JP2006326846A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print a printing manuscript by a better image quality in a printer equipped with a plurality of printing units. <P>SOLUTION: Each printing unit is made to print a test chart (S10). The printed results are read (S12). The printing unit suitable for printing of characters and the like, and the printing unit suitable for printing of photographs and the like are judged by analyzing the read results (S14). When printing manuscript data are to be printed, an area of character regions and an area of photograph regions are obtained by analyzing the data. The printing unit judged as suitable for either one with a larger area of the characters and photographs is made to print the printing manuscript data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that includes a plurality of print engines and causes the print engines to sort and print print jobs.

  For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a printing apparatus is known in which a plurality of print engines are mounted in one housing. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which print engines are arranged in a tandem configuration in order to obtain high speed and various paper conveyance properties. As described above, in a printing apparatus including a plurality of print engines, one print job is often distributed to the plurality of print engines for printing. Patent Document 3 discloses that in a printing system in which a plurality of printers are connected, printing is performed by automatically selecting a printer having an ink amount necessary for printing.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,285 JP-A-9-127739 JP 2002-096485 A

  However, both of the conventional apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are intended to realize various types of paper conveyance and high-speed printing, and realize high print quality according to the properties of the original image to be printed. That wasn't always enough. Patent Document 3 only considers whether or not a print job can be printed, and lacks the viewpoint of printing a document image with high print quality.

  A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of print engines, a reading unit that reads a print result of each print engine, and causes each print engine to print a predetermined test chart, and the print result of each print engine is read by each reading unit. Based on the read image, a test control unit that determines which print engine is suitable for printing of a plurality of predetermined image types, and a determination result storage that stores a determination result of the test control unit And a print control unit that distributes print original data to a plurality of print engines and prints by selecting a distribution destination of print original data based on the determination result of the test control unit stored in the determination result storage unit A printing control unit.

  In a preferred aspect, the print control unit obtains an area of each image type area in the print document data, specifies an image type having the largest area among the image types, and prints suitable for the specified image type. An engine is selected based on the determination result stored in the determination result storage unit, and the print document data is printed on the selected print engine.

  In another preferred aspect, the print control unit has the largest remaining amount of ink or toner used for printing when the area of any image type area is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the print document data. To print the print original data.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

  The printing apparatus includes one paper feeding unit 100, two printing units 200 and 300, and one paper discharge unit 400.

  The paper feed unit 100 includes a plurality of paper feed trays (three are illustrated in the figure) 101, 102, and 103. The paper fed from each of the paper feed trays 101 to 103 is supplied to the printing unit 200 connected to the subsequent stage of the paper feed unit 100 through the paper feed conveyance path 105.

  The two printing units 200 and 300 include electrophotographic print engines 201 and 301 for full-color printing, respectively.

  In this example, the print engines 201 and 301 have a configuration in which four color developing units 203 and 303 of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) are arranged in tandem (columns). Yes. Each of these four-color developing sections 203 and 303 forms a toner image of each color by electrophotography, and these four-color toner images are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belts 205 and 305, respectively. A full color toner image is formed. The full-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belts 205 and 305 are transferred to the paper by the transfer units 207 and 307. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is sent to the fixing units 209 and 309, where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. In the case of performing double-sided printing, after fixing the front surface, the fixed paper is once sent to the switchback paths 214 and 314, and then conveyed in the reverse direction to carry the reverse conveying paths 216 and 316. The paper is reversed by introducing the paper to the transfer unit 207, 307 and the back side is printed.

  The two printing units 200 and 300 are connected in tandem. That is, the printing unit 200 receives paper from the paper supply unit 100, and the printing unit 300 receives paper discharged from the printing unit 200. Then, the paper discharged from the printing unit 300 is introduced into the paper discharge unit 400 and discharged to the paper discharge stacker 401 through the paper discharge transport path 405. Hereinafter, for identification, the upstream printing unit 200 in the tandem arrangement as viewed from the paper feeding unit side is referred to as A unit, and the downstream printing unit 300 is referred to as B unit.

  The configuration of both the A and B units (200 and 300) will be described in detail as follows.

