JP2007102266A - Image forming apparatus and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus and an information processor for easily printing a slip without making it necessary to preliminarily perform any operation such as form registration by using a generally used application. <P>SOLUTION: Background color information corresponding to print data is added to print data to be transmitted from a host device 2 to a printer 1. The printer 1 is provided with a background color/print page corresponding table 9 for making a background color correspond to a print page, and when the print data are received by a development processing 8, the print page corresponding to the background color is recognized from the background color information, and the print data corresponding to the background color information are printed on the recognized print page by a print processing part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus capable of performing printing by superimposing form data.

  Conventionally, there is a form printing in which form data is superimposed and printed. Three main tasks were required to perform form printing. That is, the first is an operation for inputting a layout of a form to be used and creating layout information called a form, and the second is registration in a printing apparatus or a dedicated application in order to make the created form usable. The third is an operation for designating the registered form and actually printing the form data.

Conventionally, a dedicated form creation tool and a registration tool are required to perform the above work, and a dedicated application is often required for printing. As a conventional example using a dedicated form creation tool, for example, JP-A-10-307817 can be cited.
JP-A-10-307817

  However, the conventional form printing method has a problem that even if it is desired to print a small number of forms, form data must be registered in advance if the form sheet has a new layout.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus that can easily perform form printing without requiring work such as form registration in advance.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that prints print data received from a host device, and includes print data having a plurality of print items on a print page and background information set for each item. With reference to the receiving unit for receiving, the background information corresponding to the background information and the print page-print page correspondence table, and the background information-print page correspondence table, the print data corresponding to the background information is used as the background information. A development processing unit that processes the print data corresponding to one or a plurality of pages, and a printing unit that prints the print data processed by the development processing unit on one or a plurality of pages corresponding to the background information. To do.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that prints print data received from a host device, print data having a plurality of print items in a print page and page designation information for designating a print page is set in each item. A receiving unit for receiving, an editing processing unit for analyzing the page designation information and linking print data corresponding to the page designation information to one or a plurality of print pages designated by the page designation information; and the editing process A print unit that prints the print data linked by the copy on one or a plurality of print pages designated by the page designation information.

  Still another invention relates to background information-printing in which background information is associated with a print page in an information processing apparatus that converts print data into a data format that can be processed by the image forming apparatus and transmits the converted data to the image forming apparatus. One or a plurality of pages corresponding to the background information, the print data corresponding to the background information, with respect to the page correspondence table and print data having a plurality of print items in the print page and background information set in each item The image processing apparatus includes an edit processing unit that edits the print data, and a print data transmission unit that transmits the print data edited by the edit processing unit to the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, background information in which a print page has a plurality of print items and the background information is set for each item is associated with the background information and the print page. Referring to the table and the background information-printed page correspondence table, the expansion processing unit that processes the print data corresponding to the background information as one or a plurality of pages of print data corresponding to the background information, and the expansion processing unit By providing a printing unit that prints print data on one or more pages corresponding to background information, form data need not be registered in advance, and form printing can be performed.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the drawings are given the same reference numerals. In the embodiment described below, a printing apparatus connected to a host apparatus as an image forming apparatus will be described as an example. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a printing apparatus (printer) 1 is connected to a host computer 2 as a host apparatus. The host computer 2 is provided with an application 3 and a printer driver 4. When a print instruction is issued from the application 3, the application data is converted into a language (print data) unique to the printer 1 by the printer driver 4 and transmitted to the printer 1.

  The printer 1 includes a receiving device / decoding processing unit 5, an editing processing unit 6, an intermediate code storage unit 7, a development processing unit 8, a background color-print page correspondence table 9, an intermediate code storage unit 10, and a print processing unit 11. It has been. The receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 2 and further performs command analysis based on the language unique to the printer 1. The analysis result is sent to the edit processing unit 6.

  The edit processing unit 6 generates an intermediate code from each sent command and stores it in the intermediate code storage unit 7. The expansion processing unit 8 receives the intermediate code from the intermediate code storage unit 7 and generates printable raster data. Here, the expansion processing unit 8 stores the intermediate code that is no longer necessary after the raster data generation in the intermediate code storage unit 10 without discarding the intermediate code corresponding to the background color-printed page correspondence table 9 as will be described later. To do. The print processing unit 11 receives printable raster data from the development processing unit 8 and performs printing.

