JP2005284631A - Printing data preparation apparatus and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing data preparation apparatus preparing printing data for conducting edgeless printing without missing information not to be missed, and to provide a printer conducting the edgeless printing. <P>SOLUTION: In editing characters and a picture to be printed on a label 310 by using an editor 100, a first printing region and a second printing region are formed as regions for inputting the characters and the picture. A region surrounded with a dashed line 351a is used as the first printing region 351; a region surrounded with a dashed line 352a is used as the second printing region. The first printing region 351 is the region included in the label region 310, and also the region having no deficient characters, and the like even if the position of a label tape 300 is deviated. Consequently, printing the characters and the picture on the label is insured. Furthermore, a background and a matrix pattern are arranged on the second printing region 352, where, printing all the arranged characters and picture is not always ensured. Consequently, the region as far as the exterior of the label region 301 can be set. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data creation device and a printing device, and more particularly, to a print data creation device and borderless printing for creating print data for performing borderless printing without leaving a margin around a printing medium. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus to be performed.

Conventionally, borderless printing that does not leave a margin around the printing medium has been desired, and printing apparatuses that perform borderless printing by various methods have been proposed. For example, after printing, four cross-shaped cuts are made on the recording paper with a cross-shaped blade, and the user cuts the recording paper using the cross-shaped cut as a mark to realize borderless printing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In addition, borderless printing is performed by printing on a dedicated sheet having a perforation through a perforation and cutting the perforation after printing (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, a method has been proposed in which a recording medium is detected by a detection unit and printing is performed up to the end of the recording medium by controlling ink ejection (see, for example, Patent Document 3). Furthermore, in an ink jet recording apparatus that ejects ink to a printing medium, an ink absorber is provided that protrudes outside the left and right edges of the recording medium and ejects ink, and absorbs the ejected ink droplets. Some have achieved borderless printing while preventing the recording medium from being soiled by ink (for example, Patent Document 4).
JP 2001-171189 A JP 2000-326531 A JP 2001-96874 A JP 2001-301201 A

  However, in borderless printing in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the edge of the printed image may be cut off. Further, in borderless printing in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4, the edge of an image to be printed is not printed. Therefore, there is a problem that the edge of the printed image is missing. In particular, it is a problem when information that is not desired to be missing is arranged at the edge of the printed image, and it is necessary to create a small image so that the edge is not missing, assuming that the edge is missing.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and performs print processing for creating print data for performing borderless printing without missing information that is not desired to be missing, and performs borderless printing. A printing apparatus is to be provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, a print data creation apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a print data creation apparatus that creates print data for printing an image on a printing apparatus, and is capable of printing on a printing medium. A first print area that is entirely included in the printable area that is an area, and a second print area that is an area that includes a part or all of the first print area, and an image is provided in the first print area. First creating means for creating a second image, second creating means for creating an image in the second print area, a first image created by the first creating means, and a second image created by the second creating means And a print data creating unit for creating print data for printing the print image. The print image creating unit creates a print image to be printed on the print medium.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, a print medium selecting means for selecting the shape or size of the print medium, and the print medium selection Determining a second print area based on at least one of the shape and size of the print medium selected by the means, and determining at least one of the size of the second print area and the position relative to the print medium; And a means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect of the invention, at least one of the size of the second print area and the position relative to the printing medium is obtained. The second print area setting means for setting is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any of the first to third aspects, the second print area includes all of the first print area. It has a characteristic configuration.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the second print area includes at least a part of the first print area. It is the structure characterized by including.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second image includes at least one of a character, a photograph, and a design. The background image is a single background image.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second image has a ground pattern on which a predetermined pattern is repeatedly arranged. It has a configuration characterized by that.

  Further, in the print data creation device according to the invention according to claim 8, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the second image is a solid image, and the print image creation means includes: A configuration in which a print image formed in an overlap area overlapping the second print area in the first print area is a reverse image obtained by inverting the first image created in the first print area; It has become.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the second image includes at least one of a character, a photograph, and a design. It is at least one of a background image consisting of one, a ground pattern on which a predetermined pattern is repeatedly arranged, and a filled image, and the second image is the background image, the ground pattern, and the filled image. A second image selection means for selecting at least one of them is provided.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to the sixth or ninth aspect, the background image type, magnification, quantity, and position relative to the second print area A background image setting means for setting at least one of the above is provided.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention described in claim 7 or 9, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 11, at least one of the type of the ground pattern, the magnification, and the position with respect to the second print area. A ground pattern setting means for setting one is provided.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the second image printing for selecting whether or not to print the second image. Selecting means, and when the second image print selection means selects not to print the second image, the print image creation means creates the print image from only the first image, and When two images are selected to be printed, the print image is created from the first image and the second image.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the print medium selection means for selecting the shape or size of the print medium; Second image printing for determining whether or not to print the second image by the second creation means based on at least one of the shape and size of the printing medium selected by the printing medium selection means Determining means, and when the second image print selecting means selects not to print the second image, the print image creating means creates the print image from only the first image, and When the second image is selected to be printed, the print image is created from the first image and the second image.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, a print image for displaying the print image created by the print image creating means. The display device is provided with a display means.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, a printing unit that prints the print data created by the print data creation unit. It is the structure characterized by having.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, wherein the print data input means for inputting the print data created by the print data creation means of the print data creation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14; Printing means for printing the print data input to the print data input means.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the print data creation device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first print area is all included in the printable area that is a printable area on the print medium, and the second print area. Is an area including a part or all of the first print area. The first creation means creates an image in the first print area, the second creation means creates an image in the second print area, and the print image creation means creates the first image created by the first creation means. And a print image to be printed on the print medium based on the second image created by the second creation means, and the print data creation means can create print data for printing the print image. . Therefore, since an image can be formed from the first image area that is always printed in the printable area and the second image area that is also printed outside the printable area, information that must not be lost during printing is stored. By forming information that can be formed and applied to the first image area in the second print area, the print quality can be maintained. Further, borderless printing can be performed by making the second print area wider than the size of the printing medium.

  In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the print medium selection means selects the shape or size of the print medium, and the second print area The determining means determines at least one of the size of the second print area and the position with respect to the printing medium based on at least one of the shape and size of the printing medium selected by the printing medium selection means. Then you can. Therefore, the size of the second print area and the position with respect to the print medium can be automatically determined.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect of the invention, the second print area setting means includes the size of the second print area and the position of the print medium. At least one of them can be set. Therefore, the size of the second print area and the position with respect to the print medium can be changed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, an area including the entire first print area may be set as the second print area. it can. Therefore, the first print area always exists in the second print area.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, an area including at least a part of the first print area is defined as the second print area. can do. Therefore, there is always an overlap area between the first print area and the second print area.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, a background image comprising at least one of a character, a photograph, and a pattern. Can be the second image.

  In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a ground pattern on which a predetermined pattern is repeatedly arranged is used as the second image. Can do.

  In addition, in the print data creation device according to the eighth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the filled image can be a second image. Then, the print image creation means sets the print image formed in the overlap area overlapping the second print area in the first print area as a reverse image obtained by inverting the first image created in the first print area. be able to. Therefore, reverse printing can be performed.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, a background image comprising at least one of a character, a photograph, and a pattern. At least one of the ground pattern on which the predetermined pattern is repeatedly arranged and the filled image can be set as the second image. Then, the second image selection means can select at least one of the background image, the ground pattern, and the filled image as the second image.

  In addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 6 or 9, the background image setting means includes the background image type, magnification, quantity, and second printing. At least one of the positions relative to the region can be set. Therefore, the type, magnification, quantity, and position of the background image with respect to the second print area can be changed.

  In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 7 or 9, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 11, the ground pattern setting means is provided for the ground pattern type, magnification, and second print area. At least one of the positions can be set. Therefore, the type of ground pattern, the magnification, and the position with respect to the second print area can be changed.

  In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 12, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the second image print selection means determines whether or not to print the second image. Can be selected. When the second image print selection unit selects not to print the second image, the print image creation unit creates the print image from only the first image and selects to print the second image. In this case, a print image can be created from the first image and the second image. Therefore, it is possible to print only the first image without using the second print area.

  In addition, in the print data creating apparatus according to the thirteenth aspect, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the print medium selecting means selects the shape or size of the print medium. The second image printing determining means determines whether or not to print the second image by the second creating means based on at least one of the shape and size of the printing medium selected by the printing medium selection means. Can be determined. When the second image print selection unit selects not to print the second image, the print image creation unit creates the print image from only the first image and selects to print the second image. In this case, a print image can be created from the first image and the second image. Accordingly, whether the second image is printed or not is automatically determined depending on the shape and size of the printing medium, such as printing the second image if the printing medium is a label and not printing the second image if the printing medium is a tape. be able to.

  In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 14, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the print image display means displays the print image created by the print image creation means. Can be displayed. Therefore, an image of the printing result can be seen.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect, the printing means prints the print data created by the print data creation means. Can do. Therefore, the print data creation apparatus has the function of the printing apparatus. That is, the printing apparatus is provided with a function as a print data creation apparatus having the effects of any one of claims 1 to 14.

  Further, in the printing apparatus of the invention according to claim 16, the print data input means inputs the print data created by the print data creation means of the print data creation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, and prints The means can print the print data input to the print data input means. Therefore, the printing apparatus can print the print data created by an external terminal such as a personal computer having the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As a “print data creation device” according to the present invention, a personal computer 200 connected to the tape printer 1 corresponding to a “print device” will be described as an example. First, the tape printer 1 and the personal computer 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the tape printer 1 and the personal computer 200. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a printing mechanism and a tape cassette 350 arranged in the tape printer 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the tape printer 1. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the personal computer 200, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a storage area of the RAM 230 of the personal computer 200, and FIG. 6 shows a hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as HDD). It is a schematic diagram showing a storage area of 250.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the personal computer 200 and the tape printing apparatus 1 are connected by a USB cable 10 based on a standard such as USB, for example, and exchange data via the USB cable 10. The personal computer 200 is a well-known personal computer, and as shown in FIG. The keyboard 281 and the mouse 282 are connected to the main body 201 by connection cables. Then, the personal computer 200 creates print data based on the image data created by software dedicated to the tape printer 1, and transmits the created print data to the tape printer 1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the tape printing apparatus 1 is casing with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 2, and the front surface (the surface in the right front direction in FIG. 1) has a discharge for discharging the label tape 300. An outlet 3 is provided. Further, a tape cassette housing portion 4 is provided inside the left side surface of the housing 2, and the tape cassette 350 (see FIG. 2) can be attached and detached by opening the cover 5 provided on the left side surface of the housing 2. Can be attached to. The tape cassette storage unit 4 is provided with a printing mechanism 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The label tape 300 of the tape cassette 350 attached is printed by the printing mechanism 20, and the tape of the printing mechanism 20 is printed. It is cut by the cutter 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and discharged from the discharge port 3.

