JP2004322465A - Platemaking controlling device and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform an efficient and stable printing by a method wherein space data are properly distributed among a plurality of platemaking devices each for producing a printing plate. <P>SOLUTION: In a plate making controlling device and a printing system, the space data including the information of space images to be recorded on a recording plate and space controlling information specifying the space data are stored and a platemaking controlling device (11) distributes the space data among any of a plurality of the platemaking devices (3-6) each for producing the printing plate based on the space controlling information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plate making control device for controlling a plate making device for producing a printing plate, and a printing system including the plate making control device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the printing field, a computer-to-plate (CTP) type output device (CTP) that directly outputs a paper image based on paper data (image information of a paper surface) created through editing and typesetting to a printing plate without using a film. Printing systems employing an output device) have become mainstream. As this type of printing system, there is known a printing system that includes a CTP output device that stores paper data in a memory provided in the device, extracts desired paper data, and outputs a paper image on a printing plate (for example, And Patent Document 1.). According to this printing system, there is an advantage that the page data can be received and temporarily stored in the memory, and the page image can be output on the printing plate in a predetermined order according to the printing conditions.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-332190 (FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, especially in a large-scale printing system for newspapers or the like, it is necessary to provide a plurality of CTP output devices and a plurality of rotary presses (printing devices). The apparatus does not have a function of appropriately distributing the images to a plurality of apparatuses, and may not be able to perform appropriate plate making and printing.
[0005]
The present invention has been made based on such knowledge, and even when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, the paper data is transmitted to a plurality of plate making devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system capable of performing efficient and stable printing by appropriately sorting.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plate making control device that accumulates sheet data including information of a sheet image recorded on a printing plate and sheet management information for specifying the sheet data, and stores the sheet management information in the sheet management information. Based on this, the paper surface data is allocated to one of a plurality of plate making devices for producing a printing plate.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A plate-making control apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes: a storage unit that stores sheet-side data including information of a sheet-side image recorded on a printing plate, and sheet-side management information that specifies the sheet-side data; A distributing means for distributing paper surface data to one of a plurality of plate making devices for producing a printing plate based on the information is provided. According to this, when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, it is possible to sort to each plate making device by the paper management information that specifies the paper data. Therefore, an appropriate plate making process is realized according to a predetermined printing schedule, and as a result, an efficient and stable printing process is achieved. In addition, since the printing plates can be sequentially and appropriately prepared according to the printing schedule, especially for paper data having a relatively late schedule order, a time margin is secured until the printing plates are prepared, and replacement is performed. However, there is an advantage that useless printing plates are hardly generated.
[0008]
The plate-making control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first embodiment, replaces a plurality of plate-making devices when the plate-making device to which the sheet data is distributed cannot be used. Was selected to select the plate making device of the above and to instruct production of a printing plate. According to this, even when the plate making device becomes unusable due to a failure or the like, the printing plate can be produced using the alternative plate making device, so that the stability of the system can be improved. If there is no alternative plate making device, the paper data can be removed from the print schedule and an appropriate printing plate can be prepared by the operator.
[0009]
The plate-making control apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is arranged such that, in the configuration according to the second embodiment, when the paper data includes data of a color paper image, the color difference forming the color paper image is different. All of the plurality of printing plates are manufactured by an alternative plate-making apparatus. According to this, in the case of printing a color paper image that requires a plurality of printing plates (usually, four colors of C (cyan), Y (yellow), M (magenta), and K (black)) Since all of these printing plates are manufactured by the same plate-making apparatus, problems such as color misregistration that may occur when the printing plates are manufactured by different plate-making apparatuses can be avoided. Also, if some of the printing plates constituting the color paper image are already produced by a standard plate making device, the paper data is removed from the printing schedule without using an alternative plate making device. It is also possible for an operator to produce a suitable printing plate.
[0010]
The plate-making control apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first embodiment, appropriately acquires and accumulates sheet management information from outside, and newly acquired sheet management information is In the case where the same page data as the previously obtained page management information is specified, the page data specified by the newly obtained page management information can be sorted without being distributed to a plurality of plate making apparatuses. The configuration is considered to be completed. According to this, with respect to the same page data as the page data for which the printing plate has already been prepared, the printing plate is not prepared again, and the generation of useless printing plates can be prevented.
