 2601
In, the sheet is conveyed to the sense position by the sheet recognition sensor 2605 and sensed, and the type and size of the sheet are specified based on the sense result. The configuration for obtaining the paper information before the start of printing is the same as in the third embodiment.

In step S2708, step S27
The printer 2601 automatically sets printing based on the paper information obtained in 07. The contents of print settings and the flow of processing are the same as those in the other embodiments. It is also determined here whether or not there is a mismatch between the paper setting and the paper setting arbitrarily designated by the user when performing the paper setting based on the paper information among the print settings.

In step S2709, step S27
The printer 2601 transmits the print setting information including the contents automatically set in 08 to the digital camera 2602.

In step S2710, digital camera 2602 displays the received print setting information using a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor. In addition, step S27
If there is a discrepancy between the contents of the automatic paper setting and the contents of the user setting in 07, the fact is displayed and the user is warned or warned.

At step S2711, the printer 260
1 determines whether or not there is a mismatch between the print quality automatically set based on the paper information and the print quality manually set by the user. The criteria for determining the occurrence of inconsistency and the determination process are the same as those in the other embodiments, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

In step S2712, step S27
If it is determined in 11 that the mismatch occurs, the printer 2
601 transmits a message to that effect to the digital camera 2602.

In step S2713, step S27
When it is determined in 11 that the mismatch occurs, the digital camera 2602 warns or warns the user to that effect. Although the attention and the warning are displayed on the screen of the display device, the warning may be displayed with a voice so as to call the user's attention.

[0366] In step S2714, the user confirms the print setting information displayed in step S2710,
Alternatively, when the content of the print setting is changed according to the warning displayed in step S2713, the information about the changed portion and the content is sent to the digital camera 2602.

In step S2715, the digital camera 2602 sends the information sent in step S2714 to the printer 2601.

In step S2716, the printer 260
1 receives the change instruction information and changes the contents of the print setting. Although not described in detail here, since there may be a defect in the setting contents designated by the user, it is possible to judge the mismatch again after the setting is changed in this step.

In step S2717, step S27
The updated print setting information in which the instruction information received in 14 is reflected is transmitted to the digital camera 2602.

[0370] In step S2718, digital camera 2602 displays the received updated print setting information on the monitor.

The user may repeat the process of step S2714 to make desired settings.

[0372] Steps S2719 to S272
Since the processing up to 6 has the same contents as the processing from step S2416 to step S2423 shown in FIG. 25, the description thereof will be omitted. In the processing from step S2719 to step S2726, printing is started, data suitable for the paper is generated, and printing is performed. Further, when the printing is stopped, the sheet conveyed to the sense position is ejected.

As described above, since almost all the processing relating to the print setting is performed on the printer 2601, it is very easy to configure a digital camera as a part of the printing system and to change the print setting.

FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of print processing when there is no print instruction in the fourth embodiment.

The flow of the print processing in the fourth embodiment is basically the same as the flow of the print processing in the third embodiment shown in FIG. In the third embodiment, the print setting including the paper setting is performed on the digital camera side which is the data processing device. However, in the fourth embodiment, all the processes including the data generation are performed on the printer side. To do.

In the process shown in FIG. 29, direct printing is started without displaying the detailed print setting screen.
The same effect as the processing shown in can be obtained.

In the fourth embodiment, the same effect as that of the third embodiment can be realized. That is, it is possible to construct a printing system that reflects the user's intention to the maximum extent and can perform preferable image formation. Further, there is an advantage that a general-purpose digital camera can be used. This frees the user from complicated operations and prevents wasteful consumption of ink and media.
You can get an efficient printing environment.

In the fourth embodiment, the effect has been described by taking a digital camera as an example of the data processing device. However, as the data processing device, the same P function as in the first embodiment is used.
The same effect can be obtained when C is used.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the data processing device (digital camera 2602) and printer 2601.
A memory card 2604 for image data and a communication interface 260 for checking print settings as an interface with
However, if there is an interface capable of large-capacity data communication, there is no problem in implementing the interface using only one type.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a memory map of a recording medium in the fifth embodiment.