  Next, the configuration of the tape cassette 350 will be described with reference to FIG. The tape cassette 350 of the present embodiment is detachably mounted on the cassette mounting frame 11 in the tape printer 1. Although not shown, the tape cassette 350 is constructed by assembling box-shaped upper and lower members that are open at the top, and the lower member includes a first spool 37, a second spool 32, A total of four spools, a third spool 34 and a fourth spool 35, and a conveying roller 39 are rotatably provided. The label tape 300 (see FIG. 8) is long and is assembled in the first spool 37 in the tape cassette 350 in a state of being wound in a roll shape. There are several types of tapes with different widths and different label shapes.

  Two holes 31 are formed in the outer bottom surface of the lower member of the tape cassette 350. In the present embodiment, there are four types of tapes where the type of tape is discriminated, and the hole 31 is provided only in the central two of them, and the holes are not provided in two places on both sides. On the other hand, on the bottom surface inside the tape cassette housing portion 4 of the main body of the tape printing apparatus 1, a type discrimination sensor is composed of four pins arranged at positions corresponding to four types discrimination locations and biased upward by a spring or the like. Is provided. Therefore, when the tape cassette 350 is attached to the tape cassette storage unit 4 of the tape printer 1, two of the four pins provided on the bottom surface inside the tape cassette storage unit 4 are provided on the bottom surface of the tape cassette 350. The two holes 31 are inserted into the two holes 31 and are pressed by the bottom surface of the tape cassette 350 against the elastic force of the spring. Note that the pattern of the holes 31 provided in the tape cassette 350, that is, the combination of whether or not the holes 31 are provided differs depending on the type, and the tape printer 1 detects whether or not each pin is pressed. As a result, the type of the tape cassette 350 is determined.

  Next, the configuration of the tape cassette storage unit 4 in the tape printing apparatus 1 in which the tape cassette 350 is mounted and the printing mechanism 20 of the tape printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. A cassette mounting frame 11 is disposed in the tape cassette housing portion 4 of the tape printer 1, and an arm 23 is attached to the cassette mounting frame 11 so as to be swingable about a shaft 23a. A platen roller 21 and a pressure roller 22 having a flexible member such as rubber on the surface thereof are rotatably attached to the tip of the arm 23.

  From the cassette mounting frame 11, a plate 12 is erected in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. On the platen roller 21 side of the plate 12, a thermal head 13 in which 720 heating elements 1001 to 1720 (see FIG. 9) are arranged in a line in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. When the tape cassette 350 is mounted at a predetermined position in the cassette mounting frame 11, the recess 14 of the tape cassette 350 is fitted with the plate 12. Further, a conveyance roller drive shaft 16 is erected from the cassette mounting frame 11. The transport roller drive shaft 16 is inserted into the transport roller 39 in the tape cassette 350 when the tape cassette 350 is mounted at a predetermined position of the cassette mounting frame 11.

  A DC motor 6 for running the tape is attached to the cassette mounting frame 11. The rolling drive force of the DC motor 6 is arranged below a plurality of disk-shaped gears (not shown) arranged to mesh with each other along the cassette mounting frame 11, and the platen roller 21 and the pressure roller 22. It is transmitted to the transport roller drive shaft 16, the platen roller 21, and the pressure roller 22 through a disc-shaped gear (not shown).

  Therefore, when the tape cassette 350 is mounted in the cassette mounting frame 11, when the DC motor 6 rotates, the transport roller drive shaft 16 rotates, and the transport roller 39 rotates clockwise as indicated by the arrow in FIG. . The label tape 300 assembled on the first spool 37 of the tape cassette 350 is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2 while being unwound by the driving force generated by the rotation of the conveying roller 39. The label tape 300 unwound from the first spool 37 reaches the position of the plate 12 described above via the second spool 32 and the third spool 34. Here, at the position where the arm 23 attached to the cassette mounting frame 11 is swung most clockwise, the platen roller 21 comes into pressure contact with the thermal head 13 disposed on the plate 12 via the label tape 300, and the pressure roller 22. Is in pressure contact with the transport roller 39.

  In this way, the label tape 300 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the platen roller 21 and the thermal head 13, and the heating elements 1001 to 1720 in the thermal head 13 are selectively and intermittently energized. A desired image is formed in a predetermined area on the surface. After a desired image is formed, the label tape 300 passes between the conveying roller 39 and the pressure roller 22 that are in pressure contact with each other as described above, and is further cut by the tape cutter 17 disposed downstream. The tape cutter 17 is of a type in which the rotary blade 17b rotates relative to the fixed blade 17a to cut the object to be cut. The rotary blade 17b is driven by a tape cutter drive motor (not shown) for the tape cutter. The label tape 300 is cut by reciprocatingly swinging around the fulcrum.

  The tape printing apparatus 1 is not only a label tape 300 but also a double tape in which a backing paper and a release paper are bonded via an adhesive layer, and is printed with an ink ribbon, and is made of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film or the like. A sealing tape coated with a transparent surface layer tape having the same width as the double tape can also be used. In this case, the double tape is set on the first spool 37, the surface tape is set on the second spool 32, the ink ribbon is set on the third spool 34, and the cassette mounting frame 11 is rotated along with the rotation of the DC motor 6. A tape cassette that uses the fourth spool 35 for winding up the used ink ribbon can be mounted by erecting the fourth spool driving shaft that rotates. When such a tape cassette is installed, the surface layer tape unwound from the second spool 32 overlaps with the ink ribbon of the third spool 34 and is sandwiched between the platen roller 21 and the thermal head 13 and the ink ribbon. Is transferred to the surface tape. Thereafter, the ink ribbon is wound on the fourth spool 35, and the surface tape on which the image is formed and the double tape set on the first spool 37 are overlapped by the conveying roller 39, then cut and discharged.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the tape printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 40 includes a CPU 52 that controls each device of the tape printer 1, and an input / output interface 50, a ROM 55, and a RAM 60 connected to the CPU 52 via a data bus 51. Yes.

  The input / output interface 50 drives a drive circuit 48 for driving the thermal head 13, a drive circuit 42 for driving the tape cutter drive motor 41 for operating the tape cutter 17, and a tape feed motor 47. The drive circuit 49 for connecting to the personal computer 200 and the USB port 25 for connecting to the personal computer 200 are respectively connected. The connection cable 10 is connected to the USB port 25 and connected to the personal computer 200.

  The ROM 55 has a print drive control program that reads the data of the print buffer 62 and drives the thermal head 13 and the tape feed motor 47, a parameter table that defines a duty ratio for determining the print energy for driving the thermal head 13, and the like. Stored. The RAM 60 stores print data transmitted from the personal computer 200. The power supply unit 65 is connected to the drive circuits 42, 48, 49 and the control unit 30 and supplies power.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the personal computer 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the personal computer 200 is provided with a CPU 210 that controls the personal computer 200. The CPU 210 is inserted with a ROM 220 storing a program such as a BIOS executed by the CPU 210, a RAM 230 temporarily storing data, and a CD-ROM 241 as a data storage medium via the bus 290, and reading data. Are connected to a CD-ROM drive 240 that performs data storage and an HDD 250 that is a data storage device.

  Further, the CPU 210 performs screen display processing of the USB interface 260 for performing communication with external devices including the tape printer 1 via the bus 290 and the monitor 271 for displaying an operation screen to the user. A display control unit 270 to be connected to a keyboard 281 and a mouse 282 to which a user inputs operations, and an input detection unit 280 to detect those inputs are connected. Note that the personal computer 200 may be provided with a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive (not shown), an input / output unit for sound, various interfaces, and the like.

  The CD-ROM 241 stores a print data creation program, settings and data used when executing the program, and a program storage area 251 provided in the HDD 250 from the CD-ROM 241 (see FIG. 6) and the program related information storage area 252 (see FIG. 6). The print data creation program of the personal computer 200 and the method for acquiring the use data are not limited to those using the CD-ROM 241 but may be other recording media such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or MO. The computer 200 may be connected to a network and acquired from another terminal on the network.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the RAM 230 displays the input data storage area 2301 in which characters and the like input by the editor 100 (see FIG. 7) for printing with the tape printer 1 are stored in the editor 100. First display data storage area 2302, second display data storage area 2303, third display data storage area 2304 for creating an image diagram, first edit data storage area 2305, second edit data storage for creating print data Area 2306, third edit data storage area 2307, print data storage area 2308 for storing print data, display setting information storage area 2309 for storing setting information regarding the editor 100, and print setting information for storing setting information regarding printing Storage area 2310, temporary data during program execution Programs runtime information storage area 2311 to 憶 is provided. Further, the RAM 230 is provided with various storage areas not shown.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the HDD 250 has a program storage area 251 for storing various programs to be executed by the personal computer 200 including a print data creation program, settings and initial values necessary for program execution, A program-related information storage area 252 that stores information such as data, a tape information storage area 253 that stores information about tapes used in the tape printer 1, and the like are provided. Further, the HDD 250 is provided with various storage areas not shown.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the editor 100 activated by the personal computer 200 will be described. FIG. 7 is an image diagram of the editor 100 for inputting characters and the like to be printed on the tape printer 1. The editor 100 is displayed on the monitor 271 of the personal computer 200, and data input and instructions are performed by operating the keyboard 281 and the mouse 282. .

  As shown in FIG. 7, a menu bar 110 and a tool bar 120 for operating instructions are provided at the top of the editor 100, and characters to be printed by the tape printer 1 are displayed in the lower half of the editor 100. A work area 150 for editing is provided, and a print image 140 is displayed. An arrow in the work area 150 is a mouse cursor 155. On the left side of the work area 150, a tool box 132 for designating the type of tool (character, line, square, curve, etc.) input in the work area 150 is provided. In the upper part of the work area 150, a text property tool box 131 for performing detailed settings for character input to the first print area 351 of the work area 150, and a page property tool for selecting and setting a label tape or a seal tape. A box 133 and a button group 134 for instructing display / non-display of various tool boxes are provided.

  In the page property tool box 133, a tape to be used can be selected and set. A format selection list box 331, a paper length selection list box 332, a tape length automatic setting button 333, a paper margin setting list box 334, a tape width. A selection list box 335, an automatic tape width setting button 336, paper direction setting buttons 337 and 338, and a second print area property button 399 are provided.

