JP2006099637A - Printer and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for analyzing an image generated by Soft RIP before a large amount of printing processing is actually performed, running advance simulation what post-processing should be performed when printing, visualizing a final image, and for expressing it as numerical value statistics. <P>SOLUTION: When outputting image data lusterized inside the information processor to an arbitrary printer on a network, visualized simulation is run for a final printing result by adding an image data format, a compression system, and additional printing attribution information, prior to printing. Consequently, in an output system to use a lusterizer such as the SOFT RIP, a user can verify in advance printing precision and a time for processing needed for printing. The configuration of this invention is realized by operating the image simulator among the information processor mounting a printer driver, an information processor with a lusterizing function, and a printer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  According to the present invention, in two device configurations of an information processing device and a printer device, a plurality of original device-independent image data generated by a rasterizer in the information processing device are further processed in the information processing device. By visualizing and numerically analyzing the compression method and attribute reflection results, it is possible to verify in advance whether the optimal image can be obtained and how long it will take in the output of the target printing device. The present invention relates to a printer apparatus and an information processing apparatus, which are techniques aimed at improving productivity and printing accuracy.

  The printer device is connected to an information processing device such as a PC, and receives a print request from printer driver software stored in the information processing device and outputs a document.

  Command information conforming to the page description language supported by each printer is transferred as information transmitted from the driver software to the printer controller in the printer apparatus.

  There are two forms of the page description language mechanism, which are implemented in a printer controller in a printer apparatus and in an information processing apparatus on a network that exists separately from the printer apparatus. In the latter, page description language processing is performed in the information processing apparatus, the document information is rasterized, data is transferred to the printer apparatus via the network, and a printer controller in the apparatus generates a final print image.

  The printer controller generates a device-dependent print image based on the received device-independent image information.

  The driver software transfers the print instruction information to the page description language mechanism regardless of whether the page description language is built in the printer controller in the printer apparatus or exists on the information processing apparatus on the network.

  In the conventional technology, the user himself / herself experiences and achievements are used, the application to be used and the image format to be used at the time of output are selected, the printer device is specified, the driver is installed, and the printing process supported by the installed driver is performed. I came.

In addition, there is an image processing apparatus that can easily and surely set various processing functions as in Patent Document 1 to perform image processing.
JP 2003-44242 A

  As described above, in the conventional method, when printing processing is performed in the configuration of the information processing apparatus and the printer apparatus equipped with the rasterize function, the print result is obtained once using paper or attached to the driver. The print image is visually confirmed on the display using the preview function, and it is determined whether the print result desired by the user can be obtained.

  This determination is made by the user based on an empirical rule, and the application requires know-how based on the experience. Obtaining an optimal image based on an empirical rule is costly from the viewpoints of introducing a new printer device and workflow, and user education, and hinders productivity when many users perform printing operations.

  In addition, when verifying print results with preview or print results, or when performing print processing on multiple types of printers, the user prepares driver software for each printer device before print processing, and the results are obtained with all printer drivers. Must be verified.

  In that case, the same printing process must be repeated many times in the information processing device, and by using a large number of drivers with different image generation mechanisms, inconsistencies such as stage shifts and font replacements every time the preview is used. Occurs. Further, it is impossible to verify how the final result is obtained when the image data generated by the information processing apparatus is transferred in any compression method or image format. In addition, the total time involved in the printing process cannot be understood.

  At present, the present invention solves both the productivity and quality problems that the advance verification of the printing result can be obtained only by the preview and the trial printing by the driver.

  The present invention relates to original device-independent image data generated by Soft RIP in an information processing apparatus when a user outputs to a target color printer from a printer driver via a printer server in a light printing field or the like. This is a system for automatically verifying what kind of post-processing (image format, compression method, print attribute addition) the final print result will be.

  In general, data generated by Soft RIP does not own device-dependent information itself, and the image format, compression method, resolution, gradation, paper size supported by a specific output device in a later process The final image is generated by multiplying attributes such as rotation processing and paper type. Although current printer devices support a variety of image formats and compression methods with a single device, there is no way for users to simulate these functions.

  In the present invention, before the actual mass printing process, the image generated by the Soft RIP is analyzed, and a preliminary simulation is performed to determine what kind of post-processing is to be selected during printing, and the final image is visualized and numerically statisticalized. System.