The object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to supply the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus. Is also achieved by 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.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, FD (floppy (registered trademark) disk), hard disk, CD-ROM, CD-R,
Optical discs such as CD-RW, DVD-RAM and DVD + RW, magneto-optical discs such as MO, magnetic tapes,
Non-volatile memory card such as flash memory, RO
M or the like is applicable and these can be used.

Moreover, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that this also includes the case where the above) performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, Needless to say, this also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. .

When the present invention is applied to the above storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code corresponding to the above-described flowchart. To briefly explain it, each module in the memory map shown in FIG. 30 is stored in a storage medium. That is,
At least a print setting module 2901, a mismatch determination module 2902, and a print data generation module 290
3, the program codes of the communication module 2904 and the user interface module 2905 may be stored in the storage medium.

As described above, even if the configuration for realizing the functions of the above-described respective embodiments is software that is a storage medium storing a computer-readable program code and the program code itself,
It is possible to realize a printing system having excellent operability and convenience. In other words, the information necessary for paper settings in the print settings, such as paper type and size, is obtained from paper fed from a tray or cassette during transportation.
By utilizing this, it is possible to automatically perform print settings suitable for the paper without wasting the user's hand and wastefully consuming the ink and the medium.

Particularly, by generating print data and controlling the printer on the side of a high-speed and high-performance data processing device such as a PC, it is possible to construct a printing system that is faster, more inexpensive, and flexible.

Also, the paper information is presented to the user before the start of printing, and the print quality automatically set based on the paper information obtained as a result of the sense and the print quality manually set by the user. By determining the inconsistency of
Similar to the other embodiments, it is possible to provide a printing system in which the user's intention is further taken into consideration and inappropriate printing is minimized.

(Other Embodiments) Other embodiments realizing the present invention will be described below.

The data processing device, which is one of the constituent elements of the printing system according to the present invention, includes the first and second data processing devices.
In the embodiment, the PC is described, and in the third and fourth embodiments, the digital camera is described. However, the data processing device is not limited to the PC and the digital camera.

As described in the first and second embodiments, if the data processing device side is provided with the automatic print setting function and the print quality mismatch determination function, the type of the data processing device side Does not matter. Also, the third and fourth
As described in the embodiment, if the printer side performs the print data generation processing including the image processing, the number of functions required for the data processing apparatus side is reduced,
Even if the data processing device is configured with a communication tool such as an existing electric appliance, an internet connection device, and a widely spread mobile phone, the effect can be realized. That is, the type of the data processing device is not limited as long as the printing system satisfies all the functions.

From the above, the data processing device according to the present invention can be realized in addition to the PC and the digital camera. For example, there are digital devices such as a set top box, a digital video camera, a digital TV, a BS / CS tuner, a game machine, a mobile phone and a PDA.

[0395] When attempting to print by configuring a printing system with a digital device in which connection with such a printer is not usually taken into consideration, print setting becomes very complicated, and undesired printing is performed. It cannot be denied that there is a possibility that it will end up. Even in such a case, it is possible to obtain a great effect by surely grasping the information of the recording medium to be printed before printing so as to reduce the load on the user and automating the complicated print setting. Further, the user specifies only the portion such as the printing quality that is left to the user's intention, so that more preferable image formation can be realized in accordance with the intention and corresponding to the information on the paper.

In particular, it is very important to prepare a mechanism for printing the contents of a device such as a mobile phone which is expected to be able to handle a larger amount of contents. The present embodiment greatly contributes to the construction of a printing system that meets the expectations of such users.

[0397]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

1. By mounting a media sensor and grasping the information of the paper before printing and presenting it to the user, the optimum image formation on the paper can be performed. As a result, expensive ink and media are not wastefully consumed.
Further, it is possible to prevent the printing from taking an unnecessarily long time.

2. The user does not need to perform a complicated operation such as selecting a sheet set in the printer from among many types of sheets. In addition, the user does not need to have knowledge of paper, and there is no need to worry about making mistakes.

