JP2006129342A - Print data generating device, printer, and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adequately perform printing operations even when print data are possibly sent to a plurality of printers differing in processing capability. <P>SOLUTION: A printing system 400 includes a user device 100 which generates print data, a first printer 200, and a second printer 300. The user device 100 includes: a print data generation section 104 which generates a plurality of image data differing in resolution according to selected image data and generates print data generated by making properties of the plurality of generated image data correspond to the plurality of image data; and a data transmission and reception section 106 which transmits the print data to the printers connected by the network 150. The first printer 200 or second printer 300 selects proper image data out of the plurality of image data included in the print data sent from the user device 100 according to its printing processing capability and prints the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data creation device, a printing device, and a printing system.

  Conventionally, for example, when image data is created by a personal computer and printing is performed by a printer connected via a network, the print data is created without assuming which printer the image data is printed on. However, when the resolution of the print data that can be printed on the printer side is different from the resolution of the print data transmitted from the PC, printing may not be performed. In such a case, if the printer tries to convert the print data to a printable resolution, a processing load may be applied, or the image may be significantly deteriorated compared to the original image.

In Patent Document 1, in a copying system having a configuration in which an image reader and a plurality of printers are connected via a network, means for instructing a printer to perform printing and image processing corresponding to the printer to be printed are performed on an image read by the image reader. A network printing system having means for performing the above is disclosed. Here, the resolution and gradation information of the image reader, whether the printer is a multi-value printer or binary printer, whether it is a color printer or a monochrome printer, resolution, laser electrophotographic method or LED electrophotographic method Depending on whether it is an inkjet system or the like, processing for an image read by an image reader is adapted and sent to a printer.
JP 2004-70724 A

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, in order to perform image processing according to a printer to be printed, it is necessary to perform image processing after acquiring information about each printer. Therefore, for example, when printer information cannot be acquired, there is a problem that appropriate print data cannot be sent to the printer.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for performing appropriate printing even when print data may be transmitted to a plurality of printers having different processing capabilities. On offer.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of pieces of image data having different resolutions are created based on the selected image data, and print data is created by associating attributes of the respective image data with the created pieces of image data. There is provided a print data creation apparatus comprising: data creation means; and transmission processing means for sending the print data to a predetermined printing apparatus connected via a network.

  Here, the attribute of the image data includes information indicating the resolution of the image data. Further, the print data can be in a multi-page format in which a plurality of image data having different resolutions are collected into one file. The print data creation apparatus can be a computer terminal such as a personal computer.

  In this way, by generating print data including a plurality of image data having different resolutions and transmitting the print data to the printing apparatus, the processing can be performed without considering the printing processing capability of the printing apparatus such as the resolution that the printing apparatus can print. It can be carried out. In the printing apparatus, a print image close to the original image data can be output by selecting appropriate image data from a plurality of image data having different resolutions.

  In the print data creation apparatus of the present invention, the print data creation means can create the plurality of image data whose resolutions are not in a multiple relationship with each other.

  In a printing apparatus, when trying to print image data having a resolution that is not a multiple of the printable resolution, it is necessary to prepare special conversion logic, and there is a high possibility that image data will deteriorate during conversion. On the other hand, when printing image data with a resolution that is a multiple of the printable resolution in the printing apparatus, conversion can be performed relatively easily, and the quality of the printed image can be kept good.

  According to the print data creation device of the present invention, since the print data includes image data having a plurality of resolutions whose resolutions are not in a multiple relationship with each other, there is an increased possibility that appropriate image data can be selected by the printing device. .

  In the print data creation apparatus according to the present invention, the print data creation means creates a plurality of color image data having different resolutions when the image data is color image data, and monochrome image data of the plurality of color image data. Can be created.

  In this way, for example, even a printing apparatus that cannot print color image data can print image data without having a conversion function or the like.

  According to the present invention, self-device information storage means for storing information relating to the print processing capability of the self-device, and a plurality of image data having different resolutions created based on the same image data from other terminals connected via a network, Print data acquisition means for acquiring print data associated with the attribute of each image data; and the attribute of each of the image data from the plurality of image data included in the print data; There is provided a printing apparatus comprising: selection means for selecting image data to be printed based on information relating to print processing capability; and printing means for printing image data selected by the selection means.

