JP2004237466A - Print controller, print area information generator, arrangement specifying data structure, print control method, print area information generating method, print control program, print area information generating program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that the area of an image being printed actually depends on the layout position when layout and marginless printing of a plurality of images are carried out. <P>SOLUTION: Image data representing the color of each pixel by multilevel gradation are acquired for an image composed of pixels in dot matrix, layout information specifying layout of the image with respect to a print medium is acquired, and print area information specifying the print area in the image is acquired. With reference to the print area information, a part of an image including the print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is extracted from the image data and arranged on a print page according to the layout information thus generating print image data. The print area is printed on the print medium by printing a partial area in the print image data onto the print medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print control device, a print region information creation device, an arrangement specifying data structure, a print control method, a print region information creation method, a print control program, and a print region information creation program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the frequent use of user needs, various functions have been realized in recent printers. As one of the methods, a conventional printer realizes borderless printing in which printing is performed without providing a margin at an end of a print medium. In the borderless printing, the ink is also discharged to a portion corresponding to the outside of the edge of the print medium, so that there is no border even if the loading position of the print medium is slightly shifted. Printing can be performed in the state (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-103584
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-described conventional technology has the following problems. That is, in order to respond to the needs of the user, a function of allocating a plurality of images in one print medium may be realized. The area was different depending on the allocation position. More specifically, the actual print area differs due to the difference in the portion protruding from the print medium depending on the layout position, and this difference has been particularly noticeable when the same image is printed on a single print medium.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a print control apparatus, a print area information creating apparatus, a layout specifying data structure, a print control method, and a print control method that can always print a fixed area regardless of an allocation position. An object of the present invention is to provide an area information creation method, a print control program, and a print area information creation program.
[0005]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when an image is laid out on a print medium and printed, reference is made to print area information, and a fixed area in the image is printed regardless of the layout position. In a configuration in which print image data is generated for each page at the time of printing and a partial area of the print image data is printed, so-called borderless printing in which the boundary of the print medium and the boundary of the print area match is realized. However, in this borderless printing, there is an area that protrudes outside the printing area, so that the upper left corner of the image is not printed at the upper left corner of the print medium, and the lower right corner of the image is not printed at the lower right corner of the print medium. The image area actually printed differs depending on the layout position.
[0006]
In particular, when printing a plurality of the same images on a print medium, for example, when the print medium is divided into four and the same image is allocated to each divided area and printed, simply printing four identical images side by side is not enough. Are different in the image area to be printed. Therefore, in order to print the same area in the image regardless of which position it is assigned to, the print area is grasped by the print area information that specifies the print area in the image. When generating print image data in which images are arranged on a page, a part of an image including a print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is extracted from the image data, and the extracted image data is allocated. Place it on the print page according to the information.
[0007]
In other words, when printing is performed, a portion corresponding to the outside of the print region is extracted from the image by combining the portion corresponding to the outside of the print region with the print region to obtain print image data. The user can select and arrange the image so that this portion protrudes from the print medium and the print area corresponds to the print medium. Therefore, it is possible to generate print image data in which images are arranged so that the print area is always constant. In the above configuration, it is sufficient if a part of the image including the print area and the area corresponding to the outside of the print area can be arranged on the print page in accordance with the allocation information, and the number of allocated images and the allocation position are not particularly limited. However, it is particularly preferable that the layout is such that a plurality of the same images are printed on a print medium. This is because, as described above, in the case of the same image, the appearance of a different print area depending on the layout position appears remarkably.
[0008]
As the print area information, it is sufficient that a print area in an image can be specified, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, the configuration may include at least coordinate information for specifying the edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying the edge of the print area. That is, if the shape of the image or the print area is constant, the edge of the image can be easily specified by specifying a plurality of coordinates. For example, if it is determined that the shape of the image or the print area is a rectangle, it is possible to determine the edge of the rectangle by specifying the coordinates of two diagonal points. Of course, the shape of the image or the print area is not limited to a rectangle, and various shapes can be adopted. In any case, the edge can be specified by the coordinate information.
[0009]
Thus, when specifying the edge of the image and the edge of the print area based on the coordinate information, the relative position of the print area can be determined by adopting the same coordinate system for both coordinates. Therefore, the print area in the image can be easily specified based on a very small amount of information. In addition, by specifying the edge of the image and the edge of the print area based on the coordinate information, the print area in the image and the area corresponding to the outside of the print area can be easily specified. Can be easily extracted.
