JP2008067036A - Printing control device, printing control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control device for converting a character size of a document to be printed into print data of an appropriate character size, and to provide a printing control program and a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: When client terminals CL1 to CLn convert document data instructed to be printed into print data corresponding to printers Pr1 to Prm of print destinations by their drivers in accordance with an output condition set to the document data, a printing system 1 detects the character size of document data as a detection character size and determines whether the detection character size is smaller than a preliminarily set output restriction character size or not and generates logical page data from page data of the document data in the case that the detection character size is smaller than the output restriction character size, and changes the output condition to an output condition for printing the logical page data in the number of physical pages by which the character size is equal to or larger than a limit character size. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to a print control apparatus, a print control program, and a recording medium that convert a character size of a document to be printed into print data as an appropriate character size.

  In recent years, in printing processing, in order to save resources, aggregate printing has been performed in which a plurality of pages are aggregated and printed on one page.

  In such aggregate printing, conventionally, print data is sent from a host device such as a computer to a printing device such as a printer device together with a print request for specifying the aggregate printing and the number of consolidated pages, and the printing device aggregates the print request. When printing and the number of consolidated pages are set, the reduced size of characters is calculated from the number of consolidated pages, the characters are reduced to the calculated reduced size, the specified consolidated page is consolidated into one page and printed. .

  However, when the number of consolidated pages is large, the reduced character size may become too small to be difficult to read, resulting in an inappropriate print result such as an unnatural layout.

  Therefore, conventionally, when the print request from the host device is an aggregate print and the number of aggregate pages is specified, the printing device sets the limit character size in advance or together with the print request, and the characters of the print data are aggregated. A technology is proposed to calculate the character size to be reduced by the number of pages, and to adjust the character size so that the character size in aggregate printing is equal to or greater than the limit character size when the character size falls below the limit character size Has been.

  For example, the applicant first analyzes the character attributes including the character size, character pitch, and line feed width of each character data from the document data to be printed, and outputs based on the number of aggregate pages and the character size of the analysis result. When the character size of the data is calculated and the character reduced at the time of printing is smaller than the character size limit value that does not cause character crushing, the character size is determined to be the maximum based on the character pitch and line feed width of the character data of the analysis result. A printing apparatus control system that newly calculates a character attribute, for example, changes the layout of a document is proposed (see Patent Document 1).

  Further, the applicant first determines whether or not the print characters can be discriminated in the collective printing, and if it is detected before printing that the print characters cannot be discriminated due to the character reduction, notifies the user of that fact. A printer driver has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). In this prior art, the reduction rate at which print characters can be identified is calculated to calculate the number of aggregate pages per page, and the print data is framed at the reduction rate that is aggregated to the calculated aggregate page number. It is disclosed to re-develop and print in a buffer.

  That is, in these conventional techniques, the aggregation setting is automatically changed so as to maintain the limit value of the character size.

JP 2002-219837 A JP 2000-148429 A

  However, in the above-described prior art, when the print data of a plurality of pages is printed out on one sheet, the aggregation setting is changed so that the character size does not become smaller than the limit character size. This method can only be applied to the above cases, is not versatile, and the aggregate layout has been changed to increase the character size. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a print control apparatus, a print control program, and a recording medium that can appropriately perform printing with an appropriate character size in an intended layout, not limited to collective printing.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus for converting document data for which a print instruction has been issued into print data corresponding to a print destination printing apparatus in accordance with an output condition set for the document data. A device for detecting a character size of the document data as a detected character size, and determining whether or not the detected character size detected by the character size detector is smaller than a predetermined limit character size. When the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data is stored in a physical page having a character size larger than the limit character size. The above object is achieved by providing output condition changing means for changing to an output condition to be printed on a page.

  In this case, for example, as described in claim 2, the character size detection unit may detect the most frequently occurring character size of the document data as the detected character size.

  For example, as described in claim 3, the character size detection unit may detect the most frequently occurring character size of body data as the detected character size in the document data.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 4, when the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, the output condition changing unit converts the logical page data into the limit character size by the detected character size. Based on the result of the division, the logical page data may be changed to an output condition for printing on physical pages having the number of pages whose character size is equal to or larger than the limit character size.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 5, the output condition changing unit converts the detected character size into an output character size that takes into account a preset output condition such as reduction / enlargement, and the output character It may be determined whether the size is smaller than the limit character size.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control program for converting document data for which a print instruction has been issued into print data corresponding to a printing apparatus as a print destination in accordance with an output condition set for the document data. A character size detection processing step for detecting a character size of the document data as a detected character size, and determining whether or not the detected character size detected in the character size detection processing step is smaller than a predetermined limit character size. When the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data has the number of pages whose character size is equal to or larger than the limit character size. An output condition change processing step for changing to an output condition to be printed on a physical page of To have.