  In the format selection list box 331, a standard format tape can be selected, and in the paper length selection list box 332, a label length and a cut length of the seal tape can be designated. With the automatic tape length setting button 333, the tape length is automatically set to a size that can receive all the information input to the work area 150. In the paper margin setting list box 334, the length of the margin from the first print area of the seal tape to the cutting position is set. In the tape width selection list box 335, the label width and the width of the seal tape can be set. The automatic tape width setting button 336 can detect the tape width set in the tape printer 1 and set the tape width of the set tape. In addition, the paper direction setting buttons 337 and 338 can set the direction of characters with respect to the tape. When the second print region property button 399 is selected, the second print region property screen 102 (see FIG. 13) is opened. In the example shown in FIG. 7, “label 30 × 90” is selected in the paper length selection list box 332 and the tape width selection list box 335.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, a printing area which is a main part of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is an image diagram of the label tape 300. As shown in FIG. 8, labels 310 are arranged on the label tape 300 at a predetermined interval on a tape-like mount 302. Note that a solid line 301a in FIG. 8 is a label frame 301a indicating the end of the label 310 (a boundary line between the label 310 and the outside of the label), and an area surrounded by the label frame 301a (an area on the label 310) is a label area. It will be referred to as 301. The label tape 300 is assembled on the first spool 37 in the tape cassette 350 in a state of being wound in a roll shape, and there are a plurality of types depending on the size and shape of the label. As shown in FIG. 9, the label length indicates the length of the label tape 300 in the tape length direction, and the label width indicates the height direction of the label tape 300.

  As described above, the tape printer 1 unwinds the label tape 300 by the rotation of the first spool 37 and the like, and conveys the label tape 300 to the thermal head 13. A desired image is formed on the label 310 of the label tape 300 by energizing predetermined heat generating elements 1001 to 1720 of the thermal head 13. The label tape 300 is guided by the second spool 32 and the third spool 34 and is held between the platen roller 21 and the thermal head 13 to form an image. However, the position of the label tape 300 is shifted during conveyance. There are rarely. In this case, for example, if characters to be printed up to the limit of the label frame 301a are arranged, the characters to be printed are lost.

  Therefore, when editing a character or image to be printed on the label 310 using the editor 100, two regions, a first print region and a second print region, are formed as regions for inputting characters and images. In FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, a region surrounded by a one-dot chain line 351 a is a first print region 351, and a region surrounded by a two-dot chain line 352 a in FIGS. 7 and 9 is a second print region 352. The first print area 351 is an area included in the label area 301. If characters or the like are arranged in this area, even if the position of the label tape 300 is shifted, the letters and the like are not lost. It is guaranteed that characters and images placed in the area are printed in the label. The second print area 352 is a print area for arranging a background and a background pattern, and it is not necessarily guaranteed that all characters and images arranged in this area are printed. The area can be set up to the outside. However, in the present embodiment, the first print area 351 is necessarily included in the second print area 352. The one-dot chain line 351a is referred to as a first print area frame 351a, and the two-dot chain line 352a is referred to as a second print area frame 352a.

  Next, the positional relationship between the print area and the heating elements 1001 to 1720 of the thermal head 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an image diagram showing the positional relationship between the label area 301, the printing area, and the heating elements 1001 to 1720 of the thermal head 13. The label 310 is conveyed perpendicularly (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9) to the heating elements 1001 to 1720 arranged in a line on the thermal head 13, and printing is performed line by line in the label length direction to form an image. A total of 720 heat generating elements are arranged in the thermal head 13, and the heat generating elements to be used are determined according to the type of tape and the positions of the first printing area and the second printing area. A heating element located above the heating element used to print the first printing area (a heating element not used to form an image of the first printing area) is referred to as an offset element of the first printing area. The heating element above the heating element used for printing the printing area (the heating element not used for forming the image of the second printing area) is called the offset element of the second printing area. The initial value of the number of offset elements in each printing area and the number of heating elements used to form an image in each printing area is stored in the tape information storage area 253.

  Here, the tape information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the tape information storage area 253 of the HDD 250. As shown in FIG. 10, a label area column, a first print area column, a second print area column, etc. are provided for each tape type. In the example shown in FIG. 10, “label 30 × 90”, “label 40 Tape type information of “× 90” is shown. In the tape information storage area 253, various information about other label tapes and seal tapes are also stored.

  In the label area column, in order to indicate the positional relationship between the label area 301 and each printing area, the XY of the upper left vertex of the label area 301 (the intersection of the upper side and the left side when the curve is attached) The coordinates and the lower right XY coordinates are stored in the upper left vertex column and the lower right vertex column. Note that the upper left vertex of the label is the reference point (X coordinate, Y coordinate) = (0, 0), the label length direction is the X axis direction, the label width direction is the Y axis direction, and the coordinates are below the label. Thus, the value of the Y coordinate increases, and the value of the X coordinate increases toward the right of the label. That is, the X-axis direction indicates a printing line, the Y-axis direction indicates a heating element, and if the X coordinate is large, it indicates a line to be printed later, and if the Y coordinate is large, the lower side heat generation. The element is shown, and the position of one pixel is indicated by XY coordinates.

  In the first display data storage area 2302, the second display data storage area 2303, the third display data storage area 2304, the first edit data storage area 2305, the second edit data storage area 2306, and the third edit data storage area 2307. Information indicating whether or not each pixel is a pixel that performs printing by generating heat from the heating element is represented by “0” and “1”.

  In the first print area column, the upper left vertex field and the lower right vertex field for indicating the position and size of the first print area with respect to the label area 301, and the number of heating elements from the first heating element 1001 to the first heating area are offset. There are provided an offset element number column for storing the number of offset elements indicating whether to be an element and an element number column for storing the number of elements used for printing the first print area. The second print area field includes an upper left vertex field and a lower right vertex field for indicating a standard position and size of the second print area with respect to the label area 301, an offset element number field storing the number of offset elements, a second An element number column storing the number of elements used in the print area is provided. These values are used when the second print area frame 352a of the second print area 352 is first displayed in the work area 150 of the editor 100, and when the second print area frame 352a is changed, the change is made. Each time, the updated value is stored in the second print area relation column (see FIG. 11) of the display setting information storage area 235. Although not shown in FIG. 10, in addition to these pieces of information, the tape information storage area 253 stores information such as the paper direction and the tape width set in the page property tool box 133.

  In the example shown in FIG. 10, the upper left vertex of the label area 301 (the inner area of the label frame 301a) of the label type “label 30 × 90” is (0, 0), and the lower right vertex is (1060, 353). The upper left vertex of the first print area is (35, 18), the lower right vertex is (1025, 335), the number of offset elements is 201, and the number of elements is 318. The upper left vertex of the second print area is (−35, −17), the lower right vertex is (1095, 370), the number of offset elements is 166, and the number of elements is 388. The upper left vertex of the label area 301 of the label type “label 40 × 90” is (0, 0), the lower right vertex is (1060, 471), and the upper left vertex of the first print area is (35, 18). The lower right vertex is (1025,453), the number of offset elements is 142, and the number of elements is 436. The upper left vertex of the second print area is (−35, −17), the lower right vertex is (1095, 488), the number of offset elements is 107, and the number of elements is 506.

  Next, the setting of the second print area in the work area 150 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 11 to 16. 11 is a schematic diagram of the display setting information storage area 235 of the RAM 230, FIG. 12 is an image diagram of the display option setting screen 101, and FIG. 13 is an image diagram of the property screen 102 of the second print area. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the display option setting process, FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the ground pattern display process performed in the display option setting process and the second print area changing process, and FIG. It is a flowchart of the background display process implemented in an option setting process and a 2nd printing area change process.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the display setting information storage area 235 is provided with a display flag field, a second print area relation field, and the like. In the display flag column, a first print area frame display flag, a second print area frame display flag, a background display flag, and a background pattern display flag are provided. These flags display the background arranged in the first print area frame 351a, the second print area frame 352a, the second print area 352, and the ground pattern arranged in the second print area 352 in the work area 150, respectively. Information on whether or not to do so is stored. Note that “1” indicates that the image is displayed in the work area 150, and “0” indicates that the image is not displayed, and is set on the display option setting screen 101 (see FIG. 12) described later. .

  In the second print area relation field, a background file field, a background pattern type field, a setting upper left vertex field, and a setting lower right vertex field are provided. A background image file arranged in the second print area 352 is stored in the background file field, and a type of the background pattern arranged in the second print area 352 is stored in the background pattern type field. In the setting upper right coordinate column, the coordinates of the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex of the second print area frame 352a after the change when the second print area frame 352a displayed in the work area 150 is resized by operating the mouse 282 are displayed. Remembered.

  The display option setting screen 101 shown in FIG. 12 is an option dialog displayed by selecting “Option” from the menu list displayed when “Tool (T)” in the menu bar 110 of the editor 100 is selected. Displayed by selecting the “Display” tag. On the display option setting screen 101, settings relating to the display of the work area 150 can be performed. In the “display item” field, a check box for setting whether to display the ground pattern or background set in the first print area frame 351a, the second print area frame 352a, and the second print area 352 in the work area 150 Can be performed. Displayed when the check box is checked. In the work area 150 of the editor 100 shown in FIG. 7, “first print area frame” and “second print area frame” are checked, and “ground pattern” and “background” are not checked. The background pattern and background type can be set on the second print area property screen 102 (see FIG. 12). Note that the display color of the work area 150 of the editor 100 can be set in the “color for monochrome display” field or the “work area” field. When the “OK” button provided at the lower right of the display option setting screen 101 is selected, the setting contents are reflected in the display flag column of the display setting information storage area 235 of the RAM 230. When the “Cancel” button is selected, the setting contents are discarded.

  Next, the property screen 102 of the second print area for selecting the background pattern and background type of the second print area will be described with reference to FIG. The property screen 102 of the second print area is displayed by double-clicking the second print area 352 (inside the second print area frame 352a) displayed in the work area 150 with the mouse 282. It is also displayed by selecting the second print area property button 399 in the format selection list box 331. As shown in FIG. 13, the property screen 102 of the second print area has a “background pattern” field and a “background” field, and a background pattern is visually selected from a list box in the “background pattern” field. be able to. In the “background” column, the type of background can be selected by selecting a file as a background image. When the “OK” button is selected, the setting contents are reflected in the second print area column of the display setting information storage area 235 of the RAM 230, and when the “Cancel” button is selected, the setting contents are discarded.

  If the “background pattern” in the “display item” field of the display option setting screen 101 is checked, the background pattern selected on the property screen 102 of the second print area is displayed in the label area 301. When “background” is checked, the background image of the file selected on the property screen 102 of the second print area is displayed in the label area 301.

  Next, display option setting processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This display option setting process is executed when the “OK” button is selected on the display option setting screen 101, the contents set on the display option setting screen 101 are reflected in the display setting information storage area 235, and the work area 150. Is reflected in the display.