[0010]
A configuration in which images extracted by combining a portion corresponding to the outside of the print area and the print area are arranged to create print image data, and a fixed print area is always printed so that a part of the print image data is printed. In the above, various configurations can be adopted as a method for generating print image data and executing printing. For example, a situation in which the assignment information specifies assignment that does not provide an unprinted area of the image outside at least one side of the image located at the edge of the print medium (the at least one image located at the edge of the print medium) In the case where borderless printing is performed on the side), a configuration for performing the following processing can be adopted.
[0011]
That is, the print image data generation means generates print image data in which an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is provided outside at least one side of the image, and the print execution means matches the edge of the print area with the edge of the print medium. The printing is executed while the printing is performed. Since the print medium is usually of a fixed size, it is possible to know in advance which part of the print image data for one page is to be printed on the print medium. Therefore, an area corresponding to the outside of the printing area can be grasped in advance. Therefore, when generating print image data, it is possible to extract in advance the area corresponding to the outside of the print area and the print area from the original image, and to generate print image data by arranging the extracted data. Thus, it is possible to always print only the print area on the print medium while making the edge of the print area coincide with the edge of the print medium.
[0012]
Furthermore, in a situation where borderless printing is performed in which no unprinted portion is provided at the boundary between images by making the images adjacent to each other in the allocation information, the following processing may be employed. That is, the print image data generation unit arranges the two images while making the edges of the print areas coincide without providing an area corresponding to the outside of the print area on the side of the adjacently arranged image. As a result, it is possible to print a print area of both images on a print medium without providing an edge between the two images.
[0013]
Further, the print image data may be created by extracting the image according to the coordinate information designating the edge of the image or the edge of the print area, but other configurations can be adopted. For example, when there are a plurality of types of default assignments in advance as the assignment information, it is determined in advance which of the sides of the print area an area corresponding to the outside of the print area should be added according to the image assignment position in each default assignment. You can judge. Therefore, if an area corresponding to the outside of the print area and the print area are determined in advance for each type of default allocation and allocation position, it is possible to immediately specify the image extraction area when the allocation information is obtained. It is possible to easily generate print image data.
[0014]
Further, in order to always print a certain area of an image in the present invention, it is necessary to prepare print area information in advance. If the print area information can be easily created, layout printing can be executed while the user can easily specify the print area. Therefore, a print area information creating device that creates print area information may be configured. In the print area information creating apparatus, the display means displays the image and the area inside the image and the print area to be printed on the print medium regardless of the allocation position, and the image is displayed on the display means by the print area instruction receiving means. The instruction to change the position and / or size of the printed area is accepted.
[0015]
Then, the print area information generating means generates coordinate information for specifying the edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying the edge of the print area from the relative positional relationship between the print area and the image. Therefore, it is possible to select a desired print area and generate coordinate information while confirming the relative positional relationship between the image and the print area on the display device. In the print area instruction receiving means, a configuration may be adopted in which the print area is fixed in aspect ratio and the size is changed. In other words, when the layout is determined, the print area is also determined, so if the aspect ratio that should be the print area is fixed, the image of the pixel that matches the print area only by enlarging or reducing the aspect ratio when printing the image Data can be generated.
[0016]
Further, the information for designating the print area constitutes the invention as an arrangement specifying data structure for specifying the arrangement when print image data is generated. That is, the print image data in which the image data is arranged while allocating the image to the print medium is stored in the temporary storage device for each page, and the image for each page indicated by the print image data stored in the temporary storage device is printed. When printing is performed in a larger area than the print medium, the print image data can be easily generated by referring to this arrangement specifying data structure so that a fixed area is printed.
[0017]
As a specific example of the print area, it is sufficient that the print area includes coordinate information for specifying the edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying the edge of the print area. According to these coordinate information, the edge of the print area can be determined from the coordinate information specifying the edge of the print area, and the edge of the image can be determined from the coordinate information specifying the edge of the image. Therefore, the same plurality of images are allocated to one print medium, and the image areas are arranged such that the boundaries of the print areas coincide with each other on the print medium where the images are adjacent to each other, and the boundaries of the print medium and the print areas coincide. Data can be placed. Note that this arrangement specifying data structure may be referred to when deciding the arrangement within the page, may be added to the header of the image data itself, or may be acquired by an application that performs layout print control. May be stored in a predetermined storage medium in advance.