[0011]
In the plate making control apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first embodiment, the sheet management information is for replacing the stored sheet data with new sheet data. The paper information including replacement information is appropriately acquired and stored from the outside, and replacement is performed only when new paper data is acquired within a predetermined time. According to this, before the production of the printing plate, the time during which the paper data can be replaced is set in advance, and if new paper data for replacement is received within the replaceable time, the data is stored. Thus, an appropriate printing plate can be produced by replacing the paper surface data.
[0012]
A printing system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention includes a paper storage device that stores paper data, a plurality of plate making devices that produce a printing plate that records a paper image based on the paper data, and a printing plate. A plurality of printing devices for printing a page image using a page management device for creating page management information for specifying page data, and a page management device for receiving and storing page data from a page storage device while storing the page data from the page management device And a plate making control device for allocating the sheet data to one of a plurality of plate making apparatuses based on the sheet management information. According to this, when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, it is possible to sort to each plate making device by the paper management information that specifies the paper data. Therefore, an appropriate plate making process is realized according to a predetermined printing schedule, and as a result, an efficient and stable printing process is achieved. In addition, since the printing plates can be sequentially and appropriately prepared according to the printing schedule, especially for paper data having a relatively late schedule order, a time margin is secured until the printing plates are prepared, and replacement is performed. However, there is an advantage that useless printing plates are hardly generated.
[0013]
In the printing system according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration according to the sixth embodiment, the plate-making control device is connected to a plurality of plate-making devices via a wide area communication network. The apparatus further includes at least one alternative plate-making control device connected to the plate-making apparatus via a wide area communication network. According to this, the plate making device can be controlled from a remote place, and even if a trouble occurs in the standard plate making device, the same control can be performed by the alternative plate making device, so that the stability of the system is improved. Can be enhanced. It is also possible to control a plurality of plate making devices scattered at each site by one plate making control device.
[0014]
A printing system according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention is the printing system according to the seventh embodiment, wherein a plurality of plate making devices and a plate making control device or an alternative plate making control device are connected via a wide area communication network. , A configuration is further provided with a routing device for respectively specifying an appropriate route. According to this, in communication between devices connected to each other via the wide area communication network, an appropriate route can be selected, so that system stability can be improved.
[0015]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including a plate making control device according to the present invention. The printing system normally prints newspaper paper, and specifies a paper storage device 1 that appropriately stores created paper data (here, image information of one newspaper page), and specifies the paper data. Paper management device 2 for creating a paper ID (paper management information) to be printed, a plurality of CTP output devices (plate making devices) 7 to 10 for producing a printing plate recording a paper image based on the paper data, and the printing plate A plurality of rotary presses (printing devices) 3 to 6 for printing paper images using the printer, a transport device 20 for transporting the printing plate produced by the CTP output devices 7 to 10 to the rotary presses 3 to 6, and a CTP output CTP controllers 13 to 16 for controlling the basic operations of the devices 7 to 10 and the page data received from the page storage device 1 and stored while receiving the page ID from the page management device 2 and storing the stored page data. The paper A CTP server (plate making control device) 11 for distributing to any one of the plurality of CTP output devices 7 to 10 based on D, and a personal computer for an operator to perform various settings and instructions including setting of a print schedule for each device (PC) 12. The respective devices are communicably connected to each other by a LAN. Here, the paper storage device 1 and the paper management device 2 are arranged at remote locations, and are connected to the LAN via gateways (GW) 17 to 19. Is done.