  In this case, for example, as described in claim 7, the character size detection processing step may detect the most frequently occurring character size of the document data as the detected character size.

  For example, as described in claim 8, the character size detection processing step may detect the most frequently occurring character size of body data in the document data as the detected character size.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 9, when the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, the output condition change processing step sets the logical page data to the limit character size as the detected character size. The logical page data may be changed to an output condition for printing the physical page data on the number of physical pages having a character size equal to or larger than the limit character size based on the result of division by.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 10, the output condition change processing step converts the detected character size into an output character size that takes into account a preset output condition such as reduction / enlargement, and the output It may be determined whether the character size is smaller than the limit character size.

  A recording medium according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is a recording medium for recording a print control program for converting document data for which a print instruction has been given into print data. The above object is achieved by recording the print control program described in any one of the above.

  According to the present invention, when converting document data for which printing has been instructed into print data corresponding to a printing apparatus that is a printing destination in accordance with an output condition set for the document data, Detecting the size as a detected character size, determining whether the detected character size is smaller than a predetermined limit character size, and if the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, from the page data of the document data Since logical page data is created and the logical page data is changed to an output condition for printing on physical pages having a number of pages whose character size is equal to or larger than the limit character size, the character size of the document to be printed is, for example, Change the layout etc. itself as the output condition set when printing the document when it is smaller than the limit character size as the limit of visibility Rukoto without thereby expanding the logical pages can change an output condition to a plurality of physical pages, properly performed easily and appropriately print the appropriate text size in the intended layout.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, since the Example described below is a suitable Example of this invention, various technically preferable restrictions are attached | subjected, However, The scope of the present invention limits this invention especially in the following description. As long as there is no description of the effect, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  1 to 6 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a print control apparatus, a print control program, and a recording medium according to the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the print control apparatus, the print control program, and the recording medium according to the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system 1 to which an example is applied.

  In FIG. 1, a printing system 1 includes a plurality of client terminals CL1 to CLn and a plurality of printers Pr1 to Prm connected to a network NW such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  As the client terminals (print control devices) CL1 to CLn, for example, a personal computer or the like having a normal hardware configuration is used. As shown in FIG. 2 for the basic hardware and software configuration, the recording medium reading unit 11, The storage unit 12, the input unit 13, the display unit 14, the parallel I / F 15, the USB I / F 16, and the network I / F 17 are provided with hardware, and a plurality of applications 21 and a software such as the spooler 22 are installed on Windows ( It is mounted on an OS (Operating System) such as a registered trademark.

  The spooler 22 includes a driver (printer driver) 23 corresponding to the printers Pr1 to Prm connected to the network NW.

  The recording medium reading unit 11 is a CD (Compact Disc), MO (magneto-optical disk), CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), CD-RW (Compact Disc Rewritable), DVD (Digital Video Disk), memory card flexible. Reads data and programs recorded on a recording medium such as a disc.

  The storage unit 12 of the client terminals CL1 to CLn includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk and a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and includes software such as an OS, an application 21, a spooler 22, and various system data. Document data created by the application 21 is stored, and data and programs read by the recording medium reading unit 11 are stored.

  In the client terminals CL1 to CLn, the recording medium reading unit 11 reads the printing control program and necessary data from the recording medium on which the later-described printing control program and necessary data are recorded into the recording unit 12 and executes them. Thus, it is constructed as a print control apparatus of the present invention.

  The input unit 13 is a keyboard, a touch panel, a pointing device such as a mouse, a voice input device, or the like, and performs various operations necessary to operate the client terminals CL1 to CLn.

  The display unit 14 includes a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and displays and outputs various types of information.

  The parallel I / F 15 is an input / output interface based on the IEEE 1284 specification, and the USB I / F 16 is an input / output interface based on the USB 1.0 or USB 2.0 specification. A USB device (not shown) such as a USB memory is connected to the USB I / F 16 via a USB code, and the USB I / F 16 exchanges various data with the USB device. The network I / F 17 is connected to the network NW, and transmits / receives print data and commands to / from devices on the network NW.

