JP2004188775A - Batch printing method for plurality of images and image printing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method allowing to easily set, confirm and change a plurality of printing conditions or respective images during the batch printing of a plurality of the images. <P>SOLUTION: This image printing equipment is equipped with an image controlling means for controlling an input digital image, a printing condition controlling means for controlling the printing conditions of digital images irrespective of every image, a printing condition controlling means for executing the setting of the printing conditions controlled by the printing condition controlling means by a cell type form and a printing controlling means for printing on the basis of the printing conditions controlled by the printing condition controlling means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus capable of printing an image input from a digital camera, a flatbed scanner, a film scanner, and the like, and particularly to a printing condition setting method and an image printing apparatus when batch printing image data. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras, the environment for outputting digital images has been improved, and the need for easy printing has been increasing as in silver halide photography. Even mini lab stores that conventionally print silver halide photographs have rapidly increased the number of stores that provide digital photo print services by replacing equipment for digital images.
[0003]
Against this background, how to efficiently output a digital image, which is a new input data source, has become a major issue in store operations. In the conventional digital photo service, a high value-added print service using a small number of image data and utilizing an image editing function has been mainstream. For this reason, it cannot be said that the efficiency is high in terms of the printing operation when the number of images increases.
[0004]
For example, a conventional digital image printing procedure is as follows. First, a digital image is input from a medium such as a memory card. Next, the number of prints and trimming are set for each image. Next, printing was performed by setting the printing paper size and printing position. Normally, the number of prints and trimming are individually set for each image, and the print paper size and print position are collectively set as common settings. Further, when it is desired to change the print size or the trimming of the same image and print the same image, the printing condition of the same image is changed and output is performed each time.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the printing method setting and printing method according to the conventional method, it is difficult to understand the operability whether the printing condition setting for each image is for each image or common and collective setting. Further, there is a disadvantage that the setting state for each image is difficult to understand at a glance. Further, when it is desired to output the same image in different sizes, it is necessary to perform the print setting and the output operation a plurality of times, which is not an efficient operation.
[0006]
In store operations such as minilab stores, a decrease in operating efficiency is directly reflected in labor costs, which leads to a decrease in profits. If a large amount of images needs to be promptly processed as a business flow, the effect is even greater. For this reason, even in a simple operation, efficient operation and simplification of a processing procedure have been desired.
[0007]
In view of the above problems, the present invention makes it possible to easily confirm what kind of printing conditions have been set, at a glance of the printing condition setting list, and to set the printing conditions for each image and collectively, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple image batch printing method and an image printing apparatus capable of easily setting a plurality of printing conditions even for each image.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A multiple image batch printing method and an image printing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-described problems are a multiple image batch printing method of digital image data, and an image management step of managing an input digital image; A printing condition management step of managing printing conditions irrespective of each image; a printing condition control step of setting the printing conditions managed by the printing condition management step in a matrix cell type format; and the printing condition management. A printing control step of performing printing based on printing conditions managed by the steps. Alternatively, an image printing device for digital image data, wherein the image management unit manages the input digital image, the printing condition management unit manages the printing conditions of the digital image regardless of each image, and the printing condition management unit A print condition control unit configured to set the print conditions to be managed in a matrix cell type format; and a print control unit configured to perform printing based on the print conditions managed by the print condition management unit. I do.