  That is, the A unit accepts a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding conveyance path 105 of the sheet feeding unit 100, and when printing on the sheet by the A unit, the sheet 210 conveys the sheet conveyance path by the print engine 201. To the transport path 212 toward As a result, the sheet is introduced into the print engine 201, the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 207, and the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 209. When performing double-sided printing on the paper, the paper for double-sided printing is transported as described above, and the back side is printed. In this way, the paper on which printing has been completed is sent to the B unit through the paper discharge transport path 217. The above is the case where the A unit performs printing on the paper supplied from the paper feeding unit 100. However, when printing is not performed on the paper using the A unit, the paper passes by switching the gate 210. Is sent to the transport path 215, and further to the B unit through the transport path 217 for paper discharge.

  Although the operation of the A unit has been described above, the operation of the B unit is the same. That is, when printing is performed on the paper supplied from the A unit by the B unit, the paper is sent to the transport path 312 toward the print engine 301 by switching the gate 310, and after the image is printed, the paper discharge unit. It is discharged to 400. Further, when printing is not performed in the B unit, the sheet is similarly discharged by the switching of the gate 310 to the paper discharge unit 400 through the passing conveyance path 315.

  In the illustrated example, the paper discharge unit 400 is provided with a print result reading unit 410. The print result reading unit 410 is provided on the upstream side of the paper discharge tray 401 (and the branch point to the subsequent unit) on the paper discharge transport path 405 of the paper discharge unit 400. The print result reading unit 410 includes, for example, a color image reading device such as a line sensor or a two-dimensional area sensor, an illumination light source for reading the image, and an optical system. In a preferred example, the printing result reading unit 410 includes a line sensor, which is arranged so as to cross the paper discharge transport path 405, and when printed paper is transported on the transport path 405. By repeatedly reading with the line sensor, a two-dimensional image of the surface of the paper can be obtained. In one application example, it is possible to determine whether printing has been performed correctly by comparing the image read by the print result reading unit 410 with the image data of the printed document. In the present embodiment, the print result reading unit 410 is used for reading a test chart for determining the suitability of the printing units 200 and 300 (details will be described later).

  Further, depending on the configuration of the printing apparatus, a post-processing unit that performs post-processing such as stapling and punching may be provided. In such a case, the post-processing unit can be provided after the paper discharge unit 400. .

  The A unit control unit 220 and the B unit control unit 320 are responsible for the control of paper conveyance and printing in both the A and B units as described above. These control units 220 and 320 and control units (not shown) of the paper supply unit 100 and the paper discharge unit 400 control the respective units in the respective units according to instructions from the system control unit 500 that controls the entire printing apparatus. Thus, integrated operation control is realized as a whole printing apparatus.

  The printing apparatus described above can be regarded as a configuration in which the print engines 201 and 301 are connected to a series of paper conveyance paths including the conveyance paths 105, 215, 315, and 405, that is, the conveyance paths 105 and 215. , 315, and 405 are a common sheet conveyance path for the two print engines 201 and 301.

  The printing apparatus of FIG. 1 has two printing units 200 (A unit) and 300 (B unit), so that a high-speed printing operation is possible.

  That is, in this printing apparatus, printing is performed by alternately supplying sheets supplied from the sheet feeding unit 100 to the A unit and the B unit for each sheet. That is, the individual sheets are printed only in one of the units A and B, and the other unit passes through the passing conveyance path 215 or 315 (that is, passes through that unit without printing). In the sheet conveyance paths 105 and 405 common to both units (all sheets pass through this path), the sheet conveyance paths 212, 214, 216, 312, 314, and 316 in the individual print engines 201 and 301 are doubled. Convey paper at a speed of. As a result, the entire printing apparatus can perform printing at twice the printing speed of the individual print engines 201 and 301. Similarly, the paper may be transported at the double speed (or higher speed) in the passing transport paths 215 and 315.