  Here, the information related to the print processing capability of the own apparatus can include a resolution that can be printed by the apparatus. The own apparatus information storage unit can store the resolution of image data that can be printed by the own apparatus. In this way, printing can be performed smoothly in the printing apparatus, and the quality of the printed image can be kept good.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a printing system including any one of the above-described print data creation apparatuses and a first print apparatus connected to the print data creation apparatus via a network. The first printing apparatus includes an own apparatus information storage unit that stores information relating to a print processing capability of the own apparatus, a print data acquisition unit that acquires the print data from the print data generation apparatus, and the print data. A selection unit that selects image data to be printed based on the attribute of each of the image data and information related to the print processing capability of the device, and the image selected by the selection unit Printing means for printing data.

  The printing system of the present invention may further include a second printing apparatus that is connected to the print data creation apparatus via a network and has a processing capability different from that of the first printing apparatus. The second printing apparatus includes an own apparatus information storage unit that stores information relating to a print processing capability of the own apparatus, a print data acquisition unit that acquires the print data from the print data generation apparatus, and the print data. A selection unit that selects image data to be printed based on the attribute of each of the image data and information related to the print processing capability of the device, and the image selected by the selection unit Printing means for printing data. Here, the second printing apparatus may have a printable resolution different from that of the first printing apparatus.

  According to the printing system of the present invention, image data corresponding to various printing apparatuses having different print processing capabilities is created on the user terminal side and transmitted to the printing apparatus. Printing can be performed simply by selecting appropriate data according to the processing capability. By doing so, it is not necessary to perform excessive conversion on the printing apparatus side, and a printed image close to the original image data can be obtained.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform appropriate printing even when print data may be transmitted to a plurality of printers having different processing capabilities.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment.
The printing system 400 includes a user device 100 connected to a network 150, a first printing device 200, and a second printing device 300 having a processing capability different from that of the first printing device 200. In the present embodiment, the print data creation device is a user device such as a personal computer.

  Each component of the printing system 400 is centered on an arbitrary computer CPU, memory, a program that implements the components shown in the figure loaded in the memory, a storage unit such as a hard disk that stores the program, and a network connection interface. Realized by any combination of hardware and software. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that there are various modifications to the implementation method and apparatus. Each drawing described in the embodiment shows a block of functional units, not a configuration of hardware units. In FIG. 1, the configuration of parts not related to the essence of the present invention is omitted.

  Here, the network 150 is a network such as a LAN, for example.

  The user device 100 includes an image data acquisition unit 102, a print data creation unit 104, and a data transmission / reception unit 106. The image data acquisition unit 102 acquires image data to be printed. In the present embodiment, the image data acquisition unit 102 acquires image data in a bitmap format (raster format). The print data creation unit 104 creates a plurality of image data with different resolutions based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 102. In the present embodiment, the print data creation unit 104 creates a plurality of image data whose resolutions are not in a multiple relationship based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 102. Here, the print data creation unit 104 creates two types of image data, for example, image data of 200 dpi, 400 dpi, 600 dpi, or 1200 dpi and image data of 180 dpi, 360 dpi, 720 dpi, or 1440 dpi. . When the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 102 is color image data, the print data generation unit 104 generates a plurality of color image data having different resolutions and generates monochrome image data of the plurality of color image data. Each can also be created.

  The print data creation unit 104 creates print data in which attributes of each image data are associated with the plurality of created image data. Here, the attributes of the image data include the resolution, code format, size, and the like of the image data. For example, the print data creation unit 104 can convert a plurality of pieces of image data having different resolutions into a single file. The data transmission / reception unit 106 transmits the print data created by the print data creation unit 104 to a printer such as the first printing device 200 or the second printing device 300 connected via the network 150.