  The background color-printed page correspondence table 9 associates a print page with a background color set in print data. As a background color, a spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel (registered trademark), which is commonly used as a background color, is used. The default color palette is assumed, and the number of pages to be printed is set to a value determined in advance for the case of form printing. FIG. 2 shows an example of the background color-printed page correspondence table 9.

  In FIG. 2, for example, when the background color is specified as “light blue”, it means that printing is performed on the current page, the next (+1) page, and the next (+2) page, and the current page. When printing on the next (+1) page, the background color should be specified as “lavender”. Similarly, when printing on the current page and the next (+2) page, the background color should be “Pale”. You can specify “Blue”. In addition, the background color is designated as “25% gray” for portions that do not need to be printed.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of application data. In FIG. 3, the application data is assumed to be a courier invoice, and the form sheet 20 has three sheets. All items are printed on the first sheet. On the second sheet, all items other than the item 21 scheduled to be delivered are printed, and on the third sheet, all items except the items 22, 23 and 24 of the insurance amount, various charges and fares are printed. Shall.

  Therefore, when designating the background color, the items (printer name 25, address 26, product name 27, number 28 and weight 29) to be printed on all three sheets are designated as “light blue” and scheduled delivery date. For the item 21, the background color is designated as “Pale Blue”, and for the items 22, 23, and 24 of the insurance amount, fees and fares, the background color may be designated as “Lavender”. In addition, the background color other than the above items that does not need to be printed is designated as “25% gray”.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. Here, the operation of the expansion processing unit 8 of the printer 1 will be mainly described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the expansion processing unit. In the first embodiment, when printing a form, the form printing mode is set. The form printing mode may be set from the menu of the printer 1 or may be notified from the host computer 2 as a mode designation command.

  When print data is transmitted from the host computer 2 to the printer 1, the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives the print data transmitted from the host computer 2 and performs command analysis based on the language unique to the printer 1. . The analysis result is sent to the edit processing unit 6. The edit processing unit 6 generates an intermediate code from each sent command and stores it in the intermediate code storage unit 7.

  When the expansion processing unit 8 receives the intermediate code from the intermediate code storage unit 7, it determines whether or not it is the form printing mode (step S1). If it is determined that the form mode is not selected, the background color designation command included in the intermediate code is used in its original meaning, and normal development processing is performed (step S2). When it is determined that the form printing mode is selected, the background color designation command included in the intermediate code is treated as a print page designation command, and the background color is treated as transparent (white).

  Next, it is determined whether the instruction to be executed in the intermediate code is a drawing instruction (step S3). If it is determined that it is not a drawing command, normal expansion processing is performed (step S2). If it is determined that the command is a drawing command, the process proceeds to the next step S4.

  Next, the expansion processing unit 8 determines whether the background color is expanded (step S4). If the image is not expanded, that is, if it is determined to be transparent (white), normal expansion processing is performed (step S2). If it is determined that the background color is expanded, the process proceeds to step S5. Here, a method for determining whether or not the background color is developed will be described. FIG. 5 is a data block diagram for explaining a background color presence / absence determination method.

  In FIG. 5, the same print data 31 has both a print raster data expansion buffer 32 and a background color determination buffer 33. In the case of the form print mode, the execution result of the drawing command is displayed in both buffers. 32 and 33 so that only the background color painting command is not reflected in the print raster data expansion buffer 32. Then, it is determined whether or not the background color is developed depending on whether or not the background color filling command is reflected in the background color determination buffer 33. If the background color does not correspond to any of the background colors in the background color-print page correspondence table 9, the background color painting command is also reflected in the print raster data expansion buffer 32.

  As described above, in the form print mode, the background color can be determined by confirming the contents of the background color determination buffer 33, and the background corresponding to one of the background colors in the background color-printed page correspondence table 9 can be determined. When colors are used, the background color of the printing raster data is fixed to transparent (white).

  Next, it is determined whether the background color acquired from the background color determination buffer 33 corresponds to any of the background colors in the background color-print page correspondence table 9 (step S5). If not applicable, the unfolding process is performed as usual with the background color (step S2).

  If it is determined that the background color corresponds to the background color of the print page correspondence table 9, the print page information is acquired from the background color / print page correspondence table 9. First, it is confirmed whether or not “print on current page” is set as print page information (step S6). If set, a drawing command is executed to generate printable raster data (step S7). If it is not set, do nothing and go to the next step.