  First, it is determined whether or not the check box of the first print area frame in the display item column is checked and “ON” (S1). If it is checked (S1: YES), the coordinate point stored at the upper left vertex of the first print area column in the tape information storage area 253 is taken as the upper left vertex, and the coordinate point stored at the lower right vertex is used. A rectangle having the lower right vertex is formed, and the first print area frame 351a is displayed in the work area 150 with a one-dot chain line (S2). If it is not checked (S1: NO), nothing is done.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the check box of the second print area frame is checked (S3). If it is checked (S3: YES), the coordinate point stored in the upper left vertex of the second print area relation field in the display setting information storage area 235 is the upper left vertex, and the coordinates stored in the lower right vertex. A rectangle having a point at the lower right vertex is formed, and the second print area frame 352a is displayed in the work area 150 by a two-dot chain line (S4). At this time, if no value is set in the setting upper left vertex field and the setting lower right vertex field in the second printing area relation field of the display setting information storage area 235, the value in the second printing area field of the tape information storage area 253 is displayed. The upper left vertex and the lower right vertex are set, and the second print area frame 352a is displayed in the work area 150 by a two-dot chain line. If the setting to use the second print area is not performed depending on the tape type, “0” is stored in the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex field of the second print area field. For example, a ground pattern or a background image is printed on the printing medium itself. Therefore, when the two-dot chain line of the second print area frame 352a is displayed in S4, it is determined whether or not the values of the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex field of the second print area column are all “0” (first). 2 is displayed after the determination of whether or not there is a print area. If it is not checked (S3: NO), nothing is done.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the check box of the ground pattern is checked (S5). If it is checked (S5: YES), the ground pattern display process shown in FIG. 15 is performed (S6). As shown in FIG. 15, first, it is determined whether or not the ground pattern display flag is “ON” (S60). If the ground pattern display flag is “OFF” (S60: NO), the ground pattern is displayed. Is not displayed, the process is terminated without doing anything, the process returns to the display option setting process, the process related to other settings is performed (S9), and the display option setting process ends.

  If the ground pattern display flag is “ON” (S60: YES), the ground pattern is selected on the property screen 102 of the second print area, and the ground in the second print area relation column of the display setting information storage area 235 is selected. It is determined whether or not the type of the ground pattern is stored in the pattern type field (S61). If the ground pattern is not selected (S61: NO), the ground pattern cannot be displayed. Therefore, the process is terminated without doing anything, the process returns to the display option setting process, and other settings are performed (S9). ), The display option setting process ends.

  If a ground pattern is selected (S61: YES), information on characters and images displayed in the first print area stored in the input data storage area 2301 is developed in the first display data storage area 2302 (S62). ). Here, “1” is set to the coordinates of the point where the heating element is energized and the label is colored in the first printing area, and “0” is set to the coordinates of the point that does not change. Then, the background pattern of the type selected on the property screen 102 of the second print area and stored in the background pattern type field of the second print area relation field of the display setting information storage area 235 is displayed in the second display data storage area 2303. (S63). Again, “1” is set to the coordinates of the point where the heating element is energized and the label is colored, and “0” is set to the coordinates of the point that does not change. Then, the value of the first display data storage area and the value of the second display data storage area 2303 are reflected in the label area 301 of the third display data storage area 2304 (S64). Specifically, in the label area 301, if at least one of the values of the first display data storage area 2302 or the second display data storage area 2303 is “1”, it is “1”, and if both are “0”. “0”. When the ground pattern is displayed in the work area 150, the ground pattern is not displayed in the entire second print area 352, but only in the label area 301, that is, the second print area and the label area 301. It is displayed only in the overlapping part. Therefore, even if the area outside the label area is included in the second print area, it is set to “0”.

  Then, the information stored in the third display data storage area 2304 is displayed in the work area 150 (S65), the process returns to the display option setting process, and the display option setting process is also terminated.

  In the display option setting process, if the background check box is not checked (S5: NO), it is determined whether or not the background check box is checked (S7). If it is checked (S7: YES), the background display process shown in FIG. 16 is performed (S8). As shown in FIG. 16, first, it is determined whether or not the background display flag is “ON” (S80). If the background display flag is “OFF” (S80: NO), the background is not displayed. Therefore, the process is terminated without doing anything, the process returns to the display option setting process, the process related to other settings is performed (S9), and the display option setting process is terminated. If the background display flag is “ON” (S80: YES), the background is selected on the property screen 102 of the second print area, and the file is stored in the background file field of the second print area related field of the display setting information storage area 235. It is determined whether a name is stored (S81). If the background file is not specified (S81: NO), the background cannot be displayed, so the process is terminated without doing anything, the process returns to the display option setting process, and other settings are performed (S9). The display option setting process ends.

  If a background file is designated (S81: YES), information on characters and images displayed in the first print area stored in the input data storage area 2301 is expanded in the first display data storage area 2302 (S82). ). Here, “1” is set to the coordinates of the point where the heating element is energized and the label is colored in the first printing area, and “0” is set to the coordinates of the point that does not change. Then, the background of the type selected in the property screen 102 of the second print area and stored in the background type field of the second print area relation field of the display setting information storage area 235 is expanded in the second display data storage area 2303. (S83). Again, “1” is set to the coordinates of the point where the heating element is energized and the label is colored, and “0” is set to the coordinates of the point that does not change. Then, the value of the first display data storage area and the value of the second display data storage area 2303 are reflected in the label area 301 of the third display data storage area 2304 (S84). Specifically, in the label area 301, if at least one of the values of the first display data storage area 2302 or the second display data storage area 2303 is “1”, it is “1”, and if both are “0”. “0”. When the background is displayed in the work area 150, the background is not displayed in the entire second print area 352, but only in the label area 301, that is, the second print area and the label area 301 overlap. Displayed only in the part. Therefore, even if the area outside the label area is included in the second print area, it is set to “0”.

  The information stored in the third display data storage area 2304 is displayed in the work area 150 (S85), the process returns to the display option setting process, and the display option setting process is also terminated. In the display option setting process, if neither the background check box nor the background check box is checked (S5: NO, S7: NO), no processing is performed on the background pattern and the background, and the others. (S9), the display option setting process ends.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 17 thru | or FIG. 19, the specific example of the process of S62-S64 of a ground-pattern display process is demonstrated. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the first display data 2302a which is an example of the display data stored in the first display data storage area 2302. FIG. 18 shows the first display data stored in the second display data storage area 2303. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of the second display data 2303a in which a ground pattern is designated, which is an example of the two display data. FIG. 19 is a compilation of the first display data 2302a in FIG. It is the schematic diagram of the 3rd display data 2304a.

  In S62 of the ground pattern display process (see FIG. 15), first, a first display data storage area 2302 is secured in accordance with the size of the first print area. The example shown in FIG. 17 is for the case where the tape type “label 30 × 90” is selected. In the tape type “label 30 × 90”, referring to the tape information storage area 253 (see FIG. 10), the first print area is a rectangle formed by the upper left vertex (35, 18) and the lower right vertex (1025, 335). It is. Therefore, the X coordinate column of the first display data storage area 2302 takes “35” to “1025”, the Y coordinate column takes “18” to “335”, and a storage area for a total of 315138 pixels is secured. . Then, “1” is set for the pixels to be printed in the first print area 351, and “0” is set for the pixels that are not printed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 17, “38” to “1023” are omitted for the X coordinate, and “21” to “333” are omitted for the Y coordinate, but (35,18) is 0, and (35,19) is 1. , (35,20) is 1, (35,334) is 0, and (35,335) is 0. (36,18) is 0, (36,19) is 1, (36,20) is 1, (36,334) is 0, and (36,335) is 0. Also, (37,18) is 0, (37,19) is 1, (37,20) is 1, (37,334) is 0, and (37,335) is 0. In addition, (1024, 18) is 0, (1024, 19) is 0, (1024, 20) is 0, (1024, 334) is 1, and (1024, 335) is 1. Also, (1025,18) is 0, (1025,19) is 0, (1025,20) is 0, (1025,334) is 0, and (1025,335) is 1.

  Next, in S63, a second display data storage area 2303 is secured in accordance with the size of the second print area. The example shown in FIG. 18 is a standard second print area (when the size of the second print area is not changed) when the tape type “label 30 × 90” is selected. Referring to the tape information storage area 253, the second print area is a rectangle formed by the upper left vertex (-35, -17) and the lower right vertex (1095, 370). Therefore, the X coordinate column of the second display data storage area 2303 takes "-35" to "1095", the Y coordinate takes "-17" to "370", and a storage area for a total of 438828 pixels is secured. The The ground pattern selected from the coordinates (−35, −17), which is the upper left coordinates, is set with “1” set for pixels to be printed and “0” for pixels not to be printed.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 18, “−33” to “−2”, “2” to “33”, “37” to “1024”, “1027” to “1059”, “1063” to “1093” are set for the X coordinate. ”,“ −15 ”to“ −2 ”,“ 2 ”to“ 16 ”,“ 20 ”to“ 333 ”,“ 336 ”to“ 352 ”,“ 355 ”to“ 368 ”are omitted for the Y coordinate. The values of each coordinate are as follows: (−35, −17) is 1, (−35, −16) is 1, (−35, −1) is 1, (−35, 0) is 1, (− 35,1) is 0, (-35,17) is 1, (-35,18) is 0, (-35,19) is 0, (-35,334) is 1, and (-35,335) is 1, (−35, 353) is 0, (−35, 354) is 0, (−35, 369) is 0, and (−35, 370) is 0. (-34, -17) is 1, (-34, -16) is 1, (-34, -1) is 1, (-34, 0) is 1, (-34, 1) is 1, (-34,17) is 1, (-34,18) is 1, (-34,19) is 0, (-34,334) is 1, (-34,335) is 1, (-34,353) ) Is 0, (-34,354) is 0, (-34,369) is 1, and (-34,370) is 0.

  (-1, -17) is 1, (-1, -16) is 1, (-1, -1) is 1, (-1, 0) is 1, (-1, 1) is 0, (-1,17) is 1, (-1,18) is 0, (-1,19) is 0, (-1,334) is 1, (-1,335) is 1, (-1,353) ) Is 0, (-1,354) is 0, (-1,369) is 0, and (-1,370) is 0. (0, -17) is 1, (0, -16) is 1, (0, -1) is 1, (0,0) is 1, (0,1) is 1, (0,17) Is 1, (0,18) is 1, (0,19) is 0, (0,334) is 1, (0,335) is 1, (0,353) is 1, (0,354) is 0 , (0,369) is 1, and (0,370) is 0. (1, -17) is 1, (1, -16) is 0, (1, -1) is 1, (1, 0) is 1, (1, 1) is 1, (1, 17) Is 1, (1,18) is 1, (1,19) is 1, (1,334) is 0, (1,335) is 0, (1,353) is 1, (1,354) is 0 , (1,369) is 1, and (1,370) is 1.

  (34, -17) is 0, (34, -16) is 0, (34, -1) is 1, (34,0) is 0, (34,1) is 0, (34,17) Is 0, (34,18) is 0, (34,19) is 0, (34,334) is 0, (34,335) is 0, (34,353) is 1, (34,354) is 0 , (34,369) is 0, and (34,370) is 0. (35, -17) is 1, (35, -16) is 1, (35, -1) is 1, (35,0) is 1, (35,1) is 0, (35,17) Is 1, (35,18) is 0, (35,19) is 0, (35,334) is 1, (35,335) is 1, (35,353) is 1, (35,354) is 0 , (35,369) is 0, and (34,370) is 0. (36, -17) is 1, (36, -16) is 1, (36, -1) is 1, (36,0) is 1, (36,1) is 1, (36,17) Is 1, (36,18) is 1, (36,19) is 0, (36,334) is 1, (36,335) is 1, (36,353) is 1, (36,354) is 0 , (36,369) is 1, and (36,370) is 0.

