JP2003334994A - Information processor, information processing method, printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time elapsing before obtaining print results by preventing calibration processing from being carried out following to print designation. <P>SOLUTION: A host 300 generates a print job which is transmitted through a bi-directional interface 320 to a printer 310 outputting print results by processing the print job received from the host. The host 300 comprises an application software registering section 301, an application software judging section 302, a calibration designating section 303, a color correction data storing section 304, a print designating section 305, a print data generating section 306, and a host transmitting/receiving section 307. The printer 310 comprises a calibration performing section 311, a color correction data generating section 312, a printer control section 313, a data print section 314, and a printer transmitting/receiving section 315. <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 an information processing apparatus (host computer), an information processing method, a printing apparatus (printer), and a printing method, and more specifically, printing using an information processing apparatus as a printing apparatus. The present invention relates to a control system, in particular, a method for correcting a print image by performing a calibration process, and a printing technique for bidirectionally transmitting and receiving data and status with a host computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing device such as a printer, it has been known that output characteristics change depending on use conditions such as room temperature and elapsed time, and as a result, the density or tint of a printed image changes. . For example, in an electrophotographic printer, if the printing operation is continuously performed for a relatively long time,
The charging characteristics of the photosensitive drums that make up the printing device may change, or the amount of toner that is fixed may change as the amount of toner decreases. It may differ after a certain time has passed from the start.

In an ink jet type printer, the temperature of the head may rise due to ink ejection due to continuous printing operation, and the ink ejection amount may increase.
In this case, the density of the printed image is high.

Conventionally, in response to such a change in output characteristics,
It is known to perform a calibration process on a printing device. As one method of calibration processing in a general print control system configured by connecting a host computer and a printer, a printer prints a specific patch or the like, and the color correction information obtained by measuring the patch is used by the host computer. It is known that a host computer updates a table relating to image processing such as gamma correction based on this, or selects an appropriate color correction table for processing.

Then, such a calibration process is executed, and the image is corrected by the correction data such as the obtained color correction table to generate the print data. As a result, the printing performed based on this print data is
The calibration information corresponds to the output characteristic when the calibration information is acquired, and an image having a predetermined optimum density or tint can be output.

[0006] Normally, this calibration process is such that a calibration request is issued immediately after power is turned on, input from various sensors and timers, a print execution instruction, a value of a print number counter, etc. What is performed after a lapse of time is known, and is performed by a printing device.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the calibration process performed on the printing apparatus takes a very long time. Therefore, if you actually try to output to the printing device and instruct to execute printing, the calibration process may start from that point. In this case, from instructing execution of printing to obtaining the print (output) result There was a problem that it took a very long time.

Therefore, application software that frequently executes printing is registered in advance on a host computer in a printing apparatus equipped with a calibration function, and the registered application software is activated. At this point, the printing (output) result is obtained by instructing the printing device to execute calibration, acquiring the color correction data in advance, and avoiding the calibration process after issuing the printing instruction. There has been a demand for the development of an information processing device and a printing device that can reduce the time required to obtain the information.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the calibration process from being performed after a print instruction is issued. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a printing apparatus, and a printing method capable of shortening the time required to obtain

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve such an object, the present invention according to claim 1 performs a correction process of a print image by performing a calibration process on a printing apparatus. In the information processing device to be executed, an application software registration means for registering a calibration execution instruction when the application software is activated, and a determination as to whether or not the application software is registered when the application software is activated Application software determination means, a calibration instruction means for instructing the printing apparatus to execute calibration, and a color for storing / holding the color correction data acquired from the printing apparatus by executing the calibration process. Correction data storage means and printing to instruct execution of printing Print data generation for generating an optimum print result in a printing device that executes printing based on the color correction data acquired from the printing device when printing is instructed by the indicating device and the print instructing device. And means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method in the information processing apparatus for executing the correction processing of the print image by performing the calibration processing to the printing apparatus, when the application software is activated. An application software registration step of registering a calibration execution instruction, an application software determination step of determining whether or not the application software is registered when the application software is activated, and a calibration process for the printing apparatus. A calibration instruction step for instructing to execute, a color correction data storage step for storing and retaining color correction data acquired from the printing device by performing calibration, and a print instruction for instructing execution of printing. Steps, A print data generation step of generating print data so that an optimum print result is obtained in the printing apparatus that executes printing based on the color correction data acquired from the printing apparatus when printing is instructed by the printing instruction step. Is characterized by.

The invention described in claim 3 is a program for executing each step described in claim 2 by using a computer.