  The application 21 is document creation software, graphic creation software, spreadsheet software, database software, and the like installed on the OS. The spooler 22 is a software module that manages the printing function of the OS. It operates as part of the spooler 22.

  When a print command for a document created by the application 21 is issued from the application 21, the client terminals CL1 to CLn pass the document data (drawing information) and print setting data to the driver 23 of the spooler 22 through the OS.

  The driver (printing control program) 23 is a driver corresponding to each of the printers Pr1 to Prm connected to the network NW from the document data, that is, necessary for the printers Pr1 to Prm to interpret and generate an actual print image. A driver that generates commands (print data for printers) is installed, print data corresponding to each printer Pr1 to Prm is generated from document data and setting data passed from the application 21, and print data and The setting data is transmitted to the printers Pr1 to Prm via the network NW.

  The print control program is provided as the driver 23 and is introduced by being recorded on the recording medium and being read by the recording medium reading unit 11 as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the driver 23 includes a data reception unit 23a, a data transmission unit 23b, a drawing unit 23c, a display control unit 23d, a font size inspection unit 23e, an output condition inspection unit 23f, an output condition change unit 23g, and the like. The data receiving unit 23 a receives document data (drawing information) from the application 21.

  The drawing unit 23c converts the document data received by the data receiving unit 23a into printer print data, which is a command of information necessary for generating an actual print image, which can be interpreted by the printers Pr1 to Prm, and transmits the data. The unit 23b sends the printer print data to the transfer destination corresponding to the print data transfer destination information.

  Then, the printer print data created by the driver 23 is connected to an appropriate input / output interface, that is, the printers Pr1 to Prm via the network NW as described above, based on the printer configuration information held by the spooler 22. If it is, the data is sent from the network I / F 17 to the printers Pr1 to Prm via the network NW.

  The font size inspection unit (character size detection means) 23e executes a character size detection process for extracting the font size (character size) from the document data received by the data reception unit 23a as the detected character size. The font size (detected character size) of the document data is, for example, the logical font size of the document data received from the application software 21.

  The output condition inspection unit 23f extracts output information (output conditions) from the document data. The output conditions include, for example, the paper size set by the user, the number of layouts (the number of logical pages to be arranged on one physical page) (magnification number), the enlargement ratio, and the logical page of one page Poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting) "How many physical pages to represent the page", and information set by the user "How much should the character size on the physical page be?" Limit character size), “information on how many copies to be printed according to the output restricted character size” (number of copies to which the output restricted character size is applied), the priority of the output condition, and the like. Further, the output condition inspection unit 23f reduces the font size (detected character size) of the document data detected by the font size inspection unit 23e as necessary, at a reduction rate of one page of document data determined by the number of layouts. Detect the character size (output character size). Further, the output condition checking unit 23f acquires the most frequently appearing character size of the document data, in particular, the most frequently appearing character size of the body data, and detects the most frequently appearing character size as the detected character size.

  When the detected character size, which is the logical font size of the document, is smaller than the output restricted character size, the output condition changing unit 23g automatically sets the output condition so that the character size is larger than the output restricted character size. The drawing unit 23c creates print data. Specifically, the output condition changing unit 23g determines whether or not the detected character size detected by the output condition inspecting unit 23f is smaller than the output restricted character size that is a predetermined limit character size. If the size is smaller than the output restricted character size, logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data is drawn by determining the number of physical pages based on the detected character size and the output restricted character size. The data is transferred to the unit 23c, and the drawing unit 23c converts the logical page data into print data of the number of pages.

  Therefore, the output condition checking unit 23f and the output condition changing unit 23g function as an output condition changing unit as a whole.

  The printers (printing apparatuses) Pr1 to Prm interpret the print data sent from the client terminals CL1 to CLn, and for example, create an appropriate image on a medium such as paper by using an electrophotographic method. Realize the printing process.