  Also, (1025, -17) is 0, (1025, -16) is 0, (1025, -1) is 1, (1025, 0) is 0, (1025, 1) is 0, (1025, 17) Is 0, (1025,18) is 0, (1025,19) is 0, (1025,334) is 0, (1025,335) is 0, (1025,353) is 1, (1025,354) is 0 , (1025, 369) is 0, and (1025, 370) is 0. Also, (1026, -17) is 1, (1026, -16) is 1, (1026, -1) is 1, (1026, 0) is 1, (1026, 1) is 0, (1026, 17) Is 1, (1026,18) is 0, (1026,19) is 0, (1026,334) is 1, (1026,335) is 1, (1026,353) is 1, (1026,354) is 0 , (1026, 369) is 0, and (1026, 370) is 0.

  (1060, -17) is 1, (1060, -16) is 1, (1060, -1) is 1, (1060, 0) is 1, (1060, 1) is 1, (1060, 17) Is 0, (1060,18) is 0, (1060,19) is 0, (1060,334) is 0, (1060,335) is 0, (1060,353) is 1, (1060,354) is 1 , (1060, 369) is 0, and (1060, 370) is 1. Also, (1061, -17) is 1, (1061, -16) is 0, (1061, -1) is 1, (1061,0) is 1, (1061,1) is 0, (1061,17) Is 1, (1061,18) is 0, (1061,19) is 0, (1061,334) is 0, (1061,335) is 0, (1061,353) is 1, (1061,354) is 1 , (1061, 369) is 0, and (1061, 370) is 0. (1062, -17) is 1, (1062, -16) is 0, (1062, -1) is 1, (1062, 0) is 0, (1062, 1) is 0, (1062, 17) Is 1, (1062,18) is 1, (1062,19) is 0, (1062,334) is 0, (1062,335) is 0, (1062,353) is 0, (1062,354) is 1 , (1062, 369) is 1, and (1062, 370) is 0.

  Also, (1094, -17) is 1, (1094, -16) is 0, (1094, -1) is 1, (1094,0) is 1, (1094,1) is 0, (1094,17) Is 1, (1094,18) is 0, (1094,19) is 0, (1094,334) is 0, (1094,335) is 0, (1094,353) is 0, (1094,354) is 0 , (1094,369) is 0, and (1094,370) is 0. Also, (1095, -17) is 1, (1095, -16) is 0, (1095, -1) is 1, (1095, 0) is 0, (1095, 1) is 0, (1095, 17) Is 1, (1095,18) is 1, (1095,19) is 0, (1095,334) is 0, (1095,335) is 0, (1095,353) is 0, (1095,354) is 0 , (1095,369) is 1, and (1095,370) is 0.

  Next, in S 64, an image that is actually displayed in the work area 150 by reflecting the value stored in the first display data storage area 2302 and the value stored in the second display data storage area 2303. The third display data that is the basis of is generated in the third display data storage area 2304. The example shown in FIG. 19 is the third display data 2304a reflecting the value of the first display data 2302a shown in FIG. 17 and the value of the second display data 2303a shown in FIG. Therefore, since the third display data storage area is the sum area of the first display data storage area and the second display data storage area, the X coordinate is “like the X coordinate field of the second display data storage area 2302. -35 "to" 1095 "are taken, and the Y coordinate is" -17 "to" 370 ", and a storage area for a total of 438828 pixels is secured.

  The upper left vertex of the label area 301 of “label 30 × 90” stored in the tape information storage area 253 is (0, 0) and the lower right vertex is (1060, 353). 0), (0, 353), (1060, 0), (1060, 353) is an area surrounded by four pixels, and is an area outside that (X coordinate is “−1” or less or “ 354 ”or more, or the Y coordinate is“ −1 ”or less, or“ 1061 ”or more) is outside the label area 301, and is all“ 0 ”.

  Since the upper left vertex of the first print area of “label 30 × 90” stored in the tape information storage area 253 is (35, 18) and the lower right vertex is (1025, 335), (35, 18), A region surrounded by four pixels (35, 335), (1025, 18), and (1025, 335) is a first print region 351. Then, the values of both the first display data 2302a and the second display data 2303a are reflected. If one of the values is “1”, the value is “1”, and if both are “0”, the value is “0”.

  Therefore, (35, 18) is 0 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 0 and the value of the third display data 2303a is 0, and (35, 19) is the value of the first display data 2302a is 1, 3rd display data. Since the value of 2303a is 0, 1 is (1), (35,334) is 0 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 0, and 1 is 3 because the value of the third display data 2303a is 1, and (35,335) is the value of the first display data 2302a. 0, 1 because the value of the third display data 2303a is 1, (36, 18) is 0 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 1, and 1 because the value of the third display data 2303a is 1, (36, 19) is the first 1 because the value of the display data 2302a is 1 and the value of the third display data 2303a is 0, (36, 334) is 1 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 0, and the value of the third display data 2303a is 1. , 335) is 1 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 0 and the value of the third display data 2303a is 1, and (1025, 18) is the value of the first display data 2302a is 0 and the value of the third display data 2303a is 0 because it is 0, (1025,19) is 0 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 0, and the value of the third display data 2303a is 0, (1025,334) is 0, the value of the first display data 2302a is 0, The value of the display data 2303a is 0 because it is 0, (1025, 335) is 1 because the value of the first display data 2302a is 1, and the value of the third display data 2303a is 0.

  Further, an area inside the label area 301 outside the first print area 351, that is, a part where the second print area 352 and the label area 301 overlap and a part other than the first print area 351 is stored in the second display data storage area 2303. The value is migrated as is. Therefore, (0,0) is 1, (0,1) is 1, (0,17) is 1, (0,18) is 1, (0,19) is 0, (0,334) is 1, (0,335) is 1, and (0,353) is 1. (1,0) is 1, (1,1) is 1, (1,17) is 1, (1,18) is 1, (1,19) is 1, (1,334) is 0, (1,335) is 0 and (1,353) is 1.

  Also, (34,0) is 0, (34,1) is 0, (34,17) is 0, (34,18) is 0, (34,19) is 0, (34,334) is 0, (34,335) is 0 and (34,353) is 1. (35,0) is 1, (35,1) is 0, (35,17) is 1, (35,18) is 0, (35,19) is 0, (35,334) is 1, (35,335) is 1, and (35,353) is 1. (36,0) is 1, (36,1) is 1, (36,17) is 1, (36,18) is 1, (36,19) is 0, (36,334) is 1, (36,335) is 1, and (36,353) is 1.

  Also, (1025,0) is 0, (1025,1) is 0, (1025,17) is 0, (1025,18) is 0, (1025,19) is 0, (1025,334) is 0, (1025,335) is 0, and (1025,353) is 1. (1026,0) is 1, (1026,1) is 0, (1026,17) is 1, (1026,18) is 0, (1026,19) is 0, (1026,334) is 1, (1026, 335) is 1, and (1026, 353) is 1. (1060,0) is 1, (1060,1) is 1, (1060,17) is 0, (1060,18) is 0, (1060,19) is 0, (1060,334) is 0, (1060 , 335) is 0, and (1060, 353) is 1.

  In this way, if the images specified in the first print area 351 and the second print area 352 are edited and an instruction to display the ground pattern is given, the label area 301 and the second print area 352 overlap each other. If a background pattern is displayed and an instruction to display the background is given, the background is displayed at the portion where the label area 301 and the second print area 352 overlap, and characters and images in the first print area 351 are also displayed. Is done.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, the size change of the second print area 352 in the work area 150 by the mouse 282 will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the second print area changing process, and FIG. 21 is a continuation of the flowchart of the second print area changing process of FIG. This process is started when the second print area frame is checked on the display option setting screen 101 and the second print area display flag is set to “ON”. Then, the size of the second print area 352 is changed by moving the second print area frame 352a by operating the mouse 282.

  First, it is determined whether or not the mouse cursor is in the work area 150 (S21). Since this processing is started by the entry of the mouse cursor, the mouse cursor is in the work area 150 (S21: YES), and the mouse cursor is displayed in a standard shape (for example, an arrow shape) (S23). Next, it is determined whether or not the second print area frame 352a is displayed (S24). If the second print area display flag is “OFF” and the second print area frame 352a is not displayed (S24: NO), the second print area frame cannot be moved, and the process is terminated.

  If the second print area display flag is “ON” and the second print area frame 352a is displayed (S24: YES), it is determined whether or not the mouse cursor is near the second print area frame 352a. Performed (S25). The vicinity means that the distance from the second print area frame 352a is, for example, within 4 pixels in the pixel displaying the work area. When the mouse cursor is in the vicinity of the second print area frame 352a (S25: YES), the shape of the mouse cursor is changed (S26 to S30). Therefore, it is determined in which vicinity of the second print area frame 352a the mouse cursor is located. First, when the mouse cursor is near the four vertices of the second print area 352 (S26: YES), the mouse cursor is changed to a corner shape (for example, a cross arrow shape) (S28). In addition, when the mouse cursor is not near the four vertices but near the upper side or the lower side of the second print area frame 352a (S26: NO, S27: YES), the mouse cursor has a vertical shape (for example, an upper side). (Downward arrow shape) is changed (S29). Further, when it is neither the four vertices nor the vicinity of the upper side or the lower side (S26: NO, S27: NO), since the mouse cursor is in the vicinity of the left side or the right side of the second print area frame 352a, Left and right arrow shape) (S30).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the mouse cursor has been moved (S41). If the mouse cursor has been moved (S41: YES) and the mouse cursor after the movement is in the work area 150 (S43: YES), it is determined whether the mouse cursor is a simple move or a drag. Performed (S44). If it is a drag (S44: YES), the second print area frame 352a has been moved, so it is determined whether or not the second print area frame 352a is in contact with the first print area frame 351a due to the movement. (S47). In the present embodiment, since the first print area frame 351a is necessarily included in the second print area 352, the second print area frame 352a never enters the first print area frame 351a. Therefore, by comparing the X coordinate or Y coordinate of the mouse cursor with the X coordinate or Y coordinate of the four vertices of the second print region frame 352a, whether the second print region frame 352a and the first print region frame 351a are in contact with each other. If the second print area frame 352a is in contact with the first print area frame 351a due to the movement of the mouse cursor (S47: YES), the first print area frame 352a is in contact with the first print area frame 352a. The print area frame 351a is moved (S48). If the second print area frame 352a is not in contact with the first print area frame 351a (S47: NO), the left side, right side, upper side, lower side, or vertex is moved to the position where the mouse cursor has moved (S49). The information after the movement is reflected in the set upper left vertex coordinate column and the set lower right vertex column of the display setting relation information storage area 235.

