JP2008021004A - Print processing system and print processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print processing system allowing a user to perform arrangement and printing on different paper without performing complicated process of completing or stopping processing for different forms of output paper. <P>SOLUTION: This print processing system automatically arranges one page or a plurality of pages of printed image data on the output paper in the unit of page by one print job or a plurality of print jobs. The print processing system comprises an output paper information storing/controlling means for storing one piece or a plurality of pieces of output paper information in the print job when the printing is commanded, an output paper information reading/controlling means for reading the output paper information stored in the print job during execution of layout, and a laying out means for performing layout every output paper information according to the read output paper information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to print image data processing of a printing apparatus that can select roll paper or cut paper as output paper, such as a large format printer.

  In a conventional processing system that automatically prints print image data and prints it, the size of the paper to be printed out can be selected.

However, in the above conventional example, it can always be arranged only on one paper size, and cannot be arranged on two or more paper sizes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-10153 A (page 6, FIG. 4)

  Therefore, in the above conventional example, it is not possible to cope with various paper information specified at the time of execution of printing from the application.

  Therefore, when the user desires to place and print on different papers, it is necessary to place and print on different papers after completing or canceling the previous arrangement process. There is a problem that there is.

An object of the present invention is to provide a print processing system in which a user can perform placement and printing on different papers without performing a complicated process of completing or canceling the process every time the output paper is different. To do.

The present invention is a print processing system that performs layout for each piece of paper information stored in a print job.

According to the present invention, the layout is performed for each piece of paper information stored in the print job. Therefore, when arranging and printing on different paper, the user needs to complete or cancel the process every time the output paper is different. There is an effect that it is not necessary to perform processing.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention is the following embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing apparatus 1 that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 1 is an example of a printing system, and includes a computer or the like. On the information processing apparatus 1, an application A2 and an application B3 are operating on an operating system 4 such as Windows (registered trademark).

  The print data output from these applications is delivered to the printer driver 5. The printer driver 5 includes a printer language control unit 6 and a layout control unit 9.

  The printer language control unit 6 is divided into a UI (user interface) unit 7 and a printer language conversion unit 8 of the printer language control unit. The layout control unit 9 is divided into a UI (user interface) unit 10, a layout control unit 11, and a preview unit 12 of the layout control unit.

  The print data that has arrived at the printer driver 5 is once transferred from the printer language control unit 6 to the layout processing unit 9, subjected to layout, and then returned to the printer language control unit 6. The print data returned to the printer language control unit 6 is converted into a printer language by the printer languageization unit 8 and then sent to the printer device A14 or the printer device B15 via the spooler 13.

  When it is not necessary to apply the layout, the data is not transferred to the layout processing unit 9, and after being converted into the printer language by the printer language control unit 8 directly from the printer language control unit 6, via the spooler 13, the printer device A 14 or It is sent to the printer device B15. The switching of the operation is realized by setting in a UI (user interface) unit 7 of the printer language control unit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating details of print data transmitted from the application A2 or the application B3.

  The print job data 21 is divided into additional data 22 such as paper information and drawing section data 23 that is actual image data.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an entire preview screen 31 which is an example of a screen displayed by the preview unit 12 in the layout processing unit 9.

  The preview screen 31 includes a preview section screen 32, a paper information setting button 33, and a print start button 34. The preview section screen 32 has a preview screen switching tab button 35. In this example, the preview section screen 32 can be switched and displayed among the roll paper, the cut paper 1, and the cut paper 2.

  Next, the layout process in the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing when the layout is divided for each piece of paper information in the first embodiment.

  The layout processing unit 9 monitors whether the print job data 21 is transmitted from the application A2, the application B3, or another application. When the reception of the print job data 21 is detected, the process proceeds to S2. If reception of the print job data 21 cannot be detected, the process returns to S1.

