JP2005267085A - Print control method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print control method and device for making it unnecessary to manually rearrange pages even when a plurality of pages are allocated to one surface of a sheet for printing, and the printed sheet is cut for acquiring a print document. <P>SOLUTION: An attribute acquisition part 13 acquires the number of pages of a document and the number of output copies, and a page independent data working part 15 or a page independent data adding part 16 cuts a sheet group where sheets are overlapped in the order of output according to pages based on the acquired number of pages and number of output copies, and rearranges the order of pages of a document so that the cut sheet group can be the overlapped in the order of pages. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing control method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing control method and apparatus for allocating and printing a plurality of pages on one sheet.

  In printers and copiers, printing is often performed by allocating a plurality of pages on one side of a sheet. As a technique for allocating and printing a plurality of pages on one side of a sheet, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1.

Using such a technique, for example, two pages are allocated and printed on one side of an A3 size paper, and then the A4 size document is obtained by cutting the paper, thereby reducing the printing cost. That is being done.
JP-A-8-286863

  However, when two pages are allocated and printed on one side of an A3 size sheet, it is often necessary to rearrange the pages manually after cutting the sheet. For example, when two copies of a five-page document are printed, the output of the printer is as shown in FIG. 30A, in which the first page is printed with a “1” page and a “2” page. The “3” page, the “4” page, the “5” page and the “1” page, the “2” page and the “3” page, and the “4” page and the “5” page are respectively printed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 30 (b), the result of cutting this sheet is the one arranged in the page order of “1”, “3”, “5”, “2”, “4” (left page). , “2”, “4”, “1”, “3”, “5” are arranged in the page order (right page), and it becomes necessary to rearrange them in the page order.

  Therefore, the present invention provides printing that does not require manual page reordering even when a plurality of pages are allocated and printed on one side of a sheet, and a printed document is obtained by cutting the printed sheet. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing control method and apparatus capable of obtaining a result.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention of claim 1 is a printing control method for allocating a plurality of pages of a document on one side of a sheet and outputting it from a printing apparatus, and acquiring the number of pages and the number of output copies of the document. Then, based on the acquired number of pages and the number of output copies, the paper group in which the sheets are overlapped in the output order is cut according to the page, and when the cut paper groups are further overlapped in a predetermined order, the page order is obtained. The page order of the document is rearranged.

  Further, in the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, when the document is provided as non-page-independent output data, the sorting is performed after invalidating the attribute specified in the output data. And a new attribute is added to the rearranged output data.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when double-sided printing is designated for the document and the number of pages of the document is an odd number, a blank page is added at the end of the document. The rearrangement is performed after adding a page.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when two pages are allocated to one side of a sheet, when double-sided printing is designated for the document, the total output page of the document If the number is an odd number, the last sheet is changed to a sheet having a half area, and one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet.

  Further, in the invention of claim 6, in the invention of claim 1, when two pages are allocated to one side of a sheet, when single-sided printing is designated for the document, the number of pages of the document is If it is an odd number, the last sheet is changed to a sheet having a half area, and one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method for rearranging the page order of a document provided as non-page-independent output data and outputting it from a printing apparatus, wherein an attribute specified in the output data is invalidated. After that, the output data is rearranged in the page order, and an attribute is newly added to the output data after the rearrangement.

  The invention of claim 8 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 7, page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data.

  Further, the invention of claim 9 is a print control device for allocating a plurality of pages of a document on one side of a sheet and outputting it from a printing device, and obtaining attribute information acquisition means for acquiring the number of pages and the number of output copies of the document; Based on the number of pages and the number of output copies acquired by the attribute information acquisition means, a sheet group in which sheets are stacked in the output order is cut according to a page, and the cut sheet group is further stacked in a predetermined order in page order. And a data editing means for rearranging the page order of the document.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 9, wherein the data editing means invalidates an attribute specified in the output data when the document is provided as non-page independent output data. And an attribute invalidating means for newly adding an attribute to the rearranged output data.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claim 10, wherein the attribute adding means adds, to the output data, page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation as attributes. It is characterized by that.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to claim 9, wherein when the double-sided printing is designated for the document and the number of pages of the document is odd, The rearrangement is performed after adding a blank page to the end of the document.

  The invention according to claim 13 is the invention according to claim 9, wherein when the data editing means assigns two pages to one side of the sheet, when duplex printing is designated for the document, If the total number of output pages of the document is an odd number, the last sheet is changed to a sheet having a half area, and one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet.

  The invention according to claim 14 is the invention according to claim 9, wherein when the data editing means assigns two pages to one side of the paper and single-sided printing is designated for the document, If the number of pages of the document is an odd number, the last sheet is changed to a sheet having a half area, and one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus for rearranging the page order of a document provided as non-page-independent output data and outputting the result from the printing apparatus, wherein the attribute specified in the output data is invalidated. Attribute order invalidating means, page order editing means for rearranging the page order of the output data whose attribute has been invalidated by the attribute invalidity means, and output data for which the page order editing means has been rearranged And an attribute adding means for newly adding an attribute.