  That is, the printers Pr1 to Prm include a controller, an engine, and the like. The controller converts the print data from the client terminals CL1 to CLn into the video according to the control mode set at that time and the control code from the client terminals CL1 to CLn. The data is converted into data and output to the engine, and the engine records and outputs the image on a medium such as paper using an electrophotographic method.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the printing system 1 of this embodiment, when there is a print request specifying a predetermined output condition for the document data created by the application software 21 in the client terminals CL1 to CLn, the driver 23 reads the document data from the document data. If the detected character size detected is smaller than the output restricted character size, logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data is converted into physical pages with the number of pages based on the character size and the output restricted character size. The output conditions to be printed are changed to be converted into print data, sent to the printers Pr1 to Prm, and printed based on the print data by the printers Pr1 to Prm.

  That is, when a document is created by the application software 21 and a print instruction is issued, the client terminals CL1 to CLn pass the document data to the driver 23, and the driver 23 obtains logical information of the document from the document data. Document information and output conditions are extracted. That is, when the driver 23 receives the document data by the data receiving unit 23a, first, the font 23 of the document information that is logical information of the document from the document data passed from the application software 21 by the font size inspection unit 23e. To extract. Then, the font size inspection unit 23e obtains the most frequently appearing character size of the document data, in particular, the most frequently appearing character size of the text data, and extracts the most frequently appearing character size as the font size (detected character size). Detect as. In other words, if the text size is smaller than the text size of the text, for example, the caption of a chart, even if the text is a little difficult to see, it has a significant effect on the readability of the document. Therefore, the most frequently occurring character size of the body data is acquired as the detected character size of the document data. Note that even the characters in the text are not limited to the character size of the most frequently occurring character as the detected character size. For example, the character size of the character with the smallest size in the text is set as a reference value (document data Detected character size), or the average character size of the fonts in the text may be used as a reference value (character size of document data).

  Next, the output condition inspection unit 23f of the driver 23 extracts the output condition. As described above, this output condition includes, for example, the presence / absence of aggregate printing, the number of aggregate pages, the number of poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting) layouts, the enlargement ratio, the output constraint character size, the number of output constraint character size applications, and the output conditions. Priority etc.

  Then, the output condition changing unit 23g determines the output font size determined based on the logical font size of the document and various output conditions (paper size, number of layouts, enlargement ratio, poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting, etc.), When the output character size is smaller than the output restricted character size, the output condition is automatically changed so as to increase the output character size and is passed to the drawing unit 23c. In the present embodiment, since only the paper size is set as the output condition, the output character size is the detected character size acquired from the document information.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the output condition changing unit 23g acquires the logical font size (detected character size) of the document detected by the font size inspecting unit 23e and sets it to Fo, and the output condition inspecting unit 23f extracts it. The output restricted character size is set to Pl (step S101), and it is checked whether the font size Fo of the document is smaller than the output restricted character size Pl (Pl> Fo) (step S102).

  In step S102, if the font size Fo of the document is greater than or equal to the output restriction character size Pl (Pl ≦ Fo), the output condition changing unit 23g changes the output condition for enlarging the document font size Fo. Since it is determined that it is not necessary (character expansion processing is not applicable), the drawing unit 23c converts the document data into print data without changing the character size of the document data, and the data sending unit 23b prints the data to the printers Pr1 to Prm. Data and a print request are sent (step S103).

  In step S102, when the font size Fo of the document is smaller than the output restricted character size Pl, the output condition changing unit 23g increases the character size with the enlargement ratio equal to or larger than the output restricted character size. Is converted into logical page data, and the logical page data is divided into physical pages of a plurality of pages so as to achieve the enlargement ratio.

  That is, when the output condition changing unit 23g first sets Pl / Fo * 100 (enlargement ratio) as the enlargement ratio, the logical page of one page obtained by converting the page data of the document data is represented by a plurality of physical pages. When the enlargement ratio is sprt (Km) * 100 (= enlargement ratio), the minimum Km that satisfies sprt (Km) * 10 ≧ Pl / Fo * 100 (Km: number of physical pages) is a logical page. (Step S104). Note that sprt (Km) indicates a root (square root) (Km).

  When the output condition changing unit 23g determines the number Km of physical pages, the output condition changing unit 23g expands the logical page so as to be represented by the Km sheets (step S105), and determines that the output condition changing unit 23g corresponds to the character expansion process. The enlarged logical page is converted into print data, sent to the printers Pr1 to Prm, and printed by the printers Pr1 to Prm with the enlarged print data (step S106).

