JP2003330670A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To configure a printing system for preventing the deterioration of print quality or the deterioration of efficiency at the time of executing load balance control for selecting a make-up device which instructs make-up in accordance with the condition of the make-up device. <P>SOLUTION: This printing system is provided with a plurality of CTP engines 5 to 8 and a CTP server 9 for successively distributing a plurality of prints to any of the CTP engines to make the CTP engine output the prints, and the CTP server is provided with a management information storing part 19 for storing management information for specifying the CTP engine for each space group configuring the same space. When the first print in the space group is outputted from any of the CTP engines, the CTP engines is registered in the management information so as to be made to correspond to the space group, and when the residual prints belonging to the space group are to be outputted, the corresponding CTP engines is selected based on the management information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing system provided with a plurality of plate-making devices for producing a printing plate used in a printing device, and a control device for sequentially distributing the plurality of plates to any one of the plate-making devices and outputting them. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of printing, CT is used to directly create a printing plate from image information on a paper surface created through editing and composition.
The P system is the mainstream. Particularly in a large-scale CTP system such as newspaper printing, a plurality of CTP output devices (plate-making devices) are provided, and when a rotary press is specified according to the paper to be printed, the specifications of the rotary press are met. A CTP output device capable of producing a printing plate is selected. In this case, there are a configuration in which one CTP output device corresponds to one rotary press and a configuration in which a plurality of CTP output devices correspond to one rotary press. In a configuration in which a plurality of CTP output devices correspond to each other, In order to increase the operating rate of the CTP output device, it is desirable to perform load balance control for selecting the CTP output device in consideration of the availability and waiting time.

[0003]

However, in the configuration in which one CTP output device is associated with one rotary press, the CT
If the P output device cannot be used due to a failure, etc., another CT
Since the P output device cannot cope with the problem, there is an inconvenience that the plate making operation is stopped.

On the other hand, a plurality of CTs are provided on one rotary press.
With the configuration corresponding to the P output device, even if one CTP output device becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, it is sufficient to perform plate making with the remaining CTP output devices, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which the plate making work is stopped. However, in the system having such a configuration, when load balance control is performed by simply selecting a CTP output device having a long waiting time, a plurality of differently colored plates forming the same color paper surface are different from each other.
It may be output by the TP output device. In this case, CT
There is an inconvenience that a color shift occurs due to a difference in recording accuracy between P output devices. This can be avoided by the operation of the operator who designates the CTP output device when outputting the plate for color paper, but the operator's work load is large, and it becomes a factor that significantly reduces the plate making efficiency.

The present invention has been devised in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
In order to provide a printing system capable of proceeding with plate making work even when the plate making device has become unusable due to a failure, and secondly, a plate making device for instructing plate making according to the state of the plate making device. It is to configure the printing system so as not to cause deterioration of print image quality and efficiency when performing load balance control for selecting.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 1, the configuration of a printing system includes a plurality of printing devices and a plate used in the printing devices. It has a plurality of plate-making devices to be created and a control device for sequentially allocating and outputting the plurality of plates to any one of the plate-making devices. The control device is a standard plate-making device corresponding to each printing device and an alternative plate-making device. Management information storage means for storing management information for specifying is provided, and when the standard plate making apparatus is unusable, an alternative plate making apparatus is selected to instruct the plate making. According to this, even when the standard plate-making apparatus becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, the plate-making work can be advanced by the alternative plate-making apparatus, and the stability of the system can be enhanced.

Further, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 2, there are provided a plurality of plate making apparatuses and a control device for sequentially distributing the plurality of plates to any one of the plate making apparatuses and outputting them. The control devices are the same. When the first plate in the paper group is output by any of the plate making devices, the plate making device It is assumed that the corresponding plate making apparatus is selected based on the management information when it is registered in the management information in association with the paper group and thereafter the remaining plates belonging to the paper group are output targets.
According to this, when one paper surface is composed of a plurality of plates such as a color paper surface or a spot paper surface, the plates that compose the same paper surface are output by the same plate making device, so that color misregistration should be avoided. You can

In the printing system according to the second aspect, as described in the third aspect, the control device manages when a plate that does not belong to a paper group whose plate information is registered in the management information is an output target. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the plate-making apparatus for which all the plates of the paper group registered in the information have not been completed are excluded from the selection targets. According to this, since it is output first in the paper group, when a plate that belongs to a paper group that has not been registered as a plate making device or a single plate for monochrome paper that does not form a paper group is output. Excludes plate-making devices for which all the plates of the registered paper group have not been completed from the selection target, so that the plate-making device leaves the corresponding plate-making device empty in preparation for the output of the plates belonging to the registered paper group. Therefore, the remaining plates belonging to the registered paper group can be quickly produced.