  The invention according to claim 16 is the invention according to claim 15, wherein the attribute adding means adds page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation as attributes to the output data. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, the number of pages and the number of output copies of a document are acquired, and based on the acquired number of pages and the number of output copies, a sheet group in which sheets are stacked in the output order is cut according to a page, and the cut sheet is cut. Since the page order of the document is rearranged so that the page order is rearranged when the groups are further stacked in a predetermined order, multiple pages are allocated on one side of the paper and printed, and the printed paper is cut and printed Even when a document is obtained, it is not necessary to rearrange the pages manually.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing control method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a print control apparatus to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the print control apparatus 1 includes a job reception unit 11 and a format determination unit 12, an attribute acquisition unit 13, a page number acquisition unit 14, a page independent data processing unit 15, a page non-independent data processing unit 16, and an attribute. An invalidation unit 17, an attribute embedding unit 18, and a job transfer unit 19 are provided. The print control apparatus 1 can also be configured as a print server that operates a computer based on a program that implements each function.

  The job receiving unit 11 receives a print job including image data obtained by reading an original with the scanner 2, a print job generated by application software and a printer driver on the PC 3, and the like. Further, the job receiving unit 11 causes the format determining unit 12 to determine the format of the output data included in the received job, and if the output data is of page independent type, passes the job to the page independent data processing unit 15. If the output data is non-page independent type, the job is transferred to the page non-independent data processing unit 16.

  The format determination unit 12 determines the format of output data included in the job received by the job reception unit 11. In the format determination, not only whether the corresponding output data can be handled by the print control apparatus 1, but also whether the corresponding output data is a page independent type or a page non-independent type. Judgment is also made.

  The attribute acquisition unit 13 acquires the attribute from the job received by the job reception unit 11. Attributes to be acquired include single side / double side designation, output copy number designation, output paper designation, page number, and the like.

  When the job received by the job receiving unit 11 does not include an attribute indicating the number of pages, the page number acquiring unit 14 interprets the output data included in the job with a language or the like by interpreting the output data. To get.

  The page independent data processing unit 15 edits the output data by rearranging or duplicating the page independent output data included in the job passed from the job receiving unit 11. The editing of output data will be described later.

  The page non-independent data processing unit 16 performs page rearrangement, duplication, command addition, and the like on the page non-independent type output data included in the job passed from the job receiving unit 11 to thereby output the output data. Edit and process. The output data editing and processing method will be described later.

  The attribute invalidation unit 17 invalidates output copy designation, output sheet designation, and the like among the job attributes passed to the page independent data processing unit 15 and the page non-independent data processing unit 16.

  The attribute embedding unit 18 embeds new attributes such as output copy designation and output paper designation in a job whose output data has been processed by the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16.

  The job transfer unit 19 transfers a job including output data processed by the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 to the output device 4 such as a printer or a FAX.

  Here, output data editing processing by the page independent data processing unit 15 and the page non-independent data processing unit 16 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of output data editing processing. Note that the editing process described here is an example in the case where the output data designated for duplex output to A4 paper is output to A3 paper on both sides.

  When editing the output data, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 first acquires the page number p of the output data from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 101). If the acquired page number p is an odd number (YES in step 102), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 adds a blank page to the final page of the output data. (Step 103). At this time, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 increases the value of the page number p by 1 and changes it to a value including a blank page.

  Subsequently, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 acquires the output number designation from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 104), multiplies the acquired number N by the value of the page number p, and outputs it. The total number of pages P to be calculated is calculated (step 105). When the total number of pages P is divided by 2 and P / 2 is an even number (YES in step 106), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 is arranged as described later. When the replacement process A is executed (step 107) and P / 2 is an odd number (NO in step 106), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 performs the rearrangement process described later. B is executed (step 108), and the editing process is terminated.

  Next, the rearrangement process A executed in step 107 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process A.

  In the rearrangement process A, the pages are rearranged based on the total number of pages P, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the first A3 sheet, and the “P / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side (the back side of the “1” page) and the “P / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Similarly, place the “3” page on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “P / 2 + 3” page on the right side, and the “4” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page). The “P / 2 + 4” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “P / 2-1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the P / 4th A3 sheet, which is the last sheet, and the “P-1” page is arranged on the right side. The “P / 2” page is arranged on the back side of the “/ 2-1” page, and the “P” page is arranged on the right side.