[0018]
By the way, the above-described print control device and print area information creation device may be implemented independently, or may be implemented together with another method while being incorporated in a certain device. It includes various aspects and can be appropriately changed. Further, in the above-described printing control and printing area information creation method, when processing proceeds according to a predetermined procedure, it is natural that the invention exists in the procedure at the root. Therefore, the present invention can be applied as a method, and the invention according to claims 10 to 12 has basically the same operation.
[0019]
In carrying out the present invention, a print control device may cause a predetermined program to be executed. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented as a program, and basically the same effects can be obtained in the inventions according to claims 13 to 15. Of course, it is also possible to make the configurations described in claims 2 to 8 correspond to the above-mentioned method and program. Also, any storage medium can be used to provide the program. For example, a magnetic recording medium or a magneto-optical recording medium may be used, and the same can be applied to any recording medium to be developed in the future. In addition, even when a part is realized by software and a part is realized by hardware, the concept of the present invention is not completely different, and a part is recorded on a recording medium and appropriately The form of reading is also included. Further, the duplication stages of the primary duplicated product, the secondary duplicated product, and the like are completely indispensable.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of print area information creation device and print control device:
(2) Configuration and processing of the print area information creation program:
(3) Configuration and processing of the print control program:
(4) Details of print image data generation processing:
(5) Other embodiments:
[0021]
(1) Configuration of print area information creation device and print control device:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a print area information creation device and a print control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the print area information creation device and the print control device are configured by one personal computer (PC), but the print region information creation device and the print control device are, of course, configured by separate computers. It is also possible. The PC 10 includes a CPU 11 which is a center of arithmetic processing, and the CPU 11 controls the entire PC 10 via a system bus 10a. The system bus 10a includes a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a hard disk drive 14, a CD-ROM drive 15, an input interface (input I / F) 16, a CRT interface (CRTI / F) 17, a communication interface (communication I / F) 18, A printer interface (printer I / F) 19 and the like are connected.
[0022]
The PC 10 according to the present embodiment is a so-called desktop PC, and the configuration is simplified and described. Of course, the PC 10 may have a general configuration as a computer, and may be a notebook type or a mobile type. The computer applicable to the print area information creating device and the print control device is not limited to a PC, and may be configured to perform distributed processing by a plurality of computers.
[0023]
The hard disk drive 14 stores, as software, an operating system (OS), a print utility for performing image printing, a print area information creation program, and the like, and these software are appropriately transferred to the RAM 13 by the CPU 11 at the time of execution. . The CPU 11 executes various programs while appropriately accessing the RAM 13 as a temporary work area.
[0024]
To the input I / F 16, a keyboard 16a and a mouse 16b are connected as input devices for operation, and a scanner, a digital camera, and the like (not shown) are also connected. Further, a display 17 a for display is connected to the CRTI / F 17. Further, a printer 20 is connected to the printer I / F 19 via a parallel I / F cable. Needless to say, the connection I / F with the printer 20 is not limited to the parallel I / F, and various connection modes such as a serial I / F, SCSI, and USB connection can be adopted. The same applies to
[0025]
The hard disk drive 14 storing the print area information creation program and the print utility of the present invention is a medium on which the print area information creation program and the print control program are recorded, and can store the print area information creation program and the print control program. The recording medium is not limited to a hard disk. For example, a CD-ROM or a flexible disk may be used. The software recorded on these recording media is read via the CD-ROM drive 15 or a flexible disk drive (not shown), installed on the hard disk drive 14, read by the CPU 11 onto the RAM 13, and various processes are executed. become. Further, the recording medium is not limited to these, and may be a magneto-optical disk or a nonvolatile memory that is a semiconductor device. Furthermore, it is also possible to connect the communication I / F 18 such as a modem connected to the system bus 10a to the Internet network, access a server storing various programs, and download the print control program.
[0026]
The printer 20 used in the present embodiment is an inkjet printer, and uses a total of four color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) during color printing. Can be. Of course, it is possible to use light cyan (lc) or light magenta (lm) to make six colors, or to add dark yellow (DY) to make seven colors. A laser printer using a plurality of color toners can also be used. In any case, the PC 10 creates print data that can be interpreted by the printer 20 and outputs it through the printer I / F 19. The printer 20 prints an image by recording ink for each pixel constituting the image based on the print data.