  If the ground pattern display flag is “ON” and the ground pattern display is designated (S50: YES), the ground pattern display process is performed, and the ground pattern is displayed in the new second print area 352. (S52: see FIG. 15). If the background display flag is not “ON” (S50: NO), the background display flag is “ON” and the background display is designated (S51: YES), the background display process is performed. The background is displayed for the new second print area 352 (S53: see FIG. 16). If neither the ground pattern display nor the background display is specified (S50: NO, S51: NO), only the second print area frame 352a is displayed, so nothing is done. Then, the process returns to S41 to determine whether or not the mouse cursor has been moved again (S41).

  If the mouse cursor is not moved (S41: NO), if the second print area 352 is not displayed at that time (S42: NO), the process ends, but the second print area 352 is displayed. If so (S42: YES), the process returns to S41 and the monitoring of the movement of the mouse cursor is continued.

  Even when the mouse cursor is moved (S41: YES), if the mouse cursor has left the work area 150 (S43: NO), the process returns to S21, and the mouse cursor enters the work area 150 again. (S21: NO, S22: YES). However, if the second print area frame 352a is no longer displayed (S22: NO), the process ends. Even if the mouse cursor is in the work area 150 (S21: YES), after the mouse cursor is displayed in the standard shape (S23), if the second print area frame 352a is not displayed (S24: NO), the processing is performed. Ends.

  Further, when the mouse cursor is moved (S41: YES) and the mouse cursor is in the work area 150 (S43: YES), when the mouse cursor is not dragged (S44: NO), the mouse is moved. It is determined whether or not the cursor is in the vicinity of the second print area frame 352a (S45). If it is not in the vicinity (S45: NO), the process returns to S21 to prevent the mouse cursor from entering the work area 150 again. Wait (S21: NO, S22: YES). If it is in the vicinity (S45: YES) and the second print area frame 352a is displayed (S46: YES), the process returns to S26 to change the shape of the mouse cursor (S26 to S30). Is monitored (S41). Even if the mouse cursor is near the second print area frame 352a (S45: YES), if the second print area frame 352a is not displayed (S46: NO), this process ends.

  In this way, when the mouse cursor is moved by operating the mouse 282 and the mouse cursor is near the second print area frame 352a, the second print area frame 352a is moved by dragging, and the second print area frame 352a is moved. The size of the area 352 can be changed. In this case, the second print area 352 always includes the first print area frame 351a, and even if the second print area frame 352a is moved, the second print area frame 352 is moved inward from the first print area frame 351a. There is no.

  Next, the printing process will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 22 is an image diagram of the print screen 103, FIG. 23 is a flowchart of the print process, and FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the print execution process executed in the print process. FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of the first edit data 2305a that is an example of the first edit data stored in the first edit data storage area 2305, and FIG. 26 is stored in the second edit data storage area 2306. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of the second editing data 2306a for which reverse printing is designated, which is an example of the second editing data, and FIG. 27 shows the third editing data stored in the third editing data storage area 2307. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of third edit data 2307a obtained by editing the first data 2305a of FIG. 25 and the second edit data 2306a of FIG. 27. FIG. 28 is a diagram of pixels for one line of the print data 2308a. It is a schematic diagram of the part regarding heat_generation | fever. FIG. 29 is an example of the second editing data stored in the second editing data storage area 2306, and is a schematic diagram of the second editing data 2306b for which background printing is designated. FIG. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram of third edited data 2307b obtained by editing 25 first edited data 2305a and second edited data 2306b in FIG.

  A print screen 103 shown in FIG. 22 is a screen that is displayed when a print instruction is given by the editor 100. As shown in FIG. 22, a printer field, a copy number field, a print button, and a cancel button are provided. In the printer column, the name of the printer that performs printing and the output destination port are displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 22, the printer name is “Tape Printer1”, and the output destination port is “USB013”.

  An option field 190 is also provided in the printer field. In this option column 190, print options can be designated. In the example shown in FIG. 22, four types of “auto cut”, “reverse print”, “background print”, and “background print” are displayed as designation options, and can be designated by check boxes. A print image field 170 is provided to the right of the option field 190, and a print image 170 reflecting the print option specified in the option field 190 is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 22, “auto cut” and “reverse printing” are designated, and the print image column 170 displays a print image 180 that has been printed with the label tape cut and reversed. In addition, when the background printing is designated, a print image in which the ground pattern is formed in the range designated as the second printing area is displayed, and when the background printing is designated, the second image is displayed. A print image in which a background image is formed in a range designated as a print area is displayed. In the present embodiment, only one of “reverse printing”, “background printing”, and “background printing” can be selected, but a plurality may be selected. In the copy number column, the number of copies can be specified by a list box.

  Next, the printing process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowchart of the printing process shown in FIG. 23 is executed when a printing instruction is issued in the editor 100. The print instruction is made by selecting “print” from the menu list that is displayed when “file (F)” in the menu bar 110 of the editor 100 is selected. Alternatively, it is performed by selecting the fifth icon from the left of the toolbar 120.

  First, the print screen 103 displaying a print image of only characters and the like input in the first print area 351 is displayed (S101). Then, it is determined whether or not a print button has been selected (S102). If the print button has been selected (S102: YES), a print process is performed (S140, see FIG. 24), and the process ends. . If the cancel button is selected without selecting the print button (S102: NO, S103: YES), the process ends without doing anything.

  If neither the print button nor the cancel button is selected (S102: NO, S103: NO), it is determined whether there is an input in the “reverse printing” check box in the option column 190 and whether the check has been changed OFF / ON. (S104). If there is a change in the check box of “reverse printing” (S104: YES) and the check is “ON” (S120: YES), a reversed print image is created (S121), and the print image field 170 The display of the print image 180 is updated (S110), and the process returns to S102. If the check mark is not cleared and “ON” is not set (S120: NO), a print image of only the first print area is created (S122), and the display of the print image 180 in the print image column 170 is updated (S110). ), The process returns to S102.

  If there is no change in the “reverse printing” check box (S104: NO) and there is a change in the “background printing” check box (S105: YES), if the check box is “ON”. If so (S130: YES), a print image with a background is created (S131), the display of the print image 180 in the print image column 170 is updated (S110), and the process returns to S102. If the check mark is not cleared and “ON” is not set (S130: NO), a print image of only the first print area is created (S132), and the display of the print image 180 in the print image column 170 is updated (S110). ), The process returns to S102.

  If neither the “reverse printing” check box nor the “background printing” check box is changed (S104: NO, S105: NO), and the “background pattern printing” check box is changed (S106: If the check is “ON” (S107: YES), a print image with a ground pattern is created (S108), the display of the print image 180 in the print image column 170 is updated (S110), and S102. Return to. If the check mark is not cleared and “ON” is not set (S107: NO), a print image of only the first print area is created (S109), and the display of the print image 180 in the print image column 170 is updated (S110). ), The process returns to S102.

  If neither the “reverse printing” check box, the “background printing” check box, nor the “background printing” check box is changed (S104: NO, S105: NO, S106: NO), other input is made. A receiving process is performed (S135), and the process returns to S102.

  In this way, until the print button or the cancel button is selected (S102: YES or S103: YES), if the check box in the option column 190 is changed by repeating the processing of S102 to S135, a check is made. A print image matching the above is displayed in the print image column 170. It should be noted that the creation of the print image with the ground pattern in S108 and the creation of the print image with the background in S131 are the same as those performed in the ground pattern display process in FIG. 14 and the background display process in FIG. It is created by reflecting the data 351 and the data in the second print area 352, adjusted to the size of the print image column 170 of the print screen 103, and displayed. Further, in the creation of the inverted print image in S121, the pixels that are supposed to be printed in the first print area 351 are created as pixels that are not printed, and the pixels that are not printed are created as pixels that are printed. The image is adjusted to the size of the print image column 170 of 103 and displayed.

  The print setting information storage area 2310 of the ROM 230 stores setting information specified on the print screen 103. For example, an auto cut flag, a reverse print flag, A ground pattern print flag and a background print flag are provided. When the check is “ON”, “1” is set. When the check is not “ON”, “OFF” is set. Has been. For example, in the background print flag, when the “background print” check is changed and the check is “OFF” (S106: YES, 107: NO), “0” is set before the process of S109. If the check is “ON” (S107: YES), “1” is set before the processing of S108. Similarly, the reverse print flag and the background print flag are updated when each check box is changed.

  Here, a print execution process performed when the print button is selected (S102: YES) will be described. As shown in FIG. 24, first, the contents stored in the input data storage area 2301 are expanded in the first edit data storage area 2305 (S150). If the background print flag is “ON” and “background print” is designated (S151: YES), the image of the background file designated in the second edit data storage area 2306 is developed (S152). The information in the first edit data storage area 2305 and the second edit data storage area 2306 is reflected in the third edit data storage area 2307 (S153). Specifically, with regard to the coordinates indicating each pixel, if either is “1”, it is “1”, and if both are “0”, it is “0”.

  Then, the number of offset elements is calculated from the value of the upper left vertex stored in the second print area column of the display setting information storage area 2309 (S154). Specifically, when the value of the X coordinate of the upper left vertex is the same as the value of the X coordinate of the upper left vertex stored in the tape information storage area 253, the second print stored in the tape information storage area 253 is performed. The number of offset elements in the region. If they are not the same, the number of offset elements is calculated from the difference from the X coordinate value of the upper left vertex stored in the tape information storage area 253. Since the X coordinate is set to “1” for each heating element of the thermal head 13, if n is smaller than the X coordinate of the upper left vertex, n is subtracted from the number of offset elements in the second printing area. In the example of the tape type “label 30 × 90” in the tape information storage area 253 shown in FIG. 10, the X coordinate of the upper left vertex is “−35” and the number of offset elements is “166”. ", The number of offset elements is" 161 ", and if the X coordinate is" 3 ", the number of offset elements is" 127 ".

  Next, printing is performed based on the third edit data storage area 2307 by rejecting printing (no power supply) from the first heating element 1001 up to the calculated number of offset elements. (S155). Then, print data is transmitted to the tape printer 1 (S180), the print execution process ends, and the print process also ends.

  If the background print flag is not “ON”, the background print flag is “ON”, and “background print” is designated (S151: NO, S160: YES), the second edit data storage area The ground pattern specified in 2306 is developed (S162), and the information in the first edit data storage area 2305 and the second edit data storage area 2306 is reflected in the third edit data storage area 2307 (S163). Specifically, with regard to the coordinates indicating each pixel, if either is “1”, it is “1”, and if both are “0”, it is “0”.

  Then, the number of offset elements is calculated from the value of the upper left vertex stored in the second print area column of the display setting information storage area 2309 (S154). Next, printing is performed based on the third edit data storage area 2307 by not printing (no energization) on the heating elements from the first heating element 1001 up to the calculated number of offset elements. (S155). Then, print data is transmitted to the tape printer 1 (S180), the print execution process ends, and the print process also ends.

