JP2005297483A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system enabling the printing operation capable of appealing enough visually while seeing easily to be performed even if the number of letters is few. <P>SOLUTION: The system is equipped with a space insertion printing mode by which the printing operation is performed with providing the space required for more than one letters at the left or right end of the printing areas 20, 21 in which the letters for a pop-advertisement or label are printed and a usual printing mode not provided with the space required for more than one letters at the left and right ends. Making comparison between a first memory part storing beforehand the threshold corresponding to the minimum number of letters to be a mode-selection standard for every paper for the pop advertisement or label, a second memory part storing the printed letters or letter rows, the number of the printed letters or letter rows and the threshold, if the number of printing letters run short against the minimum number of letters, the space 30 is automatically inserted at the left and right ends of the printing area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system that prints characters and designs on pop advertisements or labels.

Conventionally, the following documents exist as this type of printing system.
JP-A-1-229648 (Claims, FIG. 4) JP-A 63-49636 (Claims, FIG. 3) JP-A-7-114548 (Summary) Japanese Patent No. 2882038 (FIGS. 2 and 3) Japanese Patent No. 2667087 (0017, FIG. 10)

In the invention of Patent Document 1, a correct aspect ratio can be calculated even for an outline font that is out of the standard, and printing can be performed at an accurate magnification.
In the invention of Patent Document 2, when the number of characters is smaller than the predetermined number of characters, the space between characters can be adjusted.
In the invention of Patent Document 3, when the character size set in the character frame does not fit, the character frame is expanded, and when the expanded frames overlap, the frame can be moved so as not to overlap.
In the invention of Patent Document 4, the character size and the interval can be automatically calculated according to the label length and the character string input.
In the invention of Patent Document 5, it is possible to determine the label printing area and automatically assign the character spacing to the label printing area equally according to the selected character size.

  On the other hand, when designing the print layout of POP advertisements and labels using vector fonts such as TrueTypeFont, there is a function to enlarge / reduce the print data to fill the specified print area regardless of the number of characters of the print data. By using this function, it is possible to print automatically enlarged / reduced data regardless of the number of characters in the designated area, and to express effective characters that appeal visually.

  However, with this function, if the number of characters in the print data decreases, the characters may be excessively enlarged in the horizontal direction as shown in FIGS. Such problems and solutions are not described in Patent Documents 1 to 5.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing system capable of performing printing that is easy to see and can appeal visually even when the number of characters is small.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printing system according to the first aspect of the present invention is a printing system that prints characters on a pop advertisement or a label, and prints characters according to a printing area and characters or character strings. Character forming means for calculating characters in length and width and character setting means and setting means for presetting the maximum aspect ratio of the area per character to be printed are provided.

  The printing system according to the second aspect of the present invention is a printing system for printing characters on a pop advertisement or label, and has a space of one character or more at the left end or right end of the print area where characters in the pop advertisement or label are printed. A pop-up advertisement with a threshold value corresponding to the minimum number of characters that serves as a reference for selection of the mode, and a space insertion print mode that is provided and printed, and a normal print mode that does not provide one or more spaces at the left and right ends Alternatively, a first storage unit that stores in advance for each label sheet or print region, a second storage unit that stores characters or character strings to be printed, the number of characters to be printed or the character string and the threshold value, If the number of printed characters is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, a space is automatically inserted at the left and right edges of the printed area. It is characterized in.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the number of characters is small, the deformation of the characters can be minimized, and as a result, a layout that can be easily viewed and can be appealed visually is possible.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, as in the first aspect of the invention, even when the number of characters is small, it is possible to provide a layout that is easy to see and can appeal sufficiently visually. Moreover, setting the number of characters is easier than setting the maximum aspect ratio. Further, since it can be set for each paper of the pop advertisement or label, the aspect ratio of the character can be selected according to the type and function of the pop advertisement or label.

  In this printing system, it is preferable that the size of the character is set in accordance with the size of the printing area.

