JP2004358859A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system enhanced in an energy saving effect by suppressing occurrence of waiting time for restoration from a timeout by setting a long timeout period in the daytime and quickly shifting operation to an energy saving mode by setting a short timeout period in the nighttime without impairing convenience to a user. <P>SOLUTION: The printing system includes a printer having a plurality of operation modes, such as, for example, a standby mode and the power saving mode and capable of controlling the timeout period until transferring from the standby mode to the power saving mode from a computer, and a calculating unit connected to this. The calculating unit has a time counting means, a time length determining means and a transmitting means. The printer has a mode control means and a time information processing means. For example, the printer can be operated at different timeout periods in the daytime and nighttime. The printer can be operated at different timeout period according to the day of the week or date. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printing apparatus constituting a conventional printing system, for example, a laser beam printer (hereinafter, referred to as an LBP) is provided with a plurality of modes when waiting for print data to arrive (for example, Patent Document 1). One is a mode in which the LBP is in a state where it is ready to start printing immediately after receiving data. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a standby mode. Another is a mode in which the LBP does not always start the printing process immediately after receiving the print data, but maintains the state in which the LBP is controlled to reduce the power consumption of the LBP. It is. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a power saving mode. How the operating state inside the LBP changes between the standby mode and the power saving mode will be described later. Generally, when a state in which the LBP in the standby mode does not transmit print data continues for a certain period of time, the control unit of the LBP shifts to the power saving mode. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the LBP that executes this control procedure.
[0003]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an LBP. A controller 102 controls the entire operation of the LBP 101, and comprises a microprocessor system including a ROM and a RAM. An interface unit for receiving print data from a host computer (not shown) is also provided in the controller 102. The controller 102 controls the operation of the LBP 101 according to a control procedure (program) stored in the storage unit of the microprocessor system. A print engine 103 operates according to the control procedure of the controller 102, and its main role is to form a permanent visible image on paper. A fixing device described later is provided in the print engine 103 and functions according to a control procedure executed by the controller 102. The controller 102 and the print engine 103 are connected by a bus 104, and the controller 102 sends a control signal and an image signal to the print engine 103 via the bus 104, and acquires status information of the print engine 103.
[0004]
Next, the process of shifting to the power saving mode when the state in which the LBP in the standby mode is not transmitting print data for a certain period of time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the LBP is started to operate, for example, when the power is turned on, the controller 102 initializes a counter for measuring the duration of a state in which print data is not transmitted (s201).
[0005]
Subsequently, it is checked whether print data has been received (s202). If print data has not been received, the current mode is checked (s203). The mode includes a standby mode in which the LBP is ready to start the printing process immediately after receiving the data, and a standby mode in which the LBP does not always start the printing process immediately after receiving the print data. However, it is assumed that there is a power saving mode in which the state inside the LBP is controlled so as to suppress the power consumption of the LBP.
[0006]
If the current mode is the standby mode, the counter for measuring the duration during which the print data is not transmitted is incremented (s204).
[0007]
Subsequently, it is checked whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the value of the counter for measuring the continuation time in a state where the print data is not transmitted (s205). To check if print data has been received.
[0008]
The processing for shifting the printing apparatus 101 in the standby mode to the power saving mode in step s206 is, for example, processing in which the controller 102 of the printing apparatus 101 cuts off (or suppresses) the energization of the print engine 103 to the fixing device.
[0009]
In the conventional LBP, only one value functions as the predetermined time, and the numerical value is often made selectable by a user of the LBP. This value is stored in a storage unit such as a memory in the control unit 102.
[0010]
On the other hand, if the predetermined time has not elapsed in step s205, the flow advances to step s202 to check whether print data has been received.
[0011]
If the current mode has already been set to the power saving mode in step s203, the flow advances to step s202 to check whether print data has been received.
[0012]
If print data has been received in step s202, the current mode is checked (s207), and if it is a power saving mode, the standby mode is set (s208). This is a process for starting energization of the fixing device to return to a usable state.
[0013]
On the other hand, if the current mode is the standby mode in step s207, the process proceeds to step s209.
