JP2006251853A - Printing condition automatic setting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To resolve complications of manual setting by automatically changing settings without activating an application not controlled by a printer driver, and to improve convenience by appropriately changing various settings of a PC in response to capacity and printing conditions of a printer. <P>SOLUTION: The printing condition automatic setting system is for a printing system composed of one or more host devices, and one or more printers. It is provided with an analyzing means for acquiring/analyzing setting information of the host and information of the printer, and a setting means for changing/setting setting information of an application which can not be controlled from a driver/application for the printer. In the setting means, various settings of a host function side are automatically changed on the basis of an analysis result of the printer analyzing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides a control method for appropriately changing application setting information that cannot be controlled from a printer driver / application in a printing system including a host device and a printing device in accordance with the capabilities of the printing device and printing conditions. The present invention relates to a printing condition automatic setting system.

  With the spread of the Internet, opportunities for general users to browse Web screens have increased particularly in recent years. In addition, printer performance and price reduction are remarkable, and opportunities for easy use are increasing.

Furthermore, there is a great need for printing web images of users. For example, in Microsoft Internet Explorer (registered trademark) of Microsoft, most printers were monochrome printers when the printers started to spread. Is set to not print. This is to prevent the color scheme of the background image and characters that can be sufficiently identified on a color screen from becoming difficult to identify in a monochrome printed document.
JP-A-7-152521

  However, printers that are currently popular among general users are color printers, and the proportion of color machines in laser beam printers is rapidly increasing.

  When printing a Web screen using a PC under such a background, unlike a display image, a printed image often does not provide a desired print result, for example, the background image is not printed and the user feels uncomfortable.

  To solve this, it is necessary to manually set the printing conditions. Various settings are possible by operating the printer driver, but the settings of applications (printer driver non-control applications) that cannot be controlled directly by the printer driver shell, such as when printing a background image of a Web image, are changed. In order to do this, it is necessary to start the application separately and set it manually.

  As described above, it is very difficult for a user unfamiliar with the PC operation to change the setting of the printer driver non-control application.

  In particular, in a PC that can use a plurality of printers, if the PC settings are changed uniformly, the change does not necessarily correspond to all printers. For example, the background of a Web image If the image is set to be printed, the background image of the Web image is printed even with a monochrome printer, and the image may be poorly visible.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems such as eliminating the complexity of manual setting by automatically changing settings without activating a printer driver non-control application.

  Furthermore, convenience is also improved by appropriately changing various settings of the PC according to the printer capabilities and printing conditions.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
A printing condition automatic setting system in a printing system composed of a host device and a printing device,
Analyzing means for acquiring / analyzing the setting information of the host and the information of the printing apparatus;
A setting means for changing / setting setting information of an application that is not for controlling the printing apparatus,
The analysis unit analyzes appropriate printing conditions based on the acquired printer information, and the setting unit automatically changes various settings on the host function side based on the analysis result of the printer analysis unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, the analysis unit and the setting unit interrupt the print-related process including the print process or the printing apparatus control process at an arbitrary timing, and return to the print-related process after completing the operation. Features.

  Further, according to the present invention, the trigger event for determining the interrupt timing is a start of installation of the printing apparatus, a completion of a negotiation performed between the host apparatus and the printing apparatus at the start of printing, or a specific user operation. .

  Furthermore, the present invention includes notification means for notifying a user when the setting means changes the setting information on the host function side.

  Furthermore, the present invention has a confirmation means for confirming to the user whether or not to change the setting information when the setting means changes the setting information on the host function side.

  Further, in the present invention, the information analyzed by the analyzing means is the selected printing mode or paper type.

  Further, in the present invention, the information analyzed by the analyzing means is a configuration capability of the printing apparatus main body or a paper type detected by the printing apparatus.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the application not for controlling the printing apparatus is Microsoft Internet Explorer (registered trademark).

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that when the setting means changes the setting information on the host side, the registry information of the host device is directly changed.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes a storage unit that stores the host setting information acquired by the analysis unit.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the various setting information of the host device stored in the storage means is registry information.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, various setting information of the host device stored in the storage unit can be restored at an arbitrary timing.

  Further, in the present invention, the trigger event for determining the arbitrary timing is when printing is completed or a specific user operation.

  By automatically changing application settings that cannot be controlled from the printer driver based on the printer information, even a user who is unfamiliar with PC operation can obtain an appropriate print document without performing complicated operations. For example, when a web page is printed by a color printer, a background image can be printed without particular awareness. Thereby, it can be solved that the user feels uncomfortable because the Web page image displayed on the conventional display is different from the printed image.