  For example, the font size (detected character size) acquired from the document data by the font size inspection unit 23e is 8 pt (= Fo), the paper size extracted by the output condition inspection unit 23f is A4 size, and the output restricted character size is 10.5 pt. In the case of (= Pl), poster printing (enlarged) is divided into two pages of A4 size paper so that it is printed on paper with printers Pr1 to Prm with a character size of 10.5 pt or more which is the output restricted character size. Set (Burst) to print. In step S104, for example, 120% is set as an enlargement ratio sprt (Km) * 100 that satisfies Pl / Fo * 100 = 10.5 / 8.5 * 100 = 12.3. Now, since the paper size is A4, if the enlargement ratio is 120%, printing is performed with the number of output pages enlarged to two. In this case, since the A4 logical page is output as two pages, the document data is enlarged by 141%, and the character size to be printed satisfies the output restriction character size of 10.5 pt.

  As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the client terminals CL1 to CLn use the driver 23 to print the document data instructed to be printed according to the output conditions set for the document data. When converting to print data corresponding to the printers Pr1 to Prm, the font size inspection unit 23e detects the character size of the document data as the detected character size, and the output condition change unit 23g outputs the detected character size. It is determined whether or not the output restricted character size detected by the condition checking unit 23f is smaller. If the detected character size is smaller than the output restricted character size, logical page data is created from the page data of the document data. The logical page data is changed to an output condition for printing on a physical page having the number of pages whose character size is larger than the limit character size. There.

  Therefore, when the character size of the document to be printed is smaller than, for example, the output restricted character size (limit character size) as the limit of visibility, the layout as the output condition set when printing the document Without changing itself, it is possible to enlarge the logical page and change the output condition to a plurality of physical pages, and it is possible to appropriately and appropriately print an appropriate character size with an intended layout.

  In the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the font size inspection unit 23e detects the most frequently appearing character size of the document data as the detected character size.

  Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the character size needs to be adjusted based on the character size of the characters that frequently appear in the document data, and to appropriately print a more appropriate character size in the intended layout. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the present embodiment, the font size inspection unit 23e detects the most frequently occurring character size of the body data as the detected character size in the document data.

  Therefore, with reference to the character size of characters frequently appearing in the text of the document data, it is possible to determine whether the character size needs to be adjusted using the most frequently occurring character size of the text necessary for understanding the document. It is possible to appropriately perform printing with a more appropriate character size in the intended layout. In other words, if the text size is smaller than the text size of the text, for example, the caption of a chart, even if the text is a little difficult to see, it has a significant effect on the readability of the document. It is because it is thought that there is not.

  Further, in the printing system 1 of this embodiment, when the output condition changing unit 23g has a detected character size smaller than the output restricted character size, the logical page data is divided based on the result of dividing the limit character size by the detected character size. The logical page data is changed to an output condition for printing on physical pages having the number of pages whose character size is equal to or larger than the output restriction character size.

  Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately perform printing of an appropriate character size with a layout that is more simply and appropriately intended.

  In the above description, the case where the layout specification is not performed as the output condition has been described. However, the layout specification, for example, four pages of document data are converted into one page of print data and printed on one sheet of paper. The same can be applied to the case where a so-called 4-in-1 layout is designated and 24 pt or more is designated as the output restriction character size.

  That is, in this case, in the driver 23, the font size inspection unit 23 e uses the document data font size (for example, 36 pt) that is logical information of the document from the document data delivered from the application software 21 as described above. Is extracted as the detected character size.

  Next, the output condition inspecting unit 23f extracts the number of layout divisions that are output conditions (the number of divisions is 4 because the layout is now 4in1).

  Then, the output condition changing unit 23g changes the output condition (the number of physical pages) so that the character size (output character size) on the physical page according to the output condition is equal to or larger than the output restriction character size. Based on the physical page of the output condition after the change, the drawing unit 23c is converted into print data.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the output condition changing unit 23g acquires the logical font size (detected character size) of the document detected by the font size inspection unit 23e and sets it to Fo, and the output condition inspection unit 23f extracts it. The output restricted character size is set to Pl, and the layout number (division number) as the output condition extracted by the output condition checking unit 23f is set to Li (step S201), and the document font size Fo is laid out with respect to the document page data. Based on the number, it is checked whether the output font size (Fo / sprt (Li)), which is the font size in the case of a physical page, is smaller than the output restricted character size Pl (Pl> Fo / sprt (Li)) (step S202). ). That is, the output font size (output character size) predicted as a physical page in the designated number of layouts (Li = 4) is Fo / sprt (Li).