In the printing system according to the second aspect, as described in the fourth aspect, the control device outputs a part of the plate, the plate making device is registered in the management information, and the part of the plate is printed. The number of non-output paper groups is counted to obtain the number of non-output groups for each plate making device, and the number of non-output groups is small when the plates that do not belong to the paper group with the registration of the plate making device are output targets. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the plate making device is selected with priority. According to this, it is possible to prevent the paper surface group from being biasedly registered in some of the plate making apparatuses.

In the present invention, as described in claim 5, a dual-use plate making apparatus capable of making both a first size plate and a second size plate different in size from the first size plate, and a second plate making device. A plate making apparatus dedicated to the first size, in which a plate of a size cannot be made, and a control device for sequentially distributing and outputting a plurality of plates to any one of the plate making devices.
When the size of the plate is to be output, the plate making apparatus dedicated to the first size is preferentially selected. According to this, the plate making apparatus for both purposes can be left empty in preparation for the plate making of the second size plate, and the plate making of the second size plate can be performed quickly. It should be noted that the second plate making apparatus, which cannot make a plate of the second size, cannot make a plate due to the limitation of the transporting device that connects the plate making apparatus and the printing apparatus, in addition to the case where the plate making cannot be made due to its own specifications. The case is also included. Also, the first
A configuration in which a plurality of second plate-making devices are provided is also possible.

Further, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 6, there is provided a plurality of plate making apparatuses and a control device for sequentially distributing the plurality of plates to any one of the plate making apparatuses and outputting the plates. In order to specify one plate-making apparatus that instructs the process, a selection process for selecting one that satisfies a predetermined condition from a plurality of plate-making apparatuses is executed step by step. A management information storage means for storing management information regarding necessity of execution by designation is provided, and only the selection process designated by the user is executed based on this management information. According to this, the user can appropriately select the selection process to be executed, and the load balance control suitable for the user environment becomes possible.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The configuration of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of a printing system according to the present invention. This printing system includes a plurality of rotary presses (printing apparatuses) 1 to 4, a plurality of CTP engines (plate making apparatuses) 5 to 8 for making plates used by the rotary presses 1 to 4, and a plurality of CTP engines for sequentially printing CTPs. It is provided with a CTP server (control device) 9 for distributing and outputting to any of the engines 5 to 8. The CTP server 9 stores plate-making data created by inputting a desired image with the image input devices 11 to 13, and while monitoring the free state of the CTP engines 5 to 8, the appropriate CTP engine 5 to 8 is selected to send plate-making data to the corresponding CTP control units 14 to 17 to instruct output. The plate after plate making obtained by the CTP engines 5 to 8 is sent to the rotary presses 1 to 4 via the conveyer 18 and printing is performed.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show examples of the management table for selecting the CTP engine in the printing system shown in FIG. This management table shows the correspondence between the CTP engine and the rotary press, and the CTP engine suitable for each rotary press is set. When instructing the CTP engine to make a plate from the CTP server, first, a rotary press suitable for the paper surface to be output is specified, and then a CTP engine suitable for the rotary press based on the management table (○ in the figure). (Indicated by) are selected. For rotary presses, the convenience of the installation floor, the convenience of the configuration of the conveyor,
C cannot be combined due to reasons such as differences in manufacturers
There is a TP engine, and a management table is used to prevent such an incorrect CTP engine from being selected.

In the management table shown in FIG. 2, a standard CTP engine corresponding to a rotary press (denoted by a circle in the figure) and an alternative CTP engine selected instead when the CTP engine cannot be used due to a failure or the like. ("1", "2" in the figure
(Indicated by) are set with a priority. In this management table, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the rotary press and the standard CTP engine, and when the rotary press is designated, the standard CTP engine corresponding to this is selected.
If this standard CTP engine cannot be used due to a failure or the like, the first alternative CTP engine (the one indicated by "1" in the figure) is first selected, and if this is not available, the second alternative CTP engine is selected. The CTP engine (indicated by "2" in the figure) is selected.

In the management table shown in FIG. 3, similar to the management table shown in FIG. 2, a standard CTP engine (shown by ◯ in the figure) and an alternative CTP engine (shown by ▲ in the figure). ) And are set here, one alternative CTP engine is set for each web press here.