  When the print job data 21 is received, the layout control unit 11 of the layout processing unit 9 takes out the additional data 22 such as paper information and reads out the paper information (S2). If it is determined that the read paper information is roll paper, the process proceeds to S4. If it is determined that the read paper information is not roll paper, the process proceeds to S5 (S3). If it is determined that the paper is roll paper, the layout is made with the roll paper as the target of output paper, and the process proceeds to S10 (S4). If it is determined that the read sheet information is cut sheet 1, the process proceeds to S6. If it is determined that the read sheet information is not cut sheet 1, the process proceeds to S7 (S5).

  If it is determined that it is the cut sheet 1, a layout is made with the cut sheet 1 as an output sheet, and the process proceeds to S10 (S6). If it is determined that the read sheet information is the cut sheet 2, the process proceeds to S8. If it is determined that the read sheet information is not the cut sheet 2, the process proceeds to S9 (S7).

  If it is determined that it is the cut sheet 2, a layout is made with the cut sheet 2 as an output sheet, and the process proceeds to S10 (S8). If it is determined that none of the roll paper, the cut paper 1, and the cut paper 2 is used, a layout is performed with the default size as the target of the output paper, and the process proceeds to S10 (S9).

  Next, the layout processing unit 9 checks whether or not the print button has been pressed. If it is detected that the button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S11. If not detected, the process returns to S1 (S10). When it is detected that the print button has been pressed, the layout control unit 9 transmits the print job data 21 that has been laid out to the printer language control unit 6. Then, the printer language control unit 6 transmits the print job data 21 that has been laid out to the printer device A14, the printer device B15, or another printer device via the spooler 13, thereby performing printing.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the preview screen 31 in a state where the page data C has been moved from the preview part screen 32 shown in FIG. 3 to another tab (layout).

  Since the page data C has been moved to another tab, the preview section screen 32 is a preview screen 51 after the page data C has been moved to another tab.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by the preview unit 12 in the layout processing unit 9, which shows a state in which the preview unit screen 61 before re-layout is displayed and the paper size width 62 before re-layout is displayed. FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the layout display can be performed by switching between plain paper and glossy paper.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by the preview unit 12 in the layout processing unit 9. The screen has a preview portion screen 71 after re-layout and is displayed with a paper size width 72 after re-layout. FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, layout display can be performed by switching between plain paper and glossy paper.

  Next, the layout process in the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process for performing re-layout according to the information on the paper size and paper type acquired from the printer.

  The layout processing unit 9 monitors whether the print job data 21 has been received, and if the reception of the print job data 21 can be detected, the process proceeds to S22. If the reception of the print job data 21 cannot be detected, the process returns to S21 to check again (S21).

  Next, additional data 22 such as paper information is read from the received print job data 21 (S22).

  Based on the additional data 22 such as the read paper information, the paper type is determined. If the determined paper type is plain paper, the process proceeds to S24. If the discriminated paper information is not plain paper, the process proceeds to S25 (S23). If the paper type is plain paper, the print job data 21 is laid out on the preview portion screen 61 before re-layout for plain paper (S24).

  Based on the read additional data 22 such as paper information, the paper type is determined. If the determined paper type is glossy paper, the process proceeds to S26. If the discriminated paper information is not glossy paper, the process proceeds to S27 (S25). If the paper type is glossy paper, the print job data 21 is laid out on the preview portion screen 61 before re-layout for glossy paper (S26).

  Next, the layout processing unit 9 checks whether or not the print start button 34 has been pressed. If it is determined that the print start button 34 has not been pressed, the process returns to S21. If it is determined that the print start button 34 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S28 (S27).

  Here, the layout processing unit 9 acquires paper information including at least paper type information and paper size information from all connected printer devices including the printer device A14 and the printer device B15.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the sheet information acquired by the layout processing unit 9 in the first embodiment.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9, the roll paper (A1) and the cut paper 1 (A2) are mounted on the printer A14, the paper type of the roll paper (A1) is the coated paper, and the paper of the cut paper 1 (A2). It has been acquired that the type is plain paper.