  In the present embodiment, the first printing apparatus 200 is a network multifunction peripheral such as an MFP (Multi Functional Peripheral) that integrates a facsimile, a printer, a copy, a scanner function, and the like. The first printing apparatus 200 includes a data transmission / reception unit 202, a buffer 204, an appropriate data selection unit 206, a self-device information storage unit 208, and a print processing unit 210. The data transmission / reception unit 202 receives print data from the user device 100 via the network 150. The data transmission / reception unit 202 stores the received data in the buffer 204. The own apparatus information storage unit 208 stores information related to the print processing capability of the first printing apparatus 200. The information relating to the print processing capability includes information indicating the resolution of printable image data, whether or not color image data can be printed, and the like. Here, the resolution that can be printed by the first printing apparatus 200 can be, for example, 200 dpi / 400 dpi / 600 dpi / 1200 dpi. The appropriate data selection unit 206 refers to the own device information storage unit 208 and the buffer 204 to select the attribute of each image data from the print data stored in the buffer 204 and information on the print processing capability of the own device. Based on this, image data to be printed is selected. The print processing unit 210 prints the image data selected by the appropriate data selection unit 206.

  In the present embodiment, the second printing apparatus 300 is, for example, an ink jet printer. The second printing apparatus 300 includes a data transmission / reception unit 302, a buffer 304, an appropriate data selection unit 306, a local device information storage unit 308, and a print processing unit 310. The data transmission / reception unit 302 receives print data from the user apparatus 100 via the network 150. The data transmitting / receiving unit 302 stores the received data in the buffer 304. The own apparatus information storage unit 308 stores information related to the print processing capability of the second printing apparatus 300. Here, the resolution that can be printed by the second printing apparatus 300 can be, for example, 180 dpi / 360 dpi / 720 dpi / 1440 dpi. The appropriate data selection unit 306 refers to the own device information storage unit 308 and the buffer 304, and selects the attribute of each image data from the print data stored in the buffer 304 and information on the print processing capability of the own device. Based on this, image data to be printed is selected. The print processing unit 310 prints the image data selected by the appropriate data selection unit 306.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of print data created by the print data creation unit 104.
The print data includes a first image data group, a second image data group, and a third image data group each including image data with different resolutions generated based on the same image data. The header of each image data group includes information indicating the attribute of the image data, a pointer to the first page of the image data of the image data group, and a pointer to the next image data group. Here, each image data group includes, for example, three pages of image data. A pointer to the next page is included at the end of each image data.

  Here, the attribute of the image data of the first image data group is “resolution (dpi) (vertical × horizontal): 1440 × 720, code format: JPEG,...”. The attributes of the image data of the second image data group are “resolution (dpi) (vertical × horizontal): 1200 × 600, code format: JPEG,.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the printing system 400 in the present embodiment.
First, in the user device 100, when there is an instruction to print the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 102 (YES in S100), the print data creation unit 104 creates image data with different resolutions (S102). Subsequently, the print data creation unit 104 determines whether or not the original image data is a color image (S104). If the image data is color image data (YES in S104), each image data created in step S102. Monochrome image data corresponding to is created (S106). If the original image data is not color image data in step S104 (NO in S104), step S106 is omitted and the process proceeds to the next.

  Subsequently, the print data creation unit 104 creates print data by associating attributes with each image data (S108). Here, the print data can be a single file created with a configuration in which image data with different resolutions and the like are not mixed.

  The data transmission / reception unit 106 transmits the print data created by the print data creation unit 104 to the first printing apparatus 200 or the second printing apparatus 300 together with a print instruction (S110).

  Hereinafter, a case where print data is transmitted to the first printing apparatus 200 will be described as an example. In the first printing apparatus 200, when receiving data from the user apparatus 100 (S120), the data transmitting / receiving unit 202 stores the print data in the buffer 204 (S122). In addition, the data transmission / reception unit 202 notifies the appropriate data selection unit 206 of a print instruction. The appropriate data selection unit 206 refers to the own device information storage unit 208 and selects appropriate image data from the print data stored in the buffer 204 based on the print processing capability of the own device (S124). The print processing unit 210 prints the image data selected by the appropriate data selection unit 206 (S126). The process ends as described above.

  Next, a process for selecting proper image data in the first printing apparatus 200 will be described using the print data shown in FIG. 2 as an example.

  First, the appropriate data selection unit 206 compares the image data attribute of the first image data group at the head of the print data with the print processing capability of the own device stored in the own device information storage unit 208. Here, the attribute of the image data of the first image data group has a resolution of “1440 × 720 dpi”. On the other hand, the resolution that can be printed by the first printing apparatus 200 is 200 dpi / 400 dpi / 600 dpi / 1200 dpi. Therefore, the appropriate data selection unit 206 determines that the first image data group is not appropriate data, and proceeds to the header of the second image data group.

