JP2006264012A - Print control apparatus, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program for shortening a waiting time until a preview image is displayed.
When printing conditions are set, generation of a preview image is started in accordance with the set printing conditions, and a preview for displaying a screen immediately before printing that guides at least a part of the set printing conditions. A preparation unit, a preview display unit that accepts a preview display instruction in a state where the screen just before printing is displayed, and a screen that displays the preview image in response to the preview display instruction, and a state in which the screen just before printing is displayed And a print start means for receiving a print start instruction and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program, and more particularly to display of a preview image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a print control apparatus that displays a preview image that reflects print conditions when a preview image display instruction is received from a user in a state where the print conditions are set. However, in a print control apparatus with a low processing capacity of the processor, the user wait time increases until a preview display instruction is received and a preview image is displayed. This waiting time is particularly long when a preview image obtained by combining a plurality of images is displayed, or when a preview image reflecting an image quality adjustment result is displayed.

JP 2004-361814 A

  The present invention was created to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program that reduce the waiting time until a preview image is displayed. To do.

(1) When a printing condition is set, a printing control apparatus for achieving the above object starts generating a preview image in accordance with the set printing condition and at least one of the set printing conditions. Preview preparation means for displaying a screen immediately before printing for guiding a copy; and preview display means for receiving a preview display instruction in a state in which the screen immediately before printing is displayed and displaying the preview image on the screen according to the preview display instruction; Printing start means for receiving a print start instruction in a state in which the screen immediately before printing is displayed and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction.
By starting the generation of the preview image after setting the printing conditions and before accepting the preview display instruction, the waiting time until the preview image is displayed can be shortened.

(2) The preview preparation unit may generate the preview image by assigning a plurality of print target images determined by the printing conditions to an area determined by the printing conditions.
When the generation of the preview image involves the allocation of a plurality of print target images, the user wait time becomes particularly long when the generation of the preview image is started after receiving the preview display instruction. Therefore, in such a case, if the generation of the preview image is started before accepting the preview display instruction, the effect of shortening the waiting time until the preview image is displayed is increased.

(3) The preview display means may generate the preview image based on a main image stored in a print target file determined by the printing conditions.
By generating a preview image based on the main image, a high-quality preview image can be generated as compared with the case where the preview image is generated based on the thumbnail image.

(4) The preview preparation means may generate the preview image without reflecting a part of the printing conditions.
For example, when image quality adjustment conditions such as sharpness correction and brightness correction are set in the print conditions, a lot of resources are consumed to generate a preview image reflecting such print conditions. Therefore, in such a case, the waiting time for displaying the preview image can be further reduced by generating the preview image without reflecting the printing condition that consumes a lot of resources. When generating a preview image without reflecting a part of the printing conditions, it is desirable not to reflect only the printing conditions in which the change in the preview image due to the presence or absence of reflection is small.

(5) The printing control apparatus further includes a resetting unit that receives a resetting instruction for the printing condition in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and resets the printing condition in response to the resetting instruction. May be. When the print condition is reset, the preview preparation unit may start generating the preview image according to the reset print condition and display the screen immediately before printing.
Usability is improved by enabling resetting of printing conditions.

(6) According to a printing control method for achieving the above object, when printing conditions are set, generation of a preview image is started according to the set printing conditions, and at least one of the set printing conditions is set. Displaying a screen immediately before printing for guiding a copy, receiving a preview display instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and displaying the preview image on the screen according to the preview display instruction, and immediately before printing Receiving a print start instruction while the screen is displayed, and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction.
By starting the generation of the preview image after accepting the preview display instruction after the printing conditions are set, the waiting time until the preview image is displayed can be shortened.

(7) When a print condition is set, the print control program for achieving the above object starts generating a preview image according to the set print condition and at least one of the set print conditions. Preview preparation means for displaying a screen immediately before printing for guiding a copy; and preview display means for receiving a preview display instruction in a state in which the screen immediately before printing is displayed and displaying the preview image on the screen according to the preview display instruction; The computer functions as print start means for receiving a print start instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction.
By starting the generation of the preview image after accepting the preview display instruction after the printing conditions are set, the waiting time until the preview image is displayed can be shortened.