  The rearrangement process A will be described with a specific example. For example, when outputting three copies of a three-page document in which double-sided output to A4 paper is specified, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, a “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the first A3 sheet, and a “3” page, which is the seventh page in total pages, is arranged on the right side. A “2” page is arranged on the back side of the “1” page, and a blank page which is the eighth page in total is arranged on the right side. Then, the “3” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, and the “1” page which is the ninth page on the right side is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page) A blank page, which is the fourth page of the total pages, and a “2” page, which is the tenth page of the total pages, are arranged on the right side. Also, on the left side of the table of the third A3 sheet, which is the last sheet, there is a “1” page which is the fifth page in total pages, and a “3” page which is the 11th page in total pages on the right side. On the left side of the paper (the back side of the “1” page), a “2” page, which is the sixth page in total pages, and a blank page, which is the 12th page in total pages, are arranged on the right side.

  Subsequently, the rearrangement process B executed in step 108 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process B.

  In the rearrangement process B, the pages are rearranged based on the total number of pages P, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the first A3 sheet, and the “P / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side (the back side of the “1” page) and the “P / 2 + 3” page is arranged on the right side. In addition, the “P / 2-2” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the (P-2) / 4th A3 sheet, the “P-1” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side (“P / The “P / 2-1” page is arranged on the back side of the “2-2” page, and the “P” page is arranged on the right side. The last (P + 2) / 4th sheet, which is the last sheet, is an A4 sheet, with the “P / 2” page on the front and the “P / 2 + 1” page on the back of the sheet.

  This rearrangement process B will be described using a specific example. For example, when outputting one copy of a 6-page document in which double-sided output to A4 paper is specified, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the first A3 sheet, the “5” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “1” page) “ “2” page and “5” page on the right side. Then, the “3” page is arranged on the front of the second A4 sheet as the last sheet, and the “4” page is arranged on the back of the sheet.

  Next, a method of processing output data by the page non-independent data processing unit 16 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of output data processing, and FIG. 8 is an example for explaining output data processing.

  Here, it is assumed that output data as shown in FIG. 8A is passed from the job receiving unit 11 to the page non-independent data processing unit 16. This output data is composed of attributes such as paper designation 251 and number of copies designation 252, page contents 252 indicating the contents of each page, page contents 253, page contents 254, page contents 255, page contents 256, and page contents 257.

  In the output data processing, the page non-independent data processing unit 16 first deletes the attribute from the output data (step 201). In the case of the output data shown in FIG. 8A, the paper designation 251 and the number of copies designation 252 are deleted, and output data as shown in FIG. 8B is obtained.

  Subsequently, if it is necessary to add a blank page to the output data as described above (YES in step 202), the page non-independent data processing unit 16 adds blank page data (step 203). As a result, the output data is in a state where a blank page 258 is added as shown in FIG.

  Next, the page non-independent data processing unit 16 rearranges the pages in the manner described above (step 204). As a result, the output data is in a state where the contents of each page are rearranged as shown in FIG.

  Next, the page non-independent data processing unit 16 inserts page information for each page of the output sheet (step 205). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8E, the page information 259 is the back of the first sheet (A3) with the page data 259 at the head of the page that becomes the table of the first sheet (A3). The page information 260 is at the top of the page, the page information 261 is at the top of the page that is the front of the second sheet (A4), and the page information 262 is at the top of the page that is the back of the second sheet (A4). It will be in the inserted state.

  Subsequently, the page non-independent data processing unit 16 embeds necessary attributes in the output data (step 206) and ends the processing. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8F, the output data is embedded with a sheet designation 263 for designating A3 paper, a number of copies designation 264 for designating one output, and a paper designation 264 for designating A4 paper. It becomes a state.

  Here, a specific example of page information embedded in output data will be described. Here, the case where the output data is PostScript language will be described as an example.

  When the output data is PostScript language, the processing described above can be performed by embedding the following header as page information.

Its header is
/ page 0 def% Declaration of variable holding page
/ printPageNumber1 1 def% Declares the page number to print
/ printPageNumber2 10 def% Declares the page number to print
/ printPage / showpage load def% Save showpage command (page output command)
/ showpage {% Replace showpage command
/ page page 1 add def% increment the number of pages
page printPageNumber1 eq {% Output if page number matches
printPage% Run the actual showpage command
} if
page printPageNumber2 eq {
420 0 translate% Move coordinates
printPage
} if
} def
It will be something like this. Note that the description after “%” in each line of the header shown here is a comment sentence for explaining the meaning.

  This header is invalidated by replacing the “% showpage” command, which is a page output command, with another command, and the output of the page, the movement of coordinates, and the like are instructed by the replaced command.

  The page information to be embedded in the output data of other formats varies depending on the format, but the page operation can be performed in the same manner as the independent output data.

  Next, Example 2 will be described. Since the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the output data editing process, only the output data editing process by the page independent data processing unit 15 and the page non-independent data processing unit 16 will be described here. Do.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of output data editing processing. Note that the editing process described here is an example in the case where the output data designated for duplex output to A4 paper is output to A3 paper on both sides.

