JP2006195531A - Image recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems that simple distributed printing is conventionally known, but distributed printing cannot be performed by a plurality of printers matched to conditions requested by a user, e.g., colors are different in respective printers in distributed places. <P>SOLUTION: Distributed printing is performed in a plurality of printers matched to the conditions requested by the user, by using intermediate data. In the distributed printing system, distributed places are determined according to distribution conditions requested by the user for distributed printing. Candidates of the distributed places can thereby be presented to the user automatically to a certain extent, which can save a time and labor of the user who performs the registration setting of the distributed printers when carrying out distributed printing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a data processing method, and a storage medium that divide a print job and perform print processing by a plurality of printing apparatuses.

Conventionally, in a printing system to which an information processing apparatus that performs this type of print data processing can be applied, an information processing apparatus that performs print processing with a plurality of printing apparatuses is a combination of a plurality of printing apparatuses for dividing and outputting a print job In response, the data is spooled in a specific file format, print data is generated based on the data spooled by the spool means to be printed by a plurality of printing devices, and distributedly output to each printing device, The requested print job is distributed to each printing apparatus and processed (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-2001-290622

  However, in the printing system, it is necessary for the user to register all of the distribution destinations, and when it is desired to perform different distribution settings for each print request, it takes much time to set the distribution destinations. In such a case, it is only necessary to automatically search for a printing apparatus that meets the user's condition among the printing apparatuses connected to the network. For example, if the user wants to perform distributed printing as soon as possible by matching colors, the user's request can be satisfied by automatically searching for a printing device with the same model that has few jobs waiting to be executed and that has a high print processing speed. Is possible. However, since it is substantially difficult to satisfy all the complicated conditions of the user, even if it is automatically determined according to the user's conditions to some extent, it is almost impossible to completely match the user's intention. In that case, even if the distribution destination is determined by fetching the user's condition incompletely and distributed printing is executed, after the distributed printing process is finished, if it is output to a printing device different from the user's intention, It will be a nuisance to the user. For example, it may be output to an unintended location, output with an unintended image quality, or an unintended color difference may occur when the output results of distribution destinations are compared between a plurality of printing apparatuses. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In the distributed printing system, the distribution destination is automatically determined to some extent by determining the distribution destination according to the distribution condition requested by the user for distributed printing. The purpose is to present candidates to the user.

  In addition, if the unintended output destination or job distribution form is included in the automatic search result of the distribution destination candidate, the designation of the distribution destination printing device, the change of the job distribution form, or the change of the attribute of the distributed job It is an object of the present invention to prevent unsuccessful printing to a printing apparatus or printing failure due to a mistake in distribution settings before executing distributed printing.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus that divides a print job and performs printing processing by a plurality of printing apparatuses, and registers the plurality of printing apparatuses as output destinations of the divided print jobs. Determining means for determining the output destination of the print job by limiting to the printing apparatus that satisfies the conditions required by the user from the output destinations registered by the registration means, and for outputting the print job in a divided manner Spooling means for spooling data in a specific file format according to a combination of a plurality of printing apparatuses and a spooling means for printing by a plurality of printing apparatuses for dividing and outputting the print job. Output control means for generating divided print data based on the stored data and outputting the divided print data to each printing apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus presents a priority item that is a parameter of the determining unit to the user, and a user has selected the priority item presented by the presentation unit. It further comprises search means for searching for an output destination that matches a condition from among the output destinations registered by the registration means in accordance with priority items.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the determining unit determines the output destination as the output destination of the print job when the user obtains approval for the output destination searched by the searching unit. It is characterized by that.

  A fourth invention according to the present invention is characterized in that the presenting means presents a parameter of image quality priority as a priority item so that a printing apparatus having a similar image quality can be set as an output destination of the print job.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a parameter called model priority as a priority item so that the presenting means can set a printing apparatus of the same model as the output destination of the print job so that the colors of the output images match. It is characterized by presenting.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the presenting means outputs a print device having a high processing speed and a small number of jobs waiting for printing so that the print processing can be completed within the time requested by the user. A parameter called time priority is presented as a priority item so that it can be set first.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the presenting means presents a parameter of number priority as a priority item so that the output destination to be distributed can be set to an arbitrary number requested by the user.

  The eighth invention according to the present invention is characterized in that the presenting means presents a parameter of installation location priority as a priority item so that the installation location of the printing apparatus as an output destination can be set within the range requested by the user. And

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the search means makes a composite determination according to the contents of various parameters presented by the presentation means, and results in an output destination that matches the conditions of each parameter. To do.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, when the information processing apparatus does not match the request intended by the user with respect to the output destination of the print job searched and output by the search means, the output destination and the distribution form, etc. It is characterized by further comprising a first change means for permitting the change in accordance with the change contents requested by the user and changing according to the change contents requested by the user.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the output control means includes an instruction to store the print data in a large-capacity storage device in the printing apparatus when the divided print data is distributed and output to the output destination printing apparatus. It is characterized by transmitting.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus stores the print data in a large-capacity storage device when receiving the print data with a storage instruction.