  It should be noted that the order of each operation of the method described in the claims is not limited to the order of description as long as there is no technical obstruction factor, and may be executed in any order, or may be executed simultaneously. Also good. In addition, each function of the plurality of means provided in the present invention is realized by a hardware resource whose function is specified by the configuration itself, a hardware resource whose function is specified by a program, or a combination thereof. The functions of the plurality of means are not limited to those realized by hardware resources that are physically independent of each other.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on an example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a mechanical configuration of the multifunction machine 1 as an embodiment of the printing control apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the multifunction machine 1, and FIG. 4 is an operation unit of the multifunction machine 1. It is a schematic diagram which shows the external appearance of 68. FIG.
The scan unit 2 includes a light source 33, an image sensor 30, an AFE (Analog Front End) unit 56, a sensor driving unit 74, a sensor carriage driving unit 76, and the like. The light source 33 is configured by a fluorescent tube lamp or the like that is long in the main scanning direction. The image sensor 30 driven by the sensor driving unit 74 is a linear image sensor such as a color CCD linear image sensor provided with RGB three-channel light receiving elements. The image sensor 30 is mounted on a sensor carriage 31 that moves parallel to the transparent document table 29. The image sensor 30 outputs an electrical signal correlated with the density of the optical image of the document M formed on the light receiving surface by the lens 35 and the mirror 34. The sensor carriage drive unit 76 includes a motor 39, a drive belt 40, a drive circuit (not shown), and the like. When the motor 39 pulls the sensor carriage 31 with the drive belt 40, the sensor carriage 31 reciprocates along the guide rod 38 that is installed in parallel with the document table 29. As a result, the image sensor 30 can read a two-dimensional image. The AFE unit 56 includes an analog signal processing circuit such as amplification and noise removal, an A / D converter, and the like. The scan unit 2 may be configured to include a contact image sensor, may be a document conveyance type, or may be a mirror movement type in which the image sensor does not move relative to the document.

The print unit 3 includes a print head 84, a head driving unit 82, a head carriage driving unit 78, a paper feeding unit 80, and the like for forming an image on a printing medium by an inkjet method. The print unit 3 may be configured to support other printing methods such as a laser method, a sublimation method, and an impact method. The print head 84 is provided on the head carriage 20 on which the ink cartridge 22 is mounted, and includes a nozzle, a piezo element, an ink passage, and the like (not shown). The head carriage drive unit 78 includes a motor 52, a drive belt 53, a drive circuit (not shown), and the like. When the motor 52 pulls the head carriage 20 with the drive belt 53, the head carriage 20 reciprocates along the guide rod 51 that is installed perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the paper N. The platen 25 is provided below the print head 84. The longitudinal axis of the platen 25 and the central axis of the guide rod 51 are parallel. The paper feeding unit 80 includes a paper conveyance roller 50, a motor 55, a driven roller 54, a drive circuit (not shown), and the like. The paper feeding unit 80 transports the paper N in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction axis of the print head 84 by rotating the paper transport roller 50.
The external memory controller 70 is connected to the removable memory 24 inserted into a card slot (not shown). Data stored in the removable memory 24 is read by the external memory controller 70 and transferred to the RAM 60.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation unit 68 includes an LCD 10 for displaying various setting contents and images, a “display switching” button 11 for switching display contents of the LCD 10, and a print setting screen 114 (see FIG. 9). A “print setting” button 12 for displaying on the LCD 10, a “return” button 13, a cross button 14 for operating various setting contents, an “OK” button 15 for determining various setting contents, and a “printing” instruction for printing ”Button 16 and the like. The cross button 14 includes an upper button 141, a lower button 142, a right button 143, and a left button 144. The operation unit 68 may include a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like. The operation unit 68 functions as a preview preparation unit, a preview display unit, a print start unit, and a resetting unit described in the claims, and the LCD 10 functions as a preview preparation unit, a preview display unit, and a resetting unit described in the claims. .