[0014]
In step s209, print processing is executed in accordance with the received print data. More specifically, the print processing means that the controller 102 generates an image to be printed on a memory in the controller, and transmits the image via the bus 104. To generate a permanent visible image on a sheet while appropriately controlling the operation of the print engine 103 by the controller 102.
[0015]
Upon completion of the printing process, the process proceeds to step s201, where a counter for measuring a maintenance time in a state where print data is not transmitted is initialized, and then the process described above is repeated.
[0016]
Next, the reason why the LBP is provided with the power saving mode will be described. LBP applies electrophotographic technology. Electrophotography means that a charged toner is adsorbed on an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor by a laser beam or the like, and is transferred onto paper. It is to fix it on The above processing is performed in the print engine 103 according to the control procedure of the controller 102 of the LBP 101.
[0017]
The part that performs this fixing process is called a fixing unit. The fixing unit of the fixing unit is a roller fixing system using a pressure roller heated by an electric heater, or a film using a heater built in a thin cylindrical fixing film. There is a fixing method.
[0018]
In the roller fixing method, a pressure roller having heat capacity is heated and pressed against paper to fix the paper, so that the temperature characteristics are stable. For this reason, it is often used for high-speed LBP and color LBP, but it takes a certain amount of time to warm the roller from the normal temperature (for example, room temperature) to the temperature required for fixing (hereinafter, referred to as fixing temperature). It requires time and needs to be heated with an electric heater to maintain a constant temperature even in standby mode.
[0019]
The temperature to be maintained in the standby mode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the characteristics of the surface temperature of the fixing device and the elapsed time when electric energy is supplied to a certain roller fixing device. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis 601 indicates time, and the vertical axis 602 indicates the surface temperature of the fixing device. Numeral 603 is a characteristic curve, which indicates that the roller fixing device is placed at room temperature T0.
[0020]
A point 604 indicates the temperature T required for fixing on the vertical axis 602. From the temperature T and the characteristic curve 603, it can be seen that the fixing device requires time P to increase the surface temperature from the room temperature T0 to the temperature T required for fixing.
[0021]
On the other hand, in FIG. 6, time R represents the time from when the LBP print engine starts feeding paper from a cassette or the like storing paper to when the paper reaches the fixing device. Then, it is understood that the surface temperature of the fixing unit needs to be controlled in advance to a temperature T1 at which the surface temperature of the fixing unit can reach the fixing temperature T within the time R. That is, in the LBP using the roller fixing method, electric energy for keeping the surface temperature of the fixing device at T1 must be continuously consumed in the fixing device even in the standby mode.
[0022]
On the other hand, the film fixing method has a feature that the time required for warming from the normal temperature to the fixing temperature is shorter than the roller fixing method, but the paper transport time (time corresponding to R in FIG. 6). If it is short, it may be necessary to warm it with an electric heater during the standby mode. However, the power required for that is smaller than that of the roller fixing method.
[0023]
As described above, in the LBP to which the electrophotographic technology is applied, it is necessary to keep the fixing device at a constant temperature even in the standby mode. In this way, when the LBP user transmits the print data, the LBP Since the printing process can be started in the shortest time, the printing time is shortest, and the convenience is improved. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that power consumption for keeping the fixing device warm while waiting for print data to be transmitted in the standby mode is wasted. Therefore, in accordance with the control procedure described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, if the print data is not sent for a certain period of time in the standby mode, the mode shifts to the power saving mode, and the power for keeping the fixing unit warm is cut off or suppressed. The function of reducing the power consumption of the LBP is provided.
[0024]
Next, how the operation state inside the LBP changes between the standby mode and the power saving mode will be described. As described above, in the standby mode, the fixing unit is energized and kept warm so that print processing can be started immediately after receiving print data.However, when the power saving mode is entered, power is supplied to the fixing unit that consumes a large amount of power. Is generally blocked or suppressed. In addition, for example, the display of the display (liquid crystal display) and lights (light emitting diodes) on the operation panel of the LBP are turned off, or the operation of the electronic circuit of the microprocessor system constituting the controller 102 is partially stopped or suppressed. , The number of rotations of a fan for circulating air inside the LBP may be controlled.