[0027]
In the PC 10, the BIOS is executed based on the above hardware, and the OS and various programs are executed on the BIOS. Basically, the OS accesses the hardware via the BIOS or directly, and various programs exchange data with the hardware via the OS. Various drivers for controlling hardware are incorporated in the OS, and various controls are executed in cooperation with the OS. The drivers include a display driver for controlling the CRTI / F 17 and a printer driver 30 for controlling the printer I / F 19.
[0028]
(2) Configuration and processing of the print area information creation program:
In this embodiment, a print area information creation program is installed so as to be executable as one of the various programs, and FIG. 2 schematically shows a schematic configuration of the print area information creation program. The print area information creation program 40 includes a display control section 41, an operation input reception section 42, a coordinate acquisition section 43, and a print area information generation section 44, and has an arrangement specifying data structure according to the present invention by processing of each section. Create print area information. That is, the print area displayed on the display 17a can be appropriately changed based on an operation input from the keyboard 16a or the mouse 16b, which is an operation input device, and print area information is generated from the changed result.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed on the display 17a when the print area information creation program is executed. Hereinafter, the processing of the print area information creation program will be described with reference to FIGS. The display control unit 41 displays the screen shown in FIG. 3 on the display 17a by transmitting and receiving a predetermined control signal via the CRTI / F17. The operation input receiving unit 42 receives a predetermined control signal output according to the operation of the keyboard 16a and the mouse 16b, and interprets the operation content according to the content of the control signal.
[0030]
The display controller 41 and the operation input receiver 42 cooperate with each other to provide a UI (User Interface) for inputting print area information on a screen displayed on the display 17a. That is, on the screen shown in FIG. 3, the solid frame indicates the edge of the image, and the broken frame indicates the edge of the print area on the screen. These edges can be adjusted with the mouse 16b. Specifically, the pointer of the mouse 16b is configured to move on the display 17a in conjunction with the movement of the mouse 16b, and the pointer is positioned on the edge of the image or the print area as in the example shown in FIG. When it does, the shape of the pointer changes.
[0031]
When the drag operation is performed with the mouse 16b while the shape of the pointer is changing in this way, the edges of the image and the print area move on the screen as the mouse 16b moves. Therefore, the user can operate the operation input device such as the mouse 16b to set the edge of the image and the edge of the print area to desired sizes by the GUI. The operation content by the operation input device is passed to the coordinate acquisition unit 43, and the coordinate acquisition unit 43 performs two-dimensional two-vertex diagonal positions on the image displayed on the screen and the print area based on the operation content. This is a module to get coordinates.
[0032]
The image and the print area shown in FIG. 3 are rectangular, and if the two-dimensional coordinates of two vertices at diagonal positions in each rectangle are determined, the edge between the image and the print area is determined. The print area is a part of the image, and there are various methods for specifying the position. In the present embodiment, the print area is determined by determining the coordinates of two diagonal vertexes of the image and the print area. Is specified. That is, by specifying the coordinates of each vertex in the same coordinate system, the relative positional relationship of each vertex can be specified, and as a result, the specific area in the image can be specified as the print area. In this sense, in the present embodiment, the respective two-dimensional coordinates of the image and the print area correspond to the print area information.
[0033]
When the coordinate obtaining unit 43 obtains the coordinates of two diagonal vertices of the image and the printing area, the printing area information generating unit 44 stores these two-dimensional coordinates in the hard disk drive 14 as printing area information. . Here, the print area information is stored as a part of the parameter information, and is described as (X, Y) coordinates of each vertex at a predetermined description position according to a predetermined format. This parameter information is referred to at the time of executing print control described later, and is information for which various designations such as assignment can be made. Since the print area information is described at a predetermined position in a predetermined format as a part of the parameter information, the print area is always printed by referring to the information of the predetermined position when executing the print control according to the present invention. Can be assigned as described.
[0034]
(3) Configuration and processing of the print control program:
In this embodiment, a print utility 50 shown in FIG. 4 is further installed in the PC 10, and the print utility 50 and the printer driver 30 constitute a print control program according to the present invention. In these print control programs, printing is performed in accordance with the flow shown in FIG. 5 with reference to the print area information created by the print area information creation program. The print utility 50 temporarily stores the image data to be printed sequentially in the RAM 13 while allocating the image data and the like, and accumulates the print image data corresponding to one page of the print medium, and prints the image data in accordance with the stored contents. The data is transferred to the driver 30 and printing is performed.