  The control unit 58 includes a RAM 60, a ROM 62, a CPU 64, and a digital image processing unit 66. The CPU 64 executes a control program stored in the RAM 60 to control each unit of the multifunction device 1. The ROM 62 is a non-volatile memory that stores a control program. The RAM 60 is a volatile memory that temporarily stores various data such as control programs and images. The control program may be stored in the ROM 62 via a network from a remote server, or may be stored in the ROM 62 via a computer-readable storage medium such as the removable memory 24. The digital image processing unit 66 performs image processing for generating print data by performing gamma correction, resolution conversion, image quality correction, color space conversion, binarization, interlace processing, and the like on the print target image and the composite image. It is a dedicated circuit such as a DSP that executes in cooperation.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control program for causing the multifunction device 1 to function as a print control apparatus.
The UI module 200 is a program component that causes the CPU 64 to function as a preview preparation unit, a preview display unit, a print start unit, and a resetting unit. The UI module 200 displays various selection items on the LCD 10, receives an instruction input by the user operating the operation unit 68, and controls each module according to the received instruction content.
The file management module 202 is a program component that creates an image file list and a template list for managing the reference of images and templates stored in the removable memory 24.

The JPEG conversion module 204 is a program component that decodes and encodes JPEG image data. Specifically, decoding processing for converting image data recorded in the JPEG format into image data having RGB three-channel levels for each pixel, and vice versa.
The image quality adjustment module 206 is a program component that causes the CPU 64 to function as preview preparation means. Specifically, image quality adjustment is performed based on printing conditions set for resolution, brightness correction, contrast correction, sharpness correction, saturation correction, memory color correction, single hue conversion, and the like. In this specification, various parameters used in the process of converting image data to be printed into print data are referred to as printing conditions. The printing conditions include parameters that are explicitly specified by the user (for example, reference to an image to be printed) and default parameters that can be changed by the user.

The layout module 208 is a program component that causes the CPU 64 to function as preview preparation means. The layout module 208 combines the print target images designated by the UI module 200 based on the template to form a combined image.
The print data generation module 210 converts the image formed by the image quality adjustment module 206, the layout module 208, and the JPEG conversion module 204 into print data in cooperation with the digital image processing unit 66, and outputs the print data to the print head 84. The program part causes the print unit 3 to print the print data.

Next, the template will be described. The template includes a template file, an allocation target image described in the template file, a thumbnail image of the template, and the like.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a template file. In the template file 90, a plurality of sections 92 and 93 are described. Each of the sections 92 and 93 describes one or more drawing commands, and an image file name to be assigned, an assigned area, and the like are described in a script language or a markup language for each drawing command. In the illustrated example, the drawing command is described in three lines starting with “image drawing”. With respect to an allocation target image that is determined in advance as a template, reference to the allocation target image is described for each allocation area. For the user image assigned to the template, a specific image reference is not described in the allocation area, and the user image reference is specifically set by the user designation. The sections 92 and 93 stored in one template file 90 are information for forming similar composite images, and each section corresponds to one or more paper sizes. The similarity here means that the design of the playback result, which is determined by the content of the image before composition, the layout of the image, the presence or absence of margins, the balance of the left and right, top and bottom margins, etc., is similar except for the size difference. And the meaning is different from the similarity in mathematics.

  Also, the template file 90 describes index data 91 that defines the paper size to which each section 92, 93 corresponds. For example, it is described in the index data 91 that a section 93 whose section name is “USD2” is a section in which drawing commands corresponding to the L size and 2L size paper sizes are described. The template is described corresponding to the standard paper size, but when applied to printing of other paper sizes, the coordinate values are linearly converted at a preset magnification. For example, if section 93 is described with reference to the L-size printing paper size, the composite image printed on the 2L-size paper size is linearly transformed by linearly transforming the coordinates of the allocation area of “USD2”. It is generated by assigning an image to an assignment area determined by the coordinates. In the template file, one section corresponding to each paper size may be described one by one, or only one section common to all paper sizes may be described. In addition, the above sections may be described separately in a plurality of files, and a single template may be configured by a plurality of files by separately recording files describing references to those files.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a composite image formed based on a template. The hierarchical relationship of the layers to which the allocation target images including the user images are allocated is determined by the description order of the rendering commands. In the allocation area, either an image in which a reference is previously described in the template file and stored together with the template file, or a user image designated by the user is allocated. The user image is supplied by the external memory controller 70 and stored in the RAM 60. The user image may be an image read by the scan unit 2.