[0025]
As described above, in the LBP to which the electrophotographic technology is applied, the fixing process using heat is necessary, and in order to ensure the convenience of the user, the electric power for keeping the fixing device at a constant temperature in the standby mode is required. However, in order to suppress power consumption, it is essential to have a function of shifting to a power saving mode if there is no print demand for a certain period of time.
[0026]
In general, the time before shifting to the power saving mode can be selectively determined by the user, and if the power consumption is to be reduced, the time before shifting to the power saving mode can be set shorter. It will be good.
[0027]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 07-288612 A
[0028]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, once the LBP shifts to the power saving mode, some time is required before shifting to the standby mode. Description will be made again with reference to FIG. It has already been described that the fixing device is kept at the temperature T1 in the standby mode. When the LBP shifts to the power saving mode, power supply for keeping the fixing device warm is interrupted. Then, after a certain period of time has elapsed, the temperature of the fixing device drops to room temperature T0. After that, when the user transmits the print data to the LBP, the LBP shifts to the standby mode through the processing procedure such as step s202, step s207, and step s208 of the procedure described with reference to FIG. −R) is required, and the user has to wait extra (P−R) compared to the standby mode.
[0029]
Further, when the color LBP is set, the time required for turning on the power and for shifting from the power saving mode to the standby mode is not limited to the time when the temperature of the fixing device rises. The color LBP generally expresses each color using four color toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. However, in order to reproduce a stable color, the color reproduction of each of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is stable. Need to be. Therefore, a monochrome or higher stability is required for an electrophotographic process such as fixing.
[0030]
Therefore, at the time of cold start or when returning from the power saving mode to the standby mode, the temperature of the fixing unit rises, and after the ambient temperature and the like are stabilized, an electrostatic latent image is formed using toner on a test basis, and this is read by the sensor. In many cases, calibration for correcting the density by using a color printer or other processing not performed by a monochrome printer is performed.
[0031]
Although it is an indispensable process to ensure stable print quality, there is a problem that a user has a long waiting time.
[0032]
If the time before shifting to the power saving mode is set longer to reduce this waiting time, or if it is set not to shift to the power saving mode, wasteful power is consumed at night when print demand actually falls. There was a problem of becoming.
[0033]
(Purpose)
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, in a computer device constituting the printing system, time zone, or day of the week, or determine an appropriate timeout time for the date, By setting the printing apparatus constituting the printing system to operate in the time-out period according to the time zone, the day of the week, or the date, the improvement of the convenience and the improvement of the energy saving effect can be achieved at the same time. It is assumed that.
[0034]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The first invention of the present invention relates to a printing system in which a computer device and a printing device are connected in a communicable state,
A printing device constituting the printing system is a printing device having a plurality of operation modes,
Mode control means for shifting to another operation mode when a predetermined time during which print data or the like is not received during operation in any operation mode,
A time information processing means for measuring a time during which print data and the like are not received, changing a predetermined time by receiving or inputting control information for changing the predetermined time, and managing the time,
A clock device for measuring time and time is provided in a computer device constituting the printing system,
Time length determining means for determining the predetermined time;
Transmitting means for transmitting the predetermined time to the printing apparatus as control information of the printing apparatus,
A clock means in the computer device outputs time information.
[0035]
Based on the time information, the time length determining means determines a time length for waiting for the printing apparatus to switch the operation mode and for not receiving print data or the like.
[0036]
A transmission unit forms control information of the printing apparatus based on the time length and transmits the control information to the printing apparatus.
[0037]
The time information processing means of the printing apparatus that has received the control information extracts the predetermined time from the control information and manages the same.
[0038]
Thereafter, the mode control means is configured to switch the operation mode when a time during which print data or the like is not received continues for a predetermined time newly designated.
[0039]
The second invention of the present invention provides the timekeeping means of the first invention with a function of specifying not only the time of day but also the date, day, and day of the week. Outputs information about day and day of the week.
[0040]
The time length determining means determines a predetermined time according to time, year, month, day, and day of the week.
[0041]
A transmission unit forms control information of the printing apparatus based on the time length and transmits the control information to the printing apparatus.