3. By specifying the type of paper, it is possible to accurately grasp the carry amount that differs depending on the type. As a result, the carry amount can be appropriately controlled, and the print image quality is improved.

4. A high-speed and high-performance data processing device such as a PC is used as a constituent element of the printing system, and various image processing such as color conversion and binarization according to the paper is performed on the PC side, so that the printer side can operate at high speed. A processing system and hardware such as a dedicated DSP or ASIC are not required, and a printing system can be constructed at a lower cost.

5. Although the media sensor itself is mounted on the printer, as shown in the second embodiment, the part for specifying the paper is provided not on the printer but on the data processing device side, and is used as a judgment criterion when specifying the paper. The PC can have various values such as a necessary reference table and parameters used in numerical calculation. as a result,
Conventionally, in order to change the reference table and the numerical calculation parameters, the ROM inside the printer had to be rewritten, which was accompanied by danger, but in the present invention, those changes can be made only by changing the software on the PC. Therefore, it is possible to deal with new media safely and flexibly.

6. Since information such as the type and size of the paper loaded in the printer can be obtained before printing is started and the processing is released for the user, the user can set the print quality suitable for the paper. Whether or not it can be determined in advance. That is, when there is a possibility that unfavorable image formation may be performed, the user is notified of that fact and the user's instruction is obtained, so that printing that is more suitable for the paper can be performed.

7. The distance between the media sensor and the paper can be defined by arranging the sense position of the media sensor during the transportation of the paper. The constant distance between the media sensor and the paper facilitates the design including the case where an optical sensor is used.

As described above, according to the present invention, the information necessary for setting the paper among the print settings such as the kind and size of the paper is obtained during the conveyance of the paper, and the information is utilized to bother the user. It is possible to perform automatic print settings without any problems, and it is possible to perform appropriate print settings that match the paper without wasting ink or media.

Further, by generating print data and controlling the printer on the side of a high-speed and high-performance data processing device such as a PC, a printing system can be constructed at a lower cost and at higher speed.

[0407] Further, by determining the mismatch between the print setting based on the paper information obtained as a result of the sense and the print quality manually set by the user, the user's intention is further embodied and incorrect printing is performed. It is possible to provide a printing system in which it is possible to reduce the number of images and perform preferable image formation.

Further, it is possible to flexibly deal with new media.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of a print process when a print instruction is given in the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of print processing when there is no print instruction in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functional internal configurations of a printer and a PC.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing hardware configurations of a printer and a PC.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing target paper types (media types) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a size of a target paper (media size) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a paper type (media type) determination process and a print setting process that reflects the determination result according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a reference table for determining print quality based on a media type.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart (1/2) showing a procedure of paper size (media size) and paper presence / absence determination processing and media size setting processing in the first embodiment.
Is.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart (2/2) showing the procedure of the paper size (media size) and the presence / absence of paper and the media size setting process in the first embodiment.
Is.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a print dialog displayed when a print command is executed by an operating application.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a setting dialog displayed when a print mode and various paper settings are made.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a warning dialog displayed when the media type specified based on the sense result is different from the manual setting by the user.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog displayed on the display device when pointing out a mismatch.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog displayed when it is detected that no paper is set in the tray or cassette of the printer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an input dialog displayed when the user selects a sheet of irregular size.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a warning dialog displayed when the size of the paper set in the printer is different from the setting by the user.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a warning dialog that is displayed when it is determined that there is a mismatch between the size of the paper set in the printer and the paper size specified by the application.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a printing system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of print processing when there is a print instruction according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of print processing when there is no print instruction in the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram of a system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of print processing when there is a print instruction in the third embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of print processing when there is no print instruction according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of a system according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of print processing when there is a print instruction in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of print processing when there is no print instruction according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a memory map of a recording medium in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of conventional print processing performed between a user, a personal computer (PC), and an inkjet printer.

FIG. 32 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of a conventional printing process performed between an inkjet printer equipped with a media sensor, a user and a personal computer (PC).