In the management table shown in FIG. 4, unlike the above-mentioned management table, a plurality of CTP engines suitable for each rotary press are set regardless of standard or alternative. For example, the first, second, and third CTP engines are rotary press A.
B, and the second, third, and fourth CTP engines correspond to rotary presses C and D. As shown in FIG. 1, a first platemaking group 21 and a second platemaking group 22 are provided. Are grouped into. When this management table is used, one of the CTP engines in the platemaking group corresponding to the rotary press that is suitable for the paper surface to be output is specified.
One of them is selected to instruct the plate making, and the load balance control as shown below is performed here.

FIG. 5 shows an outline of the load balance control performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. Since the CTP server narrows down the CTP engine for instructing plate making to one, a plurality of selection processes for selecting a CTP engine satisfying a predetermined condition from a plurality of CTP engines are executed step by step, and this selection process has priority. From highest to lowest,
There are a non-output group averaging process, a 1W version idle device priority process, a group non-output device exclusion process, a 1W version dedicated device priority process, and a waiting time averaging process. Here, CTP is used in the higher-level processing.
When one engine is not specified, the lower processing is executed, and finally, in the lowest waiting time averaging processing, the CTP engine having the longest waiting time is specified.

FIG. 6 shows a procedure for selecting and specifying the processing items to be executed by the load balance control shown in FIG.
In the CTP server, as shown in FIG. 1, the management information storage unit 19 stores management information regarding necessity of execution by a user's designation for a plurality of selection process items, and based on this management information, selection by a user's designation is performed. Only the processing is executed. Here, it is possible to specify valid / invalid for each processing item except waiting time averaging processing. Among these, non-output group averaging processing, group non-output machine exclusion processing, and 1W version dedicated machine priority processing are available. It is set to run.

FIG. 7 shows an outline of the 1W version dedicated machine priority processing performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. In this printing system, a 1W plate for printing a normal size (first size) paper surface and a 2W plate for printing a double width size (second size) paper surface are used. . Also, CT capable of making both 1W and 2W plates
The P engine (dual-use plate-making device) and the CTP engine (plate-making device dedicated to the first size) capable of making the 1W plate and not capable of making the 2W plate are mixed. In such a case, the 1W version dedicated machine priority process is performed, and when the output target is the 1W version, the CTP engine that cannot make the 2W version is preferentially selected.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the carrier 18 is the first C
Since the plate discharge portion of the TP engine 5 does not have the carrying capacity of the 2W plate, the first CTP engine 5 has 2W
It is a dedicated 1W version machine that can not make a plate, on the other hand,
The second and third CTP engines 6 and 7 are dual-purpose machines that are capable of plate making both the 1W plate and the 2W plate, without any restrictions imposed by the carrier machine 18. Here, the first and second CTP engines 5 and 5 are used.・ If 6 is empty and output target is 1W version, 2W
The unprintable first CTP engine 5 is selected.

FIG. 8 shows an outline of the group unfinished machine exclusion process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. C
In the TP server, the management information storage unit 19 shown in FIG.
The management information for identifying the CTP engine is stored for each paper group that forms the same paper surface, and when the first version in the paper group is output by one of the CTP engines, the CTP engine is associated with the paper group. Registered in the management information in accordance with the management information.
The engine is selected.

Specifically, a common group number is given to a plurality of plates (C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) plates constituting the same color paper surface. The CTP engine identification information to be output is registered for each group number. When a plate constituting one color page is output by any CTP engine, the identification information of the CTP engine is stored in association with the group number of the page group to which the output plate belongs, and the page group is stored. The CTP engine corresponding to the group number is selected at the time of outputting the remaining versions belonging to.

A version that does not belong to a paper group with a CTP engine registration, that is, the first output in the paper surface group, does not constitute a plate or a paper surface group that belongs to a paper surface group that has not yet been registered with the CTP engine. When the plate for monochrome paper (P plate) is the output target, the CTP engine in which all the plates of the registered paper group have not been completed is excluded from the selection target. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the second and third CTP engines 6 and 7 are idle and the second CTP engine 6 is in the waiting state for the Y and M versions that have not been output, , The third CT
The P engine 7 is selected. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, the second C in the waiting state for the Y and M versions that have not been output yet.
When only the TP engine 6 is empty, this second CTP engine 6 is selected. Although the spot paper surface (S plate) is different from the normal color paper surface, since a plurality of plates are used, the CTP engine is registered as a component of the paper surface group.