  The high-speed printing operation described above is one of the operation modes of this printing apparatus. In addition to this, this printing apparatus has a quality-oriented mode for neatly printing the print document data that is the object of printing. The quality-oriented mode can be instructed from the operation panel of the printing apparatus or the user interface screen of the printer driver for the printing apparatus installed in the client apparatus. Hereinafter, the print processing procedure in the quality-oriented mode will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the printability of the print engines 201 and 301 of the printing units 200 and 300 is determined as preprocessing for the quality-oriented mode. The print aptitude here refers to the print aptitude for image types such as characters, line drawings (graphics), photographs, and continuous tone images. In other words, it is important that the print density is high and the edges are clearly printed in order for characters and line drawings (graphics) to appear beautiful, whereas continuous tone images such as photographs have good density gradation reproduction. It is important that

  Here, since the printing units 200 and 300 are manufactured as the same hardware, the performance is similar, but there is still a certain difference in the characteristics of both due to individual differences and characteristic changes due to aging. There is. In this embodiment, paying attention to such a difference in characteristics, control is performed so that a document image to be printed is printed on a printing unit capable of printing with higher quality.

  In order to realize printing in such a quality-oriented printing mode, in the present embodiment, preparation processing as shown in FIG. 2 is executed in order to determine print suitability for each image type of the printing units 200 and 300.

  In this process, first, the system control unit 500 causes each printing unit 200 and 300 to print a predetermined test chart (S10). An example of the test chart used here is shown in FIG.

  The test chart 10 shown in FIG. 3 includes a character / line drawing suitability inspection line 12 and a gradation inspection patch group 14.

  The character / line image suitability inspection line 12 is a chart for determining whether or not there is suitability for printing of a character / line image, and is a single line having a width of about 2 dots of 600 dpi (inches per dot), for example. The 600 dpi 2-dot wide line is the thinnest line that can be printed without interruption in the printing unit. This line width may be appropriately determined according to the printing resolution of the target printing unit. Further, the line 12 is a line extending in parallel with the paper conveyance direction in the printing result reading unit 410. When a sheet conveyed on the conveyance path is read by a line sensor 412 in which photodetectors are arranged perpendicular to the conveyance direction, the resolution in the arrangement direction of the photodetectors is generally higher than the resolution in the conveyance direction. . In view of such a tendency, the line 12 is set in the direction so that it can be read at a higher resolution. In the inspection, suitability for the character / line drawing is determined by checking the density of the printed line 12 and the presence / absence and number of interruptions (line breaks). It is determined that the higher the density of the line 12 and the fewer interruptions, the higher the suitability for characters and line drawings.

  On the other hand, the tone inspection patch group 14 is a group in which patches 15 having a plurality of levels of density are arranged for each color of K, C, M, and Y. As such a patch group, a patch group similar to that used for gradation reproduction maintenance control of an electrophotographic printer may be used. In the inspection, the density of each printed patch is read, and the closer the proportionality between the print density and the read density, the better the gradation reproducibility, and the higher the suitability for printing a photographic / continuous tone image.

  Note that the test chart illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example. For example, as a chart for determining suitability for characters and line drawings, instead of the above-mentioned line 12, a plurality of patches such as stripes having different spatial frequencies are arranged, and the printing result of each unit is read. It may be possible to automatically measure up to which spatial frequency a patch can be resolved in an image. The higher the spatial frequency that can be resolved, the higher the suitability for text and line drawings.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the charts for characters / line drawings and photographs / continuous-tone images are printed on one page, but it is of course possible to print the charts for each image type on separate pages. .

  Also, if one is more important than the other, such as when the print quality of text and line drawings is more important than the print quality of photographs and continuous-tone images, in order to investigate the suitability of that important image type Only the test chart may be printed. In this case, it is only necessary to determine that the printing unit with the poor print quality of the chart for the important image type is suitable for printing the other image type.

  When the A unit 200 and the B unit 300 print test charts in this way, the system control unit 500 then reads the print results of the units 200 and 300 by the print result reading unit 410 upstream of the paper discharge tray. (S12).

  The above printing and reading processes can be performed, for example, by first feeding the A unit 200 to print a test chart, reading the print result, and then feeding the B unit 300 to perform the same process. Good.