  For example, the image “¥ template image ¥ star ¥ star.eff” determined in advance by the template has coordinates (X11, Y11) ”and“ (X12, Y12) ”on the printing paper indicated by the allocation area at the upper left, Allocated to a rectangular area with lower right coordinates. In addition, “photograph image 1” and “photograph image 2” designated by the user are also rectangular regions having the allocation regions “(X13, Y13)” and “(X14, Y14)” as upper left and lower right coordinates, And “(X15, Y15)” and “(X16, Y16)” are respectively assigned to rectangular areas having upper left and lower right coordinates. As a result, a composite image shown in FIG. 7B is formed. Reference to “photo image 1” and “photo image 2” refers to an image file stored in the removable memory 24 by the user in association with “user specification 01” and “user specification 02” described in the template file 90. Set by specifying.

8 and 9 are transition diagrams of a screen for accepting a setting operation for printing a composite image, and FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing.
When the control unit 58 receives the composite print instruction and determines that the memory storing the image file and the template file is prepared, the control unit 58 starts the process of FIG. For example, when “composite printing” is selected by operating various buttons on the mode selection screen 100, a memory card is selected on the document type selection screen 102, and the user determines that the removable memory 24 has been inserted into the card slot, the control unit 58 performs the UI processing shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 58 receives a template selection (step S100). For example, the control unit 58 displays the template selection screen 104 on the LCD 10. On the template selection screen 104, the thumbnail images 150 of the templates stored in the removable memory 24 are sequentially displayed when the right button 143 or the left button 144 is pressed. When the “OK” button 15 is pressed, the control unit 58 sets a template corresponding to the thumbnail image 150 being displayed on the template selection screen 104 as a template to be used for printing, and stores the template file in the RAM 60.

  Next, the control unit 58 accepts selection of a user image to be printed using the template (step S102). For example, the control unit 58 accesses an image file stored in the removable memory 24 and displays the image file on the image selection screen 106. The image 152 displayed on the image selection screen 106 may be a thumbnail image stored in an image file or a main image. Further, the main image may be displayed after displaying the thumbnail image. When the right button 143 or the left button 144 is pressed, the control unit 58 sequentially displays the image files stored in the removable memory 24 based on the image file management list. When the “OK” button 15 is pressed, the control unit 58 sets an image stored in the image file being displayed on the image selection screen 106 as a user image. This image file corresponds to the print target file recited in the claims, and the user image corresponds to the print target image recited in the claims. Specifically, reference to the selected image file is described in a template drawing command. If the template used for printing includes a plurality of user image allocation areas, the control unit 58 allows the user to select image files corresponding to the number of user image allocation areas.

  Next, the control unit 58 starts generating a preview image (step S104). The preview image is generated by the control unit 58 executing the preview image generation process shown in FIG. The preview image generation process is executed in parallel with the UI process by multitasking when the user image is set in step S102 described above. In this way, by starting the generation of the preview image before the user is instructed to display the preview screen 112, the waiting time until the preview image 154 is displayed after the display of the preview screen 112 is instructed is shortened. can do.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the preview image generation program.
First, the control unit 58 reads the main image of the print target file selected in step S102 (step S200). Specifically, the control unit 58 accesses a specific image file stored in the removable memory 24 using the reference described in the drawing command, and reads the main image stored in the image file into the RAM 60. . At this time, if the main image is in JPEG format, the control unit 58 develops the main image into an RGB image of 1/8 resolution by decoding the DC component for each block of 8 × 8 pixels and stores it in the RAM 60. May be. By generating a preview image based on the main image, a high-quality preview image can be generated as compared with the case where the preview image is generated based on the thumbnail image.