  Next, it is confirmed whether or not “print after the next (+1) page” is set in the print page information (step S8). If it is set, an intermediate code is generated so that the drawing command can be executed again after the next page (step S9). This intermediate code is used as an initial value when the edit processing unit 6 starts processing on and after the next page, and is stored in the intermediate code storage unit 10. If “print after the next (+1) page” is not set, the intermediate code that has been processed is discarded (step S10), and the process ends.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the application data shown in FIG. 3 (this is data for only one page) is printed in the form print mode. 6A shows the printing result of the first page, FIG. 6B shows the printing result of the second page, and FIG. 6C shows the printing result of the third page. The part that is filled with the background color specified in the application data has the meaning of specifying the print page in the form print mode, and what originally was only one page of data can be used as data for multiple pages, As shown in FIG. 6, the paper is also printed on a carbon copy form.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is not necessary to register form data in advance, and a form can be printed only with a general application without using a form creation / registration tool or a dedicated application. Become. In addition, what is conventionally called a form and the actual print data (data printed on each item in the form, such as destination and phone number) can be saved in one file, so it is highly portable Printing apparatus can be provided. Further, an impact printer has been conventionally used as a form printing printer. However, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to print with a non-impact printer.

  In the first embodiment, the background color is used to specify the print page. However, for example, the print page may be specified using the background pattern.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the printing system according to the second embodiment includes a printing apparatus (printer) 41 and a host computer 42. In addition to the application 3 and printer driver 4, a setting tool 43 operates on the host computer 42. When a print instruction is issued from the application 3, the application data is converted into a language (print data) unique to the printer 41 by the printer driver 4 and transmitted to the printer 41.

  As in the first embodiment, the printer 41 includes a receiving device / decoding processing unit 5, an editing processing unit 6, an intermediate code storage unit 7, a development processing unit 8, a background color-printed page correspondence table 9, an intermediate code. A storage unit 10 and a print processing unit 11 are provided. The receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives print data from the host computer 42 via the printer driver 4 and also receives setting data from the setting tool 43.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the setting tool. In FIG. 8, a background color combo box 44 designates a background color to be used in application data, and a combo box in which “print on current page” is written as to which page is to be printed with respect to the background color. By selecting at 45 and clicking the add button 46 on the right side, the setting is added to the print page information column 47 on the lower side.

  If a background color is desired to be designated as a result of form printing, it is designated by a combo box 48 for the print color. If the same color as the background color combo box 44 is designated here, the background color used in the application data is equal to the background color actually printed.

  When the above setting is completed and the setting for one background color is completed, by clicking the “Add >>” button 49 at the bottom of the window, the setting value becomes the background color setting No. 1 and the next background color No. 2 can be set.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the expansion processing unit according to the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, when printing a form, the form printing mode is set. When print data is transmitted from the host computer 42 to the printer 41, the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives the print data transmitted from the host computer 2 and performs command analysis based on the language unique to the printer 1. . The analysis result is sent to the edit processing unit 6. The edit processing unit 6 generates an intermediate code from each sent command and stores it in the intermediate code storage unit 7. In addition, when receiving the setting data from the setting tool 43, the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 transmits the setting data to the background color / print page correspondence table 9.

  When the expansion processing unit 8 receives the intermediate code from the intermediate code storage unit 7, the expansion processing unit 8 determines whether it is the form printing mode (step S11). When it is determined that the form mode is not selected, the background color designation command included in the intermediate code is used in its original meaning, and a normal expansion process is performed (step S12). When it is determined that the form printing mode is selected, the background color designation command included in the intermediate code is handled as a print page designation command, and the background color is also designated.

  Next, it is determined whether the instruction to be executed in the intermediate code is a drawing instruction (step S13). If it is determined that it is not a drawing command, normal expansion processing is performed (step S12). If it is determined that the command is a drawing command, the process proceeds to the next step S14.

  Next, the expansion processing unit 8 determines whether the background color is expanded (step S14). The background color determination method is as described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment. If the background color is not developed, normal development processing is performed (step S12). If it is determined that the background color has been developed, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not the background color acquired from the background color determination buffer 33 corresponds to any one of the background colors in the background color-print page correspondence table 9. If not applicable, the unfolding process is performed as a background color fill as usual (step S12).