  In a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus permits the print job instructed to be stored in an output destination by the output control means to change an output destination and a distribution form. The method further comprises a second changing means for making a change according to the change content requested by the user.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a print processing start instruction means for instructing start of print processing for the print job instructed to be stored in an output destination by the output control means. Furthermore, it is characterized by having.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus starts printing processing of print data stored in a mass storage device when a printing start instruction is issued from the information processing apparatus. .

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when the output control unit distributes the divided print data to the output destination printing device, the print data is present in the job being printed by the distribution destination printing device. However, it is transmitted together with an instruction to start the printing process with the highest priority.

  In a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, when the printing apparatus receives print data instructed to be printed with the highest priority by the information processing apparatus, the printing apparatus stops the processing for the job being printed, The printing process of the received print data is started.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, print data is generated by each printer driver corresponding to a plurality of registered printing apparatuses.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a judging means for judging a combination of a plurality of printing apparatuses and judging whether or not to spool with device-independent data from device-dependent data.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, the determining means determines whether or not each of the plurality of printing apparatuses is a printer language printing apparatus that can divide a job into pages.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the determining means determines whether or not the plurality of printing apparatuses are all of the same model.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, the determination means determines whether or not the plurality of printing apparatuses are all the same printer driver.

  In a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the device-dependent data is RAW data, and the device-independent data is EMF.

  As described above, in the distributed printing system, by determining the distribution destination according to the distribution condition requested by the user for distributed printing, the distribution destination candidates can be automatically presented to the user to some extent. It is possible to save the user's trouble of setting the registration of the distributed printer during printing.

  In addition, if the unintended output destination or job distribution form is included in the automatic search result of the distribution destination candidate, the designation of the distribution destination printing device, the change of the job distribution form, or the change of the attribute of the distributed job By enabling this, printing failure due to an unintended output to a printing apparatus or a distribution setting error can be prevented before the execution of distributed printing.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a print system to which an information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a host computer, and printers 102 to 104 capable of distributed printing processing are connected via a network 105 so as to be communicable using a predetermined protocol. A print server 106 manages the print order for each printer based on print requests from a plurality of clients (host computers) connected to the network 105.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU which controls access to various devices connected to a bus 208 based on an application program stored in a ROM 201, a hard disk 204, an OS, and the like.

  Reference numeral 202 denotes a RAM, and the CPU 200 executes various processes on the client while using the RAM 202 as a work memory in accordance with the ROM 201 or a program stored in the RAM 202. Reference numeral 203 denotes an FD drive, which inputs and outputs data between a client machine and a floppy (registered trademark) disk.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a keyboard, 206 denotes a display, and 209 denotes a network board, which has a function of communicating with the printers s102 to s104 shown in FIG. 1 or a server (not shown) or other client machines using a plurality of protocols. The above-mentioned 200 to 207 are connected via the system bus 208 so that they can exchange data with each other.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a memory map of the RAM 202 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the RAM 202 has an area for storing a basic I / O program 301 loaded from the ROM 201, an operating system (OS) 302 loaded from the hard disk 204, a network printer control program 303, and related data 304, And a work area 305.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system to which the information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied.

  In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a host computer shown in FIG. 1, and reference numeral 501 denotes an application program for creating document data to be printed. Reference numeral 401 denotes a virtual distributed printer that receives a print request from the application 501. As will be described later, the distributed printer 401 is a module that is set in advance in the host computer 101 and performs processing for distributing print data in units of pages to a plurality of printer drivers.

  When printing the document data created by the application 501, the distributed printing process described in this embodiment can be performed by designating the distributed printer 401 as an output destination port. The distributed printer 401 converts the data received from the application 501 via the OS into print data in a printer language that can be interpreted by each printer using each printer driver. The print data is transmitted to 104.

  The application 501 and the distributed printer 401 are not necessarily installed in the same apparatus. For example, the distributed printer 401 may exist on the host computer 101 on the print server 106 side and the application 501 on the print client side. Good. In that case, a file is passed from the application 501 in an intermediate file format such as a metafile. The case of using a metafile will be described later.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a software module configuration in each apparatus related to the print control system of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as FIG.

  In the figure, as described above, reference numeral 501 denotes an application module (application) for creating document data to be printed. When printing the created text data, GDI (Graphic Device Interface) 502, which is a drawing means of the OS. Is output as drawing data. Reference numeral 503 denotes an EMF (Enhanced Meta File) spooler provided by an OS (Windows (registered trademark)) manufactured by Microsoft Corporation in the United States, and reference numeral 504a denotes a printer driver incorporated in the OS.

  508 is a RAW spooler that spools device-dependent print data in Windows (registered trademark), 509 is a network printer control monitor, and 502 is a Windows (registered trademark) GDI.