FIG. 9 shows an outline of the non-output group averaging process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. In the non-output group averaging process, some versions have already been output by the CTP engine, the CTP engine is registered in the management information, and some versions have not yet been output. The number of non-output groups) is acquired for each CTP engine, and when a plate that does not belong to the paper group in which the CTP engine is registered is used for plate making, the
A TP engine is selected. Here, since the K plate that composes the article sentence is output last in the plate-making data of the color paper, it is possible to determine that all the plates in the paper group have been output by the output of this K plate. , C, M,
When either the Y version or the S version is output, the K version waiting number is incremented by 1, and when the corresponding K version is output, the K version waiting number is decremented by 1.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, as shown in FIG.
When the output target is the C plate belonging to the paper group without the registration of the CTP engine, the second and third CTPs in the empty state
Comparing the K version waiting numbers of the engines 6 and 7, the third CTP engine 7 with a smaller number is selected, and the K version waiting number is 1
It is incremented to 1. Next, as shown in (B), when the output target is the K plate belonging to the paper group in which the first CTP engine 5 is registered, the first CTP engine 5 is selected, and the K plate waiting number is set. Decremented by 1 to 0. Next, as shown in (C), when the output target is the K plate belonging to the paper group in which the second CTP engine 6 is registered,
The second CTP engine 6 is selected, and the K version waiting number is decremented by 1 to 1. Next, as shown in (D), when the output target is the C plate belonging to the paper group in which the CTP engine is not registered, the K plate waiting numbers of the CTP engines are compared with each other, and the first CTP engine 5 having the smaller number Is selected, and the K version waiting number is incremented by 1 to 1. In this way, the number of waits for each K version of the first, second, and third CTP engines are all equal, and it is possible to avoid biasing the paper group to some CTP engines.

FIG. 10 shows an outline of the 1W version idle machine priority processing performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. 1W
In the empty machine priority processing, the output target is the 1W version and the 1W version 1
When there is a CTP engine with one free space, that CTP engine is preferentially selected. Here, the second and third CTP engines 6 and 7 are in an empty state, and the second CTP engine 6 has an empty space for two 1W versions.
The CTP engine 7 has a free space for one 1W version. Here, if the output target is the 1W version, the third CTP engine 7 having a space for one 1W version is selected. As a result, the second CTP engine 6 can be left free in preparation for the 2W plate, and the 2W plate can be rapidly produced.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the load balance control process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. First, in step 1, a rotary press suitable for the plate to be output is designated, and the CT corresponding to the designated rotary press is designated.
The P engine is extracted based on the management table shown in FIG. And CT that can be selected based on the extraction result
A selectable list listing P engines is created. Next, in step 2, a CTP engine that matches the plate size of the plate to be output is extracted from the selectable list, and the selectable list is updated based on the extraction result. Further, in step 3, an empty CTP engine is extracted from the selectable list and the selectable list is updated.

Next, at step 4, a judgment is made based on the selectable list, and the selectable number of CTP engines becomes 0, that is, when there is no suitable CTP engine, the output waiting state is entered. Also, the selectable number is 1,
That is, if one CTP engine can be specified, the corresponding CTP engine is designated and the output process is started. On the other hand, when the selectable number of CTP engines exceeds 1, that is, when there are a plurality of selectable CTP engines, the process proceeds to step 5, and the plurality of selection processes shown in FIG. 5 are executed step by step according to the priority order. .

In step 5, the non-output group averaging process is performed, and if the plates belonging to the paper group in which the CTP engine is registered are output targets, the registered CTs are registered.
If the P engine is selected and a version that does not belong to the paper group in which the CTP engine is registered is the output target, the CTP engine with a small number of K version waits (the number of unoutput groups) is selected, and based on this processing result. The selectable list is updated. When it is determined in step 6 that one CTP engine is specified, the process proceeds to output processing, and when it is determined that there are a plurality of selectable CTP engines, the process proceeds to next step 7.

In step 7, the 1W version empty machine priority process is performed, and when the output target is the 1W version, there is an empty 1W version C
The TP engine is preferentially selected, and the selectable list is updated based on the processing result. When it is determined in step 8 that one CTP engine is specified, the output process is started. When it is determined that there are a plurality of selectable CTP engines, the process proceeds to the next step 9. In addition,
CT that can be selected in the 1W version idle machine priority processing in step 7
If there are no P engines, the selectable list is not updated.

