JP2008046865A - Printing controller, printing control method and printing control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing controller, a printing control method and a printing control program which enable a user to set an output mode suited to an output purpose in a printer without requiring user's troublesome mode selection. <P>SOLUTION: In a step 100, a printer driver 34 acquires information concerned with an application for its printing job as purpose estimation information. In a next step 102, a table is referred to, a purpose of document printing is estimated on the basis of the purpose estimation information acquired in the step 100 and then processing goes to a step 104. In the step 104, the table is referred to, an optimum output mode is selected on the basis of the document printing purpose estimated by the step 102, and then the processing goes to a step 106. In the step 106, a printer driver 34 executes default setting of the selected output mode, and in a step 108, an output mode setting picture is displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program, and more particularly to a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program for setting an output mode of a printer.

  In order to use a printer connected to an information processing apparatus such as a computer, it is necessary to install a printer driver corresponding to the printer in the information processing apparatus. The printer has a plurality of output modes optimized for output purposes, such as a “digital camera print mode” and a “character mode”. When a print instruction is issued by an application program used in the information processing apparatus, the printer driver displays a print setting screen on the display. The user can select a desired output mode on this screen.

Conventionally, information related to the usage status of an information processing apparatus (PC) (for example, the type of installed application) is acquired at the time of installation, and the print mode is determined based on the print quality at the time of the printer printing operation accordingly. A printer driver has been proposed (Patent Document 1). Also, a printing system that displays printer output mode settings for each operator has been proposed (Patent Document 2).
JP 2004-220417 A JP 2003-263287 A

  However, the conventional printer driver has a problem that it is difficult for the user to select an output mode corresponding to an output purpose for each print job. In addition, since it is troublesome to select an output mode according to the purpose of output, there is a problem that almost no mode is actually selected.

  The printer driver described in Patent Document 1 merely analyzes the usage status of the PC at the time of installation and selects the output mode. In Patent Document 2, a mode setting screen is generated according to the operator and the type of application used. However, the optimum output mode is not selected.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to set a printer output mode suitable for an output purpose without requiring the user to select a mode. A control device, a print control method, and a print control program are provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, the print control apparatus of the present invention prints the document based on information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of the document for each print job, and attribute information acquired by the information acquisition means. Based on the purpose estimation means for estimating the printing purpose, the mode selection table storing the correspondence between the printing purpose and the output mode suitable for the purpose, and the correspondence stored in the mode selection table, And a mode selection means for selecting an output mode suitable for the purpose from the printing purpose estimated by the purpose estimation means.

  In the print control apparatus of the present invention, the attribute acquisition information is acquired for each print job by the information acquisition unit. The purpose estimating means estimates the printing purpose for printing the document based on the attribute information acquired by the information acquiring means. The mode selection means uses a mode selection table in which the correspondence between the print purpose and the output mode suitable for the purpose is stored in advance, and based on the correspondence stored in the table, the print purpose estimated by the purpose estimation means. From this, an output mode suitable for the purpose is automatically selected. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to set the output mode of the printer suitable for the output purpose without the user making troublesome mode selection.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to set an output mode of a printer suitable for an output purpose without a user making troublesome mode selection.

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

  FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1A, this printing system includes a computer main body 10 and a printer 14 connected to the computer main body 10 via an external interface (I / F) 12. Note that a printer may be connected via a network such as a LAN.

  The computer main body 10 includes a CPU 16, a ROM 18, a RAM 20, an input / output port (I / O) 22, and an external memory 24 such as a hard disk device (HDD). The CPU 16, ROM 18, RAM 20, and input / output port 22 are connected to each other via a bus. The external memory 24 is connected to the input / output port 22. Further, an input device 26 such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display device 28 such as a display for displaying an operation screen are connected to the input / output port 22 of the computer main body 10.

  Various programs such as various applications for creating documents and the like, an operating system (OS), and a printer driver for controlling print output are installed in the external memory 24 of the computer main body 10. As shown in FIG. 1B, the operating system 32 can exchange data and commands with each of the application 30 and the printer driver 34, thereby executing print processing.