  Reference numeral 506 denotes a configuration included in the printer driver, which generates a print request information including information such as a print job name, an owner name, a printer name that is a print output destination of the print job, and a print request time. It is. Reference numeral 507 denotes a configuration included in the printer driver, which is a print data generation unit that generates print data in a printer language format that can be interpreted by an output destination printer. A transmission control unit 510 performs control for requesting the print request information to the server 106 to receive print permission for outputting the print data generated by the printer driver to the printer that should output, and receiving the print permission. A distributed control unit 505 controls distributed printing at the time of distributed printing, and is configured to be able to start a plurality of printer drivers 1 to 3 (shown as printer driver 504b in the drawing).

  Reference numeral 511 denotes a module in the server 106, which is an order management unit that manages the print order based on print request information received from the host computer 101 via the network 105. The print request information is managed separately for each output destination printer, and stored in the order list 512. A printer monitoring unit 513 is communicably connected to the network 105, monitors the status of the printer under the management of the server 106, and has a print request requested to the printer waiting for printing. Notifies the order management unit 511. The printer monitoring unit 513 polls the printer every predetermined time and acquires the MIB information to grasp the printer status and the print completion page.

  In the print control system configured as described above, when printing is performed by the application 11, the document data is converted into a drawing command in an intermediate data format that can be executed by a driver called a GDI function (Device Driver Interface) that is drawing data. Spool to EMF spooler 503. Intermediate data that does not depend on the device spooled by the EMF spooler 503 is divided into pages, and has a data format that is very easy to handle for this distributed printing process.

  During normal printing, the printer driver 504a designated as the output destination port receives the intermediate data format, that is, the DDI function, and the print request generation unit 506 and the print data generation unit 507 perform the print request information and the print output destination network. Print data in a printer language (page description language) that can be interpreted by the printer is generated. The generated device-dependent print data is spooled by the RAW spooler 508 and is controlled to be transmitted by the transmission control unit 510.

  The print request information is transmitted from the monitor 509 to the server 106 via the network 105 by the transmission control unit 510.

  Further, when the above-described distributed printer 401 is designated as an output destination port, since it is distributed printing, the distribution control unit 505 receives intermediate data format data from the EMF spooler 503, and the distribution setting set in advance by the user. In response, the intermediate data format data is passed to each printer driver. The printer driver that has received the data in the intermediate data format generates print request information and print data as in normal printing, and spools the print request information and print data in the RAW spooler 508.

  At the time of distributed printing, the printer monitoring unit 513 of the server 106 waits for all printers used for distributed printing to be in a print standby state, and when all printers are in a print standby state, the order management unit Print permission is issued from 511 to the transmission control unit 510 of the host computer 101. As described above, at the time of distributed printing, printing is not performed sequentially from vacant printers, but printing is instructed after all printers are in the Ready state, so that printing processing can be performed all at once.

  Note that the intermediate data and the print data spooled in the EMF spooler 102 and the W spooler 108 are stored until the printing is completed even after the print request for processing at the time of an error described later. Hereinafter, the setting of the distributed printer 401 and the setting of distributed printing will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for setting the distributed printer 401 shown in FIG. 4, and the user interface screen is displayed on a display unit in a host computer (not shown).

  In the figure, reference numeral 601 denotes a window that displays a printer name and path set as a distributed printer. As shown in the window 601, not only printers (for example, printer 1 102, printer 2 102, printer 3 104) managed by the server 106 on the network, but also local printers (MY) connected to its own host computer. It is also possible to register a printer as a distributed printer.

  Reference numeral 603 denotes a button for newly registering as a distributed printer. By pressing this button with a pointing device such as a mouse, a window shown in FIG. 7 to be described later is opened, and a registration operation is performed in that window. It can be added as a printer. Reference numeral 604 denotes a button for deleting a printer registered as a distributed printer.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for newly registering the distributed printer 401 shown in FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 701 denotes a window displayed by the new registration button 603 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 702 denotes a text field for describing a logical name (nickname) of a printer newly registered as a distributed printer. The name may be freely determined by the user. Reference numeral 703 denotes a text field for describing a printer port to be registered. The text field may be indirectly described by tracing a printer port that can be selected by a reference button 704.

  The distributed printer 401 is set by registering / setting as described above, and the distribution control unit 505 transmits data in the intermediate data format to each printer set in the distributed printer 401 in accordance with the distribution method shown in FIG. .

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for performing setting of distributed printing by the distributed printer 401 shown in FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 801 denotes a window displayed when distributed printing is set. Reference numerals 802, 811, and 815 denote an example of a distribution method supported by the distributed printing system according to the present invention, and a distributed printer is selected according to the priority item selected by the user among the priority items of 803, 805, 807, and 809. Are divided into monochrome pages and color pages, an automatic distribution 802 that automatically assigns the corresponding distribution destination among those registered, a number distribution 811 that assigns the print data to which the distribution destination is allocated to the distribution destination device in number units, and a monochrome page and a color page. Thus, it is possible to alternatively select the monochrome / color distribution 815 to which the monochrome page output destination is given priority to the monochrome device and the color page output destination is assigned to the color device with priority.