In step 9, the group unfinished machine exclusion process is performed, and when a version that does not belong to the paper group in which the CTP engine is registered is the output target, all the plates in the registered paper group have not been completed. Is excluded from the selection target, and the selectable list is updated based on the processing result. When it is determined in step 10 that one CTP engine has been specified, the process proceeds to output processing, and when it is determined that there are a plurality of selectable CTP engines, the process proceeds to the next step 11. Note that if there are no CTP engines that can be selected in the group unfinished machine exclusion processing in step 9, the selectable list is not updated.

In step 11, priority processing for the 1W version is performed, and when the output target is the 1W version, the CTP for the 1W version is used.
The engine is selected, and the selectable list is updated based on the processing result. If it is determined in step 12 that one CTP engine has been specified, the process proceeds to output processing, and if it is determined that there are a plurality of selectable CTP engines, the process proceeds to step 13. In step 13, waiting time averaging processing is performed, the final output times of the CTP engines are compared, and the CT of the final output time is the oldest.
P engine is selected. As a result, one CTP engine is specified and the output process is started.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the standard plate-making apparatus becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, the system can be configured by selecting an alternative plate-making apparatus according to preset management information. Plate-making work can proceed without stopping, which is a great advantage in constructing a stable system. Further, since the plates that make up the same paper surface are output by the same plate-making device, it is possible to avoid the color misregistration caused by the difference of the plate-making devices, and it is possible to obtain a remarkable effect in improving the print quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for selecting a CTP engine in the printing system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for selecting a CTP engine in the printing system shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for selecting a CTP engine in the printing system shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing an outline of load balance control performed by the CTP server shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a procedure for selecting and specifying processing items to be executed by the load balance control shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of 1W version dedicated device priority processing performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. 1.

8 is a diagram showing an outline of a group unfinished device exclusion process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. 1;

9 is a diagram showing an outline of a non-output group averaging process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of 1W version idle machine priority processing performed by the CTP server shown in FIG. 1;

11 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a load balance control process performed by the CTP server shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 to 4 rotary press (printing device) 5-8 CTP engine (plate making equipment) 9 CTP server (control device) 11-13 Image input device 18 carrier 19 Management Information Storage Unit (Management Information Storage Means) 21.22 Platemaking group

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus comprising: a plurality of printing apparatuses; a plurality of plate making apparatuses for making a plate to be used by the printing apparatus; and a control apparatus for sequentially allocating and outputting the plurality of plates to any one of the plate making apparatuses, The control device includes a management information storage unit that stores management information for designating a standard plate making device corresponding to each of the printing devices and an alternative plate making device, and if the standard plate making device cannot be used, the alternative A printing system characterized by selecting a plate-making device and instructing plate-making. 2. A plurality of plate making devices and a control device for sequentially outputting the plurality of plates to any one of the plate making devices, the control device comprising: a control device for each paper surface group forming the same paper surface; Management information storage means for storing management information for specifying a plate making device is provided, and when the first plate in the paper surface group is output by any of the plate making devices, the plate making device is associated with the paper surface group and the management is performed. A printing system, wherein the corresponding plate making apparatus is selected based on the management information when the remaining plates belonging to the paper group are to be output, after being registered in the information. 3. The control device terminates all the plates of the paper surface group registered in the management information when a plate which does not belong to the paper surface group registered in the management information as the plate making device is output. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein a plate-making apparatus that is not included is excluded from selection targets. 4. The plate making apparatus counts the number of paper groups in which some plates have already been output, the plate making apparatus is registered in the management information, and some plates have not been output. Obtaining the number of non-output groups for each device, and when a plate that does not belong to the paper group with the registration of the plate-making device is the output target, preferentially select the plate-making device with a small number of the non-output groups. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the printing system is a printing system. 5. A dual-use plate making apparatus capable of making both a first size plate and a second size plate having a size different from that of the first size plate, and a first plate making device which cannot make a plate of the second size plate. And a control device for sequentially distributing a plurality of plates to any one of the plate making devices and outputting the same. When the plate of the first size is an output target, the control device is provided. The printing system, wherein the plate making apparatus dedicated to the first size is selected with priority. 6. A plurality of plate making devices and a control device for sequentially distributing and outputting the plurality of plates to any one of the plate making devices, wherein the control device has one plate making device for instructing plate making. In order to specify, a plurality of selection processes for selecting ones satisfying a predetermined condition from a plurality of the plate making devices are executed step by step, and management regarding the necessity of execution by the user's specification for the plurality of selection processes is performed. A printing system comprising a management information storage unit for storing information, and performing only the selection process designated by the user based on the management information.