The invention according to claim 4 is the same as claim 2
It is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the steps described in 1. is recorded.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus that executes correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing based on an instruction from the information processing apparatus, calibration that executes calibration processing. Execution unit, color correction data generation unit that generates color correction data when calibration is executed, printer control unit that controls the printing apparatus, and data printing unit that outputs the print data received from the information processing apparatus When,
It is characterized by having a printer transmitting / receiving means for exchanging data and commands between the information processing apparatus and the printing apparatus.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a calibration method is executed in a printing method in a printing apparatus that executes correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing based on an instruction from an information processing apparatus. Calibration execution step, a color correction data generation step for generating color correction data when the calibration is executed, a printer control step for controlling the printing apparatus, and print data received from the information processing apparatus. It is characterized by including a data printing step and a printer transmission / reception step for exchanging data and commands between the information processing apparatus and the printing apparatus.

The invention according to claim 7 is a program for executing the steps according to claim 6 by using a computer.

The invention according to claim 8 is the same as claim 6
It is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the steps described in 1. is recorded.

The invention described in claim 9 is the same as claim 1.
A print control system using the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 and the printing apparatus according to claim 5.

The invention according to claim 10 is a print control method characterized by using the information processing method according to claim 2 and the printing method according to claim 6.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, before describing the configuration of the print control system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of a laser beam printer as a printer applicable to the print control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. It is needless to say that the device used as the printer in the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the laser beam printer, and may be a printer of another printing method.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of a color laser beam printer applicable to the print control system of the present invention.

Reference numeral 100 in the figure denotes a color laser beam printer main body (hereinafter referred to as CLBP), which forms an image on print paper, which is a print medium, of print data developed and supplied by a connected host computer. Is. Reference numeral 104 is a controller unit of the entire CLBP 100. The controller unit 104 converts the print data received from the host computer into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the laser driver 110.

The laser driver 110 which receives the output of the video signal from the controller unit 104 switches the laser light 113 emitted from the semiconductor laser 111 on and off. The laser beam 113 is moved to the left and right according to the rotation of the rotating polygon mirror 112, and forms an electrostatic latent image of a print pattern on the electrostatic drum 121. The electrostatic drum 121 is preliminarily uniformly charged by the charging unit of the charging roller 122, and is partially discharged by laser light scanning to form an electrostatic latent image.

The electrostatic latent image rotates in the direction of the arrow while maintaining a predetermined fixed posture, and is sequentially abutted against cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K). ) Rotary developing units 124C, 124M, 124Y, 124
Developed by K. The developed four-color image is multiply transferred to the intermediate transfer member 145.

Cut sheet recording paper 135 is used as the recording paper. This cut sheet recording paper 135 is CLBP
The paper feed roller 148 loaded in the paper feed device 147 of 100
And is taken into the apparatus by the conveyance roller 149,
After a full-color image is formed by transferring from the intermediate transfer member 145, fixing is performed by the fixing roller 140 and the pressure roller 141, and the image formation is completed. The intermediate transfer body 145 is operated by a control signal 159 from the controller unit 104.
Controlled by 0.

Next, processing of image data in the controller unit 104 will be described. In the embodiment of the present invention, all the image data is processed as image data on the host computer which is a higher-level device, and the CLBP 100 is processed using a predetermined interface.
Transferred to. The image data at this time is image data of binary values of CMYK or more, and is compressed as necessary. The controller unit 104 expands the received image data and outputs it to the laser driver 110 as a pulse width modulation signal.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of a CLBP applicable to the print control system of the present invention and a host computer which is a host device connected to the CLBP.

In the host computer 3000, the program stored in the external storage device 42 is loaded into the RAM 2 and executed by the CPU 1. Such programs include a device driver that performs print processing and an application program that displays the status of the printing apparatus. In addition, the operating system,
An application program that executes document processing in which graphics, images, characters, tables (including spreadsheets, etc.) are mixed based on the document processing program and the like can be cited.

The CPU 1 executes these programs and controls the devices connected to the system bus 4 in a centralized manner. Further, the CPU 1 opens various windows registered on the basis of commands designated by a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 41 and executes various data processing.

The RAM 2 functions as a main memory, a work area, etc. of the CPU 1. A keyboard controller (KBC) 5 controls key inputs from the keyboard 40 and a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 6 controls the display of the CRT 41. A disk controller (DKC) 7 is an external device such as a hard disk (HDD), a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) or a CD-ROM that stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files and the like. It controls access to the storage device 42. A parallel input / output controller (PIOC) 9 is a bidirectional parallel interface 31.
The bidirectional communication control process with the CLBP 100 is executed via the.