[Explanation of symbols]

301 data processing device (PC) 302 printer (printing device) 303 communication interface 404 paper recognition sensor (media sensor, characteristic information output means) 405 paper identification processing unit (paper identification means) 406 paper determination table 407 I / F control unit 408 Print control unit 409 Printing unit (printer engine) 410 I / F control unit 411 Printer driver (decision unit, determination unit, first)
Second generation unit) 412 print setting processing unit 413 data generation processing unit 414 data generation table 415 central control unit 416 print setting input operation unit (reception unit) 417 setting information notification unit (notification unit) P recording Medium (paper) S101 ... Print request instruction S102 ... Printer driver startup S103 ... Paper information acquisition request S104 ... Paper feed start S105 ... Paper feed S106 ... Media sense S107・ ・ ・ Specifying paper type and size S108 ・ ・ ・ Transmitting paper information S109 ・ ・ ・ Print setting S110 ・ ・ ・ Displaying print setting information (notification) S111 ・ ・ ・ Whether or not inconsistency has occurred Judgment S112 ... Warning display (notification) when inconsistency occurs S113 ... Print setting change instruction S114 ... Redetermination of inconsistency occurrence S115 ... Display (notification) of updated print setting information S116 ... Instruction to stop printing S117 ... Discharge request S118 ... Discharge S119 ... Instruction to start print S120 ... Print Data generation S121 ... Print data transmission S122 ... Printing

Claims (54)