[0035]
For this purpose, the print utility 50 includes an image data acquisition unit 51, a print setting unit 52, an allocation information acquisition unit 53, and a print image data generation unit 54. Further, a GUI is displayed on the display 17a by a display control unit and an operation input receiving unit (not shown), and the process proceeds while receiving an operation input from an operation input device such as the keyboard 16a or the mouse 16b. The image data obtaining unit 51 can read out various types of image data (not shown) stored in the hard disk drive 14, obtains the image data (step S100), and displays the image data on the display 17a as a print candidate. Further, the selection of the print image made by the operation input device is received (step S105). Here, the selected print image is an image to be actually printed.
[0036]
Next, the print setting unit 52 sets the print environment and layout. As the printing environment, the size of the printing paper is input, and the size of the printing paper input via the operation input device is acquired (step S110). In addition to this, there are various other printing environments such as a printing resolution and a printing mode (such as bidirectional printing). In the present embodiment, printing is performed in a default environment. Of course, the setting of the printing environment may be appropriately changed depending on the size of the image or the like, or various environments may be configured to be selectable by the user.
[0037]
The assignment information acquisition unit 53 displays icons indicating various assignment states and displays the icons in a selectable manner. When the user selects an icon, the assignment state is designated as that the assignment state indicated by the icon is set, and the assignment is designated. The allocated information is acquired (step S115). Here, the various allocation states are states in which images are allocated to printing paper, and for example, the number of paper divisions (that is, an image that can be printed on one page) such as “4 divisions of paper and no four sides”. ) And the presence or absence of an edge around the print area. Data indicating the specified result is the allocation information. Note that the same image can be arranged at each layout position or different images can be arranged, and a print image can be appropriately selected.
[0038]
The print image data generation unit 54 is a module that generates print image data according to the allocation specified in the allocation information and stores the print image data in the RAM 13, and generates print image data according to the specified allocation. To this end, the print image data generation unit 54 includes an image extraction unit 54a and an allocation unit 54b. The image extracting unit 54a reads out the parameter information stored in the hard disk drive 14 to acquire print area information (step S120), and extracts a part of the image data of the image to be printed and to be printed on one page. It is extracted (step S125).
[0039]
The allocating unit 54b arranges the extracted image data in accordance with the allocation information and temporarily stores the image data in the RAM 13 as one page of print image data (step S130). Here, the print image data for one page temporarily stored in the RAM 13 is data that can be printed on an area larger than the printing paper in the printer 20. Therefore, the print image data includes an area corresponding to the outside of the print paper, and the print image data generation unit 54 prints the print area on the print paper when printing is performed based on the print image data. The above assignment is performed so as to be performed. The details of the processing will be described later.
[0040]
When the print image data generation unit 54 stores one page of print image data in the RAM 13, the printer driver 30 is activated. The printer driver 30 can perform bidirectional communication with the printer 20 via the printer I / F 19, obtains print image data temporarily stored in the RAM 13, performs printing, and prints the stored print image data. A part of the image of one page shown is formed on printing paper (step S135). That is, the printer driver 30 executes the color conversion process and the halftone process for each pixel of the acquired print image data, and outputs the data to the printer 20 while rearranging the pixels in the order used by the printer 20.
[0041]
As a result, the printer 20 ejects ink so as to form an image indicated by the print image data. However, in the printer 20, the carriage on which the nozzles for ejecting ink are mounted can move further outside both ends of the printing paper, and eject ink further outside both ends of the printing paper. Therefore, not all of the image for one page indicated by the print image data is recorded on the printing paper, but a part thereof is recorded. In the present embodiment, since there is an image area that is not recorded on the printing paper while discharging the ink as described above, borderless printing that does not provide an unprinted area on the edge of the printing paper is possible. The printing area is always recorded on the printing paper by performing the allocation with reference to the printing area described above.
[0042]
(4) Details of print image data generation processing:
Therefore, hereinafter, the processing in the print image data generation unit 54 will be described in detail with a specific example. Here, a description will be given by taking as an example a layout of “sheet 4 divided by 4 no edges” which is a preferred application example of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining a case where the image A is laid out according to the conventional layout method “without paper 4 divisions 4 sides”, and FIG. 7 is a view showing the image A according to the layout method according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case where assignment is performed without a margin.