When printing is performed, print data is created by the host computer 3000 and stored in the external storage device 42 as spool data. This spool data is CLBP via the parallel interface 31.
Sent to 100.

Although the transfer interface is the bidirectional parallel interface here, of course, it may be a USB interface or an IEEE 1394 interface.

The print data received by the CLBP 100 is sequentially sent to the RAM 24 according to the control processing of the CPU 21 and the control unit 22. In CPU21, ROM
The control program stored in 23 controls each device and the printing apparatus connected to the system bus 28.

The RAM 24 is a work area of the CPU 21 and a data reception buffer mainly for data, that is, a FIFO (First-First).
In First-Out method).

Reference numeral 22 is a control unit, which controls memory and bus arbitration. A printing unit input / output controller (printing unit IOC) 25 performs decompression of compressed data stored in the RAM 24, image processing, and the like by the control unit 22 and sequentially outputs the data to the printing unit 50 via the printing unit interface.

[Overall Configuration of Printing System] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of a host computer and a printer used in the printing control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Each block shown in FIG. 3 is a program ROM 3 of the host computer 300 shown in FIG. 2 and / or an external memory 42, and a program ROM 23 of the printer 100 and / or a program stored in advance in an external memory. CPU1 and 21 are RAM2 as required
And 24 and read and execute.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this print control system, a host computer (host) 300 creates a print job and sends the print job to a printer 310 via a bidirectional interface 320. Process the print job received from and output the print result.

The bidirectional interface 320 is
It is only necessary that data can be transferred between the host 300 and the printer 310.
It goes without saying that they may be directly connected by a cable or the like, or may be connected via a network such as a LAN.

Specifically, the host 30 as shown in FIG.
0 is from the application software registration unit 301, the application software determination unit 302, the calibration instruction unit 303, the color correction data storage unit 304, the print instruction unit 305, the print data generation unit 306, and the host transmission / reception unit 307. Become.

That is, according to the present invention, the application software for registering the calibration execution instruction when the application software is activated in the host 300 for executing the correction processing of the print image by performing the calibration processing for the printer 310. Registration unit 301,
An application software determination unit 302 that determines whether or not the application software is registered when the application software is activated, and a calibration instruction unit 303 that instructs the printer 310 to execute calibration. A color correction data storage unit 304 that stores and holds color correction data acquired from the printer 310 by executing the calibration process, and a print instruction unit 305 that instructs execution of printing.
Then, when the printing is instructed by the print instructing unit 305, the print data generating unit 306 that generates the print data based on the color correction data acquired from the printer 310 so as to obtain the optimum print result in the printer that executes the printing. It has and.

Further, the printer 310 as shown in FIG.
Includes a calibration execution unit 311, a color correction data generation unit 312, a printer control unit 313, a data printing unit 314, and a printer transmission / reception unit 315.

That is, according to the present invention, in the printer 310 that executes the correction process of the print image by performing the calibration process based on the instruction from the host 300, the calibration execution unit 311 that executes the calibration process, and the calibration execution unit 311. Color correction data generation unit 312 that generates color correction data when the application process is executed
And a printer control unit 313 that controls the printer 310.
A data printing unit 314 that outputs print data received from the host 300, and a printer transmission / reception unit 315 that exchanges data and commands between the host 300 and the printer 310.

First, the application software registration unit 30
No. 1 is registered so that the application software desired to be subjected to the calibration process with respect to the printer when the application software is activated can be specified.

The application software judging section 302
When some kind of application software is activated by the user, it is determined whether or not the application software is registered in the application software registration unit 301.

The calibration instruction section 301 issues an instruction to the printer to execute calibration. The color correction data storage unit 304 stores / holds the color correction data generated when the printer executes calibration.

The print instruction unit 305 gives an instruction to start generation of print data for executing printing. The print data generation unit 306 uses the color correction data to generate print data that is most suitable for the printer that executes printing. The host transmission / reception unit 307 is an I / F for exchanging data and commands between the host and the printer.

The calibration execution unit 311 executes the calibration process when the calibration instruction unit 303 issues a calibration request. The color correction data generation unit 312 generates color correction data including density data and the like necessary for optimum printing by the printer based on the result executed by the calibration execution unit 311.

The printer control section 313 controls the overall operation of the printer. The printer transmission / reception unit 315 is an I / F for exchanging data and commands between the host and the printer. The data printing unit 314 performs a printing operation when a print execution instruction is issued from the host.

