JP2005223380A - Image forming apparatus and image forming support apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming support apparatus capable of forming an image while unifying colors of an image part in the case that a plurality of image data include the image part such as a logo mark whose colors are to be unified. <P>SOLUTION: A BEP apparatus 600 receives print data outputted from a DFE unit 500 and scan data outputted from a scanner unit 410. A GUI 80 displays an image of the print data and a user designates a part of a particular image such as the logo mark from the displayed image, and extracts the image part whose feature is coincident with that of the part of the designated image from the image represented by the scan data. In the case of the extraction, the image part whose shape is similar to that of the particular image and whose color difference is within a prescribed range (α or below) is extracted. Data of the extracted image part are corrected so as to have the same colors as those of the particular image of the print data. The print data and the scan data are composed after the correction and the image data obtained by the composition are outputted to the image forming apparatus 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming support apparatus. For example, an image forming apparatus having a so-called printing function for forming an image on a recording medium, such as a color copying machine, a facsimile, or a printer, and image formation of the image forming apparatus The present invention relates to an image formation support apparatus that supports the above.

  In conventional printing (for example, offset printing), intermediate products such as paper printing (printing paper) such as photosetting, block printing, net negative, net positive, PS plate (printing plate) are generated, and these intermediate products are used as the original. Printing and bookbinding. In recent years, with the spread of DTP (DeskTop Publishing / Prepress), “direct printing” or “on-demand printing” for directly printing from DTP data is known. In DTP, printing data obtained by processing a page layout on a computer is formed on photographic paper or a plate-making film, and a printing plate is created and printed based on the printing data. In addition, CTP (Computer To Plate) that directly forms a printing plate with electronic data without generating an intermediate product is also attracting attention. As an apparatus that can be used for such a printing process, an image forming apparatus having a printing function such as a printer or a copying machine is known. Image forming apparatuses in recent years have been improved in color with improved image quality. For example, a color printer using an electrophotographic process (xerography) can form high-quality and high-speed images. In this image forming apparatus, print data can be output without receiving print data and generating a printing plate or the like.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a conventional image forming system. As shown in FIG. 5A, the image forming system is composed of an image forming apparatus 11 and a DFE (Digital Front End Processor) apparatus that sends print data to the image forming apparatus 11 and gives a print instruction. ing. FIG. 5B shows a data flow.

  The DFE device has a drawing function and a printer controller (print control device) function. For example, the DFE device sequentially receives print data described in a page description language (PDL) from a client terminal, and the print data is rasterized. The image data is converted into an image (RIP processing; RIP processing), and the RIP processed image data and print control information (job ticket) such as the number of printed sheets and paper size are sent to the image forming apparatus 11, and the print engine of the image forming apparatus 11 And the paper conveyance system is controlled to cause the image forming apparatus 11 to execute the printing process. That is, the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 11 is controlled by a printer controller by the DFE apparatus. The print data includes four colors (YMCK) of three basic colors for color printing, ie, yellow (Y), cyan (C), and magenta (M), and black (K). Sent to.

  The image forming apparatus 11 records an image on printing paper using an electrophotographic process. The image output terminal (IOT) module 12 and a feed module (FM; Feeder Module) connected to the IOT module 12 are used. ) 15, a user interface device 18 for supporting the input of various data including an output module 17 and a touch panel. The IOT module 12 includes a toner supply unit 22 on which YMCK toner cartridges 24 are mounted, and an IOT core unit 20. The IOT core unit 20 has a so-called tandem configuration in which print engines (printing units) 30 having an optical scanning device, a photosensitive drum, and the like are arranged in a line for each color and in the belt rotation direction, and controls the print engine 30. An electric system control storage unit 39 for storing an electric circuit or the like is provided. In the IOT core unit 20, the toner image on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 43 (primary transfer), and then the toner image is transferred to the printing paper (secondary transfer). Multiple transcribed. The image (toner image) transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 43 is transferred onto the printing paper conveyed from the feed module 15 at a predetermined timing, and the toner image is melted and fixed onto the paper by a fixing device (Fuser) 70. Is done. Thereafter, the paper is discharged out of the apparatus via the paper discharge processing device 72. Further, during double-sided printing, a sheet of paper that has already been printed on one side is temporarily held on a paper discharge tray (stacker) 74, pulled out from the paper discharge tray 74, reversed through a reverse conveyance path 49, and again IOT core unit 20 Passed to.

  When this system is used, in order to realize a demand for high-performance and high-speed image formation processing (print processing) (for example, color printing of 100 sheets to 200 sheets / minute or more), the image forming apparatus supports In addition, the printer controller (DFE device), which is a print control portion for the RIP processing and the image recording unit on the output side, needs to have high speed and high performance.