  When editing the output data, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 first acquires the page number p of the output data from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 301). If the acquired page number p is an odd number (YES in step 302), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 adds a blank page to the last page of the output data. (Step 303). At this time, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 increases the value of the page number p by 1 and changes it to a value including a blank page.

  Subsequently, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 acquires the output number designation from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 304), and if the acquired number N of copies is an even number ( The reordering process C described later is executed (YES in step 305), and the editing process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the acquired number of copies is an odd number (NO in step 305), the value obtained by dividing the page number p by 2 and if p / 2 is an even number (YES in step 307), the page independent data The processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process D described later (step 308), and if p / 2 is an odd number (NO in step 306), the page independent data processing unit 15 or page The non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process E described later (step 309) and ends the editing process.

  Next, the rearrangement process C executed in step 306 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process C.

  In the rearrangement process C, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, “1” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the front of the first A3 sheet, Place the “2” page on the right. Similarly, “3” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the front of the third A3 sheet, and “4” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the back side of the sheet. Then, “p−1” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the front of the p / 2 second A3 sheet, which is the last sheet, and “p” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the back of the sheet.

  Since the output data after editing is two-part output data, the output as specified is obtained by setting 1/2 of the number of output copies specified in the job before editing as the number of output copies of the output data after editing. The number of copies will be output.

  This rearrangement process C will be described using a specific example. For example, when four copies of a three-page document designated to be output on both sides of A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the drawing, “1” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the front of the first A3 sheet, and “2” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the back of the sheet. . Then, “3” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the front of the second A3 sheet, and blank pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the back of the sheet.

  Then, the output data for the two A3 sheets is transferred to the output device 4 as a job in which the number of output copies is specified as two, so that the third and fourth sheets are the same as the first and second sheets, respectively. Will be output.

  Next, the rearrangement process D executed in step 308 will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process D.

  In the rearrangement process D, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, and two types of output data are created. If N copies are specified as the number of output copies, the output based on one output data is (N-1) / 2 copies, and the output based on the other output data is 1 copy. Output in the number of output copies can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (a), the output data for outputting only (N-1) / 2 copies includes the “1” page on the left side and the “p / 2 + 1” page on the right side of the first A3 sheet. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “1” page), and the “p / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Similarly, place the “3” page on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “p / 2 + 3” page on the right side, and the “4” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page). The “p / 2 + 4” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p−1” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the p / 2 second A3 sheet as the last sheet, the “p / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side (“p−1”) of the back side of the sheet. The “p” page is arranged on the back side of the “page”, and the “p / 2” page is arranged on the right side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the output data to be output by only one copy includes a “1” page on the left side and a “p / 2 + 1” page on the right side of the front of the first A3 sheet. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the paper (the back side of the “1” page), and the “p / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Similarly, place the “3” page on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “p / 2 + 3” page on the right side, and the “4” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page). The “p / 2 + 4” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p / 2-1” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the p / 4th A3 sheet as the last sheet, and the “p-1” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side (“p” The “p / 2” page is arranged on the back side of the “/ 2-1” page, and the “p” page is arranged on the right side.

  The output data that outputs only one copy is up to the p / 4th sheet, but this is from the first sheet of output data that outputs only (N-1) / 2 copies to the p / 4th sheet. Are arranged in the same page order as

  This rearrangement process D will be described with a specific example. For example, when outputting five copies of an 8-page document in which double-sided output to A4 paper is specified, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, based on output data that outputs only (N-1) / 2 copies, that is, output data that outputs only 2 copies (N = 5), the first to fourth and fifth sheets. The eighth and eighth sheets are output from the first, and the ninth and tenth sheets are output based on the output data that outputs only one copy.

  In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the first A3 sheet, the “5” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “1” page) “ “2” page and “6” page on the right side. The “3” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “7” page is arranged on the right side, the “4” page is arranged on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page), and “8” is arranged on the right side. Page. “5” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the third A3 sheet, “1” page is arranged on the right side, “6” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of “5” page), and “2” on the right side. Page. Then, the “7” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the fourth sheet of A3 paper that is the last of the output data, the “3” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the paper (the back side of the “7” page) The “8” page and the “4” page are arranged on the right side. Also, pages from the 5th sheet to the 8th sheet are arranged similarly to the 1st sheet to the 4th sheet.

  In addition, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the ninth A3 sheet, the “5” page is arranged on the right side, the “2” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “1” page), and the right side. A “6” page is arranged. And the “3” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the 10th A3 paper sheet, the “7” page is arranged on the right side, and the “4” page is on the left side of the paper (the back side of the “3” page). The “8” page is arranged on the right side.