The processing contents of the respective processing units have been described above, but a specific method of realizing the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. [First Embodiment] First, a method of registering application software to be registered in the application software registration unit 301 of the host 300 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an application software registration method that is registered in the application software registration unit of the host.

As shown in FIG. 5, information such as “application software name” 501, “module name” 502, and “application software version” 503 can be registered in the application software registration unit 301 and activated. Information that uniquely identifies the application software is registered.

The registered contents as shown in FIG. 5 are examples, and needless to say, other information may be used as long as the application software can be identified.

Next, the method of generating print data in this embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the application software is activated, the application software determination unit 302 determines whether or not the application software is registered in the application software registration unit 301 (steps S401 and S402).

Next, in step S402, if it is determined that the printer has been registered, the calibration instruction unit 307 instructs the printer to perform calibration even if the print execution instruction has not been issued. Is performed (step S403).

Next, when a calibration instruction is given in step S403, the calibration execution unit 311 on the printer starts the calibration process (step S404).

Next, in step S404, when the calibration process is executed, the color correction data generating unit 312 generates color correction data, and the color correction data storage unit 304 on the host stores and holds the color correction data. (Step S405).

Next, the user who wants to perform printing performs document creation processing by the started application software. If the document has already been created, this process is skipped (step S40).
6, step S407).

Next, in step S407, when the document creation by the application software is completed, the print instructing unit 3 prints the document.
A print instruction is given by 05 (step S40).
8).

Next, in step S408, when a print instruction is issued, the print data generation unit 306 uses the color correction data that has already been acquired in step S405 and is stored / held in the color correction data storage unit. The optimum print data for the printer that executes the printing is generated (step S409).

Steps S402 to S409 so far
To explain the series of steps up to, the execution of calibration and the acquisition of color correction data necessary for obtaining an optimum print result have been completed before a print execution instruction is given. Output results can be obtained without

Next, in step S402, when it is determined that "not registered", the user who wants to print performs document creation processing. If the document has already been created, this process is skipped (steps S410 and S41).
1).

Next, in step S411, when the document creation by the application software is completed, in order to print the document, the print instruction unit 3
A print instruction is given by 05 (step S41).
2).

Next, in step S412, when a print instruction is issued, the calibration instruction unit 303 does not instruct the printer to execute calibration until this time (step S413).

Next, when a calibration instruction is issued in step S413, the calibration execution unit 311 on the printer starts the calibration process (step S414).

Next, in step S414, when the calibration process is executed, the color correction data generation unit 312 generates color correction data, and the color correction data is stored / held in the color correction data storage unit 304 on the host. (Step S415).

Next, in step S415, when the acquisition of the color correction data is completed, the print data generation unit 306 generates the optimum print data for the printer that executes printing based on the acquired color correction data. (Step S416).

Steps S402 and S up to this point
Explaining a series of flow from 411 to S416, in this example, the calibration process is not executed until the print execution instruction is issued, and therefore, the calibration process is completed until the output result is obtained after the print execution. It has to be done, and it takes time until the output result is obtained.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the application software that frequently executes printing is registered in advance in the host computer in the printing apparatus equipped with the calibration function. When the registered application software is started, the printer is instructed to execute calibration, color correction data is acquired in advance, and the print instruction is given before the calibration process is performed. By avoiding the above, there is an effect that it is possible to shorten the time until the print (output) result is obtained.

[Second Embodiment] In the above-described first embodiment, the registration method by the application software registration unit 301 has been described as being performed manually, but for printers that require calibration processing. The present invention can be applied even if the application software that executes printing is used frequently (for example, determined by the number of times printing is used) so that automatic registration can be performed.

[Third Embodiment] The first and second embodiments described above.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the color correction data obtained by the calibration process is stored / saved on the host computer, and the print data is generated based on the color correction data. However, the present invention can be applied to a PDL type printing apparatus that mainly generates a print data on the printing apparatus and is based on a command.

In this case, the application software is started, and the application software determination unit 302
When it is determined whether the application software is registered in the application software registration unit 301, if it is a registered application, the calibration execution command is transmitted to the printer, so that it is possible to execute the calibration execution command rather than the printing execution. It is possible to generate color correction data in advance. As a result, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained.