  If the background print flag and the background print flag are not “ON”, the reverse print flag is “ON”, and “background print” is designated (S151: NO, S160: NO, S170: YES). First, “1” (print designation) is set for all the pixels in the second edit data storage area 2306 (S172). Then, the information in the first edit data storage area 2305 and the second edit data storage area 2306 is reflected in the third edit data storage area 2307 (S173). Specifically, for the coordinates indicating each pixel, if the value in the first edit data storage area 2305 is “1”, it is “0”, and the other values are “1”.

  Then, the first editing element 1001 and the number of offset elements in the second print area stored in the tape information storage area 253 are not printed (not energized), and the third editing data Print data based on the storage area 2307 is created (S174). Then, print data is transmitted to the tape printer 1 (S180), the print execution process ends, and the print process also ends.

  If none of the print flags is “ON” (S151: NO, S160: NO, S170: NO), the second print area 352 is not designated for printing. Print pixels are assigned, print data based on the first edit data storage area 2305 is created (S175), the print data is transmitted to the tape printer 1 (S180), the print execution process is terminated, and the print process is also performed. finish.

  Here, a specific example of print data creation when “reverse printing” is designated will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 to 28. First, in S150 of the print execution process (see FIG. 24), the contents stored in the input data storage area 2301 are expanded as the first edit data 2305a shown in FIG. The example shown in FIG. 25 is for the case where the tape type “label 30 × 90” is selected. Since the tape type “label 30 × 90” is the upper left vertex (35, 18) and the lower right vertex (1025, 335) of the first print area, the X coordinate field of the first edit data 2305a is “35” to “ "1025" is taken, and "18" to "335" are taken in the Y coordinate column, and a storage area for a total of 315138 pixels is secured. Then, “1” is set for the pixels to be printed in the first print area 351, and “0” is set for the pixels that are not printed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 25, “38” to “1023” are omitted for the X coordinate and “21” to “333” are omitted for the Y coordinate, but (35,18) is 0, and (35,19) is 1. , (35,20) is 1, (35,334) is 0, (35,335) is 0, (36,18) is 0, (36,19) is 1, (36,20) is 1 , (36,334) is 0, (36,335) is 0, (37,18) is 0, (37,19) is 1, (37,20) is 1, (37,334) is 0 , (37,335) is zero. In addition, (1024,18) is 0, (1024,19) is 0, (1024,20) is 0, (1024,334) is 1, (1024,335) is 1, and (1025,18) is 0, (1025, 19) is 0, (1025, 20) is 0, (1025, 334) is 0, and (1025, 335) is 1.

  If “reverse printing” is designated (S171: YES), the entire second print area 352 is filled, so that all the pixels are set to 1 in the 2-edit data storage area 2306 (S172). As shown in FIG. 26, the values of all the pixels are “1”. In the example of FIG. 26, since the second print area frame 352a is not moved and is set to the initial vertex position, the X coordinate column of the second edit data storage area 2303 takes "-35" to "1095". The Y coordinate ranges from “−17” to “370”, and a storage area for a total of 438828 pixels is secured.

  Then, the information in the first edit data storage area 2305 and the second edit data storage area 2306 is reflected in the third edit data storage area 2307 (S173), and the third edit data 2307a shown in FIG. 27 is created. As shown in FIG. 27, all the areas outside the first print area are “1”, and within the first print area, the pixel whose value is “1” in the first edit data 2305a is “0”. The pixel “0” is “1”. In the example shown in FIG. 27, (35, 18) is 1 because the value of the first edit data is 0, (35, 19) is 0 because the value of the first edit data is 1, and (35, 335) is the first edit data. 1 because the data value is 0, (36,18) is 1 because the value of the first edit data is 0, (36,19) is 0 because the value of the first edit data is 1, and (36,335) is the first 1 because the value of the edit data is 0, (1025, 18) is 1 because the value of the first edit data is 0, (1025, 19) is 1 because the value of the first edit data is 0, and (1025, 335) is the first Since the value of 1 edit data is 1, it is 0.

  Then, print data indicating no printing (no energization) is generated from the first heating element 1001 to the heating elements up to several offset elements in the second print area stored in the tape information storage area 253. (S174). The example shown in FIG. 28 is the X coordinate “35” of the third editing data 2307a, that is, a part of the print data of the 71st line. Here, “1” is set when the 720 heating elements 1001 to 1720 are energized, and “0” is set when they are not energized. Since the number of offset elements of the tape type “label 30 × 90” is “166”, all of the heating elements 1001 to 1166 are “0”. The value of the heating element 1167 corresponding to the Y coordinate “−17” is 1 because the value (35, −17) of the third editing data 2307a is 1. Similarly, the heating element 1168 (Y coordinate “−16”) is 1 because (35, −16) is 1, and the heating element 1169 (Y coordinate “−15”) is 1 because (35, −15) is 1. Element 1201 (Y coordinate “17”) is 1 because (35,17) is 1, Heating element 1202 (Y coordinate “18”) is 1 because (35,18) is 1, Heating element 1203 (Y coordinate “19”) ) Is 0 because (35,19) is 0, and 1 because the heating element 1519 (Y coordinate “335”) is 1 because (35,335) is 1, and the heating element 1520 (Y coordinate “336”) is (35,336). 1 is 1 because the heating element 1553 (Y coordinate “369”) is 1 because (35,369) is 1, and 1 because the heating element 1554 (Y coordinate “370”) is 1 because the (35,370) is 1. 1720 is 0 because it is outside the print area. That.

  Next, specific examples of print data creation when “background printing” is designated will be described with reference to FIGS. 24, 25, 29, and 30. As in the case where “reverse printing” is designated, first, in S150 of the print execution process (see FIG. 24), the content stored in the input data storage area 2301 is the first edit data 2305a shown in FIG. Will be expanded as follows. Since “background printing” is designated (S151: YES), the data of the background file designated in the second edit data storage area 2306 is expanded (S152). FIG. 29 shows an example of the second editing data 2306b, which is an example of the second editing data in a state where the data of the background file is expanded. “1” is set to the pixel to be printed, and “0” is set to the pixel that is not printed. Is set.

  In the example shown in FIG. 29, “−33” to “33”, “37” to “1024”, “1027” to “1093” for the X coordinate, and “−14” to “16”, “20” for the Y coordinate. To “334”, “337” to “368” are omitted, but (−35, −17) is 1, (−35, −16) is 1, (−35, −15) is 1, ( -35,17) is 1, (-35,18) is 1, (-35,19) is 0, (-35,335) is 1, (-35,336) is 1, (-35,369) Is 1, and (−35, 370) is 0. (-34, -17) is 1, (-34, -16) is 1, (-34, -15) is 1, (-34, 17) is 1, (-34, 18) is 1, (−34, 19) is 0, (−34, 335) is 1, (−34, 336) is 1, (−34, 369) is 1, and (−34, 370) is 0.

  Also, (34, -17) is 1, (34, -16) is 1, (34, -15) is 0, (34,17) is 1, (34,18) is 1, (34,19) Is 0, (34,335) is 1, (34,336) is 1, (34,369) is 1, and (34,370) is 0. (35, -17) is 1, (35, -16) is 1, (35, -15) is 0, (35,17) is 1, (35,18) is 1, (35,19) Is 0, (35,335) is 1, (35,336) is 1, (35,369) is 1, and (35,370) is 0. (36, -17) is 0, (36, -16) is 0, (36, -15) is 0, (36,17) is 0, (36,18) is 0, (36,19) Is 0, (36,335) is 0, (36,336) is 0, (36,369) is 0, and (36,370) is 0.

  Also, (1025, -17) is 0, (1025, -16) is 0, (1025, -15) is 0, (1025, 17) is 0, (1025, 18) is 0, (1025, 19) Is 0, (1025,335) is 0, (1025,336) is 0, (1025,369) is 0, and (1025,370) is 0. Also, (1026, -17) is 1, (1026, -16) is 1, (1026, -15) is 1, (1026, 17) is 1, (1026, 18) is 1, (1026, 19) Is 0, (1026,335) is 1, (1026,336) is 1, (1026,369) is 1, and (1026,370) is 0.

  Also, (1094, -17) is 1, (1094, -16) is 1, (1094, -15) is 0, (1094,17) is 1, (1094,18) is 1, (1094,19) Is 0, (1094,335) is 1, (1094,336) is 1, (1094,369) is 1, and (1094,370) is 0. In addition, (1095, -17) is 1, (1095, -16) is 1, (1095, -15) is 1, (1095, 17) is 1, (1095, 18) is 1, (1095, 19) Is 0, (1095,335) is 1, (1095,336) is 1, (1095,369) is 1, and (1095,370) is 0.

  Then, the information in the first edit data storage area 2305 and the second edit data storage area 2306 is reflected in the third edit data storage area 2307 (S153), and the third edit data 2307b shown in FIG. 30 is created. Specifically, outside the first print area (X coordinate is “34” or less, or “1026” or more, and Y coordinate is “17” or less or “336” or more), the second edit data 2306b shown in FIG. The value is set as it is, and if the value of either the first edit data 2305a or the second edit data 2306b is “1” in the first print area, “1” and both values are “0”. If there is, it is “0”. Therefore, (35, 18) is 1 because the value of the first edit data 2305a is 0 and the value of the second edit data 2306b is 1, and (35, 19) is 1 and the value of the first edit data 2305a is 1. 1 because the value of 2306b is 0, (35,335) is 1 because the value of the first edit data 2305a is 0, and 1 is the value of the second edit data 2306b, and (36,18) is the value of the first edit data 2305a. 0, 0 because the value of the second edit data 2306b is 0, (36, 19) is 1, the value of the first edit data 2305a is 1, and 1 because the value of the second edit data 2306b is 0, (36, 335) is the first 0 because the value of the edit data 2305a is 0 and the value of the second edit data 2306b is 0, (1025, 18) is 0 because the value of the first edit data 2305a is 0, and the value of the second edit data 2306b is 0. 025, 19) is 0 because the value of the first edited data 2305a is 0 and the value of the second edited data 2306b is 0, and (1025, 335) is the value of the first edited data 2305a is 1 and the value of the second edited data 2306b. Since it is 0, it becomes 1.

  The creation of the print data is the same as when “reverse printing” is designated, and is omitted. Also, when “background print” is designated, the information developed in the second edit data storage area 2306 is only the background information, and is the same as when “background print” is designated. To do.