  Next, the rearrangement process E executed in step 309 will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process E.

  In the rearrangement process E, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, and two kinds of output data are created. If N copies are specified as the number of output copies, the output based on one output data is (N-1) / 2 copies, and the output based on the other output data is 1 copy. Output in the number of output copies can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 14A, the output data to be output only in (N-1) / 2 copies includes the “1” page on the left side and the “p / 2 + 2” page on the right side of the first A3 sheet. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the paper (the back side of the “1” page), and the “p / 2 + 3” page is arranged on the right side. Similarly, place the “3” page on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “p / 2 + 4” page on the right side, and the “4” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page). The “p / 2 + 5” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p−1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the p / 2 second A3 sheet as the last sheet, and the “p / 2” page is arranged on the right side. The “p” page is arranged on the back side of the “page”, and the “p / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the output data to be output by only one copy is arranged with a “1” page on the left side and a “p / 2 + 2” page on the right side of the first A3 sheet. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the paper (the back side of the “1” page), and the “p / 2 + 3” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “(p + 2) / 4-1” A3 sheet, which is the previous sheet of the last sheet, has the “p / 2-2” page on the left side and the “p-1” page on the right side. The “p / 2-1” page is placed on the left side of the paper (the back side of the “p / 2-2” page), and the “p” page is placed on the right side. Then, the “p / 2” page is arranged on the front of the last (p + 2) / 4th A4 sheet, and the “p / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the back of the sheet.

  Note that the output data to be output for only one copy is up to (p + 2) / 4th sheet, but this is from the first sheet of output data to be output only for (N-1) / 2 copies. They are arranged in the same page order as those up to the fourth page.

  This rearrangement process E will be described with a specific example. For example, when five copies of a six-page document designated to be printed on both sides of A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, based on output data that outputs only (N-1) / 2 copies, that is, output data that outputs only 2 copies (N = 5), the first to third and fourth sheets. The sixth sheet from the first is output, and the seventh and eighth sheets are output based on the output data that outputs only one copy.

  In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the first A3 sheet, the “5” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “1” page) “ “2” page and “6” page on the right side. The “3” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the second A3 sheet, the “1” page is arranged on the right side, the “4” page on the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “3” page), and “2” on the right side. Page. Then, the “5” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the third A3 sheet which is the last of the output data, the “3” page is arranged on the right side, and the left side of the sheet (the back side of the “5” page) “ “6” page and “4” page on the right side. Also, pages from the 4th sheet to the 6th sheet are arranged similarly to the 1st sheet to the 3rd sheet.

  In addition, “1” page is arranged on the left side of the front of the seventh A3 sheet, “5” page is arranged on the right side, “2” page is arranged on the left side of the sheet (the back side of “1” page), and on the right side. A “6” page is arranged. The “3” page is arranged on the front of the last A4 sheet of the eighth sheet, and the “4” page is arranged on the back of the sheet.

  By the way, in the rearrangement process D and the rearrangement process E, two types of output data are generated, but a job may be generated in which more output data is generated and output by a combination thereof. For example, when output as shown in FIG. 13 is performed, output data as shown in FIG. 16 (a), FIG. 16 (b), FIG. 16 (c), and FIG. 16 (a), 16 (b), 16 (c), 16 (d), 16 (a), 16 (b), 16 (c), 16 (d), Output is performed in the order of FIG. 16 (a) and FIG. 16 (b). Further, when the output as shown in FIG. 15 is performed, the output data as shown in each of FIGS. 16 (e), 16 (f), 16 (g) and 16 (h) is generated. 16 (e), 16 (f), 16 (g), 16 (e), 16 (f), 16 (g), 16 (e), and 16 (h). Output will be performed in order.

  Next, Example 3 will be described. Since the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the output data editing process, only the output data editing process by the page independent data processing unit 15 and the page non-independent data processing unit 16 will be described here. Do.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow of output data editing processing. Note that the editing process described here is an example in which output data designated for single-sided output to A4 paper is output to single-sided A3 paper.

  When editing the output data, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 first acquires the page number p of the output data from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 401). Subsequently, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 acquires the output number designation from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 402), multiplies the acquired number N by the value of the page number p, and outputs it. The total number of pages P to be calculated is calculated (step 403). If the total page number P is an even number (YES in step 404), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process F described later (step 405). If the total page number P is an odd number (NO in step 404), the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process G described later (step 406). The editing process is terminated.

  Next, the rearrangement process F executed in step 405 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process F.

  In the rearrangement process F, the pages are rearranged based on the total number of pages P, and the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet and the “P / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the sheet, and the “P / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “P / 2” page is arranged on the left side of the P / 2 second A3 sheet as the last sheet, and the “P” page is arranged on the right side.