[Other Embodiments] The object of the present invention is to
Storage medium (or recording medium) recording a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments
It is needless to say that it is also achieved by supplying the above to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer is executed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

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

When the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention, application software that frequently executes printing is registered in advance in a host computer for a printing apparatus equipped with a calibration function. , When the registered application software is activated, the printer is instructed to execute calibration and color correction data is acquired in advance.
By avoiding performing the calibration process after issuing the print instruction, it is possible to shorten the time until the print (output) result is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a laser printer as a printer applicable to a print control system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a host computer and a printer that can configure the print control system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a host computer and a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining processing in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of application software registration contents in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU 2 RAM 3 ROM 4 System Bus 5 Keyboard Controller 6 CRT Controller 7 Disk Controller 8 Controller 9 Parallel I / O Controller 21 CPU 22 Printer Controller 23 ROM 24 RAM 25 Printing Unit I / O Controller 26 Parallel I / O Controller 28 System Bus 31 bidirectional parallel interface 40 keyboard 41 CRT 42 external storage device 50 printing unit 100 CLBP main body 104 controller unit 110 laser driver 111 semiconductor laser 112 rotating polyhedral mirror 113 laser light 121 electrostatic drum 122 charging roller 124C, 124M, 124Y, 124K literary Developing unit 140 Fixing roller 141 Pressure roller 145 Intermediate transfer member 147 Paper feeding device 148 Paper feeding roller 149 Conveying roller 160 Intermediate transfer member control device 159 Control signal 300, 3000 Host computer 301 Application software registration unit 302 Application software determination unit 303 Calibration instruction unit 304 Color correction data storage unit 305 Print instruction unit 306 Print data generation unit 307 Host transmission / reception unit 310 Printer 311 Calibration Execution Unit 312 Color Correction Data Generation Unit 313 Printer Control Unit 314 Data Printing Unit 315 Printer Transmitter / Receiver Unit 320 Bidirectional Interface

Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C187 AC07 AE18 AF03 BF02 BF04                       GA01                 2H027 EB04 EC03 EC20 EE07 EE08                 2H300 EA12 EB02 EB08 EB12 EC04                       EC16 ED11 EF08 EG02 EH16                       EJ09 EJ15 EJ47 EK03 GG02                       GG09 GG12 QQ25 QQ34 RR21                       RR37 SS01 SS07 SS12 TT03                       TT04

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus that executes correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing to a printing apparatus, and application software registration means for registering a calibration execution instruction when application software is activated. An application software determining unit that determines whether or not the application software is registered when the application software is activated, and a calibration instructing unit that instructs the printing apparatus to execute calibration. By executing the calibration process, a color correction data storage unit that stores and holds the color correction data acquired from the printing apparatus, a print instruction unit that instructs execution of printing, and a print instruction unit that instructs printing. And the color correction obtained from the printing device. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a print data generating unit that generates print data so as to obtain an optimum print result in a printing apparatus that executes printing based on normal data. 2. An information processing method in an information processing apparatus for executing correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing to a printing apparatus, wherein an application for registering a calibration execution instruction when application software is activated. Software registration step, an application software determination step that determines whether or not the application software is registered when the application software is activated, and a calibration that instructs the printing apparatus to execute calibration. An instruction step, a color correction data storage step of storing and holding color correction data obtained from the printing device by executing the calibration process, a print instruction step of instructing execution of printing, and a print instruction step A printing data generation step of generating printing data so that an optimal printing result is obtained in the printing device which executes printing based on the color correction data acquired from the printing device when the printing is instructed. Information processing method. 3. A program for executing each step of claim 2 using a computer. 4. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing each step according to claim 2. 5. A printing apparatus that executes correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing based on an instruction from an information processing apparatus, calibration execution means for executing calibration processing, and calibration processing Color correction data generating means for generating color correction data in the case of printing, a printer control means for controlling the printing device, a data printing means for outputting the print data received from the information processing device, the information processing device and the printing device A printing apparatus comprising: a printer transmission / reception unit that exchanges data and commands between the printers. 6. A printing method in a printing apparatus, which executes correction processing of a print image by performing calibration processing based on an instruction from an information processing apparatus, comprising a calibration execution step of executing calibration processing, and a calibration execution step. A color correction data generation step for generating color correction data when the processing is executed, a printer control step for controlling the printing apparatus, a data printing step for outputting the print data received from the information processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus And a printer transmission / reception step for exchanging data and commands between the printing apparatus and the printing apparatus. 7. A program for executing each step according to claim 6 by using a computer. 8. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the steps of claim 6 is recorded. 9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A printing control system using the printing apparatus according to claim 5. 10. A print control method using the information processing method according to claim 2 and the printing method according to claim 6.