  When automatic distribution 802 is selected as the distribution method, priority items 803, 805, 807, and 809 can be selected.

  Reference numeral 803 denotes a method for determining a distributed printer by giving priority to image quality. In the example shown in the figure, among printers registered as distributed printers, a printer having a resolution of 1200 dpi or more shown in 804 is determined as a distribution destination. The By selecting the image quality priority 803, it is possible to prevent a shift in image quality of the output result due to a difference in resolution during distributed printing.

  Reference numeral 805 denotes a method in which the number of units is given priority and a distributed printer is determined. In the illustrated example, among the printers registered as distributed printers, the distributed printer is distributed to the three printers indicated by 806. The destination printer is determined. By selecting the number priority 805, the number of distribution destinations in distributed printing can be limited.

  Reference numeral 807 denotes a method for deciding a distributed printer by giving priority to time. In the example shown in the figure, among the printers registered as print distributed printers, printing is completed within 30 minutes shown in 808. Thus, after confirming the printing status of each printer, the distribution destination printer is determined by assigning a printer having a fast print speed and a job waiting for printing as much as possible. By selecting time priority 808, distributed printing can be completed within an arbitrary time. When all the printers to be distributed are in a busy state, the setting may be made so as to be within time by interrupt printing.

  Reference numeral 809 denotes a method in which a distributed printer is determined by giving priority to the model. In the example in the figure, among the printers registered as the distributed printer, the Canon model printer shown in 810 is determined as the distribution destination. Is done. By selecting the model priority 809, it is possible to use the same printer driver for generating print data, etc., and to prevent problems such as differences in the color of output images that occur between different models. it can.

  When the distribution of the number of sheets is selected as the distribution method, either the equal number 812 or the number specification 813 can be selected. Further, when selecting the number of sheets designation 813, an arbitrary number of pages (number of sheets) is individually designated for each device by the detailed setting button 814.

  Reference numerals 816 to 819 are sections for setting whether or not to output the print result report information to an arbitrary printer after the distributed printing is completed. When the distributed print result report is always output, 816 is set, and only when an error occurs. The configuration is such that 817 can be selected alternatively when outputting, and 818 can be alternatively selected when not outputting. Reference numeral 819 denotes an output destination printer for outputting a distributed printing result report.

  Reference numeral 802 denotes a button for confirming the content of a result determined as a distribution destination when distributed printing is performed using the distribution method set in FIG. 8. By pushing this button, a user interface as shown in FIG. Is displayed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for confirming the distribution destination and the distribution contents based on the distributed printing setting shown in FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 901 denotes a window displayed when the distribution destination confirmation button 820 is pushed in FIG. Reference numeral 902 denotes an area for displaying an application data file to be subjected to distributed printing. Reference numeral 903 denotes an area for displaying the number of pages to be printed in the print file 902. A list 904 indicates the content of the result determined as a distribution destination when distributed printing is performed using the distribution method set in FIG. Which page is distributed and output to which printer is displayed before a print instruction is issued. Reference numeral 905 denotes a button for newly adding a distribution destination target to the distribution destination list indicated by 904. With the button 905, a distributed printer that is not displayed in the list 904 can be added as a distribution destination target. Reference numeral 906 denotes a button for removing the distribution destination list indicated by 904 from the distribution target. With the button 906, the distributed printer displayed in the list 904 can be deleted from the distribution target. Reference numeral 907 denotes a button for changing the contents of distribution (assignment of the number of pages to be distributed, etc.) to the distribution destination list indicated by 904. Reference numeral 908 denotes a button for confirming device information of the distributed printer.

  The change of the distribution destination and the distributed content may not be the screen or the mechanism as shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 9 is an example as a means for changing the distribution destination and the distributed content.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, and corresponds to the spool processing procedure for distributed printing in the host computer. In addition, s101-s110 show each step. The printing method of the present invention is not dependent on the specifications of the OS and hardware as long as it is a printing method that performs distributed printing processing for a plurality of printers based on a print instruction for one job from application software. In the embodiment, a description will be given assuming that a general-purpose OS such as Windows (registered trademark) NT operates on a general personal computer (PC).

  Also, in this embodiment, the application software that instructs printing performs printing processing according to the present invention when printing processing is performed by designating one printer object for distributed printing, as in normal printing. Be started.

  The distributed printing printer object has substantially the same data and usage as the printer object when printing to a single printer. In addition, the distributed printing printer object includes a printer object shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, distributed printer information such as the model information of the printer of the distributed printing destination and the status of each printer is added.

  In the case of a printer object provided by a general-purpose OS such as Windows (registered trademark), the distributed printing printer information may be added to an area that can be freely used by the user, such as comment information, or implements the printing method of the present invention. The software to manage may be independently managed.