  Another preferred printing system of the second invention is a printing system for printing characters on a pop advertisement or a label, and at least one character is printed on the left or right edge of a printing area where characters in the pop advertisement or label are printed. A space insertion print mode for printing with a space and a normal print mode in which the space for one character or more is not provided at the left end and the right end, and a threshold value corresponding to the minimum number of characters serving as a reference for selection of the mode is set. A first storage unit that stores the pop advertisement or label paper or each print area in advance; a second storage unit that stores characters or character strings to be printed; and the number of characters to be printed. In comparison with the threshold, if the number of characters printed is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, select the space insertion print mode, When the number of printed characters is not insufficient, the determining means for selecting the normal print mode, and, as a result of the determination, in the space insertion print mode, the number of space data corresponding to the shortage obtained by subtracting the number of printed characters from the minimum number of characters. Is added to the character or character string to create print data, and the number of the space data is added to the number of characters or characters in the character string. Character forming means for setting the size of characters to be actually printed according to the size is provided.

In the present invention, when a space is inserted (added), it is preferable that whether the space is inserted at the left end or the right end can be set according to the character type.
In this way, it is possible to select and set the most easily viewable layout according to the character type.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing system according to the second invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, prior to the description of the printing system, labels and pop advertisements printed by the printing system will be described.

  For example, labels and pop advertisements printed by this printing system are mainly attached to products or placed in the vicinity of products to provide information on products to consumers or promote sales of products. Used in

Label As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, the label is provided with a price print area 20 and a sub print area 22. The price printing area 20 is an inner area surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 3A to 3D and is arranged in the vicinity of the center of the label sheet. In the price printing area 20, for example, the price of the product is printed.
The sub print area 22 is an area around the price print area 20, and information other than the price such as a product name and a code is printed in the sub print area 22, for example.

Pop Advertisement As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, an advertisement text printing area 21 is provided in the pop advertisement. The advertisement text print area 21 is an inner area surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and the advertisement text print area 21 includes, for example, an advertisement for promoting the sale of products. A sentence is printed. Note that the advertisement text printing area 21 is provided over almost the entire surface excluding the margin area 23 at the periphery of the pop advertisement paper.

  This printing system sets the size of the character or character string printed in the price printing area 20 or the advertisement text printing area 21 in the label or pop advertisement to an appropriate size. That is, the present printing system performs printing as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C when expanding or reducing the characters or character strings printed in the printing areas 20 and 21 in accordance with the printing areas 20 and 21, respectively. This prevents the characters from becoming distorted and difficult to see when the number of characters is small.

Hardware A system configuration for realizing the present invention will be described below.
The printing system according to the present invention is realized by a computer system having a CPU therein. For example, FIG. 1 shows a system configuration when a personal computer is used.

  In FIG. 1, the personal computer includes external devices such as a hard disk drive (HDD) 4, a floppy disk drive (FDD) 5, and a CD-ROM drive 6 along with a CPU 1, a ROM 2 and a RAM 3. The FDD 5 and the CD-ROM drive 6 read data and programs recorded on a storage medium (floppy disk or CD-ROM medium), respectively. A program related to the printing system is recorded on the recording medium, and can be installed on a hard disk via the HDD 4 and executed on the computer system.

A display 7 is connected to the computer together with input devices such as a keyboard 8 and a mouse 9. In addition, one or a plurality of printers 10 are connected to the computer shown in FIG. The printer 10 prints, for example, the labels and pop advertisements shown in FIGS.
1 is connected via an interface (not shown).

Next, each storage unit (storage area) constructed in the hard disk and the RAM 3 by the installation or the like will be described.
A paper information storage unit (first storage unit) 3a and a print data storage unit (second storage unit) 3b shown in FIG. 2 are constructed in the RAM 3 of the personal computer shown in FIG.

  In the paper information storage unit 3a shown in FIG. 2 (a), the size of the price or the advertisement text printing area 20, 21 and the minimum printed in the printing area 20, 21 for each pop advertisement or label printing paper No. The number of characters is stored in association with each other.

  The minimum number of characters is that when the characters are enlarged in accordance with the price or the size of the advertisement text printing area 20, 21, the characters are greatly deformed and become difficult to see as shown in FIGS. This is the minimum number of characters that can be prevented, and is preliminarily determined from the size of the print areas 20 and 21. This setting may be calculated and input for each printing paper by the operator, or if an arithmetic expression is provided in the program in advance and the size of the printing area is input, the minimum number of characters is automatically calculated and set. You may make it do.