[0043]
In the conventional layout method shown in FIG. 6, when a sheet is divided into four and two images are arranged vertically and horizontally, a total of four images A are arranged in one page by arranging two images A vertically and horizontally. To create print image data. When printing is performed in the printer 20 based on the print image data, an image of a paper size portion shown in FIG. 6 is printed. Therefore, as shown in the print result B, the four sides of each image have no edges, but the printed portions of each image are different even though they are the same image.
[0044]
On the other hand, in the present invention, a print area C as indicated by a bold rectangle in FIG. 7 is designated in the image A by the print area information, and the image A is appropriately extracted based on the print area information. That is, according to the print area information specifying the coordinates of the diagonal vertices, the edges of the image A and the print area C can be specified. Therefore, when arranging the print image data in the RAM 13, a portion where the edges of the print area C of the image A are adjacent to each other on the print paper is set as the boundary of the print area C, and the edges of the print paper and the edges of the print area C are Is extracted from the part of the image A with the edge of the image A outside as a boundary.
[0045]
More specifically, in the case of “without paper 4 divisions 4 sides” shown in FIG. 7, the image A1 arranged in the upper left of FIG. 7 has the left and upper sides of the print area overlapped with the edges of the print paper, and The lower side is adjacent to other images A2 and A3 on the printing paper. Therefore, a rectangle having a diagonal vertex of the upper left coordinate a1 of the image A1 and the lower right coordinate c1 of the print area C, that is, a bold-line rectangle superimposed on the image A1 in FIG. The image data is temporarily stored while being arranged in the address corresponding to the upper left of FIG.
[0046]
Similarly, in the image A2, a rectangle having coordinates a2 and c2 as vertices (coordinate a2 is a coordinate including a Y component of the upper left vertex coordinate of the image A2 and an X component of the upper left vertex coordinate of the print area C; c2 is a coordinate composed of the X component of the lower right vertex coordinate of the image A2 and the Y component of the lower right vertex coordinate of the print area C.), and is extracted in the upper right of FIG. The image data is temporarily stored while being arranged in the corresponding address. In the image A3, a rectangle having the vertices of the coordinates a3 and the coordinates c3 is extracted, and the image data is temporarily stored while being arranged in an address corresponding to the lower left in FIG.
[0047]
In the image A4, a rectangle having the coordinates a4 and c4 as vertices is extracted, and the image data is temporarily stored while being arranged in an address corresponding to the lower right of FIG. Note that the coordinate a3 is a coordinate composed of the X component of the upper left vertex coordinate of the image A3 and the Y component of the upper left vertex coordinate of the print area C, and the coordinate c3 is the Y component of the lower right vertex coordinate of the image A3 and the coordinate of the print area C. These coordinates are composed of the X component of the lower right vertex coordinates. The coordinates a4 are the coordinates of the upper left vertex of the print area C, and the coordinates c4 are the coordinates of the lower right vertex of the image A4.
[0048]
As described above, print image data shown in FIG. 7 is obtained by extracting an image from the image A for each allocation position and temporarily storing the data. In the example shown in the figure, the edge of the paper is shown as a paper size overlapping the print image data, and the edge of the paper coincides with the edge of the print area outside each image. That is, in this example, the aspect ratio of each area obtained by dividing the print paper into four is equal to the aspect ratio of the print area C of each image, and the image is extracted and placed in the storage capacity of the RAM 13 as described above. The edge of the print area coincides with the edge of the printing paper.
[0049]
Therefore, the result of executing printing based on this print image data becomes the print result D, and all the images in the divided area have the same part of the image printed. Needless to say, pixels printed in each printing area may be slightly shifted due to various factors such as a design error of the printer 20, but even if there is an error, an image which looks almost the same to human eyes can be obtained. become. In the present embodiment, the paper transport direction is arbitrary when printing the print image data shown in FIG. In this sense, the upper, lower, left, and right in the above description are relative expressions. In any case, if the coordinates of the diagonal vertices of the image and the print area can be obtained as in the present embodiment, the same processing is performed in the page. Can be assigned.
[0050]
(5) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example of realizing a print control device, a print region information creation device, an arrangement specifying data structure, a print control method, a print region information creation method, a print control program, and a print region information creation program according to the present invention. Other configurations can be employed. In the above-described example, an example is shown in which the aspect ratio of each area obtained by dividing the printing paper into four and the aspect ratio of the printing area C of each image match, but the aspect ratio of the printing area C is not necessarily the same. You don't have to be.