  However, the DFE device not only performs RIP processing on PDL data from the client terminal, but also rearranges pages according to the print job (rearrangement in ascending / descending order, determination of processing page order during double-sided printing, finisher correspondence positioning, etc. ), And additional processing such as data conversion (for example, gray balance and color misregistration calibration) in accordance with output-side processing characteristics such as a print engine and a fixing device. In order to execute the additional processing, advanced processing according to the characteristics of the image forming apparatus is required. Conventionally, in order to realize high speed and high performance while executing the processing, the DFE apparatus and the image forming apparatus are conventionally used. 11 and a dedicated and independent device configuration in which a dedicated communication protocol is used.

  However, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated device individually, which increases the cost of the entire system and increases versatility.

  Therefore, in recent years, an image formation support apparatus (back-end processor) having a printer controller function that performs control depending on the output side is provided between the DFE apparatus (front-end processor) and the image formation apparatus. A system has also been proposed in which when image data sent from a front-end processor is received, image data is sequentially sent to an image forming apparatus in accordance with processing characteristics on the output side, and printing processing is performed by controlling the image forming apparatus. As a result, when processing or recovery processing adapted to an output form based on a request from a client is performed, it is possible to cope with the processing regardless of the front-end processor.

  By the way, in addition to the image data obtained by RIP processing the PDL data (electronic document) by the DFE device, the image forming device 11 can also input image data obtained by reading the document (paper document) by the scanner device. Some are configured. That is, there is an image forming apparatus provided with not only a so-called printer function for performing printing based on PDL data input from a client terminal but also a so-called copy function for performing printing based on a reading result by a scanner device.

In such an image forming apparatus, image data composed only of an electronic document or only a paper document may be input, but image data in which an electronic document and a paper document are mixed may be input. Conventionally, a technique has been proposed for printing image data in which an electronic document and a paper document are mixed as one booklet (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-231279 A

  It is known that the print result of the image forming apparatus has a different color for each input device for inputting image data, such as a DFE device or a scanner device. However, the conventional technology for printing image data in which electronic originals and paper originals are mixed as one booklet is performed by simply switching between a printer function and a copy function, and printing results based on the electronic originals. In this case, the printing result based on the paper document is inserted, and the color difference of each input device is not taken into consideration.

  For this reason, when the same image portion is included in both the electronic document and the paper document, there is a problem that a color difference for each input device occurs in the image portion. For example, when the same logo mark is printed on all pages, the image data indicating the same logo mark is included in both the image data based on the electronic manuscript and the image data based on the paper manuscript. When image data with a mixture of is printed as a single booklet, the color of the logo mark differs from page to page, resulting in an uncomfortable feeling.

Further, even if a conventional image forming support apparatus adopts a technique for printing image data in which electronic documents and paper documents are mixed as one booklet, the same problem occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a plurality of image data includes an image portion that should be unified in color such as a logo mark, an image is formed by unifying the color of the image portion. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming support apparatus capable of performing the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a combining unit that combines a plurality of input image data, and an image represented by any one of the plurality of image data. Features that match the specific image portion from a specification unit that specifies the specific image portion and an image represented by other image data excluding the image data that specifies the specific image portion of the plurality of image data Extraction means for extracting the image portion to be extracted, and the data of the extracted image portion and the specific image so that the color of the image portion extracted by the extraction means and the color of the specific image portion are the same Correction means for correcting at least one of the partial data before or after the synthesis, and image data synthesized by the synthesis means after the correction, or correction by the correction means after the synthesis Includes image forming means for forming an image, a based on the image data.

  That is, the first image forming apparatus is provided with a combining unit that combines a plurality of input image data. The plurality of image data can be image data input from different input devices such as a processor that generates image data from a print job or a scanner device that obtains image data by reading a document.

  Furthermore, a designation unit is provided for designating a specific image portion in an image represented by any one of the plurality of input image data. By the designation means, the user can arbitrarily designate a specific image portion. For example, an image portion such as a logo mark, a company name, or a design that exists in common for each page can be designated as a specific image portion. The extracting means extracts an image portion whose characteristics match those of the specified specific image portion from an image represented by other image data excluding the image data specifying the specific image portion among the plurality of image data.

  The correcting unit corrects at least one of the extracted image portion data and the specific image portion data before or after the combining. For example, only the data of the extracted image portion may be corrected so that the color of the extracted image portion is changed to the color of the specific image portion. Conversely, the color of the specific image portion is extracted. Only the data of a specific image portion may be corrected so that the color of the image portion is changed. In addition, both the data of the extracted image portion and the data of the specific image portion are changed so that the color of the extracted image portion and the color of the specific image portion are changed to other colors different from each other. You may make it correct | amend. The correction process by the correcting unit is performed before or after the combining by the combining unit.