  Next, the system control unit 500, based on the images obtained by reading the printing results of the printing units 200 and 300, each of two types of image types, that is, in this example, a character / line drawing and a photo / continuous tone image, respectively. On the other hand, it is determined which of the printing units 200 and 300 is suitable (S14). For example, when the test chart illustrated in FIG. 3 is used, it is determined that the unit 200 or 300 having good print quality of the character / line drawing suitability inspection line 12 is suitable for printing of characters / line drawings, and the gradation inspection patch. A group 14 having a good print result (that is, a density gradation close to linear) is determined to be suitable for a photograph / continuous tone image. In S16, the determination result is stored in a predetermined storage unit.

  In the above determination processing, it may be determined that the same printing unit is highly suitable for both character / line image printing and photo / continuous tone image printing. Of course, such a determination may be made. However, intensive use of only one printing unit is not preferable because the degree of deterioration with time of both units differs. Also, since both units originally have the same hardware configuration, there is no significant difference in print quality. Taking this into consideration, for example, the assignment of each printing unit can be adjusted as follows. In other words, if it is determined that one printing unit is highly suitable for both characters / line drawings and photographs / continuous-tone images, the suitability of the other printing unit for each of characters / line drawings and photographs / continuous-tone images is determined. A difference in degree is obtained, and for the image type with the smaller difference, the other printing unit is determined as being suitable.

  The preparation process for the quality-oriented mode has been described above. This preparatory process may be automatically executed periodically such as at a predetermined time every day (for example, the start time) or the same time every week (for example, the start day of the week), or the printer is turned on. It may be automatically executed when a predetermined operation is performed, such as when it is performed. Alternatively, it may be executed every time the printing unit prints a predetermined number of sheets such as 1,000 sheets. Of course, it is possible to instruct execution of the preparation process from the user interface of the printing apparatus.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the flow of printing processing in the quality-oriented mode will be described. The print control described below may be performed for one page of print original image data or may be performed for the entire print original image data for a plurality of pages constituting one job.

  In this procedure, first, the system control unit 500 acquires print document data (S20). The print original data may be acquired from the host computer as expressed in a page description language or the like, or may be acquired as bitmap image data by reading a paper original with a scanner or the like (not shown). Next, character / photo separation processing is performed on the print original data (S21). The character / photo separation process is a process for extracting a character / line drawing area (referred to as a character area) and a photograph / continuous tone image area (referred to as a photo area) from a printed document. For example, if the print manuscript data is described in a page description language, when interpreting and rendering the page description language data, the operator describing each graphic object determines whether the object is a character / line drawing. Whether a photograph or continuous tone image can be discriminated. Also, when the print document data is given in the form of a bitmap image, a known character / photo separation process (also referred to as an image area separation process) is applied to the bitmap image, so that the image is classified for each image type. Can be separated into areas. Once the areas are separated in this way, the system control unit 500 next calculates the areas of the separated character area and photograph area (S22). The area of the character area is, for example, the area of a rectangular area circumscribing the area where the character string is laid out (each side is parallel to the outer edge of the paper; the same applies hereinafter) or a rectangular area circumscribing the graphic object. When there are a plurality of such areas in the print document data, the sum of the areas is obtained. Similarly, the area of the photographic area is, for example, the sum of the areas of the rectangular areas circumscribing photographs and continuous tone images existing in the print document data. Then, the ratio of the area of each area to the entire image of the printed document is obtained, and the ratio is compared with a first threshold value, and it is determined whether the area ratios of both areas are both smaller than the first threshold value ( S23). If both are small, neither the text area nor the photo area occupy a large proportion of the printed document that causes image quality problems (in other words, the first threshold value that matches such purpose is set in advance). Therefore, printing of the print original image data is executed by sorting printing by both the A and B units (S24). That is, in this case, the system control unit 500 sequentially prints each page of the print original image data to the A unit 200 and the B unit 300 for printing.