[0017]
FIG. 2 shows an example of setting of a print schedule in the printing system shown in FIG. Here, a schedule for printing a version (prefecture version) for each area having a different page configuration is shown. The operator assigns the prefectural version of the plurality of print candidates displayed on the prefectural version table 21 to each rotary press (here, the first to seventh units) with priorities. Or, usually, the printing priority of each prefecture version is almost the same for each date or day of the week, so a standard printing schedule can be registered in advance, and the operator can manually set only when there is a change It is. In this case, the priority of the rotary press is highest for the first machine, and thereafter, the priority is lower in the numerical order from the second machine. Further, the schedule list 22 indicates that each of the first and second rotary presses performs printing in the order of the second edition Shizuoka, the third edition Yamanashi, the fourth edition Kanagawa, and the fifth edition Chiba.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a page ID created by the page management apparatus shown in FIG. In order to specify the corresponding page data, the page ID 30 includes a color name representing the color constituting the color page and monochrome, a date of issue, a paper name representing the morning edition and evening edition, and a version name representing the number of editions. , The name of the page, and the number of pages. From these codes, respective information is extracted using the corresponding conversion tables 31 to 34. Here, the code of each item of color, date, paper name, plate name, surface name, and page number is separated by a digit of the paper ID, that is, the starting digit number indicating the position in the paper ID where the code of each item starts. And the total number of digits indicating the total number of codes of each item can be extracted from the page ID. In this case, the color name starts from “C” in the first digit of the page ID. “Cyan” is obtained, “March 24” is obtained from “0324” in the second to fifth rows, the paper name “honji” is obtained from “6” in “1”, and the 7.8th digit is obtained. The version name "1st version" is obtained from "01", the page name "2 pages" is obtained from the 10th to 12th digits "002", and the "1st page" is obtained from the 2 digits "01" in the last line. Desired. Such a page ID 30 is created as one page ID in association with the page data of each page constituting the prefecture version, but is collectively managed as a set of page IDs for each prefecture version to which the page data belongs. In some cases.
[0019]
FIG. 4 shows an example of a sheet management table configured based on the information of the sheet ID shown in FIG. The paper space management table is composed of a monochrome paper space table 41 and a color paper space table 42, and a pair of pages of a two-page spread of a newspaper is displayed on the left and right sides. The monochrome paper table 41 is composed of K (black) data of monochrome paper and color paper, while the color paper table 42 is composed of C (cyan), Y (yellow), and M (magenta) of color paper images. Consists of data. In this case, pages 1, 2, 3, 23, and 24, and their pairs 48, 47, 46, 26, and 25, contain color page images.
[0020]
The information shown in the page management table includes, in addition to information obtained from the page ID, the processing status of the page data specified by the page ID. Here, as the item indicating the information of the page data, “change” indicating whether the printing plate prepared in the previous plate is used as it is (“through” in the figure) or newly prepared (“replace” in the figure) , "Page", "version", "face name", monochrome paper (no display in the figure), K of color paper image ("parent" in the figure), or C, M, Y of color paper image ( The "color" indicating the difference between "color" in the figure and the necessity ("1" in the figure) of replacement of the paper surface data (generally referred to as "chase-up" or "retake" depending on the necessity of the replacement). "S", which indicates that the paper is one page size so-called propeller paper ("S" in the figure) different from the standard (two-page size) and "C", the CTP server 11 uses the paper storage device 1 "Receive" indicating the time when the page data specified by the page ID was received from "Status" indicating the status of reception waiting ("not received" in the figure), plate making ("processing" in the figure), printing wait ("waiting out" in the figure), and printing completed ("completed" in the figure) are displayed. Have been.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the printing system including the plate making control device of the present invention configured as described above will be described.
[0022]
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts showing processing procedures of the printing system of the present invention. First, the CTP server 11 acquires in advance standard paper IDs belonging to each prefecture edition of the evening edition for the current day to be printed and the morning edition for the next day (ST101). Next, the operator registers the prefecture version to be output in the print schedule (ST102). Then, it is determined whether or not all the paper IDs belonging to the prefectural version registered in the print schedule have been received (ST103), and if there is a shortage, the insufficient paper ID is received (ST104). As will be described later in detail, when all the page IDs belonging to the registered prefectural version are prepared, the prefectural version is registered for output (ST105).
[0023]
Next, CTP server 11 receives the page data for output according to the set print schedule (ST106). Then, it is determined whether or not the paper data is the same as the already stored paper data (ST107). If the paper data is the same, the data is stored as unprocessed paper data without performing output processing (ST201). The process returns to ST106 to receive the page data. The unprocessed paper data is appropriately checked later by the operator, and an appropriate process is executed when necessary.
[0024]
On the other hand, if it is different from the stored page data, it is determined whether or not the page data is registered in the current schedule (ST108). Here, if it is determined that the output is not currently being performed, there is a possibility that the replacement paper page data (chase or retake paper page data). Therefore, it is determined whether or not the page data is earlier than the current schedule (ST109). If it is the page data of the previous schedule, it is determined whether or not it is the page data for replacement (ST110). Further, if the data is replacement sheet data, it is determined whether or not the current time is within a preset time (ST111). If the conditions of ST109 to ST111 are not satisfied, the page data is stored as it is (ST201), and the process returns to ST106 to receive the next page data.