  The image forming unit forms an image based on the image data combined by the combining unit after correction by the correcting unit or the image data corrected by the correcting unit after combining by the combining unit.

  Thereby, when the image part which should unify colors, such as a logo mark, is contained in several image data, it can unify the color of the said image part, and can form an image.

  In addition, in the first image forming apparatus, the extraction unit includes an image part having a color difference within a predetermined range with respect to the specific image part, an image part similar to the shape of the specific image part, or the specific image part. An image portion having a color difference within a predetermined range and a shape similar to the shape of the specific image portion can be extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match those of the specific image portion. Furthermore, the predetermined range can be different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic.

  Thereby, the extraction means can extract efficiently the logo mark, the design, etc. that exist in common in each image data.

  In addition, the second image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a combining unit that combines a plurality of input image data, and a predetermined specific image from a plurality of images represented by each of the plurality of image data. Correction for correcting the data of the extracted image portion before or after the synthesis so that the color of each image portion extracted by the extraction means is the same as the extraction means for extracting the image portion having the same feature And image forming means for forming an image based on the image data synthesized by the synthesis means after the correction or the image data corrected by the correction means after the synthesis.

  That is, in the second image forming apparatus, a specific image is determined in advance. For example, image data of a specific image such as a logo mark whose colors should be unified may be registered in advance. An image portion whose characteristics match that of the specific image is extracted from a plurality of input image data, and the data of the extracted image portion is combined by the combining means so that the colors of the extracted image portions are the same. Correct before or after synthesis.

  For example, when unifying the colors of logo marks included in an image, if the plurality of input image data is image data input from two types of input devices, the color of one logo mark is changed to the color of the other logo mark. The data of the extracted image portion of the image data input from only one input device may be corrected so that the color of both logo marks is different from the colors of each other. As described above, the data of the extracted image portion of the image data input from both input devices may be corrected. That is, in the former case, it is not necessary to correct the image data input from the other input device, but in the latter case, the image data input from both input devices is corrected. In any case, when a plurality of image data includes an image part such as a logo mark whose color should be unified, it is possible to form an image by unifying the color of the image part.

  In the second image forming apparatus, the extraction unit includes an image part having a color difference within a predetermined range with the specific image, an image part having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image, or a color difference with the specific image. Can be extracted as an image portion whose characteristics are similar to the shape of the specific image. Furthermore, the predetermined range can be different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic.

  Thereby, the extraction means can extract efficiently the logo mark, the design, etc. that exist in common in each image data.

  A first image formation support apparatus according to the present invention is an image formation support apparatus that supports image formation of an image formation apparatus, and includes a combining unit that combines a plurality of input image data, and a combination of the plurality of image data. A designation means for designating a specific image portion in an image represented by any one of the image data, and other image data excluding the image data designating the specific image portion of the plurality of image data Extraction means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match those of the specific image portion, and the color of the image portion extracted by the extraction means and the color of the specific image portion are the same. Correction means for correcting at least one of the extracted image portion data and the specific image portion data before or after the composition; and image data synthesized by the composition means after the correction. Or and a, and output means for outputting the image data corrected in the image forming apparatus by said correcting means after said synthesis.

  That is, the first image formation support device designates a specific image portion from within the image represented by any one of the plurality of image data, as in the first image formation device, and the designated identification The image portion whose characteristics coincide with those of the other image data is extracted from other image data. Correction is performed before or after the synthesis of the image data so that the color of the extracted image portion and the color of the specific image portion are the same.

  Further, the first image formation support apparatus outputs the image data synthesized after the correction or the image data corrected after the synthesis to the image forming apparatus.

  As a result, in the image forming apparatus, when an image portion such as a logo mark whose color should be unified is included in a plurality of image data, an image can be formed by unifying the color of the image portion.

  In the first image formation support apparatus, the extraction unit includes an image part whose color difference is within a predetermined range with respect to the specific image part, an image part similar to the shape of the specific image part, or the specific image part. An image part having a color difference from the image part within a predetermined range and having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image part can be extracted as an image part whose characteristics match the specific image part. Furthermore, the predetermined range can be different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic.

  Thereby, the extraction means can extract efficiently the logo mark, the design, etc. that exist in common in each image data.