  Various programs such as the application 30, the operating system 32, and the printer driver 34 are read from the external memory 24 into the RAM 20 as a work area and executed. The CPU 16 operates based on a program read into the RAM 20. When the application 30 instructs printing and the printer 14 performs print output, the operating system 32 converts the command received from the application 30 into the EMF format using GDI (Graphics Device Interface) and sends it to the printer driver 34. Output.

  The printer driver 34 converts the command received from the operating system 32 into a language that can be recognized by the printer, such as PDL (Page Description Language). This PDL data is added by the printer driver 34 with print control information (job ticket) in which various control commands related to print processing are described, and is output to the printer 14, and an image is formed on the paper by the printer 14. .

  In the printing system according to the present embodiment, what is the purpose for which the user created the document, what is the purpose for the user to print the document, information for estimating the purpose of document printing, and the acquired information The user's purpose of document printing is estimated based on the above, and the optimum output mode for that purpose is selected. As shown in FIG. 3, the correspondence between the type and content of information and the purpose of document printing is defined in advance. As shown in FIG. 4, the correspondence between the purpose of document printing and the output mode is defined in advance. These correspondences are stored in advance in the external memory 24 as a table. Note that the user can appropriately change these correspondences.

  The purpose of document printing is “print for distribution materials”, “to confirm the quality of the document being created”, “to read the information on the display screen carefully”, “to carry with paper”, “to someone” "To give comments", "To write comments and additional information", "For storage such as filing on paper media", "To copy scanned images", "To re-read and read carefully", "Print digital camera photos" Etc. Document types include general business documents, design drawings, designs, photographs, POPs, etc., and the optimum output mode varies depending on the purpose.

  As information for estimating the purpose of document printing, print job attribute information such as the type of application and settings in the application can be used. Users can create documents such as “PowerPoint (R)” for presentation materials, “Photoshop (R)” for digital photos, digital camera photo management software, CAD software for drawings, POP design software for POP, etc. The application and its functions are properly used according to the purpose. Therefore, the type of application and the setting in the application can be used as information for estimating the purpose of document printing. In addition, the purpose of document printing can be accurately estimated by widely using not only the type of application but also attribute information of the print job.

  Setting information within the application includes the use and type of templates, the output type of PowerPoint, slides, handouts, notes, etc. Presence of animation functions, presence of change history, presence of comments, file extensions, formats ( Whether it is a digital camera image or a scanned image based on the presence of the image format and Exif tag), file size, change history, creation date and time (whether it is a trial print being created or an already completed document), creator (whether it was created by yourself) Documents received), the number of copies (1 or multiple copies, or the possibility of distribution materials to be given to someone if there are multiple copies), past print history, selected tray (selected paper), selected print settings (double-sided, 2-up, etc.) , Paper size) and the like.

  In the printing system according to the present embodiment, in addition to the “standard mode” that is averagely applied when printing any document, the “display display mode” that faithfully reproduces the impression of the display, and the appearance of color. "Optimal color mode for printing", "Digital camera print mode" suitable for digital camera output, "Scan print mode" suitable for scanned image output, "Line drawing mode" suitable for line image output, Toner save A plurality of output modes with different characteristics, such as “eco mode” suitable for the system, are provided. Here, the “output mode” is a mode for selecting at least one of output image quality characteristics, color reproduction characteristics, and profile intent.

  As shown in FIG. 4, these output modes are selected according to the purpose of document printing. For example, in the case of “reading the information on the screen carefully”, the “display display mode” that faithfully reproduces the impression of the display is selected. If you carry the document with paper, give it to someone, write a comment or additional information, or save it on paper, save it as an almighty (anything) standard mode Is selected.