  The appropriate data selection unit 206 compares the image data attribute of the second image data group with the print processing capability of the own apparatus. Here, the attribute of the image data of the second image data group has a resolution of “1200 × 600 dpi”. Therefore, the appropriate data selection unit 206 determines that the second image data group is appropriate data, and selects the second image data group. The print processing unit 210 prints image data included in the second image data group.

  Next, a process for selecting proper image data in the second printing apparatus 300 will be described using the print data shown in FIG. 2 as an example.

  First, the appropriate data selection unit 306 compares the attribute of the image data of the first image data group at the head of the print data with the print processing capability of the own device stored in the own device information storage unit 308. Here, the attribute of the image data of the first image data group has a resolution of “1440 × 720 dpi”. On the other hand, the resolution that can be printed by the second printing apparatus 300 is 180 dpi / 360 dpi / 720 dpi / 1440 dpi. Therefore, the appropriate data selection unit 306 determines that the first image data group is appropriate data, and selects the first image data group. The print processing unit 310 prints the image data selected by the appropriate data selection unit 306.

  As described above, according to the printing system 400 in the present embodiment, the print data creation apparatus creates image data corresponding to various printing apparatuses having different print processing capabilities and transmits them to the printing apparatus. In the printing apparatus, printing can be performed only by selecting appropriate data in accordance with the printing processing capability of the own apparatus. By doing so, it is not necessary to perform excessive conversion on the printing apparatus side, and a printed image close to the original image data can be obtained.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. The embodiments are exemplifications, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. .

  Even when normal print data (only one resolution) is transmitted in the first printing apparatus 200 or the second printing apparatus 300, the resolution of the print data is the first printing apparatus 200 or the second printing apparatus. If the print processing capacity is 300, printing can be performed as usual.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system in an embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the print data which the print data preparation part of a user apparatus produces. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the printing system according to the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 User device 102 Image data acquisition unit 104 Print data creation unit 106 Data transmission / reception unit 150 Network 200 First printing device 202 Data transmission / reception unit 204 Buffer 206 Appropriate data selection unit 208 Self-device information storage unit 210 Print processing unit 300 Second Printing device 302 Data transmission / reception unit 304 Buffer 306 Appropriate data selection unit 308 Self-device information storage unit 310 Print processing unit 400 Printing system

Claims (6)

Print data creation means for creating a plurality of image data having different resolutions based on the selected image data, and creating print data in which attributes of the respective image data are associated with the created plurality of image data;
Transmission processing means for transmitting the print data to a predetermined printing apparatus connected via a network;
A print data creating apparatus comprising: The print data creation device according to claim 1,
The print data creation device, wherein the print data creation means creates the plurality of image data whose resolutions are not in a multiple relationship with each other. In the printing data creation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The print data creating means creates a plurality of color image data having different resolutions and creates monochrome image data of the plurality of color image data when the image data is color image data. Data creation device. Own device information storage means for storing information relating to the print processing capability of the own device;
Print data acquisition means for acquiring print data in which a plurality of image data having different resolutions created based on the same image data and attributes of each image data are associated with each other from other terminals connected via a network;
Selecting means for selecting image data to be printed based on the attribute of each of the image data and information on the print processing capability of the own apparatus from the plurality of image data included in the print data;
Printing means for printing the image data selected by the selection means;
A printing apparatus comprising: A print data creation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A first printing device connected to the print data creation device via a network;
A printing system comprising:
The first printing apparatus includes:
Own device information storage means for storing information relating to the print processing capability of the own device;
Print data acquisition means for acquiring the print data from the print data creation device;
Selecting means for selecting image data to be printed based on the attribute of each of the image data and information on the print processing capability of the own apparatus from the plurality of image data included in the print data;
Printing means for printing the image data selected by the selection means;
A printing system comprising: The printing system according to claim 5, wherein
A second printing device connected to the print data creation device via a network and having a processing capability different from that of the first printing device;
The second printing apparatus includes:
Own device information storage means for storing information relating to the print processing capability of the own device;
Print data acquisition means for acquiring the print data from the print data creation device;
Selecting means for selecting image data to be printed based on the attribute of each of the image data and information on the print processing capability of the own apparatus from the plurality of image data included in the print data;
Printing means for printing the image data selected by the selection means;
A printing system comprising:

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