  A second image formation support apparatus according to the present invention is an image formation support apparatus that supports image formation of an image formation apparatus, and includes a combining unit that combines a plurality of input image data, and each of the plurality of image data. The extraction means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match a predetermined specific image from the plurality of images represented, and the extraction so that the color of each image portion extracted by the extraction means is the same Correction means for correcting the data of the image portion before or after the composition, and image data synthesized by the composition means after the correction, or image data corrected by the correction means after the composition Output means.

  That is, in the second image formation support apparatus, a specific image is determined in advance as in the second image formation apparatus. For example, image data of a specific image such as a logo mark whose colors should be unified may be registered in advance. An image portion whose characteristics match that of the specific image is extracted from a plurality of input image data, and the image portion data is combined before combining by the combining means or so that the colors of the extracted image portions are the same. Correct after synthesis.

  Further, the second image formation support apparatus outputs the image data combined after the correction or the image data corrected after the combination to the image forming apparatus.

  As a result, in the image forming apparatus, when an image portion such as a logo mark whose color should be unified is included in a plurality of image data, an image can be formed by unifying the color of the image portion.

  In the second image formation support apparatus, the extraction unit includes: an image portion having a color difference within a predetermined range from the specific image; an image portion similar to the shape of the specific image; or the specific image. An image portion having a color difference within a predetermined range and similar to the shape of the specific image can be extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match those of the specific image. Furthermore, the predetermined range can be different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic.

  Thereby, the extraction means can extract efficiently the logo mark, the design, etc. that exist in common in each image data.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a plurality of image data includes an image portion that should be unified in color such as a logo mark, it is possible to form an image by unifying the color of the image portion. Has an excellent effect.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Image forming system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. The image forming system includes a high-speed LAN (Local Area Network) using a general-purpose communication protocol, and a client terminal for inputting, for example, electronic data (print data) described in a page description language (PDL) to the high-speed LAN. 400 and 402 are connected. The client terminals 400 and 402 are computers capable of executing various application programs under different operating systems (OS). A scanner device 410 that reads an image of a document and outputs the image data is also connected to the high-speed LAN. The high-speed LAN includes DFE devices 500, 502, 504, 506, and 508, BEP (Back End Processor) devices 600, 602, and 604 as image forming support devices according to the present invention, which will be described in detail later. A CTP device 702 that directly creates a printing plate with data is connected.

  Printing is performed in the press device 710 using the printing plate created by the CTP device 702. Further, a BEP device 600 is connected to the CTP device 702 in parallel (to a high-speed LAN). A high-speed printer 746 similar to the image forming apparatus 11 is connected to the BEP device 600.

  An output device 730, high-speed printers 740 and 742 having the same configuration, and a CTP device 700 are connected to the output side of the BEP device 604 connected to the high-speed LAN. The output device 730 and the high-speed printers 740 and 742 perform print output, and the CTP device 700 creates a printing plate. The DFE device 502 is connected to printer proofers 720 and 722 having the same configuration via the BEP device 602. The printer proofers 720 and 722 are for confirming output for printing, and may function as an image forming apparatus.

  The DFE device 504 is connected to a high-speed printer 744, and the DFE device 504 and the high-speed printer 744 are responsible for a department in charge of on-demand printing processing. The DFE device 506 is connected to the output device 732, and the DFE device 508 is connected to the large output device 750. The configuration including the DFE device 506 and the output device 732 and the configuration including the DFE device 508 and the large output device 750 are the same as the configuration of the conventional image forming apparatus.

  The image forming system according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which CTP and an apparatus having a POD (print on demand) function can be mixed in the same system. This is because the BEP device according to the present embodiment has a function for variously processing the data after the print data from the client is converted into raster data (RIP processing).

[Configuration example]
In the image forming system configured as described above, a case where an image is formed using the client terminal 400, the scanner device 410, the DFE device 500, the BEP device 600, and the high-speed printer 746 (image forming device 11) will be described.

  The DFE apparatus 500 has a function of converting data from the client terminal 400 into raster data (RIP processing) and compressing the converted raster image. In this embodiment, the DFE apparatus 500 includes the image forming apparatus 11. Does not require a printer controller function to perform a dependent print control function. That is, the DFE device 500 may have a configuration mainly having only a function of RIP processing.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image forming system according to the present invention. In the figure, the data flow when the BEP device 600 is interposed between the DFE device 500 and the scanner device 410 and the image forming device 11 is shown.

  Here, the YMCK format image data output from the DFE device 500 and the RGB format image data output from the scanner device 410 have different colors depending on the respective devices. When the same specific image is included, if these image data are combined as they are and printed as a single booklet, the color of the logo mark differs from page to page, resulting in an uncomfortable feeling.