  The rearrangement process F will be described with a specific example. For example, when four copies of a three-page document designated for single-sided output on A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, a “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet, a “3” page which is the seventh page in the total page is arranged on the right side, and a “3” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet. The “2” page is arranged on the right side and the eighth page is the total page on the right side. Similarly, the “3” page is arranged on the left side of the third A3 sheet, the “3” page which is the ninth page in the total page on the right side, and the fourth page in the total page on the left side of the fourth sheet. "1" page, the first page is the 10th page on the right side, and the second page is the 5th page on the left side of the fifth A3 sheet. The second page is the total page on the right side. “2” page, which is the 11th page, is arranged, “3” page, which is the 6th page on the total page on the left side of the 6th A3 paper, which is the last sheet, and the 12th page, on the right side, is the total page “3” page is arranged.

  Next, the rearrangement process G executed in step 406 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process G.

  In the rearrangement process G, pages are rearranged based on the total number of pages P, and “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet and “(P + 1) / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the A3 sheet of the eye, and the “(P + 1) / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “(P + 1) / 2-1” page is arranged on the left side of the ((P + 1) / 2-1) A3 sheet which is the last previous sheet, and the “P” page is arranged on the right side. The (P + 1) / 2 sheet, which is the A sheet, is an A4 sheet, and the “(P + 1) / 2” page is arranged in the table.

  This rearrangement process G will be described with a specific example. For example, when three copies of a three-page document designated for single-sided output on A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet, the “3” page which is the sixth page in the total page is arranged on the right side, and “3” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet. The “2” page and the “1” page, which is the seventh page in total, are arranged on the right side. Similarly, the “3” page is arranged on the left side of the third A3 sheet, and the “2” page, which is the eighth page in the total page, is arranged on the right side. The fourth page of the total page is on the left side of the fourth A3 sheet. The “1” page is arranged on the right side, and the “3” page which is the ninth page in total is arranged on the right side. Then, the “2” page, which is the fifth page in total pages, is arranged on the fifth A4 sheet which is the last sheet.

  Next, Example 4 will be described. Since the fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the output data editing process, only the output data editing process by the page independent data processing unit 15 and the page non-independent data processing unit 16 will be described here. Do.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a flow of output data editing processing. Note that the editing process described here is an example in which output data designated for single-sided output to A4 paper is output on both sides to A3 paper.

  When editing the output data, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 first acquires the page number p of the output data from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 501).

  Subsequently, the page independent data processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 acquires the output number designation from the attribute acquisition unit 31 (step 502), and if the acquired number of copies N is an even number ( The reordering process H described later is executed (YES in step 503) (step 504), and the editing process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the acquired number of copies is an odd number (NO in step 503), the value obtained by dividing the page number p by 2 and if p / 2 is an even number (YES in step 505), the page independent data The processing unit 15 or the page non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process I described later (step 506), and if p / 2 is an odd number (NO in step 505), the page independent data processing unit 15 or page The non-independent data processing unit 16 executes a rearrangement process J described later (step 507), and ends the editing process.

  Next, the rearrangement process H executed in step 504 will be described. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process H.

  In the rearrangement process H, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, and “1” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the first A3 sheet, and the left side of the second A3 sheet. “2” page is arranged on the right side. Then, “p” pages are arranged on the left and right sides of the table of the p-th A3 sheet as the last sheet.

  Since the output data after editing is two-part output data, the half of the number of output copies N specified in the job before editing is set as the number of output copies of the output data after editing as specified. The number of output copies will be output.

  This rearrangement process H will be described using a specific example. For example, when four copies of a three-page document designated for single-sided output on A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, “1” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the first A3 sheet, and “2” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the second A3 sheet. . Then, “3” pages are arranged on both the left and right sides of the third A3 sheet.

  Then, the output data for the three sheets of A3 paper is transferred to the output device 4 as a job in which the number of output copies is specified as two, so that the fourth to sixth sheets are the same as the first to third sheets, respectively. Will be output.

  Next, the rearrangement process I executed in step 506 will be described. FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process I.

  In the rearrangement process I, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, and two types of output data are created. If N copies are specified as the number of output copies, the output based on one output data is (N-1) / 2 copies, and the output based on the other output data is 1 copy. Output in the number of output copies can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 25 (a), the output data to be output only in (N-1) / 2 copies is arranged with the “1” page on the left side of the first A3 sheet and the “p / 2 + 1” page on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet, and the “p / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p” page is arranged on the left side and the “p / 2” page is arranged on the right side of the pth A3 sheet as the last sheet.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the output data to be output by only one copy includes a “1” page on the left side of the table of the first A3 sheet and a “p / 2 + 1” page on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet, and the “p / 2 + 2” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p / 2” page is arranged on the left side of the p / 2 A3 sheet as the last sheet, and the “p” page is arranged on the right side.