[0051]
That is, when the image may be enlarged or reduced vertically or horizontally, the image may be enlarged or reduced vertically or horizontally or both to make the aspect ratio of the divided area of the printing paper equal to the aspect ratio of the image. . According to this configuration, the same image is always printed regardless of the layout position of any image, and printing can be performed while always meeting layout conditions such as borderlessness. If it is necessary to always maintain the aspect ratio, the image may be enlarged / reduced at the same aspect ratio and the layout may be performed while maintaining the aspect ratio.
[0052]
In this case, it is not always possible to realize the absence of the four sides. However, the short side (the left side or the right side in FIG. 7) or the long side (the upper or lower side in FIG. 7) has no edge. It is possible to realize the situation. Even if there is no short side or long side edge, the edge of the print area is used as the edge of the extracted image at a portion where the image is adjacent on the print medium, and the edge of the image is used at the portion corresponding to the outside of the print medium. The extracted image may be temporarily stored in the RAM 13 and printing may be performed.
[0053]
Furthermore, if the print area information creation program does not employ a configuration in which the aspect ratio of the print area can be arbitrarily set, and adopts a configuration in which the print area is selected while maintaining the aspect ratio, the designated print area can be changed. Printing can be always performed without four edges. Further, in a configuration in which a print area is selected while maintaining an aspect ratio, a configuration in which an allocation state is selected together can be adopted. That is, since the aspect ratio of the portion where the print area is printed differs depending on the paper size and the paper division mode, for example, the aspect ratio differs between the A4-size quadrant and the two-divided. With a specific configuration, it is possible to specify a print area with a specific aspect ratio for each allocation state. In this case, data indicating an allocation state is included as the print area information or the parameter information.
[0054]
Further, in the above embodiment, the print area information is created by the print area information creation program. However, it is indispensable to use the print area information created by the print area information creation program when executing the print control. That is not to say. That is, the print area information is at least information capable of specifying the print area in the image, for example, the coordinate information of the image and the print area only needs to be prepared in advance. May be used.
[0055]
Further, it is sufficient that the print area information can be referred to when the print image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 13, and the configuration in which the print area information is stored in the hard disk drive 14 in advance as in the above embodiment is not essential. For example, the print area information may be written in the header of each image data so that it can be referred to when each image data is printed. Further, in this case, when the captured image of the captured image of the digital still camera or the like is larger than the image in the finder visual field, the image in the finder visual field may be configured to be an image in the print area. . According to such a configuration, the image in the viewfinder field is always printed when the captured image is printed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print area information creation device and a print control device.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print area information creation program.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print control program.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a print control process.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional example of allocation.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of allocation according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10a PC, 14 hard disk drive, 16a keyboard, 16b mouse, 17a display, 20 printer, 30 printer driver, 40 print area information creation program, 41 display control unit, 42 operation input receiving unit 43, a coordinate acquisition unit, 44, a print area information generation unit, 50, a print utility, 51, an image data acquisition unit, 52, a print setting unit, 53, an allocation information acquisition unit, 54, a print image data generation unit, 54a, Image extraction unit, 54b ... allocation unit

Claims (15)

Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of pixels in a dot matrix,
Allocation information obtaining means for obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium,
Print area information acquisition means for acquiring print area information specifying a print area in the image,
With reference to the print area information, a part of an image including a print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is extracted from the image data, and the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. Print image data generation means for generating print image data,
A print control device, comprising: print execution means for printing the print area on the print medium by printing a partial area in the print image data on the print medium. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the assignment information is information specifying assignment when a plurality of same images are printed on a print medium. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print area information includes at least coordinate information specifying an edge of the image and coordinate information specifying an edge of the print area. The print image data generating means is configured to output at least one side of the image when an allocation that does not provide an unprinted area of the image outside at least one side of the image located at the edge of the print medium is specified by the allocation information. An image in which an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is provided outside the print area is generated to generate print image data, and the print execution unit executes printing while matching the edge of the print area with the edge of the print medium. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein When the layout information specifies that a plurality of images are arranged adjacently and that an unprinted area is not provided at the boundary between the images, the print image data generating unit performs the printing on the side of the image arranged adjacently. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two images are arranged while the edges of the print area are aligned without providing an area corresponding to the outside of the area. The allocation information obtaining means obtains one of a plurality of types of default allocation information defined in advance, and the print image data generating means corresponds to the outside of the print area predetermined for each type of default allocation and allocation position. 6. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein print image data is generated by extracting an area to be printed and the print area and arranging them on a print page. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of pixels in a dot matrix,
Allocation information obtaining means for obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium,