  The printer B15 is loaded with roll paper (A0), cut paper 1 (A2), and cut paper 2 (A3). The paper type of the roll paper (A0) is glossy paper, and the cut paper 1 (A2) The paper type is semi-glossy paper, and the paper type of the cut paper 2 (A3) is plain paper. Then, the size information and paper type of the loaded paper are acquired (S28).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the paper type information of the laid-out job is in the paper type information acquired from the printer apparatus. If there is a match, the process proceeds to S30. If there is no match, the process proceeds to S31 (S29). If there is a match, re-layout is executed according to the paper size corresponding to the matched paper type (S30). The laid-out data is transmitted to the printer device A14, the printer device B15, or another printer device, and the process ends.

  According to the above embodiment, since the layout is performed for each piece of paper information stored in the print job, the user does not need to perform a complicated process of completing or stopping the process every time the output paper is different.

  Conventionally, when a paper information specification error or the like occurs, the user has to once stop processing and start layout again from the beginning. Absent. In other words, according to the above-described embodiment, the layout-completed data divided into a plurality of pieces of paper information is selected on a page-by-page basis while confirming on the preview screen, moved to another layout screen, and re-laid out. Thus, the layout process can be continued.

Further, according to the above embodiment, a printer that matches the paper information of the data after layout is searched, and the layout is re-laid out with the paper size attached to the printer. Get ready.

It is a block diagram which shows the information processing apparatus 1 which is Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the print data transmitted from application A2 or application B3. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an entire preview screen 31 that is an example of a screen displayed by a preview unit 12 in a layout processing unit 9. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing when performing layout separately for each piece of paper information in the first exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the preview screen 31 in the state by which the page data C was moved to the other tab (layout) from the preview part screen 32 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which the preview part 12 in the layout process part 9 displays, and has the preview part screen 61 before re-layout, and is a figure which shows the state currently displayed by the paper size width | variety 62 before re-layout. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which the preview part 12 in the layout process part 9 displays, and has the preview part screen 71 after a re-layout, and is a figure which shows the state currently displayed by the paper size width | variety 72 after a re-layout. . 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for performing re-layout according to information on a paper size and a paper type acquired from a printer. 6 is a diagram illustrating sheet information acquired by a layout processing unit 9 in Embodiment 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Information processing device,
2, 3 ... application,
4 ... operating system,
5 ... Printer driver,
6 ... Printer language control unit,
9: Layout processing unit,
13 ... Spooler,
14, 15 ... printer device,
21 ... print job data,
22: Additional data such as paper information,
23: Drawing section data,
31 ... Preview screen.

Claims (4)

In a print processing system that automatically arranges print image data of a single page or a plurality of pages in units of pages on output paper by one print job or across a plurality of print jobs,
Output sheet information storage control means for storing one or a plurality of output sheet information in the print job at the time of a print command;
Output sheet information reading control means for reading the output sheet information stored in the print job at the time of layout execution;
Layout means for laying out for each output paper information according to the read output paper information;
A print processing system comprising: In claim 1,
The layout means is
Page data selection means for selecting each page data after layout individually or simultaneously;
Page data moving means for moving each selected page data to a layout result based on other output paper information;
A print processing system characterized by comprising: In claim 1 or claim 2,
The output paper information stored in the print job is information including information on the paper type,
Information acquisition means for acquiring paper size information actually mounted and the paper type information corresponding to the individual paper size information from a printer device capable of output;
From the paper size information acquired from the printer device and the paper type information corresponding to the individual paper size information, search for paper type information that matches the paper type information of the print job for which the layout has been completed. Search means;
Re-layout means for laying out again based on the paper size information of the output printer device searched by the search means;
A print processing system comprising: In a print processing method in which single or multiple pages of print image data are automatically arranged in units of pages on output paper by one print job or across multiple print jobs,
An output sheet information storage control step of storing one or a plurality of output sheet information in the print job at the time of a print command;
An output paper information read control step of reading the output paper information stored in the print job at the time of layout execution;
A layout step of laying out for each output paper information according to the read output paper information;
A print processing method characterized by comprising:

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