  In step S102, if the output font size Fo / sprt (Li) is greater than or equal to the output restricted character size Pl (Pl ≦ Fo / sprt (Li)), the output condition changing unit 23g sets the detected font size Fo. It is determined that there is no need for enlargement (not applicable to character enlargement processing), and the document data is converted into print data by the drawing unit 23c without changing the character size of the document data (step S203).

  In step S202, when the converted font size Fo is smaller than the output restricted character size Pl, the output condition changing unit 23g enlarges the character size to a character size equal to or larger than the output character size, which is an enlargement rate at which the character size does not become difficult to see. The page data of the data is converted into logical page data, and the logical page data is changed to a physical page having the number of layouts corresponding to the enlargement ratio.

  That is, the output condition changing unit 23g first sets the maximum layout number Li satisfying Pl ≦ Fo / sprt (Li) as the layout number Li that is difficult to see, sets a logical page (step S204), and enlarges the character. As corresponding to the processing, the drawing unit 23c converts the logical page whose layout has been changed to print data, sends it to the printers Pr1 to Prm, and causes the printer to print with the enlarged print data (step S205).

  For example, the font size (detected character size) acquired from the document data by the font size inspection unit 23e is 36 pt (= Fo), the layout extracted by the output condition inspection unit 23f is 4 in 1, and the output restricted character size is 24 pt ( = Pl), the layout is changed to 2 in 1 and printed so that the character size is 24 pt or more and printed on paper by the printers Pr1 to Prm. Thus, when the layout is changed from 4 in 1 to 2 in 1, the character font on the physical page satisfies 24 pt.

  In this way, the output condition changing unit 23g converts the detected character size into an output character size that takes into account preset output conditions such as reduction / enlargement, and the output character size is the output restricted character size (limit character size). ), It is not only the character size of characters in the document, but also the character size of the document to be printed in consideration of the case where the character size changes depending on the set output conditions. For example, when the character size is smaller than the restricted output character size as the limit of legibility, the logical page is enlarged without changing the layout as the output condition set when printing the document. The output conditions can be changed to multiple physical pages, and it is possible to properly and more appropriately print characters with the intended layout. Kill.

  In the above description, the output condition is changed based on either the character size or layout of the document. However, the output condition is output based on a plurality of factors such as the character size of the document, the layout and paper size, and the change priority. The output change process may be performed so as to maintain a character size greater than the restricted character size.

  For example, a so-called 2-in-1 layout is specified in which two pages of document data are converted into one page of print data and printed on a single sheet of paper, and the paper size is A4 and the output restriction character size is 16 pt or more. If it is, the layout, paper size, poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting) can be changed.

  That is, in this case, in the driver 23, the font size inspection unit 23 e has the font size (for example, 8 pt) of the document information that is logical information of the document from the document data delivered from the application software 21 as described above. To extract.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the output condition inspecting unit 23f displays the number of layout divisions that are various output conditions (currently, the number of divisions is 2 because the layout is 2 in 1), the enlargement ratio, and poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting) ) And priorities of these output conditions are extracted (step S301).

  Then, the output condition changing unit 23g performs the character enlargement determination control process, the poster print process shown in FIG. 4, and the character change process shown in FIG. 5 based on the priority of the output condition extracted in step S301. A determination control process is performed (step S302), and either the character enlargement process non-applicable or the character enlargement process applicable is executed according to the character enlargement determination control process (steps S303 and S304).

  For example, the font size (detected character size) of the document information extracted by the font size inspection unit 23e is 8 pt, and the output conditions extracted by the output inspection unit 23f are layout 2in1, paper size A4, output restriction character size 16pt. When the priority is in the order of poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting), paper size (enlarged), and layout, the execution of the layout change is the highest priority. After executing the character enlargement determination control process and converting the document data to logical data, the output font size (output character size) when converting one page of the logical data to one page of the physical page is the output restricted character size. As described above, even if the layout is changed to 1in1 and the layout is changed, the output character size will exceed the output restricted character size. If not, the A4 logical page is enlarged to the A3 logical page for printing with the paper size enlarged from A4 to A3. If the output character size does not exceed the output restricted character size, the A3 size is used. Character enlargement processing is performed for poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting) in which one logical page is represented by two A3 size physical pages.