  First, in step s101, when printing the document data created by the application software with the distributed printer as the output destination port, printing is started and spooled to the printer driver via the GDI provided in the host computer s101. Creation of a file is instructed. At this time, the distribution control unit 505 determines in step s102 whether the printing process is for a distributed printing printer object, a printing process for a general printer object, or a printer object name. If it is determined from the presence / absence of the distributed printer information or the like, and if it is determined that the printer is not a distributed printing printer, the process proceeds to step s105 to perform a normal spool process and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step s102 that the spool processing is for the distributed printing printer, distributed printing printer information is acquired in step s103, and available distribution destination printers are listed in step s104. As the available distribution destination printers, printers registered in advance in the distributed printer information as set in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be enumerated, for example, only those having no abnormal status are enumerated. The printer enumeration conditions may be anything as long as they can be enumerated by the information in the distributed printer information, such as enumerating a group of printers narrowed down by other conditions such as printer capabilities.

  Next, in step s106, the printer listed in step s104 embeds page designation information in the print job data, such as LIPS (registered trademark of Canon Inc.), for example, so that only the designated page for one job is stored. As in a printer language that can print to a printer, it is determined whether PDL that can divide a job into pages, that is, whether distributed printing can be performed with RAW data. If it is determined that the enumerated printer is a printer that can print by specifying the print data with RAW data, it is determined whether or not the enumerated printer is the same model in step s107. If it is determined that the spool file is a spool file for a LIPS printer, for example, a spool file is created with RAW data having the best image quality, such as LIPS data, in step s108, and the process ends in step s110. . Note that the determination of whether or not they are the same model may be determination of whether or not they are the same printer driver.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step s106 that the printer is not capable of distributed printing with RAW data, and if it is determined in step s107 that multiple types of printers are listed as distributed printing destination printers, For example, in step s109, a spool file is created using a device-independent file such as an EMF file. In step s110, the spool file creation process is terminated. A spool file is created in such a procedure.

  Hereinafter, a case where print data is received as device-independent data (for example, storage format data that does not depend on a specific device such as EMF) and distributed printing is realized will be described with reference to FIGS. explain.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining a data processing module of a printing system to which the information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied. The same components as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the figure, reference numerals 521-1 to 521-3 denote spoolers, which spool device-independent data from the printer drivers 504-1 to 504-3 as spool files 522-1 to 522-3, respectively. A re-spooling unit 524 divides the device-independent data spooled in the spool file 522-1 into data suitable for the printer 103 and the printer 104, and delivers them to the GDIs 502-2 and 502-3.

  Further, when the GDI 502-1 receives a job from the application software 501, the GDI function passes the GDI function to the printer driver 504-1.

  Reference numerals 523-1 to 523-3 denote transfer units which read spooled spool files 522-1 to 522-3 corresponding to the spoolers 521-1 to 521-3, respectively, to the printers 102 to 104, respectively. Outputs print data that is divided into jobs.

  Specifically, when spooling is performed using device-independent data, it is necessary to perform processing by converting to PDL or an image corresponding to a printing destination device and printing. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 11, when the application software 501 receives a job by the spooler 521-1, the respooling unit 524 as a data conversion unit acquires the spool file 522-1. The respooling unit 524 divides the spool file so as to be converted by a printer driver corresponding to the printer 103 and the printer 104, and performs distributed printing again by performing print processing.

  Note that a printer to which a paper discharge tray for distributed printing is assigned in the setting of the distributed printer 401 is added with designation of the paper discharge tray in the print data, and is transmitted from the transfer units 523-1 to 523-3.

  The distributed printing process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, and corresponds to the distributed printing processing procedure in the host computer. In addition, s201-s210 shows each step. In this embodiment, the procedure for reprinting on a Windows (registered trademark) printer object will be described. However, for a job spooled in a format that can be converted for another printer without depending on a specific device. Any other means may be used as long as it is a means for dividing the printer into a plurality of jobs for each printer and developing the PDL or image for each printer.

  After the spool processing in the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, when the processing is started in step s201 from a state where a device-independent data job such as EMF is spooled, the respooling unit 524 holds in step s202. For each printer, how many pages, or a 1: 1: 1 ratio or the like, the job is divided by 1/3, and distribution destination printer information such as allocation of pages in the printer registration order is acquired and referenced.

  Next, in step s203 (the spool file is obtained from the distributed printing printer by the data conversion unit of the present invention), data independent of a specific device is created, and in step s204, the divided data for each page is generated. In step s205, print data to which distribution destination information is added is generated according to the distribution method described in FIG.

  In step s206, the data is converted into PDL and image data for each printer by using the printer driver of each printer that is the distribution destination. As an example of this data conversion, when reprinting is performed from a Windows (registered trademark) printer, the process proceeds to step s2079, and spoolers 521-2, 521-for "printer B" and "printer C" respectively. 3 is re-spooled to wait for the printing order in each printer.