[0025]
If it is determined in ST108 that the page data is currently being output, and if it is determined in ST111 that it is within the set time, it is determined whether the page data can be output by the rotary press 1 based on the page ID. (ST112). Although details will be described later, if the paper surface data can be output by the rotary press 1, an output process is executed (ST113). Operations similar to those in ST112 and ST113 are also performed in the subsequent rotary press 2 (ST202, ST203) and subsequent rotary presses. Finally, it is determined whether or not the output is possible at the last rotary press N (ST204). If the page data is not output at the rotary press N, it is stored as it is (ST201), and the process returns to ST106 to receive the next page data. Return. On the other hand, if the page data can be output by the rotary press N, the output is executed (ST205).
[0026]
Then, it is determined whether or not all the page data belonging to one prefecture registered in the print schedule has been output (ST206). If there is not-output page data, the next page data is received. It returns to ST106. On the other hand, when the output of all the page data is completed, it is determined whether or not the next prefectural version registered in the print schedule exists (ST207). It shifts to a prefecture version (ST208). Next, it is determined whether or not there is already stored page data (ST209). If there is stored page data, the process returns to ST112 to perform output processing. If there is no data, the process returns to ST106 to receive the page data, and each step is executed in the same manner as described above. Finally, if it is determined in ST207 that all the prefectural versions registered in the print schedule have been completed, the print processing ends.
[0027]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the process of registering the output prefecture version shown in FIG. When the registration process is started, first, for the first rotary press, information on the page ID belonging to the prefecture version having the highest priority in the print schedule is input to the page management table, and the page ID is registered for output. (ST301). Further, it is determined whether or not the next prefectural version is registered in the print schedule (ST302). If the next prefectural version is registered, the information of the page ID belonging to the prefectural version is stored in the page management table. It is input (ST303).
[0028]
Then, it is determined whether or not the paper ID is the same as the paper ID already registered in the previous print schedule (ST304). If the paper ID is the same as the already registered paper ID, the paper ID is registered as a paper ID not to be output. Is performed (ST305). On the other hand, if it is different from the registered paper ID, the paper ID is registered as an output paper ID (ST306). Next, it is determined whether the registration of the output of all the page IDs belonging to the prefecture version is completed (ST307), and the registration processing of ST304 to ST306 is repeatedly executed until the registration is completed. When all the registrations are completed, the process returns to ST302 again, and ST303 to ST307 are repeatedly executed until the registration processing for all the prefectural versions to be printed by the first rotary press is completed.
[0029]
If it is determined in ST302 that all of the prefectural versions to be printed by the first rotary press have been registered, it is determined whether or not the next rotary press is to be used (ST308). Therefore, when the next rotary press exists, the process returns to ST301, and each step is executed as described above. Finally, if it is determined in ST308 that the next rotary press does not exist, the registration processing ends.
[0030]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the output processing of the rotary press shown in FIG. When the output process is started, first, it is determined whether or not a standard CTP output device compatible with a rotary press on which page data is printed is normal (ST401). Therefore, when the standard CTP output device is normal, a printing plate is produced by the CTP output device, and normal printing is performed (ST402).
[0031]
On the other hand, if the standard CTP output device cannot be used due to a failure or the like, it is determined whether or not an alternative CTP output device exists (ST403). Therefore, if there is no alternative CTP output device, the process ends without performing the output process. However, if there is an alternative CTP output device, it is determined whether or not the paper data includes color paper image data. A determination is made (ST404).
[0032]
Here, when the paper surface data is composed of a monochrome paper surface, a printing plate is prepared as it is by the alternative CTP output device and printing is executed (ST405). On the other hand, when the page data includes color page image data, when a series of printing plates of different colors constituting the same color page image are produced by different CTP output devices, their mutual recording is performed. Since color misregistration may occur due to a difference in accuracy or the like, it is desirable that the printing plates be manufactured using the same CTP output device.
[0033]
Therefore, in the case where a color paper image is included, it is determined whether or not a printing plate that has already been manufactured in the standard CTP output device exists (ST406). If there is no prepared printing plate, a series of plural printing plates are all prepared in the alternative CTP output device, so the printing plate is prepared as it is and printing is performed. (ST407). On the other hand, if some printing plates have already been printed on the standard CTP output device, it is determined whether or not all printing plates are to be prepared on the alternative CTP output device, including those already printed. If it is determined (ST408) that all output is to be performed, a printing plate is prepared in the alternative CTP output device, and printing is performed (ST409).