[0009]
According to the multiple image batch printing method and the image printing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to set and output the printing conditions of a plurality of images by an easy operation. Furthermore, a plurality of print settings can be made for a single image under a uniform operation, so that operability can be improved.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a method of printing a plurality of images at once and an image printing apparatus showing the features of the present invention. Reference numeral 101 denotes an image management unit that manages digital images input from a digital camera, a flatbed scanner, or a film scanner. Reference numeral 102 denotes a printing condition management unit that manages the setting of printing conditions when printing an image managed by the image management unit 101. The printing conditions include the file name of the target image, the number of prints, the trimming information, the print paper size, the method of embedding the trimmed area in the printable paper printable area, automatic image correction On / Off, black and white, and sepia processing. There is image correction information. A print control unit 103 controls output such as layout and image correction based on print conditions managed by the print condition management unit 102. Reference numeral 104 denotes a printing condition control unit serving as a user interface with an operator for controlling setting of printing conditions managed by the printing condition management unit 102 based on image data managed by the image management unit 101.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 201 is a central processing unit (CPU) for calculation and control. A ROM 202 stores programs for image input, image management, print condition management, print condition control, and print control. Reference numeral 203 denotes a RAM that secures an execution area where the program is loaded and a work area of the program when the image input, image management, print condition management, print condition control, and print control program are executed. Reference numeral 204 denotes a keyboard having keys for an operator to perform operations and data input. Reference numeral 205 denotes a pointing device such as a mouse for instructing an operation by clicking an instruction icon displayed on a 206 display or moving a cursor. A storage device (hard disk) 207 stores image data, print condition data, a program, or print spool data. Reference numeral 208 denotes a removable medium such as a floppy disk or a magneto-optical disk (MO) in which data exchange with an external image processing apparatus and image data and programs are stored. Reference numeral 209 denotes a printing apparatus (printer) that sets printing conditions and outputs image data that has been subjected to printing control. Reference numeral 210 denotes a digital image input device such as a flatbed scanner, a film scanner, or a digital camera for inputting a digital image. Reference numeral 211 denotes a bus to which each device in the printing apparatus is connected.
[0013]
FIG. 3 shows a display example of a user interface when the printing condition control means 102 is displayed by the image printing program to which the configuration of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied. Reference numeral 301 denotes an input image managed by the image management unit 101; 302, the number of prints; 303, a trimming state; and 304, style information on how to embed the trimmed data on a sheet. For example, in the case of "Fill", the trimming data is embedded so that there is no gap in the entire printable area of the paper, and in the case of "Fit", all of the trimming data is embedded so as to fall within the printable area of the paper. Reference numeral 305 denotes the size of the paper to be printed, 306 denotes whether or not to perform automatic correction, black-and-white or sepia processing, and 307 denotes a print preview including the printing paper when trimming data and paper size are applied.
[0014]
FIG. 4 shows a processing flow of an image printing program to which the configuration of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied. When the program is started (step 401), image data on a digital camera, flatbed scanner, film scanner, or hard disk is input (step 402). In step 403, the print condition control unit 104 and the print condition setting screen of the user interface shown in FIG. 3 are displayed, and the print condition setting from the operator is received. When the setting is completed (step 404), printing is executed by a trigger from the operator (step 405). If the processing is to be ended as it is (step 406), the program ends (step 407). If the process is not to be terminated (step 406), the next data is read (step 402), and the printing process is continued.
[0015]
FIG. 5 shows an operation example in a case where print conditions are set collectively for a plurality of images. When the item of "number of prints" is selected in the state of 501, all the cells in the number of prints column are selected. In this state, if the number of cells at one location is changed to “2”, the number of prints of all currently selected cells is changed to “2”. Alternatively, when the item “size” is selected, all cells in the size column are in a selected state. In this state, when the size of one cell is changed to “L”, all the cells in the size column are changed to “L”. The same applies to the change of each column of “trimming”, “style”, and “correction” shown in FIG.
[0016]
FIG. 6 shows an operation example when a plurality of print settings of one image are set. Reference numeral 601 denotes an example in a case where an image of a printing condition serving as a base for copying a print setting is selected, and an image row is in a selected state. In this state, for example, by performing a “copy”-> “paste” command operation from a menu or a keyboard, a state like 602 is obtained, and print information is added. Reference numeral 602 denotes an example in the case where the original size “L” is corrected to “2L”. By this operation, a plurality of print settings have been made for a single image. If the "copy"->"paste" operation remains, the same output as in the case of two prints is obtained. In order to indicate that the printing conditions are duplicated for a single image, the image display is thinned as indicated by 603. Alternatively, the reference image is a reference image such as “a.jpg-link”.