[Claims] 1. A print control device for controlling the operation of a printing device that conveys a sheet and prints on the sheet, wherein the characteristic of the sheet is detected during the conveyance of the sheet before printing and the characteristic information is output. Characteristic information output means, paper specifying means for specifying the standard of the paper based on the characteristic information, determining means for determining the print quality for the paper based on the standard of the paper, and a plurality of predetermined print products Receiving means for receiving the print quality information selected by the user from among the print quality, and whether or not there is a mismatch between the print quality determined by the determining means and the print quality information received by the receiving means. Determining means for determining the print quality, and generating print data based on the print quality determined by the determining means when the determining means determines that no inconsistency has occurred. 1. A print control device comprising: 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the judgment by the judgment unit is made by comparison with a print quality that can be selected for each type of paper that is defined in advance. 3. The user is notified of the paper standard specified by the paper specifying unit and the print quality determined by the determining unit when the determining unit determines that the matching is achieved. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means. 4. A notification unit for notifying the user of the occurrence of the inconsistency when the determination unit determines that the inconsistency has occurred; The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second generation unit that generates print data based on the selected new print quality. 5. An image display device is further provided, and the notifying means displays an image of the paper standard and the print quality on the image display device, or an image indicating that the mismatch occurs. The print control device according to claim 3 or 4. 6. A voice output device is further provided, and the notifying unit outputs to the voice output device the paper standard and the print quality or a voice indicating that the mismatch occurs. The print control device according to claim 3 or 4. 7. The printing control device is included in a printing system including the printing device and a data processing device connected to the printing device via a communication medium, and the communication medium is configured by a parallel interface. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 8. The printing control device is included in a printing system including the printing device and a data processing device connected to the printing device via a communication medium, and the communication medium is configured by a serial interface. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 9. The printing control device is included in a printing system including the printing device and a data processing device connected to the printing device via a communication medium, and the data processing device is a personal computer. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 10. The print control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the paper specifying unit and the determining unit are included in the printing apparatus. 11. The print control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the paper specifying unit and the determining unit are included in the personal computer. 12. The printing control device is included in a printing system including the printing device and a data processing device connected to the printing device via a communication medium, and the data processing device is a digital camera. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 13. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standard of the sheet specified by the sheet specifying unit is the type of the sheet. 14. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standard of the sheet specified by the sheet specifying unit is the size of the sheet. 15. A correspondence table between a paper standard and a print quality is further provided, and the determining unit refers to the correspondence table to determine the print quality corresponding to the paper standard specified by the paper specifying unit. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein the print control device reads the data. 16. The print control apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the contents of the correspondence table can be updated by the user. 17. The print quality is determined by the determination means by performing a predetermined numerical operation based on the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying means.
The print control device described. 18. The print control apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the mathematical expression used for the predetermined numerical operation can be updated by the user. 19. A first determination mode for prioritizing print quality to determine print quality based on paper standards, and a second determination mode for prioritizing print speed based on paper standards. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the print quality in accordance with a determination mode selected by the user among the determination modes. 20. Standard information receiving means for receiving standard information selected by a user from a plurality of paper standards, standard information received by the standard information receiving means, and paper specified by the paper specifying means. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a warning unit that warns the user when a discrepancy occurs with the standard. 21. When the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying unit or the standard of the paper finally selected by the user is different from the standard of the paper set by the application, the user is notified to the user. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising warning means for issuing a warning. 22. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit is a pointing device or a keyboard. 23. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit is a voice input device. 24. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit includes an image display device and a designating unit that designates a predetermined image displayed on the image display device. 25. The first generation means selects image processing to be executed from a plurality of image processings based on the print quality determined by the determination means, and executes the image processing. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus. 26. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first generation unit sets the sheet conveyance amount based on the print quality determined by the determination unit. 27. The printing device is an ink jet printer, and the first generating unit determines the amount of ink to be ejected, the number of passes, based on the print quality determined by the determining unit.
The print control device according to claim 1, wherein a print direction is set. 28. The printing device is an electrophotographic printer, and the first generating unit sets a transfer voltage or a fixing temperature based on the print quality determined by the determining unit. The print control device according to claim 1. 29. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a paper discharge unit that discharges the conveyed paper when an instruction to stop printing is received from a user. 30. A print control method applied to a print control device that controls the operation of a printing device that conveys a sheet and prints on the sheet, wherein the characteristics of the sheet are detected during conveyance before the sheet is printed. A detection step for determining the print quality for the paper based on the standard of the paper based on the characteristics of the paper detected based on the characteristics detected by the detection step; A receiving step of receiving the print quality information selected by the user from among the predetermined print quality of, and a mismatch between the print quality determined by the determining step and the print quality information received by the receiving step. Determination step for determining whether or not there is an inconsistency, and if the determination step determines that no inconsistency has occurred, the determination step And a first generation step of generating print data based on the print quality determined by the print control. 31. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the judgment in the judgment step is made by comparison with a print quality selectable for each type of paper defined in advance. 32. When the judgment is made in the judgment step, the paper standard specified in the paper specification step and the print quality determined in the determination step are notified to the user. 31. The print control method according to claim 30, further comprising a notification step. 33. A notification step of notifying the user of the occurrence of inconsistency when it is determined by the determination step that the inconsistency has occurred; The printing control method according to claim 30, further comprising a second generation step of generating print data based on the selected new print quality. 34. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying step is the kind of the paper. 35. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying step is the size of the paper. 36. The print control device has a correspondence table between a paper standard and print quality, and the determining step refers to the correspondence table to determine the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying step. 31. The corresponding print quality is read out.