  Therefore, in the following, the YMCK format image data from the DFE device 500 and the RGB format image data obtained by separately reading a paper document with the scanner device 410 are included in the image of each image data with the BEP device 600. As an embodiment of the image forming system according to the present invention, an example in which the colors of the logos to be processed are combined so as to be unified and printed by the high-speed printer 746 (image forming apparatus 11) as one booklet will be described. .

  As shown in FIG. 5 as a prior art, the image forming apparatus 11 includes an IOT module (IOT main body) 12 including an IOT core unit 20, a feed module (FM) 15, and an output module 17. And a user interface device 18 such as a personal computer (PC). The feed module 15 may have a multistage configuration. Moreover, you may provide the connection module which connects between each module as needed. In addition, a finisher module may be connected to the subsequent stage of the output module 17. As the finisher module, for example, there are a stacker for stacking sheets and a stapler for binding one or more places, or a punching mechanism for punching holes.

  The DFE device 500 receives print data (hereinafter referred to as PDL data) described in PDL from the client terminal 400, and temporarily stores the PDL data once, and reads and interprets the PDL data from the data storage unit 501. And RIP processing unit 510 that generates (rasterizes) image data (raster data) in units of pages, and a compression processing unit 530 that compresses the image data generated by RIP processing unit 510 according to a predetermined format. An interface unit 542 is provided following the compression processing unit 530. In the RIP processing unit 510, PDL data is expanded to generate image data. Therefore, the RIP processing unit 510 incorporates a PDL interpretation unit and a decomposer functioning as an imager, a so-called RIP engine. The compression processing unit 530 compresses the image data from the RIP 510 and immediately transfers the compressed image data to the BEP device 600. The DFE device 500 is also provided with a YMCK conversion unit for converting the image data generated by the RIP processing unit 510 into the YMCK color space, but the illustration is omitted here.

  The data sent from the DFE device 500 to the BEP device 600 includes, for example, the number of copies, double-sided / single-sided, color / monochrome, as well as compressed raster-based image file data such as a TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format. , Print control information (job ticket) such as composite print, presence / absence of sort, presence / absence of stapler, and the like.

  The scanner device 410 includes an image reading unit 412 configured to include a CCD (charge coupled device), an A / D (analog / digital) conversion unit, and the like, and compression for compressing RGB image data obtained by reading. And a processing unit 414. Further, an interface unit 416 is provided at the subsequent stage of the compression processing unit 414, and the compressed image data is transferred to the BEP device 600 via the interface unit 416.

  The BEP device 600 has a process control function depending on the image forming apparatus 11. This control function may be instructed by the user interface device or may be determined in advance. When an instruction is given by the user interface device, an input device such as a keyboard or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) 80 for receiving an instruction input while presenting an image to the user is provided, and a process dependent on the image forming apparatus 11 is instructed. .

  The BEP device 600 uses the RIP processed data from the DFE device 500 to enable efficient high-speed output. That is, the BEP device 600 generates a command code based on the print control information received from the DFE device 500, and controls the processing timing of each unit in the image forming apparatus 11 according to the engine characteristics. In addition, the BEP device 600 completes the spool processing so as to match the engine characteristics of the IOT module 12, the feed module 15, the output module 17, etc., and then passes the image data to the IOT module 12.

  Rotation, page allocation (N-UP) within one sheet, repeat processing, paper size adjustment, CMS (Color Management System) for correcting device differences, resolution conversion, contrast adjustment Processing related to RIP processing such as compression ratio designation (low / medium / high) is processed by the DFE device 500, and the control command is not notified to the BEP device 600 (non-notification).

  In addition, collation (booking), double-sided printing, stamping / punching / stapler finisher devices or paper tray alignment processing, discharge surface (up / down) alignment, calibration processing such as gray balance and color shift correction As for screen designation processing and the like (IOT-dependent processing) that is strongly related to the processing characteristics of the image forming apparatus 11, the BEP device 600 processes the control command through the DFE device 500.

  As described above, the DFE device side of this embodiment transfers one job (JOB) unilaterally to the BEP device side in the order of RIP processing without depending on the engine characteristics, and rearranges pages for printing on the BEP device side. To do.

  Further, the BEP device 600 combines the image data received from the scanner device 410 and the image data received from the DFE device 500 to generate image data for printing, and transmits the image data to the designated image forming device 11. The image forming apparatus 11 (IOT core unit 20) can print as one booklet based on the received image data for printing.