  In the above embodiment, the background field of the second print area property screen 102 shown in FIG. 13 corresponds to “background image setting means”, and the background pattern field corresponds to “background pattern setting means”. Also, the option field 190 of the print screen 103 shown in FIG. 22 corresponds to “second image selection means” and “second image print selection means”, and corresponds to the print image field 170 “print image display means”. Further, the page property toolbox 133 of the editor 100 shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to “print medium selection means”. The two-dot chain line 352a of the print image 140 in the work area 150 of the editor 100 corresponds to the “second print area setting unit” and is controlled by the CPU 210 that performs the second print area change process shown in FIGS. . The CPU 210 that executes S150 of the print execution process shown in FIG. 24 corresponds to the “first creation unit”, the CPU 211 that executes S152, S162, and S172 corresponds to the “second creation unit”, and includes S151, S161, and S171. The CPU 212 that executes S153, S163, and S173 corresponds to “print image creating means”, and the CPU 213 that executes S155, S174, S175, and S154 corresponds to “print data creating means”. Further, the CPU 214 that executes S4 of the display option setting process shown in FIG. 14 corresponds to the “second print area determination unit”, and the CPU 210 that performs the second print area presence determination of S4 corresponds to the “second image print determination unit”. Equivalent to. The USB port 25 and the input / output interface 50 correspond to “print data input means”, and the printing mechanism 20 corresponds to “print means”. In the print data creating apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, display means such as a display and user input means such as keys are connected to the input / output interface 50 in the configuration of the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and various modifications can be made. Below, the modification of embodiment which applies this invention is demonstrated. In the above-described embodiment, the tape printing apparatus 1 is used as the “printing apparatus”. However, the “printing apparatus” is not limited to the one that prints the tape loaded on the cassette tape, and the printing apparatus that prints cut sheets or continuous sheets. It may be. The printing method may be other methods such as an ink jet method or a laser method. Further, although the personal computer 200 is used as the “print data creation device”, the “print data creation device” is not limited to the personal computer 200 but may be a computer of another form. In addition, an operation unit such as a keyboard and a panel display may be provided in the printing apparatus, and the “print data creation apparatus” and the “printing apparatus” may be a single apparatus. In the above embodiment, the “print data creation device” and the “print device” are connected using the USB cable 10, but may be connected using another interface or network.

  In the above embodiment, the label tape 300 is taken as an example, and the label tape on which the die-cut label is arranged is printed on the label, but the print medium is not limited to the label. Printing may be performed on a seal tape printed on the tape printer 1, cut paper or continuous paper, or a label placed on the cut paper or continuous paper, and the shape of the label is not limited to a substantially rectangular shape, but may be a circle, an ellipse, or a star. It may be a shape imitating the shape of a mold or a house shape. In the above embodiment, the first print area frame and the second print area frame are straight lines, and the first print area and the second print area are rectangular. However, the first print area frame and the second print area frame are not limited to these shapes. The print area frame and the second print area frame may include a curve, and the first print area and the second print area may be shapes, circles, ellipses, stars, houses, etc., that match the shape of the print medium. Other shapes such as a shape imitating the shape of the object may be used. Alternatively, the operator may draw an arbitrary shape with a mouse to form the second print area frame.

  In the above-described embodiment, the size of the second print area is changed by the “second print area setting unit”, but the “second print area setting unit” does not have the “second print area setting unit”. Thus, the second print area determined in advance for each type of print medium may remain as it is.

  In the above embodiment, the first print area is always included in the second print area. However, even if the first print area is not necessarily included in the second print area, only a part of the second print area is the second print area. It may be included in the print area. FIG. 31 is an image diagram of a print image 140b displayed in the work area 150 of the editor 100, wherein a part of the first print area 351b is included in the second print area frame 352b. As shown in FIG. 31, a first print area 351 surrounded by a first print area frame 351b represented by a dashed line is provided in a label area 301 surrounded by a label frame 301b. A character string “ABCD” is arranged in the first print area 351. Here, an area occupied by the character string “ABCD” is an object area 353, and a boundary line of the object area 353 is an object area frame 353b, which is represented by a dotted line. Similarly to FIG. 7, the second print region frame 352 b is represented by a two-dot chain line to form a second print region 352.

  In the example shown in FIG. 31, the second print area frame 352b is moved, and the right side is in contact with the right side of the object frame 353b. As described above, when a part of the first print area 351 is included in the second print area 352, the object area 353 may be included in the second print area 352 without fail. In such a case, in S47 of the second print area changing process shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, it is determined whether the second print area frame is in contact with the object frame. If it is in contact with the frame (YES), the second print area frame is moved to the object frame. If it is not in contact (NO), the second print area frame is moved to the position where the mouse cursor has moved. In this case, the object area 353b must be arranged so as to be included in the first print area 351b.

  In the above embodiment, only one second print area 352 is provided, but a plurality of second print areas 352 may be arranged. In this case, for example, the background may be printed in the first second print area 352, and the background pattern may be arranged in the second second print area frame 352a. Further, the magnification, the arrangement position, and the arrangement number of the image arranged on the background may be set. For example, when a background file is selected, if the background image area is larger than the second print area 352, the background image is reduced, and if the background image area is smaller than the second print area 352, it is enlarged, or a plurality of them are arranged side by side. You may do it. Alternatively, a plurality of background images may be arranged side by side in a reduced size.

  The print data creation apparatus of the present invention can be used in a personal computer or the like that creates print data for printing by the printing apparatus, and can also be used in a printing apparatus that creates print data by itself. Further, the printing apparatus is not limited to the printing apparatus as in the above embodiment, and can be applied to printing apparatuses of various printing methods such as an ink jet printing apparatus and a laser printing apparatus.

1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of a tape printer 1 and a personal computer 200. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the structure of a printing mechanism and a tape cassette 350 arranged in the tape printer 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the tape printer 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a personal computer 200. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a storage area of a RAM 230 of the personal computer 200. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a storage area of an HDD 250. FIG. 2 is an image diagram of an editor 100. FIG. 3 is an image diagram of a label tape 300. FIG. FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing a positional relationship between a label area 301, a printing area, and heating elements 1001-1720 of the thermal head 13. 3 is a schematic diagram of a tape information storage area 253 of the HDD 250. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a display setting information storage area 235 of a RAM 230. FIG. It is an image figure of the display option setting screen 101. FIG. It is an image figure of the property screen 102 of the 2nd printing area. It is a flowchart of a display option setting process. It is a flowchart of the ground pattern display process implemented in a display option setting process and a 2nd printing area change process. It is a flowchart of the background display process implemented in a display option setting process and a 2nd printing area change process. It is a schematic diagram of the 1st display data 2302a. It is a schematic diagram of the 2nd display data 2303a in which the ground pattern is designated. It is a schematic diagram of the 3rd display data 2304a. It is a flowchart of a 2nd printing area change process. FIG. 21 is a continuation of the flowchart of the second print region change process in FIG. 20. 3 is an image diagram of a print screen 103. FIG. It is a flowchart of a printing process. It is a flowchart of the printing execution process performed in a printing process. It is a schematic diagram of the 1st edit data 2305a. It is a schematic diagram of the 2nd edit data 2306a in which reverse printing designation | designated was carried out. It is a schematic diagram of the 3rd edit data 2307a which edited the 1st edit data 2305a of FIG. 25, and the 2nd edit data 2306a of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of a portion related to heat generation of pixels for one line of print data 2308a. It is a schematic diagram of the 2nd edit data 2306b in which background printing designation | designated. It is a schematic diagram of the 3rd edit data 2307b which edited the 1st edit data 2305a of FIG. 25, and the 2nd edit data 2306b of FIG. FIG. 14 is an image diagram of a print image 140b displayed in a work area 150 of the editor 100, in which a part of a first print area 351b is included in a second print area frame 352b.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tape printer 13 Thermal head 20 Printing mechanism 40 Control part 48 Drive circuit 100 Editor 101 Display option setting screen 102 Property screen 103 Print screen 133 Page property tool box 150 Work area 140 Print image 200 Personal computer 210 CPU
230 RAM
235 Display setting information storage area 250 HDD
253 Tape information storage area 270 Display control unit 271 Monitor 280 Input detection unit 282 Mouse 300 Label tape 301 Label region 301a Label frame 351b Label frame 310 Label 350 Tape cassette 351 First print region 351a First print region frame 351b First print region Frame 352 Second print area 352a Second print area frame 352b Second print area frame 353 Object area 353b Object area frames 1001-1720 Heating element 2301 Input data storage area 2302 First display data storage area 2303 Second display data storage area 2304 Third display data storage area 2305 First edit data storage area 2305a First edit data 2306 Second edit data storage area 2306a Second edit data 2306b Second edit data 2307 3 edited data storage area 2307a third edited data 2307b third edited data 2308 print data storage area 2309 displays the setting information storage area

Claims (16)

A print data creation device for creating print data for printing an image on a printing device,
A first print area that is entirely included in a printable area that is a printable area on the print medium;
A second print region that is a region including a part or all of the first print region, and
First creation means for creating an image in the first print area;
Second creation means for creating an image in the second print area;
Print image creating means for creating a print image to be printed on a printing medium based on the first image created by the first creating means and the second image created by the second creating means;
A print data creation device comprising: print data creation means for creating print data for printing the print image. A printing medium selection means for selecting the shape or size of the printing medium;
Based on at least one of the shape and size of the printing medium selected by the printing medium selection unit, at least one of the size of the second printing area and the position with respect to the printing medium is determined. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second print area determination unit.   3. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second print area setting unit configured to set at least one of a size of the second print area and a position with respect to a printing medium.   The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second print area includes all of the first print area.   The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second print area includes at least a part of the first print area.   The print data creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second image is a background image composed of at least one of a character, a photograph, and a design.   The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second image is a ground pattern on which predetermined symbols are repeatedly arranged. The second image is a filled image;
The print image creation means sets a print image formed in an overlap area overlapping the second print area in the first print area as a reverse image obtained by inverting the first image created in the first print area. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print data creation apparatus is a print data creation apparatus. The second image is at least one of a background image composed of at least one of a character, a photograph, and a pattern, a ground pattern on which a predetermined pattern is repeatedly arranged, and a filled image,
The second image selecting means for selecting at least one of the background image, the background pattern, and the filled image as the second image. Print data creation device.   The print data creation according to claim 6 or 9, further comprising background image setting means for setting at least one of the type, magnification, quantity, and position of the background image relative to the second print area. apparatus.   The print data creation apparatus according to claim 7 or 9, further comprising a ground pattern setting unit that sets at least one of the type, magnification, and position of the ground pattern relative to the second print area. Second image print selection means for selecting whether or not to print the second image;
The print image creation means creates the print image from only the first image and prints the second image when the second image print selection means selects not to print the second image. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when selected, the print image is created from the first image and the second image. A printing medium selection means for selecting the shape or size of the printing medium;
Second image printing for determining whether or not to print the second image by the second creation means based on at least one of the shape and size of the printing medium selected by the printing medium selection means A determination means, and
The print image creation means creates the print image from only the first image and prints the second image when the second image print selection means selects not to print the second image. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when selected, the print image is created from the first image and the second image.   12. The print data creation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print image display unit that displays the print image created by the print image creation unit.   15. The print data creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit that prints the print data created by the print data creating unit. Print data input means for inputting the print data created by the print data creation means of the print data creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
And a printing unit that prints the print data input to the print data input unit.

Images