JP2006168012A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a long-sized printing is printed on the external side of a rolled paper, and even when being rounded into a cylindrical shape, the printed surface is always located on the external side, and if the long-sized printing is housed as it is, the printed section being exposed to the external side may be faded or soiled by various kinds of external factors (ultraviolet rays or moisture and so forth). <P>SOLUTION: When a printed matter after being printed is handled while being rounded into a cylindrical shape, a cover paper of a proper size is added to the main printing. Also, an optimal cover page is provided by adjusting the length of the cover page in response to printing conditions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a control method therefor, and a recording medium.

Large-format printers sometimes use roll paper to output a long printed matter that is several meters long (hereinafter referred to as long printing). However, since the long print has a large printed matter, the roll paper is often rolled into a cylindrical shape after printing. In order to confirm the entire printed image in such a state, it is necessary to widen all the printed materials rounded into a cylindrical shape, which is very complicated. In order to solve this problem, for example, there has been a product having a function of printing a reduced image on the upper end or the lower stage of a printed product. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
JP-A-11-254779

  Since long printing is performed on the outside of the roll paper, the printed surface is always on the outside even when rolled into a cylindrical shape as described above. If stored as it is, the printed portion exposed to the outside may fade or be damaged by various external factors (such as ultraviolet rays and moisture).

  In addition, by attaching a reduced image as in the above-described conventional example, it is certainly effective for confirming an image in a cylinder state. However, since an unnecessary image is originally attached to the printed material, the printed material It is assumed that it cannot be used depending on the application.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object thereof is to easily confirm the contents of a printed matter printed on a cylindrical roll paper, and at the same time, outside the tubular printed matter. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that prints an optimal cover page for covering and preventing fouling.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first invention according to the printing system of the present application is to perform long-sized printing on a roll paper or the like that is appropriately long enough to handle the printed matter after printing into a cylindrical shape. A first print data creating means for creating an intended print image to be printed on a print medium, a reduced image for grasping an outline of the first print image, and at the time of printing Second print data (hereinafter referred to as a cover page) creation means for performing printing of various designated print conditions and environmental conditions such as date and user name, and the second print data creation means Designated by the user to designate whether or not to print the print data, and created by the first print data creation means and the second print data creation means according to the setting state of the previous term designation means Printing day Characterized in that and a printing means for printing.

  A second invention according to the printing system of the present application is the printing system according to the first invention, wherein means for calculating an optimum length of the cover page according to printing conditions, and the calculation means The second printing means for creating print data for the cover page according to the obtained length.

  Here, the printing conditions and the printing medium conditions include one or a combination of conditions such as the material and size of the printing medium to be printed and the position of the image to be printed.

  A third invention according to the print system of the present application is the print system according to the first invention, wherein two print data created by the first print data creating means and the second print data creating means are provided. Switching means for switching between two modes of a mode in which print data is continuously printed as one printed material and a mode in which the print data is separated into two printed materials, and a mode specifying means for the user to specify these two modes It is characterized by having.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when a printed matter after printing is rolled up into a cylindrical shape, a printed part is added by adding a cover page of an appropriate size in addition to the main printing. The outer periphery of the printer can be protected to prevent contamination, and an outline of the print image and printing conditions can be grasped even in a cylindrical state.

  Further, by adjusting the length of the cover page according to the printing conditions, a more optimal cover page can be provided.

  Depending on the user's application, the cover page and the main print can be connected and output as a single printed material, or when the cover page is to be separated, it can be cut and divided into two printed materials. When the paper is divided into two sheets, only the cover page is glued to form a cylinder, so that the printed matter can be stored therein.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a pudding system according to the present invention, which best represents the features of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a component related to printing mounted on the host side such as a personal computer. 11 is application software for creating a print document, 12 is an OS print service that mediates print data in response to a print request from the application software 11, and 13 is a printer 20 that prints data according to a request from the OS print service 12. A printer driver for converting data into a processable format. The print data created by the printer driver 13 includes, in addition to the character print data 31 shown in FIG. 2, information on the paper size to be printed, data resolution, print mode (head pass number, moving speed, etc.), etc. The print condition command is added.

  A system spooler 14 temporarily stores the print data between the OS print service 12 and the printer driver 13 until the print data is transferred to the printer 20.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a printer for printing print data created by the printer driver 13 and its components. In particular, here, a large-format printer for performing long printing is assumed. Reference numeral 21 denotes a communication interface that manages data communication with the host 10. Through this, print data and various print condition commands are received from the host 10. A CPU 22 controls the entire printer 20. The CPU 22 expands the received print data into drawing data in accordance with programs and data stored in the RAM 23 and the ROM 24. The drawing data created in this way is transmitted to the print engine 26 via the engine I / F 25 and printed on the printing surface of the paper. 27 is a rotation sensor for detecting the rotation of the roll paper set in the printer 20, and 28 is a paper feed sensor for detecting the length of the fed paper. By detecting the feed amount of the paper fed during one rotation by the rotation sensor, the optimum cover page length can be acquired.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a long print printed by the printing system to which this patent is applied, and 31 is a printed matter having a width of 36 inches × length of 118 inches (600 mm × 3000 mm). 32 is an example of a cover page of the printed matter 31. Reference numeral 33 denotes a villa where the print image is reduced in accordance with the length of the cover page. Reference numeral 34 denotes an area where the printing conditions designated by the printer driver 13 are printed as characters. FIG. 5 shows an example in which this printed material is rolled into a cylindrical shape.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface of the printer driver 13 to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 3, 41 is for selecting “original size” corresponding to the paper size of the application software 11. is there. 42 is for selecting an “output size” corresponding to the paper size loaded in the printer 20. When the output size 42 is set to `` Same as original size '', normal printing (same size printing) is performed, but if a different size is selected for the original size 41 and output size 42, it will be Enlarge / reduce. 43 is for designating the number of copies to be printed. 44 is an item for selecting the printing direction of the document size 41, and can be selected from landscape (portrait) and portrait (landscape). 45 is a setting for designating the printing of the cover page, and to cut the printed cover page, the setting of 46 is turned ON. Reference numeral 47 is a print button for instructing execution of printing, and 48 is a cancel button for stopping printing.