  Here, a specific configuration of the BEP device 600 will be described. The BEP device 600 receives and holds compressed image data processed by the DFE device 500 regardless of the print job and the processing characteristics of the print engine 30 (for example, processed asynchronously with the processing speed of the print engine 30). The compressed image data is read from the storage unit 603 and the image storage unit 603, and decompression processing corresponding to the compression processing of the compression processing unit 530 on the DFE device 500 side is performed, and image processing is performed on the decompressed image data. A decompression processing unit (image editing unit) 610 is provided for sending to the IOT core unit 20 side. The decompression processing unit 610 performs image editing functions such as image rotation, image position adjustment, enlargement or reduction, and composition of a plurality of image data with respect to the image data read from the image storage unit 603 and decompressed. It has. A data receiving unit 601 is provided in the previous stage of the image storage unit 603, and an output side interface unit 650 is provided in the subsequent stage of the decompression processing unit 610.

  The BEP device 600 also includes a print control unit 620 that functions as a printer controller that controls each unit of the BEP device 600 and the IOT core unit 20 depending on the processing performance of the IOT core unit 20. The print control unit 620 interprets (decodes) the job ticket from the DFE device 500 or receives a user instruction via the GUI unit 80, and outputs an output form (in accordance with the processing characteristics of the print engine 30, the fixing device 70, or the finisher). An output form specifying unit 622 for specifying the image position in the page, the presence / absence of image data synthesis, the page discharge order and orientation, and the print engine 30 and the fixing device so that the printed matter is output in the specified output form. 70 and a control unit 624 that controls each component of the BRP device 600 and controls each unit such as a finisher. Here, the print control unit 620 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and the control unit 624 and the output form specifying unit 622 are realized by a program stored in the ROM.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the decompression processing unit (image editing unit) 610 of the BEP device 600 and a data flow.

  The decompression processing unit 610 includes a color conversion unit 612, an extraction unit 614, a color correction unit 616, and an image composition unit 618. Note that a decompression unit for decompressing the compressed image data input from the DFE device 500 and the scanner device 410 is provided in the preceding stage of the color conversion unit 612, but the illustration is omitted here. The decompression processing unit 610 is also provided with means for performing image editing other than color correction and image synthesis, but illustration thereof is omitted here.

  The color conversion unit 612 converts RGB image data input from the scanner device 410 into YMCK format data. The extraction unit 614 extracts an image portion whose characteristics match a specific image described later from an image represented by the YMCK-converted image data. The extraction unit 614 includes a shape determination unit 614A and a color difference determination unit 614B. The shape determination unit 614A determines whether the feature matches the specific image from the shape. The color difference determination unit 614B determines whether the feature matches the specific image from the color difference. By these determination units, an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image is extracted from the image represented by the image data output from the scanner device 410 and subjected to YMCK conversion. The color correction unit 616 corrects the image data so that the color of the image portion extracted by the extraction unit 614 is the same color as the specific image.

  When the image composition unit 618 receives a composition instruction from the control unit 624, the image data output from the DFE device 500 and the image data output from the scanner device 410 are printed as one booklet. Perform synthesis processing. If the composition instruction is not received, each image data passes through the image composition unit 618. The image data combined or passed through by the image combining unit 618 is output from the interface unit 650 to the image forming apparatus 11.

  That is, image data rasterized (drawn and developed) from the page description language by the RIP processing unit 510 in the DFE device 500, and image data output by reading the printed document by the scanner device 410 are stored in the BEP device. It is transferred to the 600 side in page order. The BEP device 600 temporarily stores the image data transferred from the DFE device 500 in the image storage unit 603 that functions as a buffer. An expansion processing unit (image editing unit) 610 reads compressed image data from the image storage unit 603 and performs expansion processing, and also assembles page data according to a designated print job (rearrangement of page data), and composition processing Or prepare to transfer to the designated print engine. The BEP device 600 sends page data to the IOT core unit 20 in a predetermined order at a speed that maximizes engine productivity while exchanging control commands in synchronization with the processing speed of the print engine 30.

  In this way, each input device (DFE device 500, scanner device 410) side can unilaterally transfer image data to the BEP device 600 side in the processed order without depending on the engine characteristics. The BEP device 600 is in charge of processing depending on the print job and the print engine 30 such as rearranging pages for printing.

  Hereinafter, the image data output from the DFE device 500 is referred to as print data, and the image data output from the scanner device 410 is referred to as scan data. Further, when the image data output from each device is called without distinction, it is simply called image data.

[Operation]
In the image forming system configured as described above, the operation of each component of the BEP device 600 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a synthesis processing routine executed by the BEP device 600. In step 100, print data is received (input) from the DFE apparatus 500 and scan data is received (input) from the scanner apparatus 410 via the data receiving unit 601. Each received image data is stored in the image storage unit 603. At a predetermined timing, the compressed scan data is read from the image recording unit 603 and decompressed by a decompression unit (not shown) of the decompression processing unit 610. Then, in step 102, the color conversion unit 612 converts the scan data from RGB format to YMCK. Convert to format.