  However, while the printing system is in operation, the toner consumption of one of the A unit 200 and the B unit 300 may be significantly higher than the other. As described above, when there is a variation in the remaining amount of toner between the two units, there is a possibility that even if printing is performed using toner of the same process color, there is a difference in color reproduction due to a difference in toner charge amount or the like. In addition, if there is a difference in toner consumption between the two units, the timing for performing maintenance work such as replacement of the toner cartridge and the photosensitive drum will be different. In the situation where only one is maintained, there may be a difference in the printing characteristics of both units. Therefore, it is desirable that the toner consumption of both units be as uniform as possible. Therefore, if both the area of the character area and the photographic area are equal to or smaller than the first threshold value in S23, if there is a difference between the toner remaining amounts of both units at a predetermined value or more, the printed document image is printed on the unit with the larger toner remaining amount. It is also preferable to perform control to print data preferentially. In this case, when the difference between the remaining amounts of toner in both units is smaller than a predetermined value, the printing process can be speeded up by performing sorting printing in both units. In the above description, when there is a difference between the toner remaining amounts of both units equal to or larger than the predetermined value, printing is performed on the one with the larger remaining amount. If the determination result is affirmative (Y), the print document image data may be printed unconditionally on a printing unit with a small amount of remaining toner.

  Note that the difference in toner consumption (or toner remaining amount) between the two units may be obtained as, for example, the difference between the total toner consumptions of the four process colors of the units 200 and 300.

  If the determination result in S23 is negative (N), that is, if the area of both the character area and the photo area is equal to or larger than the first threshold, the image quality of the larger print area is improved by improving the print image quality of the larger area. Can be expected. In that case, the system control unit 500 determines that the above-described preparation process has a higher suitability for printing the image type (in this example, a character / line drawing or a photo / continuous tone image) of the larger area. The printing unit 200 or 300 is selected (S25), and the print original data is printed on the selected printing unit (S26).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the quality-oriented mode, the printing unit 200 and 300 included in the printing apparatus is caused to perform printing on a printing unit that is more suitable for printing an image of print original data. High quality printing can be performed. In addition, by periodically or occasionally printing the test chart on each printing unit 200 and 300, and automatically reading and analyzing the printing result, according to the characteristics of each printing unit 200 and 300 that changes over time, An appropriate printing unit can always be selected.

  Note that the procedure shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the comparison with the first threshold value in S23 and the accompanying sorting printing in S24 are not essential. In other words, in the quality emphasis mode, even when both the character area and the photo area are small, printing may be performed on the printing unit that is determined to be suitable for the image type having the larger area.

  Further, as a modification of the procedure of FIG. 4, a processing procedure as shown in FIG. 5 is also conceivable. In FIG. 5, steps that perform the same processing as the steps in the procedure of FIG. 4 are assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In the procedure of FIG. 5, when the user registers in advance the image type that he / she emphasizes in the printing apparatus and the area difference between the areas of each image type included in the print document data is not large, the important image type The printing unit on the side having a higher suitability for printing is caused to perform printing.

  That is, in this procedure, when it is determined in S23 that either one of the character region and the photo region has an area larger than the first threshold, the difference between the areas of the two regions is calculated, and the difference is equal to or smaller than the second threshold. Whether or not (S30). If the difference is larger than the second threshold value, the printing unit corresponding to the image type having the larger area is printed (S25, S26) as in the procedure of FIG. On the other hand, if the difference is equal to or smaller than the second threshold, the printing unit 200 or 300 corresponding to the important image type registered by the user in advance with respect to the printing apparatus is selected (S30), and the print original data is stored in this unit. Is printed (S26). The second threshold is obtained in advance by experiments or the like and registered in the system control unit 500.

  According to this procedure, if the difference in area between the areas of each image type is not large, printing is performed with a printing unit suitable for the image type emphasized by the user. Can be provided.

  In the above example, the printing process in the quality-oriented mode is executed when the user explicitly instructs. However, as a modified example, a high-speed printing mode in which printing is performed by distributing to a plurality of units is performed as the default of the printing apparatus. If the analysis processing such as S20 to S23 in FIG. 3 is performed on the print original data at the start of the print job, and the area of each image type has a large difference of a predetermined value or more, the system The control unit 500 may suggest switching to the quality-oriented mode to the user.