  In the case of “printing a digital camera photo”, the “digital camera print mode” optimal for the digital camera photo is selected. In the case of “copy of scanned document”, in the case of “re-output of scanned image”, the “scan print mode” optimum for the scanned image is selected. In the case of “output drawing”, the “line drawing mode” optimum for the line image is selected. In the case of “trial printing or a little confirmation”, in the case of “confirming the document flow”, “eco mode” for performing toner saving is selected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the purpose of document printing is estimated from the attribute information of the print job. For example, if it is a word processor, “Check the quality of the document being created, print out distribution materials, write comments and additional information”, and if it is a spreadsheet, “Read the information on the screen”, “Create presentation material” "Slide appearance confirmation, distribution, document flow confirmation, self-documents", "Raster image viewer" "Digital camera print, scanned image copy", "Photo retouch, digital camera photo management / album" "Digital camera print" The purpose of document printing is estimated according to the type of application software, such as “read carefully, save filing on paper media, write comments and additional information” for “Web browser”, and “output drawing” for “CAD”. The

  When using PowerPoint as an application, if the object to be printed is "Slide", "Slide appearance confirmation", "Distribution document" is "Distribution", "Note" is "Personal document", "Outline display" The purpose of document printing is estimated according to the print target, such as “confirm document flow”.

  If the image size set in the application is “standard size (A4, B4, Letter)”, it is a standard document size, so “scanned image copy”, and if it is “standard size (L size)”, it is a standard size for photo prints, “digital camera print” If “digital camera output size” is the digital camera output size, “digital camera print”, “other than that”, some processing is done on the display, so “document confirmation during creation” etc. Presumed.

  If the file format of the application is “raster image (tiff, jpeg)”, “digital camera image or scanned image”; if “application file (doc, ppt)” is “purpose according to the type of application”; The purpose of document printing is estimated according to the file format. In addition, if the accompanying information of the application file is “Exif information is present”, the purpose of document printing is estimated according to the accompanying information of the file, such as “digital camera image”, and “exif information is absent”, such as “scanned image”.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a setting process routine of the printer driver 34.

  When a print job (rendering command) is output from the application 30 to the printer driver 34, in step 100, the printer driver 34 acquires information related to the application regarding the print job as “purpose estimation information”. For example, by using an API (Application Program Interface) of the operating system 32, the print job attribute (information on the application) can be acquired from the print job ID.

  In the next step 102, referring to the table shown in FIG. 3, the “document printing purpose” is estimated based on the “purpose estimation information” acquired in step 100, and the process proceeds to step 104. In the next step 104, referring to the table shown in FIG. 4, the optimum “output mode” is selected based on the “purpose of document printing” estimated in step 102, and the process proceeds to step 106. In the next step 106, the printer driver 34 defaults the selected “output mode”, and in step 108, the output mode setting screen 36 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. The setting screen 36 displays “output mode” set as default. In the example of the setting screen shown in FIG. 5, “digital camera print mode” is displayed as a default setting.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a box 38 is displayed on the upper left side of the setting screen 36, and a “」 ”icon 40 is displayed on the right side of the box 38. Further, a “print” button 44 for instructing printing and a “cancel” button 46 for canceling printing are displayed on the lower right side of the setting screen 36. When the “▽” icon 40 is clicked, a pull-down menu 42 is displayed. In addition to the default “digital camera print mode”, “standard mode”, “display display mode”, “print optimum color mode”, “scan print mode” ”,“ Line drawing mode ”, or“ Eco mode ”can be selected.

  In the next step 110, it is determined whether or not the design has been changed. When the user changes the setting on the setting screen 36, that is, when he wants to select an output mode different from the default setting mode, the user clicks the “▽” icon 40 to display the pull-down menu 42. To select the desired output mode. Therefore, if the setting has been changed, an affirmative determination is made in step 110 and the process returns to step 106 to default the selected “output mode”. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 110, the process proceeds to the next step 112, where it is determined whether or not there is a print instruction.

  By clicking the “print” button 44 on the setting screen 36, the user can issue a print instruction. If the determination in step 112 is affirmative, the process proceeds to the next step 116 to output print data (PDL and job ticket) to the printer 14. On the other hand, if the determination in step 112 is negative, the process proceeds to the next step 114 to determine whether or not there is a cancel instruction. If the determination in step 114 is affirmative, the routine is terminated. If the determination in step 114 is negative, the routine returns to step 112 and waits for a user instruction.