A print area information obtaining unit that obtains print area information including a coordinate area specifying at least the edge of the image and a coordinate information specifying the edge of the print area while specifying a print area in the image,
With reference to the print area information, a part of an image including a print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area is extracted from the image data, and the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. A print control device, comprising: print image data generating means for generating print image data. Display means for displaying an image and an area inside the image and a print area to be printed on a print medium regardless of the layout position;
A print area instruction receiving means for receiving an instruction to change the position and / or size of the print area displayed on the display means,
A print area information generating means for generating coordinate information for specifying the edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying the edge of the print area based on the relative positional relationship between the print area and the image received by the print area instruction receiving means; A print area information creating apparatus comprising: The image data to be printed is acquired by a computer device, and the print image data in which the image data is arranged is stored in the temporary storage device for each page while allocating the image to the print medium, and the print image stored in the temporary storage device is stored. In printing an image for each page indicated by the data in a range larger than the print medium by the printing device, an arrangement specifying data structure referred to when the print image data is stored in the temporary storage device,
It has coordinate information for specifying the edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying the edge of the print area, and the side corresponding to the part where the images are adjacent to each other is the edge of the print area and corresponds to the part where the image protrudes outside the print area. In extracting a part of the image with the side of the image as the edge of the image from the image data and arranging and storing the image in the temporary storage device, the edge of the print area is determined from the coordinate information specifying the edge of the print area. Wherein the edge of the image is determined from coordinate information specifying the edge of the image. An image data acquisition step of acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of dot matrix pixels,
An allocation information obtaining step of obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium;
A print area information obtaining step of obtaining print area information specifying a print area in the image,
A print that extracts a part of an image including the print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area from the image data, and generates print image data in which the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. An image data generating step;
A print execution step of printing the print area on the print medium by printing a partial area in the print image data on the print medium. A print control method for controlling a printing device based on the created print image data,
An image data acquisition step of acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of dot matrix pixels,
An allocation information obtaining step of obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium;
A print area information obtaining step of obtaining print area information including a coordinate area specifying at least an edge of the image and a coordinate information specifying an edge of the print area while specifying a print area in the image,
A print that extracts a part of an image including the print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area from the image data, and generates print image data in which the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. A print control method, comprising: an image data generating step. A print area information creating method for creating print area information by input from an operation input device while displaying on a display device an image and an area inside the image and a print area to be printed on a print medium regardless of an allocation position. So,
A print area instruction receiving step of receiving an instruction to change the position and / or size of the print area displayed on the display device via the operation input device,
A print area information generating step of generating coordinate information specifying an edge of the image and coordinate information specifying an edge of the print area from a relative positional relationship between the print area and the image received in the print area instruction receiving step; A print area information creating method. An image data acquisition function for acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of pixels in a dot matrix,
An allocation information obtaining function for obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium;
A print area information acquisition function for acquiring print area information specifying a print area in the image,
A print that extracts a part of an image including the print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area from the image data, and generates print image data in which the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. Image data generation function,
A print control program for causing a computer to realize a print execution function of printing the print area on the print medium by printing a partial area in the print image data on the print medium. A print control program for controlling a printing device based on the created print image data,
An image data acquisition function for acquiring image data in which the color of each pixel is expressed in multiple gradations for an image composed of pixels in a dot matrix,
An allocation information obtaining function for obtaining allocation information specifying allocation of the image to a print medium;
A print area information acquisition function for acquiring a print area information including a coordinate area specifying the edge of the image and a coordinate information specifying the edge of the image at least while specifying a print area in the image,
A print that extracts a part of an image including the print area and an area corresponding to the outside of the print area from the image data, and generates print image data in which the extracted image data is arranged on a print page according to the allocation information. A print control program for causing a computer to realize an image data generation function. A print area information creation program for creating print area information by inputting from an operation input device while displaying on a display device an image and an area inside the image and a print area to be printed on a print medium regardless of an allocation position. So,
A print area instruction receiving function for receiving an instruction to change the position and / or size of the print area displayed on the display device via the operation input device;
A print area information generation function for generating coordinate information for specifying an edge of the image and coordinate information for specifying an edge of the print area from a relative positional relationship between the print area and the image received by the print area instruction reception function; A print area information creating program that causes a computer to realize the following.

Images