  Next, when printing processing is started from each of the spoolers 521-1, 521-2, and 521-3 in step s208, the transfer units 523-1, 523-2, and 523-3 to the printer 102 in step s209. The print data for the printer 103 and the printer 104 is transferred, and the process ends in step s210. Thereby, distributed printing can be realized.

  Next, a processing procedure from the print request to the start of the printing process of the distributed printing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure from the print request to the start of print processing in the distributed printing system according to the present invention, and particularly an example in the case where there is no change in the distributed content.

  In the figure, the user 100 makes a distributed print request to the host computer 101 via the user interface in step s501. In step s502, the host computer 101 displays a distributed print setting window as shown in FIG. 8, for example, and waits for a setting from the user 100. In step s503, when the user 100 selects, for example, automatic distribution on the distributed print setting screen and performs various settings, the host computer 101 prints the print status of each distributed printer through the distributed system server 106 in step s504. Confirm. Further, the host computer 101 acquires printer capability and status information for each of the printer 1 102, the printer 2 103, and the printer 3 104 registered as distributed printers in steps s505, s506, and s507. In step s508, the conditions requested by the user 100 in step s503 are compared with the information obtained in steps s504 to s507, and the distribution destination candidates and the distribution form satisfying the conditions specified by the user 100 are displayed to the user 100. To do. If the user 100 is satisfied with the content of the distribution result displayed in step s508, a print instruction is issued to the host computer 101 in step s509. Upon receiving a print instruction from the user 100, the host computer 101 generates a print job according to the distributed content, and registers the print job with the distributed system server 106 in step s510. When the distribution system server 106 completes the registration process requested by the host computer 101, which is a client, it issues a print job start permission to the host computer 101 in step s511. When the host computer 101 receives permission to start a print job, the host computer 101 transmits the print job to a printer determined as a distribution destination. In the example of the figure, the distribution destinations are determined to be the printer 1 102 and the printer 3 104, and the print jobs are transmitted in steps s512 and s513, respectively. In this way, distributed printing is started.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure from a print request to a start of print processing in the distributed printing system according to the present invention, and is an example in the case where change processing is performed on distributed content.

  In the figure, the user 100 makes a distributed print request to the host computer 101 via the user interface in step s601. In step s602, the host computer 101 displays a distributed print setting window as shown in FIG. 8, for example, and waits for settings from the user 100. In step s603, when the user 100 selects various settings by selecting, for example, automatic distribution on the distributed print setting screen, the host computer 101 prints the print status of each distributed printer through the distributed system server 106 in step s604. Confirm. Further, the host computer 101 acquires printer capability and status information for each of the printer 1102, the printer 2 103, and the printer 3 104 registered as distributed printers in steps s605, s606, and s607. In step s608, the conditions requested by the user 100 in step s603 and the information obtained in steps s604 to s607 are collated, and the distribution destination candidates and the distribution form satisfying the conditions specified by the user 100 are displayed to the user 100. To do. If the content of the distribution result displayed in step s608 is different from what the user 100 intends, the user 100 instructs the host computer 100 to change the distribution destination and job distribution form in step s609. When the host computer 101 receives an instruction to change the distribution content from the user 100, the host computer 101 displays the distribution result according to the change instruction again in step s610. If the user 100 is satisfied with the content of the distribution result displayed in step s610, the user 100 issues a print instruction to the host computer 101 in step s611. Upon receiving a print instruction from the user 100, the host computer 101 generates a print job according to the distributed content, and registers the print job with the distributed system server 106 in step s612. When the distribution system server 106 finishes the registration process requested by the host computer 101 as a client, the distribution system server 106 issues a print job start permission to the host computer 101 in step s613. When the host computer 101 receives permission to start a print job, the host computer 101 transmits the print job to a printer determined as a distribution destination. In the example shown in the figure, the distribution destinations are determined as the printer 2 103 and the printer 3 104, and the print jobs are transmitted in steps s614 and s615, respectively. In this way, distributed printing is started when a change is made to the distributed content.

  In the above-described embodiment, the operation on an OS such as Windows (registered trademark) is described as an example on a personal computer (PC). However, a device other than an OS or a PC may include a plurality of output devices. On the other hand, any device may be used as long as it can output one job from a plurality of output devices from different spool systems and devices capable of printer control.

  According to the above-described embodiment, in the case of distributed printing for a group of printers in which different types of printers are allowed to coexist, extra work such as changing the setting of distributed printing for each user setting or operation is increased. If you want to perform distributed printing to a group of printers of the same model, you can automatically select a spool format that reduces image quality degradation and perform distributed printing. In this case, the device-independent spool format is automatically selected, and the same model distributed printing method and different model distributed printing method with good image quality without changing the operation and setting work from the application software. Can be used properly.

  Further, even when a distributed printing apparatus candidate is configured by printing apparatuses having different page designation printing function processing capabilities, distributed printing processing can be performed efficiently without any trouble.

  The configuration of a data processing program that can be read by a printing system to which an information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied will be described below.