  Note that the output data that outputs only one copy is up to the p / 2th sheet, but this is from the first sheet of output data that outputs only (N-1) / 2 copies to the p / 2th sheet. Are arranged in the same page order as

  This rearrangement process I will be described using a specific example. For example, when five copies of a four-page document designated for single-sided output on A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, based on output data that outputs only (N-1) / 2 copies, that is, output data that outputs only 2 copies (N = 5), the first to fourth and fifth sheets. The eighth and eighth sheets are output from the first, and the ninth and tenth sheets are output based on the output data that outputs only one copy.

  In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet, the “3” page is arranged on the right side, the “2” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet, and the “4” is arranged on the right side. ”Page,“ 3 ”page on the left side of the third A3 sheet, and“ 1 ”page on the right side. Then, the “4” page is arranged on the left side of the fourth A3 sheet which is the last of the output data, and the “2” page is arranged on the right side. Also, pages from the 5th sheet to the 8th sheet are arranged similarly to the 1st sheet to the 4th sheet.

  Also, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the table of the ninth A3 sheet, the “3” page is arranged on the right side, the “2” page on the left side of the last ten A3 sheet, and “4” on the right side. Pages are arranged.

  Next, the rearrangement process J executed in step 507 will be described. FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining the rearrangement process J.

  In the rearrangement process J, pages are rearranged based on the page number p of the output data, and two types of output data are created. If N copies are specified as the number of output copies, the output based on one output data is (N-1) / 2 copies, and the output based on the other output data is 1 copy. Output in the number of output copies can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 27A, the output data to be output only in (N-1) / 2 copies includes the “1” page on the left side of the first A3 sheet and the “(p + 3) / 2” page on the right side. The “2” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet, and the “(p + 3) / 2 + 1” page is arranged on the right side. Then, the “p” page is arranged on the left side of the p-th A3 sheet as the last sheet, and the “(p + 1) / 2” page is arranged on the right side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 27B, the output data to be output by only one copy is arranged with the “1” page on the left side of the first A3 sheet and the “(p + 3) / 2” page on the right side. Then, the “(p + 1) / 2-1” page is arranged on the left side of the ((p + 1) / 2-1) A3 sheet, which is the previous sheet of the last sheet, and the “p” page is arranged on the right side. . Then, the “(p + 1) / 2” page is arranged on the (p + 1) / 2 second A4 sheet as the last sheet.

  Note that the output data output for only one copy is up to (p + 1) / 2 sheets. This is because (p + 1) / from the first output data output for only (N-1) / 2 copies. The pages are arranged in the same page order as the second one.

  This sorting process J will be described with a specific example. For example, when five copies of a five-page document designated for single-sided output on A4 paper are output, the page layout is as shown in FIG. The output data is rearranged. In the example shown in the figure, based on output data that outputs only (N−1) / 2 copies, that is, output data that outputs only 2 copies (N = 5), the first to fifth and sixth sheets. The tenth sheet is output from the first, and the eleventh to thirteenth sheets are output based on the output data that outputs only one copy.

  In the example shown in the figure, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the first A3 sheet, the “4” page is arranged on the right side, the “2” page is arranged on the left side of the second A3 sheet, and “5” is arranged on the right side. Page. Similarly, the “3” page is arranged on the left side of the third A3 sheet, the “1” page is arranged on the right side, the “4” page is arranged on the left side of the fourth A3 sheet, and the “2” page is arranged on the right side. The Then, the “5” page is arranged on the left side of the fifth A3 sheet which is the last of the output data, and the “3” page is arranged on the right side. Also, pages from the 6th sheet to the 10th sheet are arranged in the same manner as the 1st sheet to the 5th sheet, respectively.

  Further, the “1” page is arranged on the left side of the eleventh A3 sheet, the “4” page is arranged on the right side, the “2” page is arranged on the left side of the twelfth A3 sheet, and the “5” page is arranged on the right side. . Then, the “3” page is arranged on the last 13th A4 sheet.

  By the way, in the rearrangement process I and the rearrangement process J, two types of output data are generated, but a job may be generated in which more output data is generated and output by a combination thereof. For example, when outputting as shown in FIG. 26, output data as shown in each of FIGS. 29A, 29B, 29C, and 29D is generated. 29 (a), 29 (b), 29 (c), 29 (d), 29 (a), 29 (b), 29 (c), 29 (d), Output is performed in the order of FIG. 29 (a) and FIG. 29 (b). In the case of outputting as shown in FIG. 28, FIG. 29 (e), FIG. 29 (f), FIG. 29 (g), FIG. 29 (h), FIG. 29 (i), FIG. ) Are generated, and FIG. 29 (e), FIG. 29 (f), FIG. 29 (g), FIG. 29 (h), FIG. 29 (i), FIG. 29 (f), 29 (g), 29 (h), 29 (i), 29 (e), 29 (f), and 29 (j) are output in this order.