  Further, it is conceivable that the PC setting information is uniformly changed to setting information that is not recommended for some PCs when a plurality of printers can be used from the PC. Since it can be changed and restored, appropriate printing is possible regardless of the number of PCs and printers.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a printing system configured by a host apparatus 101 and printing apparatuses 102 and 103 to which the present invention can be applied. The host device 101 is a so-called personal computer (PC), and the PC includes a display, a data processing body (including a control board, a hard disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, etc.), an input device (a keyboard, (Including a pointing device (not shown)), various interface cable devices (including a LAN cable, a USB cable, etc.) and the like. The printing devices 102 and 103 are so-called printers (printing devices in general including ink jet printers, laser beam printers, dot printers, etc.). The PC 101 and the printers 102 and 103 are connected by an arbitrary interface that does not depend on wired or wireless. Also, the number of printers configured is not limited to the two shown in FIG.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data processing apparatus showing the first embodiment of the present invention. In the host computer internal 210, the CPU 201 reads various programs such as a control program, a system program, and an application program from the external memory 213 via the disk controller (DKC) 205 to the RAM 202 and executes them to perform various data processing. The DKC 205 controls access to an external memory such as an FD, HD, CD-ROM, MD, or MO.

  The RAM 202 is configured so that its capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM (not shown) or the like, and is mainly used as a work area of the CPU 201.

  A keyboard controller (KBC) 203 controls key input from a keyboard (KB) 211 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRT controller (CRTC) 204 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 212. In the embodiment of the present invention, the CPU 201 controls the RAM 202, KBC 203, CRTC 204, and DKC 205 via the main bus 207 unless otherwise specified.

  In the system configured as described above, when the user opens a user interface (UI) of an application or a device driver and changes the setting, the host computer accepts input from the KB 211 or a pointing device (not shown) by the user, The process is displayed on the CRT 212.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of functional blocks of a printing system in a host computer to which a printing apparatus such as a printer is connected directly or via a network.

  Each block in the host computer 300 in FIG. 3 represents a function realized by the CPU 201 executing a program in the system in FIG. The application 301, the graphic engine 302, the printer driver 303, and the system spooler 304 exist as files stored in the external memory 213 in FIG. 2, and are loaded into the RAM 202 by the OS or a higher-level module that uses the module when executed. Program module to be executed.

  The application 301 and the printer driver 303 can be supplied from the FD of the external memory 213 or a CD-ROM (not shown). When the user performs a printing operation on the printer 305 in the application 301, the application 301 first outputs (draws) using the graphic engine 302 loaded in the RAM 202 and executable.

  Note that the graphic engine 302 generally provides a common graphic interface for an application independent of an output device such as a printer or a display.

  The graphic engine 302 similarly loads the printer driver 303 prepared for each printing apparatus from the external memory 213 to the RAM 202, and converts the output of the application 301 into a printer control command using the printer driver 303. At this time, the user can make print settings for the printer using the UI of the printer driver, and the printer driver 303 generates a printer control command according to the settings.

  The converted printer control command is output to the printer 305 via the interface via the system spooler 304 loaded in the RAM 202 by the OS.

  Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the subject of processing is the CPU 201 in hardware and the program executed by the CPU 201 in software.

  Hereinafter, using FIG. 4 to FIG. 7, as an example of host setting information, Microsoft Internet Explorer (registered trademark) (IE) “print / do not print background image of Web page” is changed at the time of printer installation. The case will be described. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that IE is used for browsing Web pages.

  First, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of general printing-related processing.

  In general printing-related processing, when printing-related processing is started, first, negotiation is performed between the host device and the printing device (step S401). Specifically, various information such as various IDs, versions, names, and ink information of the printer are exchanged (FIG. 5).

  When the negotiation is completed, the actual processing related to printing is performed (step S402).

  Even in actual processing, there are phases such as processing start, processing execution, completion processing, and processing completion notification. However, since they are out of the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Specific examples of actual processing include file copying and information registration in the PC registry in the case of printer installation, print data creation and transmission, and printer status acquisition in printing.

  When the actual process is completed, the print-related process is completed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing background print setting processing at the time of printer installation.

When installation of the printer is started (step S601), first, the PC and the printer negotiate (step S602). Host information is automatically set according to the following procedure using this as a trigger event.
Although it is possible to unconditionally set “print the background image of the Web page”, if possible, the determination unit determines whether to print the background image of the Web page. Is acquired, and it is analyzed whether color printing is possible (step S603). Various means for analyzing whether or not the printer can perform color printing are conceivable and not limited. However, here, as a specific example, negotiation information between the PC and the printer that is transmitted and received at the time of installation is acquired and color printing is possible. Extract the flag.