  If it is determined that the background color corresponds to the background color of the print page correspondence table 9, print color information is acquired from the background color-print page correspondence table 9 (step S16). By acquiring the print color information, the background color of the raster data becomes the color specified by the print color information. For example, if “pale blue” is designated as the background color and “beige” is designated as the print color, it is recognized in step S15 that a background color designation command of “pale blue” is included in the intermediate code. Then, the background color of the raster data that is actually printed becomes beige.

  This is an example of the background color determination method shown in FIG. 5. In the case of the form print mode, the execution result of the drawing command is reflected in both the print raster data development buffer 32 and the background color determination buffer 33. When the background color fill command is an operation to prevent only the background color fill command from being reflected in the print raster data expansion buffer 32, the background color determination buffer 33 is filled with the background color. This is realized by reflecting the result of painting with the print color in the print raster data development buffer 32.

  Next, it is first checked whether or not “print on current page” is set as print page information (step S17). If set, a rendering command is executed to generate printable raster data (step S18). If it is not set, do nothing and go to the next step.

  Next, it is confirmed whether or not “print after the next (+1) page” is set in the print page information (step S19). If it is set, an intermediate code is generated so that the drawing command can be executed again after the next page (step S20). This intermediate code is used as an initial value when the edit processing unit 6 starts processing on and after the next page, and is stored in the intermediate code storage unit 10. If “print after the next (+1) page” is not set, the intermediate code that has been processed is discarded (step S21), and the process ends.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects produced by the first embodiment, the following effects are obtained. That is, first, the user can freely set the contents of the background color-printed page correspondence table 9. That is, by newly adding a processing route indicated by a one-dot chain line 50 in FIG. 7, the contents of the background color-printed page correspondence table 9 can be set using the setting tool 43 operating on the host computer 42. . Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect capable of sufficiently supporting various types of form paper.

  Second, the background color can be printed in any color. That is, by specifying the print color with the setting tool 43, the background color can be freely set, and the background color can be printed in the color desired by the user.

  Also in the second embodiment, instead of the background color, for example, a print page may be specified by specifying a background pattern.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 10, the printing system according to the third embodiment includes a printing apparatus (printer) 51 and a host computer 52. In the host computer 52, the application 53 and the printer driver 4 operate. The application 53 has a function of selecting an arbitrary range of print data and designating which page the selected range is to be printed. When a print instruction is issued from the application 53, the printer driver 4 converts the application data into a language (print data) unique to the printer 51. At this time, a print data designation command is added to the print data corresponding to an arbitrary selection range designated by the application 53 and transmitted to the printer 51.

  The printer 51 is provided with a receiving device / decode processing unit 5, an editing processing unit 54, an intermediate code storage unit 55, a development processing unit 56, and a print processing unit 11. The receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives print data from the printer driver 4 of the host computer 52 and performs command analysis based on the language unique to the printer 51. The edit processing unit 54 generates an intermediate code from the command received from the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 and stores it in the intermediate code storage unit 55.

  The intermediate code storage unit 55 stores a current page storage unit 55a that stores intermediate data of the current page, a +1 page storage unit 55b that stores intermediate data of the next page, and intermediate data of the next next page. +2 page storage 55c. The development processing unit 56 receives a code corresponding to the current page from the intermediate code, and generates printable raster data. The print processing unit 11 receives printable raster data from the development processing unit 56 and performs actual printing.

  Here, a print page designation command used in the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a print page designation command according to the third embodiment. 11A shows an example in which a print page designation command 58 is added as a prefix to the conventional print command 57. FIG. In this example, the edit processing unit 54 first receives the print page designation command 58 and knows what page the intermediate code should be generated. Thereafter, it receives one subsequent print command (57), converts that command into an intermediate code, and links it to the designated page.

  On the other hand, (b) shows an example in which a print page designation command is added in a mode to the conventional print command 59. In this case, the edit processing unit 54 first receives the print page designation start command 60, knows how many pages the intermediate code should be generated, and knows that the print designation mode has been changed. Thereafter, until the print page designation end command 61 is received, the subsequent print command group 59 is continuously received, and these print commands 59 are converted into intermediate codes and linked to the designated page.

  Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the editing processing unit according to the third embodiment. When print data is transmitted from the host computer 52 to the printer 51, the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 receives the print data transmitted from the host computer 52 and performs command analysis based on the language unique to the printer 51. . The analysis result is sent to the edit processing unit 54. The edit processing unit 54 determines the type of the received command (step S31).