  The minimum number of characters serves as a reference for selecting one of the following two modes, and the paper information storage unit 3a in FIG. It is memorized every time. This threshold value can be set as appropriate so as to have a certain relationship with the minimum number of characters, but in this embodiment, the minimum number of characters is set to a threshold value for ease of explanation.

  Note that the minimum number of characters and the threshold value should be originally set for each of the print areas 20 and 21. However, generally, when the printing paper is determined, the sizes of the printing areas 20 and 21 are often determined uniquely. Therefore, in this embodiment, the minimum number of characters and the threshold value are stored for each printing paper.

The print data storage unit 3b shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C stores print data related to labels and print data related to pop advertisements.
In the print data storage unit 3b of FIG. 2B, the product name, price, paper number and the like are stored in association with each other for each print data No. as print data relating to the label. As shown in FIG. 3, among these stored contents, price data is printed in the price print area 20, and other data such as product names are printed in the sub print area 22.

  In the print data storage unit 3b of FIG. 2C, a character string (or character) to be printed for each print data number and a paper number are stored in association with each other as print data related to the pop advertisement. As shown in FIG. 4, the character strings and the like are printed in the advertisement text print area 21.

CPU Function The CPU 1 in FIG. 1 has a space insertion print mode and a normal print mode.
In the space insertion print mode, as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4A, a space 30 of one character or more is provided at the left or right end of the price or advertisement text print area 20, 21. This is the mode for printing.
As shown in FIGS. 3C, 3D and 4B, the normal print mode is a mode in which a space of one character or more is not provided at the left end and the right end of the price or advertisement text print areas 20, 21. is there. In this normal printing mode, as shown in FIG. 4B, a slight space may be provided at the left end or the right end of the print areas 20, 21.

  The CPU 1 determines the two modes depending on whether or not the number of print characters (characters or character strings) printed in the print areas 20 and 21 is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters shown in FIG. Select one of these. That is, the CPU 1 compares the number of print characters of print data with the minimum number of characters (threshold) to determine whether the number of print characters of the print data is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters. Select the mode. If there is no shortage, select the normal print mode.

  If the space insertion print mode is selected as a result of the determination, the CPU 1 adds a number of space data corresponding to the shortage obtained by subtracting the number of print characters from the minimum number of characters to the new character or character string. Create For example, when the minimum number of characters is 3 and the number of print characters is 2 as shown in FIG. 3A, one space data 30 is added, and the minimum number of characters is 3 as shown in FIG. When the number of print characters is one character, two space data 30 are added.

  The CPU 1 adds the number of the space data 30 to the number of characters or characters in the character string, and then determines the size of characters to be actually printed according to the added total number and the sizes of the print areas 20 and 21. The character is calculated by calculating the length. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when there are two print characters such as “98”, three characters obtained by adding one space data 30 are printed in the print areas 20 and 21. The size of characters that are actually printed is set.

  On the other hand, if the normal printing mode is selected as a result of the determination, the CPU 1 calculates the size of characters to be actually printed according to the number of print characters and the sizes of the print areas 20 and 21 to form characters. . For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the print character is three characters such as “780” for the price print region 20 having the minimum number of characters of three characters, the three characters correspond to the price print region 20. The size of the character is set so that it can be printed as much as possible. Also, as shown in FIG. 3D, when the print character is four characters such as “1280”, the four characters are priced. The character size is set so that the print area 20 can be printed in full.

  For example, the CPU 1 enlarges / reduces the basic font stored in advance in the ROM 2 and / or RAM 3 of FIG. 1 at a predetermined magnification so that the print area 20, 21 becomes full. Sets the size of the print character.

Operation of Printing System Next, the operation of the printing system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When the operator performs a predetermined operation and selects print data, the CPU 1 calls the print data and threshold from the print data storage unit 3b and the paper information storage unit 3a, and proceeds to step S1 in FIG.