  If it is determined from the analysis result that the installation target printer is not capable of color printing, the background image of the Web page is not printed (step S604), but if the installation target printer is capable of color printing. Then, the setting unit changes the host information so as to print the background image of the Web page (step S605). Normally, it is necessary to start the IE application and operate the check box on the property screen, but here, the setting is automatically performed without causing the user to operate. Here, as a specific example, the information shown in FIG. 7 is overwritten on the registry.

  When the setting of the host information is completed, a normal installation process is performed (step S606), and then completed (step S607). Since normal printing-related processing is not included in the gist of the present invention, description thereof is omitted.

  At this time, the host information changed in step S605 is information that is independent of the printing related process including the normal printing process and the printing apparatus control process, and therefore is not overwritten in the installation process in step S606.

<Second Embodiment>
In addition to the first embodiment, storage means for storing the host setting information may be provided, and the changed host information may be restored after the printing process is completed.

  Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The basic configuration of the data processing apparatus and the like is the same as that of the first embodiment, except that a storage unit for storing the host setting information is provided.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing background print setting processing at the start of printer printing and host setting information restoration processing at the completion of printing.

  Step S802 and final step S811 can be operated by the storage means.

  First, when printing processing by the printer is started from the host (step S801), negotiation is performed between the PC and the printer, and host information is automatically set in accordance with the following procedure using this as a trigger event.

  In step S802, the storage unit stores the host setting information.

  Thereafter, information about the printer to be printed is acquired (step S803), and it is determined whether to print the background image of the Web page (step S804: details will be described later).

  Based on the determination result in step S804, if the background image is not printed (step S805-no), the host setting information is set to “do not print background image” (step S806), and the background image is printed. If this is the case (step S805-yes), the host setting information is set to “print background image” (step S807).

  When step S806 or S807 is completed, the process returns to normal print processing, and print data creation (step S808), print data transmission (step S809), print completion (step S810), and print processing are completed. Steps S808 to S810 represent normal printing processing, and for the sake of simplicity, for example, acquisition of the printer status is omitted. However, since it is out of the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the final step S811, the host setting information saved in step S802 is restored, and a series of processing is completed. As a result, the user's operation is exactly the same as the normal printing process, but the web page background image can be printed only by a printer suitable for printing the web page background image.

  Here, in step S804, it is determined whether or not the printer that executes the printing process is suitable for printing the background image of the Web page. The processing in step S804 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9 showing execution determination of background image printing.

  First, the mechanical capability of the printer is determined (step S901). Specifically, it is determined whether the printer can perform color printing. If the corresponding printer is capable of color printing (step S902-yes), the process continues to the determination of printing conditions (step S903), and if the corresponding printer is not capable of color printing (step S902-no), background image printing is performed. The execution flag is set to OFF (step S906), and step S804 is completed.

  In step S903, the printing condition is determined. Specifically, it is determined whether or not color printing is performed. As a specific example, the determination is made based on the presence or absence of color ink tank information in the negotiation information. If the corresponding printer performs color printing (step S904-yes), the background image printing execution flag is set to ON (step S905), and if the corresponding printer does not perform color printing (step S904-no), the background The image printing execution flag is set to OFF (step S906).

  With the completion of step S905 or S906, the process of S804 is completed.

<Third Embodiment>
In the first and second embodiments, all processes are automatically executed, but a notification means for notifying the user of a change in the host setting information and a confirmation means for confirming the notification message may be provided.

  Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The basic configuration of the data processing apparatus and the like is the same as that of the second embodiment, except that a notification unit that notifies the user of a message and a confirmation unit that checks the notification message are provided.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for issuing a message to the user when the host setting information is changed, and the basic flow is the same as FIG. In FIG. 10, steps performing the same processing as in FIG. 8 are denoted by the same step numbers as in FIG. 8, and description thereof is omitted.

  After completion of steps S801 to S804, it is determined whether or not the host information setting change is recommended based on the value of the background image print execution flag determined in S804 (step S1001). When there is no need to change the host setting information, conventional print processing (steps S808 to S810) is executed.

  If the host setting information needs to be changed (step S1001-yes), the user is notified that the host setting information is to be changed (step S1002). Depending on the user's selection, the host setting information can be changed (step S1004), or the processing can be shifted to printing processing (steps S808 to S810) without doing anything.