[0042]
The time information processing means of the printing apparatus that has received the control information extracts the predetermined time from the control information and manages the same.
[0043]
Thereafter, the mode control means is configured to switch the operation mode when a time during which print data or the like is not received continues for a predetermined time newly designated.
[0044]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The printing system described in this embodiment is an embodiment of the printing system according to claim 1 of the present invention. A description will be given below of an embodiment of a printing system in which the timeout period of the printing apparatus is set to 3 hours every day at 7 am and the timeout period of the printing apparatus is set to 30 minutes every day at 23:00.
[0045]
In the first embodiment, a printing system including a computer (hereinafter, referred to as a workstation) on which a so-called unix operating system operates, and a Color Laser Jet4500N (hereinafter, referred to as LJ4500) of Hewlett-Packard LBP connected thereto. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a workstation. Reference numeral 302 denotes an LJ4500. The workstation 301 and the LJ4500 (302) are connected via a network 303.
[0046]
Next, the operation mode of the LJ4500 (302) will be described. When the "HP LJ4500 User Guide" in the CDROM attached to the LJ4500 is installed on the Windows (registered trademark) 95 operating system, the "Chapter 2: Using the Printer Control Panel / Printer Control Panel Configuration Setting" In the "Change / Change power save settings" field, the "adjustable power save function can save power when the printer is idle for a certain period of time. The display is dimmed when the printer is in power save mode. The time until the printer enters the power save mode can be set to <Off>, 1 minute, 30 minutes or 1, 2, 4, 8 hours. The default setting is one hour. From this, it can be understood that the LJ4500 has a standby mode and a power saving mode as referred to in the description of the present invention.
[0047]
Here, the printer control panel is an operation panel provided on the main body of the LJ4500 and including a plurality of buttons and a liquid crystal display panel (LCD). That is, in the LJ4500, by operating the control panel, it is possible to selectively set a printer unused time period (hereinafter, referred to as a timeout time) before shifting from the standby mode to the power saving mode.
[0048]
Next, a method of changing the power save setting of the LJ4500 (302) using control data sent from the host computer instead of using the control panel will be described. Hewlett-Packard's LBP, including LJ4500, includes a printer job language (hereinafter referred to as PJL) in addition to the page description language PCL, and the LJ4500 is also mounted. Hewlett-Packard Company has provided a Printer Job Language Technical Reference Manual (Manual Part No. 5021-0328) as a document describing the function of PJL.
[0049]
According to the manual, any one of 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 is assigned to a POWERSAVETIME variable classified as General PJL Environmental Variables (environment variables that do not depend on the page description language such as PCL and PostScript). Is transmitted to an LBP equipped with a Hewlett-Packard PJL such as LJ4500 by the same means as that for transmitting print data, the timeout time of the LBP to which the data is transmitted is reduced. It can be changed selectively (however, according to the [HP CLJ4500 User Guide] in the CD ROM attached to the LJ4500, the time that can be set as the unused time length before entering the power save mode on the panel operation is <off. > 1 minute 30 minutes, has a 1, 2, 4, 8 hours, there is little difference with the PJL Technical Reference Manual of description.).
[0050]
The description of the processing procedure performed inside the LJ4500 (302) described above is omitted. All are realized using the functions described in the LJ4500 user guide provided by Hewlett-Packard Company and the Printer Job Language Technical Reference Manual.
[0051]
FIG. 4 shows an example in which the control for setting the timeout time of the Hewlett-Packard LBP to 120 minutes is described in PJL.
[0052]
The format of FIG. 4 is similar to the Printer Job Language Technical Reference Manual, but in FIG. 4, <ESC> denotes ASCII code 0x1b (hexadecimal 1b; hexadecimal notation is described as 0x1b). It was done. Similarly, <CR> represents 0x0d and <LF> represents 0x0a. When transmitting to the LJ4500 as control data, <ESC>, <CR>, and <LF> are replaced with 0x1b, 0x0d, and 0x0a, respectively. In this embodiment, this processing is referred to as binarization. Portions other than <ESC>, <CR>, and <LF> are sent to the LJ4500 as character strings represented by ASCII codes.