[0034]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of another printing system according to the present invention. This printing system has basically the same device configuration as the printing system shown in FIG. 1, but differs in that a CTP server connected by a LAN in the premises is located at a remote place. As shown in FIG. 9, the production base 1 is provided with a CTP server 511, and the production bases 2 and 3 are also provided with similar devices. On the other hand, the printing site 1 includes a CTP controller 513, a CTP output device 517, and a PC 512, and the printing sites 2 and 3 include the same device. The production bases 1 to 3 and the printing bases 1 to 3 which are arranged remotely from each other are connected via a wide area communication network 515. Here, a CTP server of one production base is used as a substitute for another production base. It can function as a CTP server, and the CTP server at one production site can control print processing at a plurality of printing sites. L3 (Layer 3) switches 520 and 521 are provided in the connection unit of each base as routing devices for specifying an appropriate route in connection via the wide area communication network 515. For convenience of explanation, the paper storage device, the paper management device, and the rotary press are not shown, but are the same as those of the printing system in FIG. Also, similarly to the printing system of FIG. 1, it is possible to arrange a plurality of CTP controllers and CTP output devices at each printing site.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when printing a paper image based on paper data using a plurality of plate making devices and a plurality of printing devices, each of the plurality of Since the distribution to the plate making apparatuses becomes possible, an appropriate plate making process is realized according to a predetermined printing schedule, and as a result, an efficient and stable printing process is achieved. In addition, since printing plates can be sequentially and appropriately prepared according to the printing schedule, especially for paper data having a comparatively late schedule order, a time margin is secured until the printing plate is prepared, and replacement is performed. However, there is an advantage that useless printing plates are hardly generated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system including a plate making control device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a print schedule. FIG. 3 is an example of a sheet ID created by a sheet management apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a sheet management table configured based on information of a sheet ID. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing system of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a printing system of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the registration process of the output prefecture version shown in FIG. 6. [FIG. 8] A flowchart showing the procedure of the output processing of the rotary press shown in FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of another printing system according to the present invention.
1 paper storage device 2 paper management device 3-6 rotary press 7-10 CTP output device 12 PC
13-16 CTP controller

Claims (8)

Accumulating means for accumulating sheet data including information of a sheet image recorded on the printing plate and sheet management information for specifying the sheet data; and a plurality of plate-making processes for producing the printing plate based on the sheet management information. A plate-making control device comprising: a sorting unit that sorts the paper surface data to any of the devices. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the plate making device to which the sheet data is distributed is unavailable, an alternative plate making device is selected from the plurality of plate making devices to instruct production of the printing plate. 3. Plate making control device. The method according to claim 2, wherein, when the paper data includes data of a color paper image, all of a plurality of printing plates of different colors constituting the color paper image are produced by the alternative plate making device. Plate making control device. The page management information is appropriately acquired from the outside and accumulated, and when the newly acquired page management information specifies the same page data as the previously acquired page management information, the newly acquired page management information is acquired. 2. The plate making control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet data specified by the sheet management information is regarded as having been distributed without being distributed to the plurality of plate making apparatuses. The page management information includes replacement information for performing replacement between the stored page data and new page data, appropriately acquires and stores the page data from outside, and stores the new page data for a predetermined time. The plate making control device according to claim 1, wherein the replacement is performed only when the replacement is obtained. A paper storage device for storing paper data, a plurality of plate making devices for producing a printing plate recording a paper image based on the paper data, and a plurality of printing devices for printing the paper image using the printing plate. A sheet management device for creating sheet management information for specifying the sheet data, and receiving and storing the sheet data from the sheet storage device, while receiving the sheet management information from the sheet management device, and A printing system, comprising: a plate-making control device for allocating to any of the plurality of plate-making devices based on sheet management information. The plate making control device further includes at least one alternative plate making control device connected to the plurality of plate making devices via a wide area communication network, and similarly connected to the plurality of plate making devices via a wide area communication network. The printing system according to claim 6, wherein: The system according to claim 1, further comprising a routing device for specifying an appropriate route in connection between the plurality of plate making devices and the plate making control device or the alternative plate making control device via the wide area communication network. 8. The printing system according to 7.

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