  When the printing process (steps S808 to S810) is completed, it is determined whether or not the host setting information has been changed (step S1005). If it has been changed, the stored host setting information is restored (step S811). ).

  In step S1005, as in steps S1001 to S1003, the user may be allowed to select regarding restoration execution of the host setting information.

  Further, whether or not to display the message may be selected by the user so that the message is not troublesome for the user who is used to the PC operation.

<Other embodiments>
In the first to third embodiments, the description has been made on the assumption that the background image of the Web page is printed at the time of color printing. However, in practice, it is always preferable to always print the background image of the Web page at the time of color printing. Is not limited.

  Therefore, in step S901 or S903 in FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not it is recommended to print the background image of the Web page by adding the following conditions. If recommended, the background image print execution flag is determined. Shall be set to ON. The following example conditions are not limited to the items described.

[Example of determination conditions in step S901]
Determine the printing speed of the printer. If the printer is very slow in color printing, set flag = OFF.

[Example of determination conditions in step S903]
Judge the paper quality. In the case of poor paper, the ink may bleed, so flag = OFF.

  Judge double-sided printing. Considering the time for ink to dry during duplex printing, the flag is set to OFF.

  The determination information in step S903 may be various print condition setting information of the printer driver or information detected by the printer main body.

<Application example>
Although IE has been described as an example of an application that is not a printer control driver / application, it is needless to say that it can be easily applied to a printer control driver / application.

  In addition, the printer is not limited to a real machine, and the present invention can also be applied to a virtual output device such as Adobe Acrobat Distiller.

  Furthermore, the user operation from the UI of the printer control driver / application is used as a trigger event of the present invention, so that the setting of the application can be easily changed without starting the application whose setting is to be changed.

  As mentioned above, although several Example of this invention was described, these Examples do not limit the scope of the present invention only to that, and other various deformation | transformation and change do not deviate from the summary of this invention. It is possible.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration applied to this invention. It is a block block diagram of a host computer. 1 is a functional block configuration diagram of a print system. FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an entire print condition automatic setting process. It is a figure showing the example of negotiation information. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating background print setting processing when a printer is installed. It is a figure which shows the example of registry information. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing background print setting processing at the start of printer printing and host setting information restoration processing at the completion of printing. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating background image printing execution determination processing. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process which sends a message to a user at the time of change of host setting information.

Explanation of symbols

200 Host computer 201 CPU
202 RAM
203 Keyboard controller 204 CRT controller 205 Disk controller 206 Main bus 211 Keyboard 212 CRT
213 External memory 300 Host computer 301 Application 302 Graphic engine 303 Printer driver 304 System spooler 305 Printer

Claims (12)

An automatic printing condition setting system in a printing system comprising one or more host devices and one or more printing devices,
Analyzing means for acquiring / analyzing the setting information of the host and the information of the printing apparatus;
A setting means for changing / setting application setting information that cannot be controlled from the driver / application for the printing apparatus,
The print setting automatic setting system, wherein the setting means automatically changes various settings on the host function side based on an analysis result of the printer analysis means.   2. The printing condition according to claim 1, wherein the analysis unit and the setting unit interrupt a printing-related process including a printing process or a printing apparatus control process at an arbitrary timing and return to the printing-related process after completing the operation. Automatic configuration system.   3. The trigger event for determining the interrupt timing is a start of installation of a printing apparatus, a completion of a negotiation performed between the host apparatus and the printing apparatus at the start of printing, or a specific user operation. Automatic printing condition setting system.   The print condition automatic setting system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit includes a notification unit that notifies a user when the setting information on the host function side is changed.   The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 4, wherein the setting unit includes a confirmation unit that confirms with the user whether or not to change the setting information on the host function side.   6. The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 1, wherein the information analyzed by the analyzing unit is a selected printing mode or paper type.   The printing condition automatic setting system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information analyzed by the analyzing means is a configuration capability of the printing apparatus main body or a paper type detected by the printing apparatus.   8. The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 1, wherein when the setting unit changes the setting information on the host side, the registry information of the host device is directly changed.   The print condition automatic setting system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the host setting information acquired by the analysis unit.   The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 9, wherein the various setting information of the host device stored in the storage unit is registry information.   The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 10, wherein various setting information of the host device stored in the storage unit can be restored at an arbitrary timing.   12. The printing condition automatic setting system according to claim 11, wherein the trigger event for determining the arbitrary timing is when printing is completed or a specific user operation.

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