Next, the control unit 58 converts the template allocation area according to the display area (step S202). Specifically, for example, the control unit 58 linearly converts each layout area so that the layout area of the layout target image of the template used for printing matches the display area of the preview image 154 on the preview screen 112. A preview drawing command may be described in the template.
Next, the control unit 58 reduces the allocation target image including the print target image in accordance with the allocation area (step S204).

  Next, the control unit 58 adjusts the image quality of the print target image (step S206). Specifically, for example, as in the case where sepia tone is set for single hue conversion, image quality adjustment is performed based on printing conditions in which the impression of the preview image 154 displayed on the LCD 10 is clearly changed by image quality adjustment. When printing conditions such as brightness correction and sharpness correction that do not change much in the preview image 154 are set, it is not necessary to adjust the image quality according to the image quality conditions. As described above, by reducing the printing conditions to be reflected in the image quality adjustment, a large amount of resources are not consumed for the image quality adjustment, so that the waiting time for displaying the preview image can be further shortened.

Next, the control unit 58 allocates the print target image to the allocation area and generates a preview image (step S208). Specifically, the print target image is allocated to the allocation area set in step S202, and a preview image is generated.
In the preview image generation process described above, a process that requires a lot of processing time, such as image reduction, image quality adjustment, and assignment, is executed. Therefore, a lot of time is required from the start to the end. In such a case, if the generation of the preview image is started after the preview display instruction is given, the response time becomes longer. In this embodiment, the apparent response time is shortened by starting generation of a preview image before accepting a preview display instruction.

  After starting the generation of the preview image, the control unit 58 displays the screen 110 immediately before printing on the LCD 10 without waiting for the completion of the generation of the preview image (step S106). A part of printing conditions is displayed on the screen 110 just before printing. Specifically, for example, the control unit 58 displays the number of copies to be printed, the type of printing paper, and the paper size on the screen and guides the user, and also displays a thumbnail image 156 of the template to guide the printing conditions regarding the layout to the user. The thumbnail image 158 of the image to be printed is displayed to guide the user to the image to be printed using the template. In this way, by displaying a plurality of print conditions set on a plurality of screens together on the screen 110 just before printing that accepts a print start instruction, it is possible to reliably prevent mistakes in setting the print conditions.

In step S108, the control unit 58 receives a print start instruction, a preview display instruction, and a print condition resetting instruction. Specifically, for example, the control unit 58 receives a preview display instruction when the “OK” button 15 is pressed, receives a print condition resetting instruction when the “print setting” button 12 is pressed, and presses the “print” button 16. A print start instruction is accepted.
When receiving the print condition resetting instruction, the control unit 58 displays the print setting screen 114 on the LCD 10 (step S114). For example, the control unit 58 includes the paper type 131, the paper size 132, the resolution 133, and the single hue conversion 134. The print setting screen 114 for guiding the user to the currently set printing conditions such as the brightness correction 135 and the contrast correction 136 is displayed on the LCD 10, and an item selection instruction for the printing conditions is given by operating the upper button 141 and the lower button 142. The print condition change instruction is accepted by operating the right button 143 and the left button 144, and the print condition confirmation instruction is accepted by pressing the “OK” button 15. When accepting the confirmation instruction, the control unit 58 resets the printing conditions according to the change instruction, and starts generating a preview image based on the reset printing conditions (step S104).

When receiving the preview display instruction, the control unit 58 displays the preview image 154 (step S110). At this time, if the generation of the preview image is completed while the screen 110 just before printing is displayed, the preview image 154 is displayed on the screen of the LCD 10 almost simultaneously with the reception of the preview display instruction. If the generation of the preview image is not completed while the screen 110 just before printing is displayed, the preview image 154 is displayed on the screen of the LCD 10 immediately after the generation of the preview image is completed. Even when the generation of the preview image 154 is not completed during the display of the screen 110 immediately before printing, the generation of the preview image 154 is in progress while the screen 110 immediately before printing is displayed. The waiting time until the preview image 154 is displayed is short.
In step S112, the control unit 58 accepts a screen display instruction just before printing and a print start instruction. Specifically, for example, the control unit 58 accepts an instruction to display a screen immediately before printing when the “return” button 13 is pressed, and accepts a print start instruction when the “print” button 16 is pressed.