  As described above, in the printing system according to this embodiment, the printer driver uses the printer driver to estimate the purpose of document printing, the purpose of the user creating the document, the purpose of the user printing the document, and the purpose of document printing. Information can be acquired from print job attribute information, the purpose of the user's document printing can be estimated based on the acquired information, and an output mode optimal for the purpose can be selected. Therefore, it is possible to set the printer output mode suitable for the output purpose without the user having to select the mode.

  In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the “output mode” selected by the printer driver is set as default, and the “output mode” set as default on the setting screen is displayed. The “output mode” may be temporarily held, the output mode setting screen 48 shown in FIG. 6 may be displayed, and the “output mode” may be set when the user selects “automatic setting”. As a result, the “output mode” is automatically selected and set.

  As shown in FIG. 6, check boxes 50 and 52 are displayed on the upper left of the setting screen 48 so that either “automatic setting” or “set output mode” can be selected. Clicking the check box 52 and selecting “Set output mode” displays a pull-down menu 54. From this pull-down menu 54, “digital camera print mode”, “standard mode”, “display display mode”, “print” are displayed. One of “optimum color mode”, “scan print mode”, “line drawing mode”, and “eco mode” can be selected. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as the setting screen of FIG. 5, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the above embodiment, a table (FIG. 3) that defines the correspondence between the type and contents of information and the purpose of document printing (FIG. 3), and a table (FIG. 3) that defines the correspondence between the purpose of document printing and the output mode. 4) has been described in advance as an example of storing in the external memory of the computer main body. However, the correspondence between the type and contents of information, the purpose of document printing, and the output mode can also be stored in one table.

(A) is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a functional block diagram of the printing system. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a printer driver setting process routine. It is a figure which shows the table which prescribed | regulated the correspondence between the kind and content of information, and the objective of document printing. It is a figure which shows the table which prescribed | regulated the correspondence of the objective of document printing, and output mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting screen of an output mode. It is a figure which shows another example of the setting screen of an output mode.

Explanation of symbols

10 Computer Main Body 14 Printer 16 CPU
18 ROM
20 RAM
22 I / O port 24 External memory 26 Input device 28 Display device 30 Application 32 Operating system 34 Printer driver 36 Setting screen 38 Box 40 Icon 42 Pull-down menu 44, 46 Button 48 Setting screen 50, 52 Check box 54 Pull-down menu

Claims (11)

Information acquisition means for acquiring document attribute information for each print job;
Purpose estimation means for estimating a print purpose for printing the document based on the attribute information acquired by the information acquisition means;
A mode selection table that prestores the correspondence between the printing purpose and the output mode suitable for the purpose;
Mode selection means for selecting an output mode suitable for the purpose from the printing purpose estimated by the purpose estimation means based on the correspondence stored in the mode selection table;
A print control apparatus comprising:   2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising mode display means for displaying in default the output mode selected by the mode selection means.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising mode setting means for setting the output mode selected by the mode selection means.   4. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the document includes information relating to an application type and information relating to settings in the application. 5.   The document attribute information includes template type, presence / absence of comment, file name, file extension, file format, file size, change history, creation date / time, creator, number of output copies, output history, selected sheet, and selected print. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one type is selected from a group of settings.   6. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising table correction means for changing the contents of the mode selection table.   The purpose estimation unit has a purpose estimation table in which correspondence between the attribute information and the printing purpose is stored in advance, and is acquired by the information acquisition unit based on the correspondence stored in the purpose estimation table. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a print purpose for printing the document is estimated from the attribute information.   8. The print control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising table correction means for changing contents of the purpose estimation table.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output mode is a mode for selecting at least one of output image quality characteristics, color reproduction characteristics, and a profile intent. Obtaining document attribute information for each print job;
Estimating a printing purpose for printing the document based on the acquired attribute information;
Selecting an output mode suitable for the purpose from the estimated print purpose based on the correspondence relationship between the print purpose stored in the table in advance and the output mode suitable for the purpose;
A print control method characterized by comprising: By computer
Obtaining document attribute information for each print job;
Estimating a printing purpose for printing the document based on the acquired attribute information;
Selecting an output mode suitable for the purpose from the estimated print purpose based on the correspondence relationship between the print purpose stored in the table in advance and the output mode suitable for the purpose;
A print control program characterized by executing

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