  The outline of the means of the present invention is as follows. In the printer apparatus having the information processing apparatus having the rasterizing function and the communication means, the original image data once created by the rasterizer in the information processing apparatus is interactively transmitted via the image simulation mechanism of the present invention. The solution is to convert the image format into a plurality of image formats and a plurality of compression formats and obtain an optimum print result.

  As a specific description, an information processing apparatus equipped with a data input / output interface that can be connected to a printer device is equipped with a rasterization function, and a raster is formed on the substrate of the information processing apparatus. It has a storage device for storing printer device-independent image information after image processing. For printer device-independent image information generated by the information processing device, output device information on the network, image format supported by the device, and compression Multiply attributes such as method, resolution, gradation, rotation, and support paper. As a result, a means for virtually displaying the print result image and the incidental numerical value is adopted.

  The printer device independent rasterized data generated by the rasterizer in the information processing device is stored in the storage device in the information processing device. The target printer can be changed any number of times, and various output options can be verified. To. At the time of verification, in addition to the analysis by visualizing the image, means for displaying the incidental conditions necessary for the printing process such as the size of the compressed image data transferred to the printer, the total printing time, and the probability of causing an error in the target printer is taken. .

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the Soft RIP that interprets the print input data in the information processing apparatus and generates device-independent rasterized data is installed. However, the type of the Soft RIP that operates in the information processing apparatus is connected. Any Soft RIP may be used as long as it has a mechanism capable of generating data that can be received by the printer apparatus. The rasterizing function is not limited to Soft RIP, and Hard RIP may be used.

  As a type of printer controller device installed in the printer device, as long as there is a function to receive an image generated by a rasterizer in the information processing device, even a printer equipped with a page description language is equipped with a page description language. Which printer device is not used may be used as the means.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, output attributes are multiplied with device-independent rasterized data created by Soft RIP in the information processing apparatus, and JPEG output, PostScript (registered trademark) output, PCL output, A means for obtaining output results such as screen output and BMP output is adopted, but any output form may be used as long as the output form can be interpreted by the printer.

  The protocol stack on the network used in the embodiment of the present invention uses TCP / IP. However, any protocol stack can be used so long as the printer device itself can transmit the printer device information to the information processing apparatus. Various protocol stacks may be used as means.

  As a means of the data input / output device, a device capable of transmitting / receiving the TCP / IP protocol such as Ethernet (registered trademark) is used as an embodiment. However, Ethernet (registered trademark) may not be used as a means.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the image data input / output device generated by the information processing device on the controller board in the printer device is used as the means. However, the input / output device may exist on a separate substrate from the printer controller. Absent.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the storage device mounted on the controller board takes a means to be installed on the same board as the controller board, but it may take a means to be mounted on another board connected to the controller board.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the address allocated to the printer apparatus is an arbitrary IP address. However, in the present invention, the device address may be a fixed address or an address dynamically allocated when the printer is activated.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, it does not matter whether the host name is set or not set in the printer apparatus. When the printer is under NAT control, the data input / output interface apparatus in the printer apparatus On the other hand, although a communication address and a port number are allocated, the present invention does not cause a problem as in the case of dynamically allocated addresses.

  As described above, when the present invention is organized and summarized, the above-described problem can be solved by the following configuration.

  (1) A printer device connected to an information processing device via a network, and has a function of generating device-independent image data by using a rasterizer mechanism in the information processing device. A printer device characterized by pre-verifying the printing result and the time required for printing of each printer device by means for adding image format format, compression format, and print attribute information to the data based on the rasterized data. .

  By utilizing the present invention, it is possible to perform a light level printing simulation from a small volume printing accuracy confirmation. Until now, after the Soft RIP process, the user has not been able to make a prediction in advance, except for judging based on empirical rules and skills whether the target printer can secure the target print speed and print quality. Therefore, by using the image data simulation system in the present proposal, what kind of post-process (image format, compression, etc.) is applied to “original printer device independent image data generated by Soft RIP” in the information processing apparatus. System, device attributes, gradation, color conversion) can be instantly verified to see what printing speed and image accuracy can be secured.

  As a result, when verifying the image quality and processing time with a rasterizer such as Soft RIP, a number of drivers are installed, the preview function of all drivers is used, and trial printing is not performed with all the drivers. As a result, many output attributes are interactively added to printer device-independent image data created on Soft RIP, and the results are visualized and converted to statistical values, eliminating failed printing and improving user productivity. It became possible to make it.

  In addition, the present invention completely separates the printer device-independent image processing process (pre-process) from the printer device-dependent image processing process (post-process), and independently multiplies the device attributes. Is suitable.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples.