  In the above example, the print unit is selected in consideration of the contents of the print document data. Instead, it is also conceivable to select the print unit according to the important image type designated by the user. In this method, as in the above embodiment, a printing unit suitable for each image type is determined by a preparation process. In the quality-oriented mode printing process, an image type to be emphasized is designated by the user, and a printing unit determined to be suitable for the image type is selected for printing. The important image type may be specified from the operation panel of the printing apparatus or the user interface of the printer driver on the client apparatus.

  In the above example, the test chart used in the preparation process is registered in advance in the system control unit 500, but instead of this, a printed document that the user actually wants to print may be used as the test chart. In this case, a reduced image of the print original data is displayed on the display screen of the user interface of the printer driver on the operation panel of the printing apparatus or the client apparatus, and the user designates an area in which the image quality is important. Then, in the preparation step, the printing result of the print document by each printing unit is read, and the designated importance area is compared between the read image and the original print document data image. Then, a printing unit having a smaller difference from the original print original (for example, the sum of squares of differences of pixels in the important area) is determined to be a print unit suitable for the print original. At the time of printing, the printing unit is caused to perform printing.

  In the above description, two image types, ie, a character / line drawing and a photograph / continuous tone image are exemplified. However, the method of the present embodiment can be similarly applied when there are three or more image types.

  In addition, as described above, the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing apparatus in which a plurality of printing units are connected in tandem to improve the printing speed. The system of the present embodiment is also applicable to (shown).

  Further, although an example in which the control method of the present embodiment is applied to a printing apparatus having two printing units has been described above, this control control method can be similarly applied to an apparatus having three or more printing units.

  In the above example, a printing apparatus including a plurality of printing units has been exemplified. However, printing including a plurality of printers (each printer has a print engine) connected to a network such as a LAN and a print server. The method of the above embodiment can also be applied to the system. That is, in this case, the print server that receives the print instruction from the client device only needs to play the same role as the system control unit 500 in the above embodiment.

  In the above description, the electrophotographic system is exemplified as the print engine. However, the system of the present embodiment can be applied to an apparatus using a print engine of another system such as an ink jet system.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the printing apparatus with which the control system of this embodiment is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the suitability determination process of a printing unit. It is a figure which shows an example of the test chart for aptitude determination. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process using an aptitude determination result. It is a flowchart which shows another system of the printing process using the suitability determination result.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Paper feed unit, 200,300 Print unit, 201,301 Print engine, 203,203A, 303,303A Developing part, 400 Paper discharge unit, 500 System control part.

Claims (7)

Multiple print engines,
A reading unit for reading a print result by each print engine;
Each print engine prints a predetermined test chart, and each print engine is suitable for printing any one of a plurality of predetermined image types based on images read by the reading unit. A test control unit for determining whether the print engine is
A determination result storage unit for storing the determination result of the test control unit;
A print control unit that distributes print original data to a plurality of print engines and prints the print original data by selecting an assignment destination of the print original data based on the determination result of the test control unit stored in the determination result storage unit And
A printing apparatus comprising:   The print control unit obtains the area of each image type in the print document data, specifies the image type having the largest area among the image types, and determines the print engine suitable for the specified image type as the determination result. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a selection is made based on a determination result stored in a storage unit, and the print document data is printed by the selected print engine.   The print control unit prints the print document data on a print engine having the largest remaining amount of ink or toner used for printing when the area of any image type area is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the print document data. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:   2. The print control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the area of any image type area is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the print original data, the print control unit distributes the print original data to each print engine. The printing apparatus according to 2.   The print control unit receives an input of an image type that is important in the print document data from a user, and a print engine suitable for printing the input image type that is important is input to the determination result stored in the determination result storage unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing original data is printed on the selected print engine based on the selection.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the test chart includes a thin line for determining printability for a character / line image which is one of image types.   6. The test chart according to claim 1, wherein the test chart includes a plurality of patches having different densities in order to determine printability for a continuous tone image that is one of image types. Printing device.

Images