  Although not particularly illustrated, information for managing a program group stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs in the computer, and a program for decompressing when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 in this embodiment may be performed by the host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium in the storage medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the programmed program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, etc. Can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, when a distributed print request is made, a print job is transmitted to a printing apparatus determined by the host computer as a distribution destination according to an arbitrary distribution form, and the printing apparatus that has received the print job is locally held in a print waiting job If there is no user request to execute a distributed print job immediately, the host computer sends a print job to the distribution destination printing device. It may be instructed to save in a mass storage device such as.

  By preventing the printing process from being performed immediately on the printing apparatus at the distribution destination, when the user issues a print execution instruction at an arbitrary timing while viewing the printing status of each printing apparatus, it may overlap with the printing process of other users. Can be prevented. In addition, by enabling the change of the attribute contents of the print job even after the distributed print job is stored, a distributed form corresponding to the situation can be realized. Furthermore, by storing the print job storage format in a bitmap image state, it is possible to improve the throughput from when a print execution instruction is issued until output.

  FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure from a print request to a start of print processing in the distributed printing system according to the present invention.

  In the figure, the user 100 makes a distributed print request to the host computer 101 via the user interface in step s701. In step s702, the host computer 101 displays a distributed print setting window as shown in FIG. 8, for example, and waits for settings from the user 100. In step s703, when the user 100 selects various settings by selecting, for example, automatic distribution on the distributed print setting screen, the host computer 101 prints the print status of each distributed printer through the distributed system server 106 in step s704. Confirm. Further, the host computer 101 acquires printer capability and status information for each of the printer 1 102, the printer 2 103, and the printer 3 104 registered as distributed printers in steps s705, s706, and s707. In step s708, the conditions requested by the user 100 in step s703 are compared with the information obtained in steps s704 to s707, and the distribution destination candidates and the distribution form satisfying the conditions specified by the user 100 are displayed to the user 100. To do. If the user 100 is satisfied with the contents of the distribution result displayed in step s708, the storage instruction is given to the host computer 101 in step s709. Upon receiving a save instruction from the user 100, the host computer 101 generates a print job for saving according to the distributed contents, and registers the print job with the distributed system server 106 in step s710. When the distribution system server 106 completes the registration process requested by the host computer 101 as a client, the distribution system server 106 issues a print job storage permission to the host computer 101 in step s711. When the host computer 101 receives permission to start storing the print job, the host computer 101 transmits the storage print job to the printer determined as the distribution destination and instructs the storage of the print job. In the example of the figure, the distribution destinations are determined to be the printer 1 102 and the printer 3 104, and the print jobs are transmitted in steps s712 and s713, respectively. In this way, the distributed printing is stored in the distribution destination printing apparatus.

  If a job attribute change request is generated after the print job is stored, the user 100 instructs the host computer 101 to request a job attribute change in step s721. Receiving this, the host computer 101 acquires distributed print job information that has already been registered for storage from the distributed system server in step s722. Based on the contents, the host computer 101 displays a job attribute change screen in step s723. When the user 100 changes the job attribute in step s724, the host computer 101 distributes the changed contents instead of deleting the distributed print job that has already been registered in the distributed system server 106 in step s725. Re-register as a job. When permission to change the print job is issued from the distributed print server in step s726, the host computer 101 instructs the printer 1 102 and the printer 3 104, which are the distribution destinations, to delete the print job before the change in steps s727 and s728, respectively. Send the print job after the change. Note that the updated print job is also transmitted as a storage print job.

(Third embodiment)
In the first and second embodiments, after the distributed print job is transmitted to the distribution destination printing apparatus, the distribution destination printing apparatus sequentially performs print processing according to the order of the print jobs received by itself. However, a distributed print job may be processed with priority, or may be processed with the highest priority as an interrupt job.

  For example, when a user requests a severe time condition as a distributed printing condition, the distribution destination printing apparatus gives an instruction to preferentially process a distributed print job, or a job already in print processing. Even if it exists, it is possible to satisfy the user's condition by stopping the processing and instructing to interrupt and process the distributed print job. Also, by enabling priority processing and interrupt processing for distributed print jobs, it is possible to start print processing for print jobs distributed to multiple printing devices all at once, and the total processing time for one distributed print job Can be shortened.