The print control method described. 37. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the determining step determines the print quality by performing a predetermined numerical calculation based on the standard of the sheet specified by the sheet specifying step. . 38. A first determination mode for prioritizing print quality to determine print quality based on paper standards, and a second determination mode for prioritizing print speed based on paper standards. 31. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the determining step determines the print quality according to a determination mode selected by a user among the determination modes. 39. A standard information receiving step of receiving standard information selected by a user from a plurality of standard sheets, standard information received by the standard information receiving step, and a sheet specified by the sheet specifying step. 31. The printing control method according to claim 30, further comprising a warning step of issuing a warning to the user when a discrepancy occurs with the standard. 40. If the standard of the paper specified by the paper specifying step or the standard of the paper finally selected by the user and the standard of the paper set by the application are different, 31. The printing control method according to claim 30, further comprising a warning step of issuing a warning. 41. The first generating step selects image processing to be executed from a plurality of image processing based on the print quality determined in the determining step, and executes the image processing. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein the print control method is a print control method. 42. The print control method according to claim 30, wherein in the first generating step, the carry amount of the sheet is set based on the print quality determined in the determining step. 43. The print control method according to claim 30, further comprising a paper discharge step of discharging the conveyed paper when an instruction to stop printing is received from a user. 44. A program for causing a computer to execute a print control method applied to a print control device that controls the operation of a printing device that conveys paper and prints on the paper, wherein the print control method comprises: A detection step of detecting characteristics of the paper during transportation before printing of the paper, a paper identification step of specifying the standard of the paper based on the characteristics detected by the detection step, and a standard of the paper A determining step for determining the print quality for the paper, a receiving step for receiving print quality information selected by a user from a plurality of predetermined print qualities, a printing quality determined by the determining step, and the receiving step. A determination step of determining whether or not there is a mismatch with the print quality information received by the determination step; If the inconsistency by-up is determined not occurred, the program characterized by having a first generation step of generating print data based on print quality, which is determined by said determining step. 45. The program according to claim 44, wherein the determination in the determination step is made by comparison with a print quality that can be selected for each type of paper defined in advance. 46. When the matching is determined in the determining step, the user is notified of the sheet standard specified in the sheet specifying step and the print quality determined in the determining step. The program according to claim 44, further comprising a notification step. 47. A notification step of notifying the user of the occurrence of the inconsistency when the print control method determines that the inconsistency has occurred in the determination step; and a notification in the notification step. The second generation step of generating print data based on a new print quality selected again by the user as a result of the above, and the program according to claim 44. 48. A computer-readable storage medium that stores as a program a print control method applied to a print control device that controls the operation of a printing device that conveys paper and prints on the paper. A control method, a detection step of detecting characteristics of the paper during conveyance before printing of the paper, a paper identification step of specifying a standard of the paper based on the characteristics detected by the detection step; A determination step of determining the print quality for the paper based on the standard of, a receiving step of receiving print quality information selected by the user from a plurality of predetermined print quality, and a print quality determined by the determination step. Judgment for judging whether or not there is a mismatch between the print quality information received by the receiving step and the print quality information And a first generation step of generating print data based on the print quality determined by the determination step when it is determined by the determination step that no inconsistency has occurred. Storage medium. 49. The storage medium according to claim 48, wherein the determination in the determination step is made by comparison with a print quality that can be selected for each type of paper defined in advance. 50. When the matching is determined by the determining step, the user is notified of the sheet standard specified by the sheet specifying step and the print quality determined by the determining step. 49. The storage medium according to claim 48, further comprising a notification step. 51. A notification step of notifying the user of the occurrence of the inconsistency when the print control method determines that the inconsistency has occurred in the determination step; and a notification in the notification step. 49. The storage medium according to claim 48, further comprising a second generation step of generating print data based on a new print quality selected again by the user. 52. A print control device for generating print data to be output to a printing device for printing on a sheet, wherein the standard of the sheet is specified based on characteristic information of the sheet detected during conveyance before printing of the sheet. Specifying means, a determining means for determining the print quality based on the standard of the paper specified by the specifying means, and a generating means for generating print data based on the print quality determined by the determining means. A print control device characterized by the above. 53. A print control method for generating print data to be output to a printing device for printing on a sheet, wherein the standard of the sheet is specified based on characteristic information of the sheet detected during conveyance before printing of the sheet. Based on the standard of the paper specified by the specific step and
A print control method comprising: a determination step of determining print quality, and a generation step of generating print data based on the print quality determined by the determination step. 54. A computer-readable program for generating print data to be output to a printing device for printing on a sheet, wherein the standard of the sheet is based on the characteristic information of the sheet detected during conveyance before printing of the sheet. Based on the standard of the paper specified by the specifying step and the specifying step,
A program comprising: a determination step of determining print quality, and a generation step of generating print data based on the print quality determined by the determination step.