  When the determination result is the print page designation command 58, the next command is acquired from the receiving device / decode processing unit 5 (step S32), converted into an intermediate code (step S33), and further designated by the print page designation command 58. The printed page is linked (step S34).

  If the determination result in step S31 is the print page designation start command 60, the print page designation mode flag is set to ON (step S35), and the page information designated by the print page designation start command 60 is designated as the designated page information. Save to the work for saving (step S36). If the determination result in step S31 is the print page designation end command 61, the print page designation mode flag is turned off (step S37).

  If the determination result in step S31 is any other command, the received command is converted into an intermediate code (step S38), and then it is determined whether the print page designation mode flag is on or off (step S39). If the page designation mode flag is on, the designated page information is acquired from the designated page information storage work (step S40). Then, the intermediate code is linked to the page specified by the acquired specified page information (step S41). If it is determined in step S39 that the print page designation mode flag is off, the intermediate code is linked to the current page (step S42).

  The intermediate code is stored in each page storage unit of the intermediate code storage unit 55 according to the linked print page. That is, the intermediate code linked to the current page is stored in the current page storage unit 55a, the intermediate data linked to the next page is stored in the +1 page storage unit 55b, and the intermediate code linked to the next next page is stored. The data is stored in the +2 page storage unit 55c.

  When the edit processing unit 54 receives a page discharge command or a page print command from the receiving device / decode processing unit 5, an intermediate code end instruction is issued for the intermediate code stored in the current page storage unit 55 a of the intermediate code storage unit 55. Is added to the expansion processing unit 56. Further, the intermediate data linked to the next page is directly relinked as the current page, and similarly, the intermediate data linked to the next next page is relinked to the next page. Further, in the case of intermediate data linked to the next page, it is relinked to the previous page.

  The expansion processing unit 56 analyzes the received intermediate code, generates raster data for printing, and continues to discard the used intermediate code until an intermediate code end instruction is recognized. The generated raster data is sent to the print processing unit 11 for printing.

  In the first and second embodiments, the meaning of specifying the background color of the printer-specific language (print data) used in conventional print data is the meaning of specifying the print page when the form print mode is on. However, in the third embodiment, the print data designation function is added by adding a new print page designation command instead of the conventional print data. Is realized.

  Therefore, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to print a form using only a general application without using a form creation / registration tool or a dedicated application without switching to a special mode called a form printing mode.

  Further, since the print page is clearly indicated by the command, the process can be separated at an earlier stage as the printing apparatus. That is, in the first and second embodiments, the background color is determined by the development process and the print page is determined. In the third embodiment, the print page is determined at the editing process stage. be able to.

  Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 13, the printing system according to the fourth embodiment includes a printing apparatus (printer) 71 and a host computer 72. On the host computer 72, an application 73 operates. When a print instruction is issued from the application 73, the printer spooler 74 is called and the drawing command from the application 73 is stored in the EMF file 75. The EMF file 75 is used as input data for the printer driver 76 and is deleted when the processing of the printer driver 76 is completed.

  The printer driver 76 is a module for analyzing a drawing command stored in the EMF file 75 and generating a corresponding print command (a command to be transmitted to the printer 71), and generates bitmap data as intermediate data. The printer driver 76 is configured to refer to the background color-printed page correspondence table 77 when analyzing the drawing command. Then, the expansion processing unit 8 in the first embodiment performs processing equivalent to that performed in the printer 1. That is, the intermediate code storage units 7 and 10 in the first embodiment correspond to the EMF file 75 and the intermediate code storage unit 78 in the present embodiment, and the print processing unit 11 in the first embodiment is the present embodiment. This corresponds to the bitmap data storage unit 79 in the form.

  When the printer driver 76 finishes analyzing all the drawing commands stored in the EMF file 75, the bitmap data generated as a result is further converted into a print command and printed to the printer 71 via the port monitor 80. Send data.

  The printer 71 includes a receiving device / decode processing unit 82, an editing / development processing unit 83, and a print processing unit 84. The receiving device / decoding processing unit 82 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 72 and performs command analysis based on a language unique to the printer 71. The editing / development processing unit 83 generates printable raster data from the analysis result. The print processing unit 84 receives raster data from the editing / development processing unit 83 and performs actual printing.

  Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the printer driver according to the fourth embodiment. When a print instruction is issued from the application 73, the printer spooler 74 is called and the drawing command from the application 73 is stored in the EMF file 75. When the printer driver 76 receives the command of the EMF file 75 via the printer spooler 74, the printer driver 76 determines whether it is the form printing mode (step S51). Also in the present embodiment, when the form printing is performed, the form printing mode is set. The form print mode is set on the print setting property screen of the printer driver 76.

  If it is determined that the form print mode is not selected, the background color designation command included in the EMF file 75 is used in its original meaning, and a normal bitmap generation process is performed (step S52). When it is determined that the form print mode is selected, the background color designation command included in the EMF file 75 is treated as a print page designation command, and the background color is treated as transparent (white).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the background color has been developed (step S53). If not developed, that is, if it is determined to be transparent (white), normal development processing is performed (step S52). If it is determined that the background color is developed, the process proceeds to step S54. Note that the method for determining whether or not the background color is developed is the method described in the first embodiment. Thereby, in the form print mode, the background color can be determined by checking the contents of the buffer corresponding to the background color determination buffer 33 shown in FIG. When the background color to be used (background color used for specifying the print page) is used, the background color of the raster data for printing is transparent (white).

  Next, it is determined whether the background color acquired from the background color determination buffer corresponding to the background color determination buffer 33 shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to one of the background colors in the background color-printed page correspondence table 77. (Step S54). If not applicable, bitmap generation processing is performed as usual with the background color (step S52).

  If it is determined that the background color corresponds to the background color of the print page correspondence table 77, the print page information is acquired from the background color / print page correspondence table 77. First, it is confirmed whether or not “print on current page” is set as print page information (step S55). If it is set, the rendering command is analyzed to generate bitmap data (step S56). If it is not set, do nothing and go to the next step.

  Next, it is confirmed whether or not “print after the next (+1) page” is set in the print page information (step S57). If set, the drawing command is stored in the intermediate code storage unit 78 so that the drawing command can be executed again after the next page (step S58). This drawing command is used in preference to the drawing command of the EMF file 75 when the printer driver 76 starts processing for the next page and subsequent pages. If “print after the next (+1) page” is not set, the drawing command that has been processed is discarded (step S59), and the process ends.

  As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the function of the form printing mode is incorporated in the printer driver 76 of the host computer 72 in addition to the effect of the first embodiment. This device can be used as it is.

  Also in the fourth embodiment, instead of the background color, for example, a print page may be specified by specifying a background pattern.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a background color-printing page correspondence table. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of application data. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an expansion | deployment process part. It is a data block diagram for demonstrating the presence / absence determination method of a background color. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of printing application data in the form printing mode. It is a block diagram which shows the printing system of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows a setting tool. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the expansion | deployment process part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the printing system of 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the print page designation | designated command in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the edit process part of 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the printing system of 4th Embodiment. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer driver according to a fourth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 41, 51, 71 Printer 2, 42, 52, 72 Host computer 8 Development processing unit 9, 77 Background color-printed page correspondence table 43 Setting tool 54 Editing processing unit 76 Printer driver

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus that prints print data received from a host device,
A receiving unit that has a plurality of print items on a print page and receives print data in which background information is set for each item;
Background information that associates background information with print pages-Print page correspondence table,
A development processing unit that refers to the background information-print page correspondence table and processes print data corresponding to the background information as one or a plurality of pages of print data corresponding to the background information;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a printing unit that prints print data processed by the development processing unit on one or more pages corresponding to the background information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background information is background color designation information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a setting unit capable of arbitrarily setting the background color designation information. In an image forming apparatus that prints print data received from a host device,
A receiving unit that has a plurality of print items on a print page and receives print data in which page specification information for specifying a print page is set for each item;
An editing processing unit that analyzes the page designation information and links print data corresponding to the page designation information to one or a plurality of print pages designated by the page designation information;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a printing unit that prints print data linked by the editing processing unit on one or a plurality of print pages designated by the page designation information. In an information processing apparatus that converts print data into a data format that can be processed by the image forming apparatus and transmits the converted data to the image forming apparatus.
Background information that associates background information with print pages-Print page correspondence table,
Edit the print data corresponding to the background information as one or more pages of print data corresponding to the background information for the print data having a plurality of print items on the print page and background information set for each item. Editing processing unit to
An information processing apparatus comprising: a print data transmission unit that transmits print data edited by the editing processing unit to an image forming apparatus.

Images