When the screen display instruction just before printing is received, the control unit 58 displays the screen 110 just before printing on the LCD 10 (step S106).
When the print start instruction is accepted, the control unit 58 executes printing (step S116).
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process.
The control unit 58 refers to the template file of the template used for printing stored in the RAM 60, and generates a printing template corresponding to the paper size of the printing conditions (step S160). Specifically, by referring to the index data of the template file, the section corresponding to the paper size set in the printing conditions is referenced, and if it differs from the standard paper size as described above, the drawing area is specified. Convert the coordinates to be linear.

Next, the control unit 58 adjusts the image quality of the print target image (step S162). In this image quality adjustment, all the printing conditions set for the image quality adjustment are reflected.
Next, the control unit 58 allocates the print target image whose image quality has been adjusted to the allocation area, and generates a composite image (step S164).
Next, the control unit 58 performs print separation processing (step S166), binarization processing (step S168), and interlace processing (step S170) on the image data to generate print data, and the print data is sent to the print head. 84 (step S172).

  In the embodiment described above, the preview image display process when a composite image is printed is described as an example. However, the present invention is effective in various aspects having many processes for generating a preview image. For example, in label printing of a compact disc, an image to be printed is trimmed in an annular shape according to an annular printing area. Even in such a case, since a lot of processing is required to generate the preview image, it is desirable that the print control apparatus starts generating the preview image before receiving the preview image display instruction.

  In the present embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 1 has been described as an example of the print control apparatus. However, the present invention can be applied to a stand-alone printer or a PC (personal computer) that can be connected to a removable memory. Further, the MFP 1 of this embodiment forms print data by itself and outputs a print start instruction together with the print data, but outputs a print start instruction together with print conditions and an image file to be printed without forming the print data. The present invention can be applied to a digital still camera, a photo viewer, and the like.

The flowchart which concerns on one Example of this invention. The schematic diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The block diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The schematic diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The block diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The schematic diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The schematic diagram which concerns on one Example of this invention. The screen transition figure concerning one Example of this invention. The screen transition figure concerning one Example of this invention. The flowchart which concerns on one Example of this invention. The flowchart which concerns on one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: MFP (print control system), 10: LCD (preview preparation means, preview display means, resetting means), 68: operation unit (preview display means, print start means, resetting means), 200: UI module ( Preview preparation means, preview display means, print start means, resetting means), 206: image quality adjustment module (preview preparation means), 208: layout module (preview preparation means)

Claims (7)

When the printing conditions are set, preview preparation means for starting generation of a preview image according to the set printing conditions and displaying a screen immediately before printing that guides at least a part of the set printing conditions;
Preview display means for receiving a preview display instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and displaying the preview image on the screen in accordance with the preview display instruction;
Print start means for receiving a print start instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction;
A printing control apparatus comprising:   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preview preparation unit generates the preview image by assigning a plurality of print target images determined by the printing conditions to an area determined by the printing conditions.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preview display unit generates the preview image based on a main image stored in a print target file determined by the printing condition.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preview preparation unit generates the preview image without reflecting a part of the printing conditions. The print control apparatus further includes a resetting unit that receives a reset instruction for the print condition in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and resets the print condition in response to the reset instruction.
The preview preparation unit, when the printing condition is reset, starts generating the preview image according to the reset printing condition and displays the screen immediately before printing. The printing control apparatus as described in any one of 1-4. When printing conditions are set, starting generation of a preview image according to the set printing conditions and displaying a screen immediately before printing that guides at least a part of the set printing conditions;
Receiving a preview display instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and displaying the preview image on the screen according to the preview display instruction;
Receiving a print start instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and outputting a print start request according to the print start instruction;
A printing control method comprising: When the printing conditions are set, preview preparation means for starting generation of a preview image according to the set printing conditions and displaying a screen immediately before printing that guides at least a part of the set printing conditions;
Preview display means for receiving a preview display instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and displaying the preview image on the screen in accordance with the preview display instruction;
Print start means for receiving a print start instruction in a state where the screen immediately before printing is displayed, and outputting a print start request in response to the print start instruction;
A print control program for causing a computer to function.

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