[0017]
FIG. 7 shows an operation example when only the print conditions of the selected print job are changed. The state 701 is an example in the case where the selection check 702 is performed. In this example, a. jpg, b. jpg image printing condition is in a selected state. When the size column is selected in the state of 701, a. jpg, b. Only the size cell of jpg is in the selected state. If the size cell is changed in this state, the selected size cell is simultaneously changed to “2L” or the like (703). Of course, it is also possible to select a single cell and change its size as in 704.
[0018]
FIG. 8 shows a display example when it is selected not to print the input image 801 “b.jpg” image.
[0019]
FIG. 9 shows an example in which a printing condition using a plurality of images newly, for example, a printing condition of the index print 901 is added as the printing condition. Printing conditions can be set at the same level as in normal image printing, and the number of prints and paper size can be similarly changed by the operations used in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Further, in this case, the trimming and the image correction are not set in the index print, but the settings performed on the original image may be applied, or default settings specific to the index print may be used.
[0020]
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus including a single device. For example, the printing function of an image editing application executed on a PC corresponds to a printing unit of a digital lab system that performs digital printing, a printing unit of a self-printing machine that performs digital self-printing, or a network. It may be an available image printing service on the WWW.
[0021]
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading out a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into a system or an apparatus, the system or the apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, the program modules shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 are stored in the ROM 202 of FIG. The storage medium for supplying the program is not limited to the ROM, and for example, a floppy (R) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, or the like is used. be able to.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the multiple image batch printing method and the image printing apparatus according to the present invention, the operator can easily set and confirm the printing conditions when printing an image. Further, since a plurality of print settings can be made for a single image, and the print settings such as an index can be made simultaneously at the same time, simple print processing for a plurality of images can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a multiple image batch printing method showing the features of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a user interface displayed by a print processing program to which a multiple image batch printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of printing a plurality of images at once according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for setting printing conditions collectively according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an operation example when a plurality of print settings of one image are set according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an operation example in the case of changing only selected printing conditions according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a display example when it is selected not to print an input image according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a case where a printing condition using a plurality of images is added according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

There is a batch printing method for multiple images of digital image data.
An image management process for managing the input digital image;
A printing condition management step of managing the printing conditions of the digital image regardless of the image,
A print condition control step of setting the print conditions managed by the print condition management step in a cell type format of a matrix,
A printing control step of performing printing based on the printing conditions managed by the printing condition management step. A printing condition management step for managing printing conditions irrespective of each image shown in claim 1 includes:
A method for batch printing a plurality of images, wherein an image and a printing condition for referring to the images or referring to the plurality of images can be managed. The print setting control step of setting in a matrix cell type format according to claim 1 includes:
A batch printing method for a plurality of images, wherein printing conditions can be changed collectively. The print setting control step of setting in a matrix cell type format according to claim 1 includes:
A batch printing method for a plurality of images, wherein only printing conditions of a selected print job can be changed at a time. The print setting control step of setting in a matrix cell type format according to claim 1 includes:
A method of printing a plurality of images at a time, wherein a print job of a reference image can be displayed. A printing device for digital image data,
Image management means for managing the input digital image;
Printing condition management means for managing the printing conditions of the digital image regardless of the image,
A print condition control unit configured to set a print condition managed by the print condition management unit in a cell type format of a matrix;
An image printing apparatus comprising: a printing control unit that performs printing based on printing conditions managed by the printing condition management unit. A printing condition management unit for managing printing conditions irrespective of each image shown in claim 6,
An image printing apparatus capable of managing images and printing conditions for referring to images or referring to a plurality of images. The print setting control means for setting in the matrix cell type format according to claim 6 is:
An image printing apparatus characterized in that printing conditions can be changed collectively. The print setting control means for setting in the matrix cell type format according to claim 6 is:
An image printing apparatus characterized in that only printing conditions of a selected print job can be changed collectively. The print setting control means for setting in the matrix cell type format according to claim 6 is:
An image printing apparatus capable of displaying that it is a print job of a reference image.

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