  If the character size does not become larger than the output restricted character size even if poster printing (enlarged continuous shooting), paper size (enlarged), and layout change are performed in accordance with the priority, each process described above is made to be as large as possible. I do.

  In this way, it is possible to sequentially change the output condition according to the priority of the output condition set by the user so that the character size becomes equal to or larger than the output restricted character size, and the output condition intended by the user can be achieved. While maintaining as much as possible, the character size can be set to an appropriate character size.

  Each output condition change process other than the output condition change process based on the layout change may be performed not only in document units but also in document page units.

  In this case, a font size inspection process by the font size inspection unit 23e and an output condition change process accompanied by a character enlargement determination process by the output condition change unit 23g are performed for each page.

Further, each output condition change process for outputting with a character size equal to or larger than the output restricted character size can set the number of print copies as appropriate, and the print process is performed for the set number of print copies.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  The present invention relates to a print control device such as a computer that converts a character size of a document to be printed into print data as an appropriate character size, a print control program such as a driver installed in the print control device such as the computer, and the print control. The present invention can be applied to a recording medium that records a program.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system to which an embodiment of a printing control apparatus, a printing control program, and a recording medium of the present invention is applied. The figure which shows the hardware and software structure of the client terminal of FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the driver of FIG. 2. The flowchart which shows the character expansion determination control processing by the driver of FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing character enlargement determination control processing in consideration of a print layout by the driver of FIG. 1. 5 is a flowchart showing character enlargement determination control processing based on priority for specifying the poster printing, layout, and paper size output conditions of the document by the driver of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing system NW network CL1-CLn Client terminal Pr1-Prm Printer 11 Recording medium reading part 12 Memory | storage part 13 Input part 14 Display part 15 Parallel I / F
16 USB I / F
17 Network I / F
21 Application 22 Spooler 23 Driver 23a Data receiving unit 23b Data sending unit 23c Drawing unit 23d Display control unit 23e Font size checking unit 23f Output condition checking unit 23g Output condition changing unit

Claims (11)

  A print control apparatus that converts document data for which printing has been instructed into print data corresponding to a printing apparatus that is a printing destination in accordance with an output condition set for the document data, wherein the character size of the document data is changed. A character size detecting unit for detecting the detected character size; and determining whether the detected character size detected by the character size detecting unit is smaller than a predetermined limit character size, and the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size. If it is smaller, the logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data is changed to an output condition for printing the physical page with the number of pages having a character size larger than the limit character size. And a printing control apparatus.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character size detection unit detects the most frequently occurring character size of the document data as the detected character size.   The print control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the character size detection unit detects the most frequently occurring character size of text data in the document data as the detected character size.   When the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, the output condition changing means converts the logical page data from the logical page data based on a result of dividing the limit character size by the detected character size. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print condition is changed to an output condition for printing on a physical page having a number of pages equal to or larger than the limit character size.   The output condition changing means converts the detected character size into an output character size that takes into account preset output conditions such as reduction / enlargement, and determines whether the output character size is smaller than the limit character size. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is configured to make a determination.   A print control program for converting document data for which printing has been instructed into print data corresponding to a printing apparatus as a printing destination in accordance with an output condition set for the document data, the character size of the document data being A character size detection processing step to detect as a detected character size, and whether or not the detected character size detected in the character size detection processing step is smaller than a predetermined limit character size, and the detected character size is the limit character size The logical page data is created from the page data of the document data, and the logical page data is changed to an output condition for printing on physical pages having the number of pages whose character size is equal to or larger than the limit character size. And a condition change processing step.   The print control program according to claim 6, wherein the character size detection processing step detects the most frequently occurring character size of the document data as the detected character size.   8. The print control program according to claim 7, wherein the character size detection processing step detects the most frequently appearing character size of body data in the document data as the detected character size.   When the detected character size is smaller than the limit character size, the output condition change processing step converts the logical page data from the logical page data based on a result obtained by dividing the limit character size by the detected character size. The print control program according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the print condition is changed to an output condition for printing on a physical page having a size equal to or larger than the limit character size.   The output condition change processing step converts the detected character size into an output character size that takes into account preset output conditions such as reduction / enlargement, and whether or not the output character size is smaller than the limit character size. The print control program according to claim 6, wherein the print control program is determined. 11. A recording medium for recording a print control program for converting document data instructed to print into print data, wherein the print control program according to claim 6 is recorded as the print control program. A recording medium characterized by the above.

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