[0053]
When the control description of FIG. 4 is converted into a binary form and transmitted from the workstation 301 to the LJ4500 (302) via the network 303, the timeout time of the LJ4500 (302) is changed to 120 minutes.
[0054]
Subsequently, a method of setting the timeout time to 2 hours at 7:00 every morning from the workstation 301 to the LJ4500 (302) and setting the timeout time to 30 minutes at 23:00 every day will be described.
[0055]
A so-called unix operating system is almost exclusively provided with a daemon called cron. A daemon is a resident process in the Unix operating system. A cron daemon describes a command to be executed, a time to be executed, and a date and time to be executed in a predetermined file (to be described later) in a fixed format. The function to execute the command as described at the date and time is provided.
[0056]
The file that describes the command to be executed for the cron daemon and the date and time of execution is usually described in a file called / var / spool / cron / crontabs / account_name in the file system. For example, if the account name of the user of the Unix system is f00, the description file for cron is / var / spool / cron / crontabs / f00. The functions of cron and crontab are described in detail in the online manual provided by the man command of the unix system, so refer to them.
[0057]
FIG. 5 is a description example in which the user f00 sets the timeout time of the printing apparatus to 2 hours at 7:00 every day for the cron daemon, and sets the timeout time of the printing apparatus to 30 minutes at 23:00 every day. As described above, this file name is f00, and is placed in / var / spool / cron / crontab / f00 in a normal Unix system.
[0058]
In FIG. 5, reference numerals 501 and 502 denote the minute and hour, respectively, for executing the command. Reference numeral 503 denotes a place where a day, a month, and a day of the week should be set. However, in FIG. 5, an asterisk indicating that all valid values are targeted is described because setting is unnecessary. Reference numeral 504 denotes a command notation to be executed at the time (date, day of the week) represented by 501 to 503. lpr-PLJ4500 lpr of powersave_120m is a command for transmitting data to the printer. -PLJ4500 designates that the lpr command is an argument for specifying the printer on the network, and in this example, specifies that the lpr command is a command to be executed for a printer registered under the name LJ4500 for the Unix system. I have. It is assumed that powersave_120m is the name of a file in which the control description for setting the timeout time of the Hewlett-Packard LBP described in FIG. 4 to 120 minutes is binarized and stored.
[0059]
As described above, the description on the first line in FIG. 5 instructs the cron daemon to execute the lpr-PLJ4500 powersave_120m command at 7:00 irrespective of month, day, and day of the week, and the powersave_120m file Since the control information for setting the timeout time of the LJ4500 (302) to 2 hours is described therein, the timeout time of the LJ4500 (302) is set to 2 hours at 7:00 every day.
[0060]
The description on the second line in FIG. 5 will be described. Considering the description of the first line, the second line instructs the cron daemon at 12:00 every day at 23:00 to issue the lpr-PLJ4500 powersave_30m command.
[0061]
Here, the contents of the powersave_30m file will be described. FIG. 7 is an example describing control for setting the timeout time of LBP of Hewlett-Packard Company to 30 minutes. As can be easily inferred from the description of FIG. 4 described above, FIG. 7 describes control information for setting the timeout time of the LJ4500 to 30 minutes. The powersave_30m file is the name of a file that stores the control description of FIG. 7 in a binary form.
[0062]
That is, according to the description on the second line in FIG. 5, the timeout time of the LP 4500 (302) is set to 30 minutes every day at 23:00.
[0063]
(Second embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The printing system described in this embodiment is an embodiment of the printing system according to claim 2 of the present invention. An embodiment of a printing system in which the timeout time of the printing apparatus is set to 3 hours every Monday at 7:00 in the morning and the timeout time of the printing apparatus is set to 30 minutes every Friday at 23:00 will be described.
[0064]
In order to realize such a printing system, the contents of the / var / spool / cron / crontabs / f00 file described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment are described as shown in FIG. May be as described in the first embodiment.
[0065]
FIG. 8 is a description example in which the user f00 sets the timeout time of the printing device to 2 hours for the cron daemon every Monday at 7 am, and sets the timeout time of the printing device to 30 minutes at 23:00 every Friday. is there.