  The printer apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printer apparatus according to the present invention.

  An information processing apparatus 101 connects a printer apparatus and operates driver software used for printing document data, image data, and the like, and has a network interface mechanism in the apparatus.

  As an ordinary information processing apparatus equipped with driver software, a personal computer equipped with Windows (registered trademark) XP, which is an OS manufactured by Microsoft Corporation, is used. However, in the present invention, as long as the print driver can be executed as an information processing apparatus regardless of the type of OS or CPU, for example, Java (registered trademark) of Sun Microsystems or a browser execution environment is installed. The present invention can also be applied to a mobile phone, a PDA, or a UNIX (registered trademark) workstation.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes an information processing apparatus of the present invention. Reference numeral 102 interprets print command data transferred from the printer driver on the information processing apparatus 101 and generates image data independent of the printer device. In the present invention, a PostScript (registered trademark) type Soft RIP operating on Windows (registered trademark) is installed as a rasterizer, but the type of the Soft RIP may be any Soft RIP. The rasterizer type may be Hard RIP. The OS in the information processing apparatus 102 may be any OS.

  The printer device-independent image data rasterized by the Soft RIP in the information processing apparatus 102 is subjected to a process of multiplying output attributes for each target printer type in the information processing apparatus, JPEG output, PostScript (registered trademark) output, The result is visualized and displayed on the display screen of the information processing apparatus 101 in accordance with output settings such as PCL output and BMP output.

  Reference numeral 103 denotes a printer apparatus according to the present invention. Usually, the printer device discharges ink of a plurality of colors from a nozzle to a sheet, forms an image, or charges a printing drum by applying a laser beam or the like, and uses the drum to attach toner to the sheet. There are laser beam printers.

  In the present invention, the printing method of the printer does not depend on a specific one, and can be applied to a printer of any output method. The printer device 103 receives the original printer device-independent image data generated by the information processing device 102, and depends on the printer device depending on the image format, compression format, and print attribute of the printer device. if the printer device performs print processing, no particular limitation to the functions of the printer controller mounted, the controller of what features including the presence or absence of a page description language is also applicable.

  A network 104 is a communication unit that connects the information processing apparatus and the printer apparatus. In a normal office environment, a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) is used, but as a WAN, a public analog line, ISDN (registered trademark), ADSL, ATM, an optical cable, or the like is also used.

  In the present invention, there is no necessity to use a global network to connect the information processing apparatus 101, the information processing apparatus 102, and the printer apparatus 103. IEEE1284 or the like normally used to connect the information processing apparatus and the printer apparatus alone. There is no problem even with a serial interface such as RS232C, USB, or IEEE1394.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a printer controller built in the printer apparatus, which executes processing such as printer activation, control, print image generation, and printer status management.

  As long as 105 receives the image data generated by the information processing apparatus 102, adds the functions and print attributes possessed by the printer apparatus to the image data, and reproduces the print function, there are specific restrictions on the functions of the printer controller. is not, controller of what features, including the presence or absence of a page description language can also be applied.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes a storage device on the printer controller 105, which expands an image to the data received by the printer controller 105, adds device attributes, performs image processing, and temporarily stores the image data when performing printing processing. A device for storing.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of processing executed in the information processing apparatus.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes an overall description of rasterization processing executed inside the information processing apparatus 102. This internal processing is called an image data simulation system.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes a console (output setting dialog) for specifying an output method in the image data simulation system 107 and starting a simulation. The output setting dialog 108 sets verification parameters when designating execution of verification for the output device simulator 115. In the setting screen according to the present embodiment, an item for selecting RGB output or CMYK output is set, and when setting RGB output, an arbitrary Soft RIP 113 is operated and CMYK output is set. In this case, an arbitrary Soft RIP 114 is operated. For the image data generated by any Soft RIP 113 or 114, set the verification parameters so that JPEG output, PostScript output, PCL output, analysis BMP file output, and visualization screen output options can be selected. , To automate post-processing according to the same parameters.

  Reference numeral 109 denotes a print processor having a function of extracting print input target data from printer driver information, which is processing at the entrance of the image data simulation system 107. In the present embodiment, it is used for RGB data format output, and the output destination is acquired from the registry.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes a print processor having a function of extracting print input target data from printer driver information, which is processing at the entrance of the image data simulation system 107. In this embodiment, it is used in the case of CMYK data format output, and the output destination is acquired from the registry as in the print processor 109.