  First, the operation of the user will be described using the printer driver setting screen of FIG.

  From the application 11, the printer driver setting screen of FIG. 3 is opened, and a paper size of 36 inches wide and 118 inches long is set in the “original size” 41. Next, set “Print cover page” setting 45 to ON. When the setting of the printing conditions is completed, the printing button 47 is pressed to execute printing. Then, the print data together with the print condition information is sent from the application 11 to the printer driver 13 through the OS print service 12. The printer driver 13 converts the print data into a form that can be handled by the printer 20, adds a necessary print condition setting command, and sends the print data to the system spooler 14. Then, the OS print service 12 transmits the converted print data to the printer 20.

  Next, the processing procedure of the printer 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in S 11, the CPU 22 receives print data transmitted from the OS print service 12 through the communication interface 21 and stores it in the RAM 23. If the print data includes a “print cover page” command, the process proceeds to S13. Next, in order to calculate the optimum length of the cover page to be printed, the length of one roll wound on the roll paper is obtained. In S13 and S14, the paper feed sensor 28 detects the amount of paper fed until the roll rotates once by the rotation sensor 27 while feeding the paper little by little. The length of one roll of roll paper obtained in this way is increased by, for example, about 10% to obtain the optimal cover page length. Next, in S15, the fed paper is rewound onto the roll again to return to the original state. Next, in S16, the CPU 22 reads the print data from the RAM 23, creates print data in which the print image is reduced in accordance with the length of the cover page obtained in S13 and S14, and stores it in the RAM 23. This reduced image corresponds to 33 in FIG. Next, in S17, print data for printing the print conditions included in the print data as characters is created. The print data under this print condition corresponds to 34 in FIG. 2, and in this example, information such as “paper type”, “print quality”, “resolution”, “paper size”, “printing direction”, “printed date / time”, and the like. Is included. After all the print data to be printed on the cover page is obtained through S16 and S17, the cover page is printed in S18. Next, the process proceeds to S19, and if the “Cut cover page” setting 46 in FIG. 3 is ON, the roll paper cut command is included in the print data. To cut. When the setting 46 is OFF, the cover page and the main print are not printed but are printed as one sheet. Now that the cover page has been printed, the process proceeds to S21, where the CPU 22 reads the print data stored in the RAM 23 and executes the main print.

In addition, although this example showed the example which detects the length for 1 roll of roll paper as an optimal cover page calculation method, in addition to this,
If the paper size to be printed is long, lengthen the cover page.

  b. For glossy paper and strong paper, make the cover page longer.

  c. If there is enough blank space at the top of this print, shorten the cover page.

d. Make the cover page longer when cutting.
It is possible to control one or a plurality of printing conditions such as a combination, and this patent is not limited to one of these conditions.

  In this embodiment, the banner purge is printed before the main printing. However, it is also possible to perform the main printing first and then print the banner page. In this case, the cover page can be printed upside down.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the printer system of the present invention. Print example of long print with cover page. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a user interface of the printer driver of the present invention. The flowchart figure explaining the processing procedure of the printer. The long printed material with a cover page in FIG. 2 is rolled into a cylindrical shape.

Explanation of symbols

10 Components related to printing on the host side
11 Application software
12 OS printing service
13 Printer driver
14 System spooler
20 Printer
21 Communication interface
22 Printer CPU
23 Printer RAM
24 Printer ROM
25 Engine I / F
26 Print Engine
27 Rotation sensor
28 Paper feed sensor

Claims (3)

A printing system including an information processing device and a printer device that forms an image on a recording medium,
A first print data creating means for creating a print image that is originally intended to be printed on a print medium, a reduced image for grasping an outline of the first print data, and various printing conditions designated at the time of printing; Further, the user designates the second print data creation means for printing environmental conditions such as date and user name, and whether to print the print data of the second print data creation means. Specifying means; and printing means for printing the print data created by the first print data creating means and the second print data creating means according to the setting state of the previous term designating means, When the printed matter of the print data is rounded into a cylindrical shape, the printed system of the second print data that covers the outer periphery of the printed matter is provided. The printing system according to claim 1,
2. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising means for calculating an optimum length of the print data created by the second print data creation means in accordance with printing conditions. The printing system according to claim 1,
Two modes, a mode in which the two print data created by the first print data creation unit and the second print data creation unit are continuously printed as one printed product, and a mode in which the two print data are separated into two printed products. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising a switching unit that switches between the two modes and a mode designating unit for the user to designate the two modes.

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