[0066]
In FIG. 8, reference numerals 801 and 802 denote the minute and hour, respectively, for executing the command. Reference numeral 803 denotes a place where a day and a month are to be set. However, in FIG. 8, since setting is unnecessary, an asterisk indicating that all valid values are targeted is described. Reference numeral 804 denotes a place where the day of the week should be set. As a specification of the setting to the cron daemon, the day of the week is designated by a numerical value from 0 to 6, with 0 being Sunday, and therefore, 1 of 804 designates Monday. Will be. 805 is a command notation executed at the time (date, day of the week) represented by 801 to 804. The description is omitted because it is similar to the first embodiment.
[0067]
As described above, the description on the first line in FIG. 8 instructs the cron daemon to execute the lpr-PLJ4500 powersave_120m command at 7:00 every Monday irrespective of month and day. Since the control information for setting the timeout time of the LJ4500 (302) to 2 hours is described in the file, the timeout time of the LJ4500 (302) is set to 2 hours at 7:00 every Monday. .
[0068]
The description on the second line in FIG. 8 will be described. Considering the description of the first line, the second line instructs the cron daemon to issue an lpr-PLJ4500 powersave_30m command to the cron daemon at 23:00 every Friday, and the LJ4500 ( Since the control information that sets the timeout time of 302) to 30 minutes is described, the timeout time of LJ4500 (302) is set to 2 hours at 23:00 every Friday.
[0069]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the unix workstation and the LJ4500 manufactured by Hewlett-Packard are described as being connected to a network. However, if the computer has a predetermined function, the present invention can be implemented without depending on the operating system. It is obvious that the present invention can be realized without depending on the maker, model, and PDL of the printer if the printer has a function capable of setting a timeout time by control data, similar to LJ4500. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the workstation 301 and the LJ4500 (302) are connected by the network 303 has been described. However, it is obvious that the present invention is effective even for a communication path such as a parallel interface.
[0070]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, by configuring the printing system as in the first embodiment, the day can be divided into a plurality of time zones, and different timeout periods can be set for each of the time zones. A long time-out period is set in a time zone to be used (for example, in the daytime), and printing processing is performed without warming up the print data, so that high convenience can be provided to the user, and the printing apparatus is not used much. By setting a short time-out period in a time zone (for example, at night) and shifting to the power saving mode in a short time after the end of the printing process, it is possible to improve the energy saving effect.
[0071]
Also, by configuring the printing apparatus as in the second embodiment, it is possible to set a different time-out period for each day of the week or according to the calendar, for example. By setting the timeout time shorter than other days, it is possible to improve both convenience and energy saving effect.
[0072]
It is obvious that the inventions of claims 1 and 2 can be combined and implemented on the same printing system.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional printing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating processing for shifting a conventional printing apparatus from a standby mode to a power saving mode.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the printing system according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 4 is an example of information for controlling a timeout time of a printing apparatus of the printing system according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 5 is an example of a control description for causing a workstation of the printing system of the first embodiment to execute a predetermined control at a predetermined time.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating temperature characteristics of a fixing device.
FIG. 7 is an example of information for controlling a timeout time of the printing apparatus of the printing system according to the first and second embodiments.
FIG. 8 is an example of a control description for causing a workstation of the printing system according to the second embodiment to execute a predetermined control at a predetermined time.
[Explanation of symbols]
301 workstation
302 printing device
303 Network

Claims (2)

In a printing system in which a computer device and a printing device are communicably connected,
A printing device constituting the printing system is a printing device having a plurality of operation modes,
Mode control means for shifting to another operation mode when a predetermined time during which print data or the like is not received during operation in any operation mode,
A time information processing means for measuring a time during which print data and the like are not received, changing a predetermined time by receiving or inputting control information for changing the predetermined time, and managing the time,
A clock device for measuring time and time is provided in a computer device constituting the printing system,
Time length determining means for determining the predetermined time;
A printing system, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the predetermined time to the printing apparatus as control information of the printing apparatus. A printing system, characterized in that the timekeeping means of the first invention has a function of specifying not only the time of day but also the date and day of the week.

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