  In step 104, the output form specifying unit 622 outputs the output form information specified from the information included in the job ticket to the control unit 624, and the control unit 624 combines the print data and the scan data based on the information. Determine whether or not. It should be noted that the user may be able to input an instruction as to whether or not to synthesize from the GUI 80. If it is determined that the print data and the scan data are not to be combined, the process proceeds to step 120 so that the print data and the scan data are printed as separate bundles without combining the print data and the scan data. Output as. As a result, the image forming apparatus 11 prints the print data and the scan data individually.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 104 that the images are to be combined, a decompression unit (not shown) of the decompression processing unit 610 reads out the compressed print data from the image storage unit 603 and decompresses the print data. Displays an image on the GUI 80 based on the print data. The user can confirm the image of the displayed print data, and can designate a specific image portion from the image using the GUI 80. Here, a logo mark will be described as an example of the specific image.

  In step 108, the control unit 624 determines whether or not a specific image portion has been designated by the user. If it is determined that the image is designated here, in step 110, the control unit 624 acquires information on the shape and color of the specific image from the portion designated by the user.

  In step 112, the control unit 624 specifies a shape to be extracted to the shape determination unit 614A of the extraction unit 614 from the acquired shape information, and the shape determination unit 614A specifies the shape represented by the scan data. It is determined whether or not there is an image portion having a similar shape to the image. If it is determined that there is an image portion having a similar shape, in step 114, the control unit 624 determines the color difference range from the specific image to the color determination unit 614B of the extraction unit 614 based on the color information of the specific image. Specify α. Here, the value of α is changed according to whether the color of a specific image such as a logo mark is an achromatic color or a chromatic color. For example, the value of α is decreased for an achromatic color, and the value of α is increased for a chromatic color. The color determination unit 614B determines whether or not the color difference between the image portion determined to be similar to the specific image by the shape determination unit 614A and the specific image is less than α. If it is determined that the color difference is less than α, the image portion can be determined to be a logo mark included in the image represented by the scan data, and the extraction unit 614 scans the data of the image portion. In step 116, the color correction unit 616 corrects the data of the image portion of the scan data so that the color of the image portion extracted from the scan data is the same as the color of the specific image.

  In step 118, the image composition unit 618 synthesizes the corrected scan data and print data, and in step 120, outputs the synthesized image data to the image forming unit 11 via the interface unit 650. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 11 can perform printing processing as one booklet based on the image data obtained by combining the print data and the scan data. As described above, the image data output to the image forming apparatus 11 is corrected so that the color of the logo mark as the specific image specified by the user is unified between the print data and the scan data. There is no color difference between the logo marks, and there is no sense of incongruity.

  In step 108, if the displayed image does not include a logo mark, the user does not input the specific image, so a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step 118, and the image composition unit 618 The scan data that has passed through the extraction unit 614 and the color correction unit 616 and the print data are combined, and in step 120, the combined image data is output to the image forming apparatus 11 via the interface unit 650.

  Further, when a negative determination is made in step 112 and step 114, it can be determined that the specific image is not included in the scan data, and the process for unifying the color of the specific image (the process of step 116) is not performed. Then, the process proceeds to step 118, where the scan data and the print data are combined by the image combining unit 618, and the combined image data is output to the image forming apparatus 11 via the interface unit 650 in step 120.

  As explained above, since the color of a specific image such as a logo mark is corrected and combined so that it is the same color in the print data and scan data, a color difference occurs in each printed logo mark Without feeling uncomfortable.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various design changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the user designates a specific image portion such as a logo mark from the GUI 80 as the designation unit has been described. However, a specific image with a unified color may be registered in advance. If registered in advance in this way, the same image portion as the feature of the registered specific image is extracted from both the image represented by the print data and the image represented by the scan data. The correction is made so that the colors of all the parts are the same. Thereby, the effect similar to the above is acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of correcting data of an image portion extracted from scan data before combining print data and scan data has been described. However, correction may be performed after combining. When correction is performed after combining in this way, the position of the image portion to be corrected is stored in a memory or the like, and the stored portion data is corrected after combining. This also provides the same effect as described above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the color of the image portion extracted from the image represented by the scan data is changed to the color of the specific image portion designated from the image represented by the print data. Although the example of correcting the data of the image portion from which the scan data is extracted has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the color of the specific image portion is changed to the color of the extracted image portion. In addition, the data of a specific image portion of the print data may be corrected.