  In step S1, the CPU 1 determines the number of characters of the print data (for example, “98”, “cheap!”, Etc.) read from the print data storage unit 3b and the threshold value (minimum number of characters) read from the paper information storage unit 3a. To determine whether the number of printed characters is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters. If the number of print characters is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, the space insertion print mode is set, and the process proceeds to step S2 in FIG. When the number of print characters is not insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, the normal print mode is set and the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S2, the type of character or character string to be printed is determined. That is, it is determined whether or not the print data consists only of numbers (including symbols such as “,” and “¥” used to represent the amount). If the print data consists only of numbers, the process proceeds to step S3, and a space 30 is inserted (added) to the left end of the price print area 20 (advertisement text print area 21) as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). . On the other hand, if the print data includes characters other than numerals, the process proceeds to step S4, and a space 30 is inserted (added) at the right end of the advertisement text print area 21 (price print area 20) as shown in FIG. Is done. As described above, the number of spaces 30 to be inserted is calculated by the CPU 1 subtracting the number of print characters from the minimum number of characters.

  In step S5 of FIG. 5, the size of the characters actually printed in the print area 20 is set. When the normal print mode is set in step S1, the number of print characters and the size of the print areas 20, 21 are set as shown in FIGS. 3 (c), 3 (d) and 4 (b). Then, the size of the character to be actually printed is set, and the process proceeds to step S6. When the space insertion print mode is set in step S1 and the space data 30 is added in step S3 or step S4, the processes shown in FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 4 (a) are performed. As shown in the drawing, the size of characters to be actually printed is set according to the total number obtained by adding the number of space data 30 to the number of characters to be printed and the sizes of the print areas 20 and 21, and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the CPU 1 performs an output process for causing the printer 10 to print based on the character size set in step S5.

  As described above, when the number of characters to be printed or the number of characters to be printed in the character string is insufficient to the minimum number of characters, the character size is set after compensating for the space data 30 corresponding to the number of the shortage. Therefore, even when the number of characters to be printed is small with respect to the size of the print areas 20, 21, it is possible to prevent unexpected deformation of the characters and make it difficult to see them. It can be carried out.

  In the first embodiment, the minimum number of characters in FIG. 2A is set as a threshold value. However, if the threshold value is set so as to have a certain relationship with the minimum number of characters, the threshold value and the number of print characters are set. , It can be determined whether or not the number of printed characters is insufficient to the minimum number of characters, so that the threshold value can be set as appropriate. Accordingly, the threshold may be set to a value smaller than the minimum number of characters (threshold is 3 for the minimum number of characters 3), or a value larger than the minimum number of characters (the threshold is 5 for the minimum number of characters of 3). ) May be set.

  In the first embodiment, the size of characters to be printed is set based on the number of characters to be printed. However, in the printing system according to the first invention described below, printing is performed based on the aspect ratio of the area per character to be printed. Set the size of characters to be used. Hereinafter, an example will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, the maximum aspect ratio Y / X that can be taken by the allocation area 20a assigned to each character printed in the price print area 20 (advertisement text print area 21). A value is set in advance. The set value of the maximum aspect ratio is stored in the RAM 3 of FIG. 1 by installing a program related to this system, for example. The operator may change the set value of the maximum aspect ratio by performing a predetermined operation.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6B, when processing by the printing system starts, in step S10, the CPU 1 calculates the aspect ratio Y / X of the allocation area 20a from the size of the printing areas 20 and 21 and the number of print characters. The CPU 1 calculates the vertical dimension Y and the horizontal dimension X of the allocation area 20a by dividing the size of the print areas 20 and 21 by the number obtained by adding the variable n to the number of print characters, and calculates the aspect ratio Y / X. Proceed to step S11. The variable n is a counter, and its initial value is set to zero.

  In step S11 of FIG. 6B, the CPU 1 compares the aspect ratio Y / X with the maximum aspect ratio to determine whether the aspect ratio Y / X is equal to or less than the maximum aspect ratio. If the aspect ratio Y / X is less than or equal to the maximum aspect ratio, the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if the aspect ratio Y / X is larger than the maximum aspect ratio, the process returns to step S10, and the aspect ratio Y / X of the allocation area 20a is calculated again with the variable n = n + 1. The loop returning from step S11 to step S10 is repeated until the aspect ratio Y / X of the allocation area 20a is equal to or less than the maximum aspect ratio, and the loop is executed when the aspect ratio Y / X is equal to or less than the maximum aspect ratio. End and proceed to step S12.