  An example of the processing flow in this embodiment will be described with reference to a part of FIG. 15 used in the second embodiment. In FIG. 15, for example, the user 100 performs distributed printing as in step s741 in a state where the distributed print job is stored in the large-capacity storage device in the printing apparatus at each distribution destination by the processing from step s701 to s728. Upon requesting the start, the host computer 101 makes a distributed print start request to the distributed system server 106 in step s742. On the other hand, when the distributed print server 106 permits the start of distributed printing in step s743, the host computer 101 prints the print jobs stored for the printer 1 102 and the printer 3 104 which are the distribution destinations in steps s744 and s745. A print start instruction is issued. Upon receiving the instruction, the distribution destination printer stops the processing if there is a job being printed as interrupt printing, and starts the processing of the stored distributed printing job.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print system to which an information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied in the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing device in a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory map of a RAM 202 illustrated in FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which an information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied in a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a software module configuration in each apparatus related to a print control system in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface screen for setting the distributed printer 401 shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen for newly registering the distributed printer 401 illustrated in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen for setting distributed printing by the distributed printer 401 illustrated in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen for confirming a distribution destination and distributed content based on the distributed printing setting illustrated in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention in the first embodiment, which is a spool processing procedure for distributed printing in a host computer. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a data processing module of a printing system to which an information processing apparatus can be applied in the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus in the first embodiment, which is a distributed printing processing procedure in a host computer. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure from a print request to a start of print processing in the distributed printing system according to the first embodiment, and is an example in the case where there is no particular change in distributed content. In the first embodiment, it is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure from a print request to a print processing start of the distributed printing system according to the present invention, and is an example in the case of performing change processing on the distributed content. In 2nd Embodiment, it is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the process sequence from the printing request of the distributed printing system which concerns on this invention to a printing process start.

Claims (23)

An information processing apparatus that divides a print job and performs print processing by a plurality of printing apparatuses,
Registration means for registering the plurality of printing apparatuses as output destinations of the divided print jobs;
A determining unit that determines the output destination of the print job by limiting to a printing device that satisfies a condition requested by a user from among the output destinations registered by the registration unit;
Spool means for spooling data in a specific file format according to a combination of a plurality of printing apparatuses for dividing and outputting the print job;
Output that generates divided print data based on the data spooled by the spool means and distributes and outputs to each printing device in order to print on a plurality of printing devices for dividing and outputting the print job And an information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes a presentation unit that presents a priority item as a parameter of the determination unit to a user;
The apparatus further comprises search means for searching for an output destination that matches a condition from the output destinations registered by the registration means according to the priority item selected by the user among the priority items presented by the presentation means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The said determination means determines the said output destination as an output destination of the said print job, when consent from a user is obtained with respect to the output destination searched by the said search means. Information processing device.   4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the presenting means presents a parameter called image quality priority as a priority item so that a printing apparatus having a similar image quality can be set as an output destination of the print job.   The presenting means presents a parameter of model priority as a priority item so that a printing apparatus of the same model can be set as an output destination of the print job so that colors of output images match. The information processing apparatus according to 2 or 3.   The presenting means has a processing speed as a priority item so that a printing apparatus having a high processing speed and a small number of jobs waiting for printing can be set as an output destination of the print job so that the printing process can be completed within a time requested by the user. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a parameter of priority is presented.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the presenting unit presents a parameter of number priority as a priority item so that an output destination to be distributed can be set to an arbitrary number requested by a user.   4. The information according to claim 2, wherein the presenting means presents a parameter of installation location priority as a priority item so that an installation location of a printing apparatus as an output destination can be set within a range requested by a user. Processing equipment.   The search means makes a composite determination according to the contents of various parameters presented by the presenting means, and results in an output destination that matches the conditions of each parameter. , 6, 7, 8 Information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus permits the output destination of the print job searched and output by the search means to change the output destination and the distribution form when the print job does not match the request intended by the user. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising first changing means for changing according to requested change contents.   The output control means transmits the print data together with an instruction to save the print data in a large-capacity storage device in the printing apparatus when the divided print data is distributed and output to the output destination printing apparatus. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.   The printing apparatus stores the print data in a large-capacity storage device when receiving the print data with a storage instruction.   The information processing apparatus permits the print job instructed to be stored in the output destination by the output control means to change the output destination and the distribution form, and changes the change according to the change content requested by the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second changing unit.   The information processing apparatus further includes a print processing start instruction unit that instructs a start of print processing for the print job instructed to be stored in an output destination by the output control unit. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13.   13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the printing apparatus starts printing processing of print data stored in a mass storage device when a print start instruction is issued from the information processing apparatus.   The output control means starts the print process with the highest priority when the divided print data is distributed and output to the output destination printing apparatus, regardless of the existence of the job being printed on the distribution destination printing apparatus. 15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus transmits the information together with an instruction to perform the transmission.   When the printing apparatus receives print data instructed to be printed with the highest priority by the information processing apparatus, the printing apparatus stops the process for the job being printed and starts the printing process of the received print data. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer.   The print data is generated by each printer driver corresponding to a plurality of registered printing apparatuses, wherein the print data is generated. The information processing apparatus according to 13, 14, or 16.   5. A determining means for determining a combination of a plurality of printing apparatuses and determining whether or not to spool with device-independent data based on independent data. The information processing apparatus according to 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the determination unit determines whether the plurality of printing apparatuses are printer language printing apparatuses that can divide a job into pages.   21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the plurality of printing apparatuses are all of the same model.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the plurality of printing apparatuses are all the same printer driver.   23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the device-dependent data is RAW data, and the device-independent data is EMF.

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