  Reference numeral 111 denotes print input data that is prepared for output when the RGB output is designated in the image data simulation system 107.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes print input data prepared for output when the CMYK output is designated in the image data simulation system 107.

  Reference numeral 113 denotes an arbitrary Soft RIP used in the image data simulation system 107. A typical example is PostScript (registered trademark). In the present invention, image data independent of the printer device is generated. As long as any type of Soft RIP is used. This configuration is used when RGB output is requested by the print processor 109.

  Reference numeral 114 denotes an arbitrary Soft RIP used in the image data simulation system 107. A typical one is PostScript (registered trademark). In the present invention, image data independent of printer equipment is generated. As long as any type of Soft RIP is used. This configuration is used when CMYK output is requested by the print processor 110.

  Reference numeral 115 denotes a mechanism for verifying by multiplying output device information against an image file independent of a printer device generated by an arbitrary Soft RIP 113 or 114, and is called an output device simulator. This mechanism acquires and stores various attributes of printer devices connected to the network for data generated by any Soft RIP 113 or 114, and then outputs device verification, output format verification, and compression format verification. , Gradation verification, resolution verification, color conversion verification, and halftone verification are sequentially executed. If you want to verify the accuracy again by changing the output option for the result obtained by the output device simulator 115, change the parameter and the selection of the output device to change the data generated by any Soft RIP 113 or 114. Check productivity items such as adding information, multiplication, final printing accuracy, and printing time.

  FIG. 3 shows an output setting dialog according to the present invention.

  Reference numeral 116 denotes a console for specifying an output method in the image data simulation system 107 and starting simulation, and is an enlarged view of simulation options in the RGB output mode. When setting the RGB output, this console is used to operate an arbitrary Soft RIP 113.

  FIG. 4 shows the options of the output setting dialog of the present invention.

  117 is an enlarged view of a simulation option in the CMYK output mode on a console for specifying an output method in the image data simulation system 107 and starting a simulation. When setting CMYK output, this console is used to operate an arbitrary Soft RIP 114.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for the operation of the printer apparatus of the present invention.

  In the present invention, an example from the information processing apparatus 101 to the printer apparatus 103 until the printing process is completed via the image data simulation 107 is shown.

  201 is a step in which the printer user prints the information processing apparatus 101 using the Soft RIP driver. The print execution is executed from the driver console for Soft RIP.

  Reference numeral 202 denotes a step of fetching data rasterized in the information processing apparatus 102 as spooling data. In the case of RGB output, the image data generated in 202 is image data extracted as print input data 111 via the print processor 109 and obtained as a result of arbitrary Soft RIP 113 processing. The attribute of the printer device for printing is not reflected in the data. In the case of CMYK output, the image data generated at 202 is image data extracted as print input data 112 via the print processor 110 and obtained as a result of arbitrary Soft RIP 114 processing. This data does not reflect the attributes of the printing device.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a step of executing a simulation in which printing device attributes are added to the image data generated in step 202. In the case of RGB output, the output device simulator 115 processes data generated by an arbitrary Soft RIP 113, and executes the simulation by reflecting the attributes of the printer apparatus 103 that is the printing target.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes a step of displaying the execution result of step 203 on the information processing apparatus 101. Printer apparatus device information 103 is acquired as a parameter used for the simulation via the network 104, and the image format, compression method, color conversion processing, gradation, halftone, resolution, paper type, paper supply, and the like installed in the printer controller 105 are acquired. The printing time is predicted by verifying the paper discharge option, the capacity of the image file that can be stored in the information storage device 106, the gradation that can be output, and the resolution. Furthermore, the image data when the image option is changed is visualized in the information processing apparatus 101, and information that can be verified by the user to determine whether the requested image can be acquired is given.

  Step 205 is a step in which the user determines whether the printer apparatus 103 is a printer that can obtain a desired print result with respect to the verification result obtained in Step 204, as a result of the image data simulation system 107. It is.

  A result of the image data simulation system 107 indicates whether or not a desired print result can be obtained by using an image setting option that can be supported by the printer apparatus 103 for the verification result obtained in step 204. This is a step for the user to judge.

  Reference numeral 207 denotes a step in which the verification parameter is set again in the output device simulator 115 based on the determinations in step 205 and step 206. As a parameter setting, the simulation console 116 is operated when RGB output is executed, and the simulation console 117 is operated when CMYK output is executed.