  In addition to the rearrangement process described in each embodiment, the rearrangement process according to the number of output data pages and the number of output copies is executed to allocate four pages to one side of a sheet or to perform bookbinding. The present invention can also be applied to cases.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a print control apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an edit process of output data. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process A. FIG. It is the figure which showed the example output by the rearrangement process A. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process. It is the figure which showed the example output by the rearrangement process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of output data. It is an example for demonstrating the process of output data. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of output data editing processing according to the second embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by rearrangement processing C; It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by a sorting process D. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process E. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by rearrangement processing E. It is a figure for demonstrating another example of a rearrangement process. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of output data editing processing according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining rearrangement processing F; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by rearrangement processing F. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process G. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by a sorting process G. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of output data editing processing according to the second embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by rearrangement processing C; It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by a sorting process D. It is a figure for demonstrating the rearrangement process E. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output example by rearrangement processing E. It is a figure for demonstrating another example of a rearrangement process. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an output example when two pages are allocated and printed on one side of a conventional sheet.

Explanation of symbols

1 Print control device 2 Scanner 3 PC
4 Output Device 11 Job Receiving Unit 12 Format Determination Unit 13 Attribute Acquisition Unit 14 Page Number Acquisition Unit 15 Page Independent Data Processing Unit 16 Page Non-Independent Data Processing Unit 17 Attribute Invalidation Unit 18 Attribute Embedding Unit 19 Job Transfer Unit

Claims (16)

A printing control method for allocating a plurality of pages of a document on one side of a sheet and outputting the same from a printing apparatus,
The number of pages of the document and the number of output copies are acquired, and based on the acquired number of pages and the number of output copies, a sheet group in which the sheets are stacked in the output order is cut according to the page, and the cut sheet group is further divided into predetermined A printing control method, wherein the page order of the document is rearranged so that the page order is obtained when they are sequentially stacked. When the document is provided as non-page-independent output data, the sorting is performed after invalidating the attribute specified in the output data, and a new attribute is added to the sorted output data. The print control method according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The print control method according to claim 2, wherein page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data. When double-sided printing is specified for the document, if the number of pages of the document is an odd number, the rearrangement is performed after adding a blank page to the end of the document. The printing control method according to claim 1. When two pages are allocated to one side of a sheet, when duplex printing is designated for the document, if the total number of output pages of the document is an odd number, the last sheet is a sheet whose area is half. The print control method according to claim 1, wherein one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet. When allocating two pages to one side of the paper and single-sided printing is specified for the document, if the number of pages in the document is an odd number, the last paper is changed to a paper having a half area. The printing control method according to claim 1, wherein one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet. A print control method for rearranging the page order of a document provided as non-page independent output data and outputting it from a printing device,
A printing control method comprising: after invalidating an attribute designated for output data, rearranging the output data in page order, and newly adding an attribute to the rearranged output data . 8. The print control method according to claim 7, wherein page information for defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data. A print control apparatus that allocates a plurality of pages of a document to one side of a sheet and outputs the document from a printing apparatus,
Attribute information acquisition means for acquiring the number of pages and the number of output copies of the document;
Based on the number of pages and the number of output copies acquired by the attribute information acquisition means, a sheet group in which sheets are stacked in the output order is cut according to a page, and the cut sheet group is further stacked in a predetermined order in page order. And a data editing means for rearranging the page order of the document. The data editing means includes
Attribute invalidation means for invalidating an attribute specified in the output data when the document is provided as non-page independent output data;
The print control apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: an attribute addition unit that newly adds an attribute to the rearranged output data. The attribute adding means includes
11. The print control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data. The data editing means includes
When double-sided printing is specified for the document, if the number of pages of the document is an odd number, the rearrangement is performed after adding a blank page to the end of the document. The printing control apparatus according to claim 9. The data editing means includes
When two pages are allocated to one side of the paper and duplex printing is designated for the document, if the total number of output pages of the document is an odd number, the last paper is a paper whose area is half. The print control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet. The data editing means includes
When allocating two pages to one side of a sheet and single-sided printing is specified for the document, if the number of pages in the document is an odd number, the last sheet is changed to a sheet having a half area. The printing control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein one page is allocated to one side of the changed sheet. A print control apparatus that rearranges the page order of a document provided as non-page independent output data and outputs it from a printing apparatus,
Attribute invalidation means for invalidating the attribute specified in the output data;
Page order editing means for rearranging the page order of the output data in which the attribute is invalid or the means invalidates the attribute;
An attribute addition unit that newly adds an attribute to the output data that has been rearranged by the page order editing unit. The attribute adding means includes
The print control apparatus according to claim 15, wherein page information defining a page, output number designation, and paper designation are added as attributes to the output data.

Images