  In step S12, the CPU 1 automatically sets the number of times the loop is repeated, that is, the number of spaces 30 corresponding to the value of the variable n to the left and right ends of the print areas 20 and 21 as shown in FIG. insert. Further, the CPU 1 calculates the vertical and horizontal sizes of the characters to be printed so as to fill the allocation area 20a, and proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the CPU 1 performs output processing for causing the printer 10 to print based on the characters formed in step S12.

  As described above, since the maximum aspect ratio of the area 20a per character to be printed is set in advance, it is possible to prevent unexpectedly large deformation of the character, making it difficult to see. Printing can be performed.

As described above, the preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand various changes and modifications within the obvious scope by looking at the present specification.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the print data is written horizontally to the print area has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the print data is written vertically to the print area.
Further, the position at which the space is inserted is not limited to either the left end or the right end of the print area, and a character to be printed may be centered by inserting a space at both the left end and the right end.
A plurality of print areas may be provided for one print sheet. In this case, a minimum number of characters and a threshold value may be set for each print area.
Further, the type of font handled in the present invention may be a dot font in addition to a vector font.
Accordingly, such changes and modifications are to be construed as within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the memory content of a memory | storage part. It is a top view which shows a label. It is a top view which shows a pop advertisement. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of CPU. (A) is a top view which shows the label concerning Example 2, (b) is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of CPU. It is a top view which shows the label at the time of printing with the conventional printing system, and a pop advertisement.

Explanation of symbols

1: CPU (discriminating means, data creating means, character forming means)
3a: Paper information storage unit (first storage unit)
3b: Print data storage unit (second storage unit)
20, 21: Print area 20a: Area per character 30: Space (space data)

Claims (5)

A printing system for printing characters on pop advertisements or labels,
A character forming means for calculating the vertical and horizontal sizes of the character according to the print area in which the character is printed and the character or character string;
And a setting means for presetting the maximum aspect ratio of the area per character to be printed. A printing system for printing characters on pop advertisements or labels,
A space insertion print mode in which a space of one character or more is provided at the left end or right end of a print area where characters in the pop advertisement or label are printed; and
A normal printing mode in which the space of one character or more is not provided at the left end and the right end,
A first storage unit that prestores a threshold value corresponding to the minimum number of characters serving as a reference for selection of the mode for each sheet of the pop advertisement or label or the print area;
A second storage unit for storing characters or character strings to be printed;
When the number of characters to be printed or the character string of the character string is compared with the threshold value, and the number of characters to be printed is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, a space is automatically inserted at the left and right edges of the print area. A printing system featuring.   3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein a size of the character is set in accordance with a size of the printing area. A printing system for printing characters on pop advertisements or labels,
A space insertion print mode in which a space of one character or more is provided at the left end or right end of a print area where characters in the pop advertisement or label are printed; and
A normal printing mode in which the space of one character or more is not provided at the left end and the right end,
A first storage unit that prestores a threshold value corresponding to the minimum number of characters serving as a reference for selection of the mode for each sheet of the pop advertisement or label or the print area;
A second storage unit for storing characters or character strings to be printed;
When the number of characters to be printed is compared with the threshold value and the number of characters to be printed is insufficient with respect to the minimum number of characters, the space insertion printing mode is selected, while the number of characters to be printed is If there is no shortage, the discriminating means for selecting the normal printing mode,
As a result of the determination, in the space insertion print mode, data creation means for creating print data by adding a number of space data corresponding to the shortage obtained by subtracting the number of print characters from the minimum number of characters to the character or character string; ,
After adding the number of the space data to the number of characters to be printed or the character string, the size of the characters to be actually printed is set according to the total number and the size of the print area. A printing system comprising character forming means.   5. The printing system according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the space can be set at the left end or the right end depending on a character type.

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