  In the case of RGB output, the attributes possessed by the printer apparatus 103 are notified to the information processing apparatus 102 via the network 104 for image data generated by an arbitrary Soft RIP 113, and PCL output, analysis BMP file output, PostScript (registration) (Trademark) Output, JPEG Output, Visualization Screen Output Options are selected, and verification parameters are set.

  In the case of CMYK output, the attribute possessed by the printer apparatus 103 is notified to the information processing apparatus 102 via the network 104 for image data generated by any Soft RIP 114, and PCL output, analysis BMP file output, PostScript output, Select JPEG output and visualization screen output options, and set verification parameters.

  As a result of the verification, when the printer apparatus 103 is used, if it is found that the desired output result cannot be obtained by the initial output option or the production requirement such as the required printing time cannot be satisfied, a new output device 116 or 117 is output. Reset the options, visualize the image data, and collect numerical data.

  Reference numeral 208 denotes a step of selecting a compression method for the image format of the printer apparatus 103 set in step 207.

  In the case of RGB output, the output destination and output options are dynamically set in the registry on the setting screen of the output setting dialog 108, and the compression method is based on one printer device independent image data generated by any Soft RIP 113. Is set and a simulation of the printer apparatus 103 on the network is executed.

  In the case of CMYK output, on the setting screen of the output setting dialog 108, the output destination and output options are dynamically set in the registry, and the compression method is based on one printer device independent image data generated by an arbitrary Soft RIP 114. Is set and a simulation of the printer apparatus 103 on the network is executed.

  In step S209, the resolution, gradation, halftone, paper type, paper supply / discharge option, and color conversion option for printing are further set for the compression method of the printer apparatus 103 set in step 208. .

  In step 210, downsampling for the compression selected in step 208 is set via the output dialog 108 for the option of the printer apparatus 103 set in step 209.

  211 is a step for setting the file size and printing time for printing among the options of the printer apparatus 103 set in step 210.

  212 is a step of executing re-verification. As for the parameters used in step 212, the information processing apparatus 102 acquires device information of the printer apparatus 103 via the network 104. The acquired data includes the image format, compression method, color conversion processing, gradation, halftone, resolution, paper type, paper supply / discharge option, and image file capacity that can be stored in the information storage device 108. There are gradations and resolutions that can be output. Based on these data, re-verification is performed in the information processing apparatus 102 to predict the printing time. Further, the image data when the option is changed is visualized and displayed to the user of the information processing apparatus 101 to verify whether the requested image can be acquired.

  Step 213 is a step of generating analysis image files, visualization data, and printing time prediction numerical data in response to the verification execution in step 212.

  In step 214, whether the desired image quality can be printed in a predetermined time is determined based on the data verification result obtained in step 213, and it is determined whether re-verification is performed or printing processing is performed on the target printer. It is a step. If re-verification is necessary, the process proceeds to step 207 again.

  Reference numeral 215 denotes a step of actually performing a printing process according to the verified parameter.

1 is a system block diagram of a printer apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and a network according to the present invention. It is a block diagram of the process performed within information processing apparatus. It is an output setting dialog of the present invention. It is an option screen of the output setting dialog of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the printing process simulation of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 Information processing device 102 used for printing document data, image data, etc. Information processing device 103 for generating rasterized data Printer device 104 Network 105 Printer controller 106 Storage device 107 Image data simulation system 108 Output method designation dialog 109 RGB print Processor 110 CVMYK system print processor 111 RGB system print input data 112 CMYK system print input data 113 RGB version Soft RIP
114 CMYK version Soft RIP
115 Device Simulator 116 Output Setting Dialog (Simulation Console)
117 Option screen of output setting dialog (console for simulation)

Claims (3)

  A printer that is connected to an information processing apparatus via a network, and has a function of generating device-independent image data by using a rasterizer mechanism in the information processing apparatus. A printer apparatus characterized in that, after that, a printing result and a required printing time of each printer apparatus are preliminarily verified by taking means for adding an image format format, a compression format, and print attribute information to data.   Visualization information obtained by multiplying an arbitrary compression method and print attribute, having a function of generating device-independent image data that can be interpreted by the printer, having communication means with the printer according to claim 1 An information processing apparatus characterized in that an actual print result is verified in advance.   An information processing apparatus having communication means with the information processing apparatus according to claim 2, notifying the information processing apparatus of an image format, compression method, print attribute, hardware resource, and option mechanism that can be supported by the device itself, A printer device characterized in that a final printing result is obtained by adding and reflecting information to a visualization function of a processing device.