  Further, both the scan data and the print data are corrected so that the color of the image portion extracted from the scan data and the color of the specific image of the print data are different from both colors. Also good. This also provides the same effect as described above.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image and having a color difference with the specific image within a predetermined range (less than α in the above case) is extracted from the scan data. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image portion whose color difference is within a predetermined range may be extracted regardless of the shape, or the shape of the specific image may be determined regardless of the color difference. You may make it extract the image part which becomes a similar shape.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the print data and the scan data are transferred to the image forming apparatus 11 via the BEP device 600 has been described. However, the image forming apparatus 11 directly prints the print data without using the BEP device 600. In addition, the scan data may be received, and the print processing may be performed after correcting the logo mark color of each received image data to be unified. In other words, the image forming apparatus 11 itself may be provided with functions such as a print control unit and an expansion processing unit provided in the BEP device 600. Even with such a configuration, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming system according to an exemplary embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a decompression processing unit (image editing unit) of the BEP device and a data flow. It is a flowchart of the synthetic | combination process routine performed with a BEP apparatus. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a conventional image forming system.

Explanation of symbols

11 Image forming apparatus 80 GUI
400 Client terminal 410 Scanner device 500 DFE device 600 BEP device 610 Decompression processing unit 612 Color conversion unit 614 Extraction unit 614A Shape determination unit 614B Color difference determination unit 616 Color correction unit 618 Image composition unit 620 Print control unit 622 Output form specification unit 624 Control 700 CTP device 710 Press device 720 Printer proofer 730 Output machine 740 High-speed printer 750 Large output machine

Claims (12)

Combining means for combining a plurality of input image data;
Designation means for designating a specific image portion in an image represented by any one of the plurality of image data;
Extracting means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image portion from an image represented by other image data excluding the image data specifying the specific image portion among the plurality of image data;
At least one of the extracted image portion data and the specific image portion data is pre-combined so that the color of the image portion extracted by the extracting means is the same as the color of the specific image portion. Or correction means for correcting after synthesis;
Image forming means for forming an image based on image data synthesized by the synthesizing means after the correction, or image data corrected by the correcting means after the synthesis;
An image forming apparatus.   The extracting means includes an image part having a color difference within a predetermined range with the specific image part, an image part having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image part, or a color difference with the specific image part within a predetermined range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image portion is extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image portion.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined range is different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic. Combining means for combining a plurality of input image data;
Extracting means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match a predetermined specific image from a plurality of images represented by each of the plurality of image data;
Correction means for correcting the data of the extracted image portion before or after the synthesis so that the colors of the image portions extracted by the extraction means are the same;
Image forming means for forming an image based on image data synthesized by the synthesizing means after the correction, or image data corrected by the correcting means after the synthesis;
An image forming apparatus.   The extracting means includes an image portion having a color difference within a predetermined range with the specific image, an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image, or a color difference with the specific image within the predetermined range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the image is extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match those of the specific image.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined range is different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic. An image formation support apparatus for supporting image formation of an image formation apparatus,
Combining means for combining a plurality of input image data;
Designation means for designating a specific image portion in an image represented by any one of the plurality of image data;
Extracting means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image portion from an image represented by other image data excluding the image data specifying the specific image portion among the plurality of image data;
At least one of the extracted image portion data and the specific image portion data is pre-combined so that the color of the image portion extracted by the extracting means is the same as the color of the specific image portion. Or correction means for correcting after synthesis;
Image data synthesized by the synthesis means after the correction, or output means for outputting the image data corrected by the correction means after the synthesis to the image forming apparatus;
An image forming support apparatus.   The extracting means includes an image part having a color difference within a predetermined range with the specific image part, an image part having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image part, or a color difference with the specific image part within a predetermined range. The image forming support apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image portion is extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image portion.   The image forming support apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined range is different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic. An image formation support apparatus for supporting image formation of an image formation apparatus,
Combining means for combining a plurality of input image data;
Extracting means for extracting an image portion whose characteristics match a predetermined specific image from a plurality of images represented by each of the plurality of image data;
Correction means for correcting the data of the extracted image portion before or after the synthesis so that the colors of the image portions extracted by the extraction means are the same;
Image data synthesized by the synthesis means after the correction, or output means for outputting the image data corrected by the correction means after the synthesis to the image forming apparatus;
An image forming support apparatus.   The extracting means includes an image portion having a color difference within a predetermined range with the specific image, an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the specific image, or a color difference with the specific image within the predetermined range. The image forming support apparatus according to claim 10, wherein an image portion having a shape similar to the shape of the image is extracted as an image portion whose characteristics match the specific image.   12. The image forming support apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined range is different depending on whether the specific image portion is achromatic or chromatic.

Images