JP2008250881A - Printed matter inspection device and printed matter inspection program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printed matter inspection device and a printed matter inspection program for inspecting the existence of output failure of printer matter without requiring labor so much, in output of the printed matter of a plurality of versions. <P>SOLUTION: This printed matter inspection device has a data acquiring part for acquiring printing data of expressing the printed matter of the plurality of version, a medium quantity predicting part for predicting a quantity of printing medium in the respective printed matter output by an output device outputting the printed matter of the plurality of versions by using the printing medium in response to the printing data by analyzing the printing data, a measured value acquiring part for acquiring a measured value from a measuring device for measuring the quantity of printing medium in the respective printed matter of the plurality of versions output by the output device, and a determining part for determining whether or not the output of the respective printed matter by the output device is normal, by comparing the quantity of printing medium predicted by the medium quantity predicting part, with the measured value (of expressing the quantity of printing medium) acquired by the measured value acquiring part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printed matter inspection apparatus and a printed matter inspection program for inspecting whether or not output of a plurality of versions of printed matter is normal.

  In recent years, technology for creating print data by taking out information stored in a database and creating print data by combining the retrieved information with predetermined text, pictures, photos, etc. Progressing. With this technology, as with direct mail and New Year's cards, the printed content differs for each printed matter, such as the address and name of the destination, and for other printed content, the printed content is common to multiple printed materials. It is frequently used when creating printed materials. In this way, printing of a printed material in which only a part of the printed content is different for each printed material is called variable printing, and at present, information that gives the above-described different printed content is read from a database or the like, Various types of variable application software are known as software combined with image data and character data that are common parts.

In variable printing, a large number of printed materials with different printing contents are created for each printed material. After printing, whether the required number of printed materials has been obtained (i.e., there is no print loss or no doubling) ) Is very time-consuming for humans to inspect each printed matter one by one. Therefore, recently, an identification mark for identifying the printed content of each printed matter is attached to each printed matter at the time of printing work, and the reader reads the identification mark after printing, so that the required number of printed matter is obtained. A method for inspecting whether or not has been obtained has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-301813 A

When an image is output on a sheet by an output device, the output may be performed in a state where a plurality of sheets are stuck to each other due to static electricity or the like. Such a bundle of sheets being handled as a single sheet is generally called double feeding. When double feeding occurs, an image is output only on the top sheet of the bundle of sheets, and the remaining sheets are in a blank state, so there is a problem of defective printed matter that the printed matter becomes unnecessarily bulky. Arise. In the method described in Patent Document 1, when double feeding occurs, the above-described identification mark is likely to be output and read in a state where the sheets are bundled, even if a printed matter is defective. Is difficult to detect.

  In addition, a method of detecting whether double feed is detected by detecting whether the thickness of the printed material exceeds a predetermined value is also conceivable. However, in variable printing, the amount of description of the portions with different print contents described above is different for each printed material. Since there are many differences, in variable printing, the double feed does not always occur because the thickness of the printed material exceeds a predetermined value. For this reason, when variable printing is performed, the conventional inspection method requires human labor to perform inspection, and inspection efficiency is poor.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a printed matter inspection apparatus and a printed matter inspection program for inspecting whether or not there is an output failure of a printed matter without trouble in outputting a plurality of versions of printed matter.

In order to achieve the above object, the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention comprises:
A data acquisition unit for acquiring print data representing a plurality of versions of printed matter;
A medium amount predicting unit that predicts the amount of the print medium in each printed matter output by the output device that outputs the plurality of versions of the printed matter using the print medium according to the print data, by analyzing the print data;
A measurement value acquisition unit that acquires a measurement value from a measurement device that measures the amount of the print medium in each of the multiple versions of printed matter output by the output device;
By comparing the amount of the print medium predicted by the medium amount prediction unit and the measurement value (the amount of print medium represented by the measurement value) acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit, the output of each printed matter by the output device is performed. And a determination unit for determining whether or not it is normal.

  Here, the above “amount of print medium” represents a physical amount of the print medium such as the number, thickness, and weight of the print medium.

  In the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention, a predicted value of the amount of print medium can be obtained, and the output of the printed matter is normal by comparing the predicted value with a measured value of the amount of print medium actually output. It can be inspected. For this reason, it is not necessary for humans to inspect and inspect the output defect of the printed matter easily.

  Further, in the printed matter inspection apparatus according to the present invention, “the print data is used in common among the plurality of versions in the image constituting the plurality of versions of the printed matter, and the plurality of the master data are arranged in the image. The variable elements that are used and arranged individually in each version are separately represented, and the master element represented by the print data acquired by the data acquisition unit and the variable elements are combined to provide the multiple versions. A form of “having an image creating unit that creates an image constituting the printed matter” is a preferable form.

  The case where the image constituting the multiple-version printed matter described above has a master element that is used and arranged in common among a plurality of versions and a variable element that is individually used and arranged in each of a plurality of versions is described above. This print product is a variable print product. Variable print is the simplest and most convenient print method for creating a plurality of versions of a print product having partially common elements. However, in this variable printing, a large amount of printed matter is often output, and it is particularly necessary to inspect whether there is an output defect of the printed matter without taking time and effort.

  According to the preferred embodiment, by applying the present invention to variable printing, the presence or absence of output failure of the variable printed material can be inspected without taking time and the advantages of the variable printing described above can be utilized.

In order to achieve the above object, the printed matter inspection program of the present invention comprises:
Built into a computer system, on that computer system,
A data acquisition unit for acquiring print data representing a plurality of versions of printed matter;
A medium amount predicting unit that predicts the amount of the print medium in each printed matter output by the output device that outputs the plurality of versions of the printed matter using the print medium according to the print data, by analyzing the print data;
A measurement value acquisition unit that acquires a measurement value from a measurement device that measures the amount of the print medium in each of the multiple versions of printed matter output by the output device;
By comparing the amount of the print medium predicted by the medium amount prediction unit and the measurement value (the amount of print medium represented by the measurement value) acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit, the output of each printed matter by the output device is performed. It is characterized by constructing a determination unit for determining whether or not it is normal.

  By executing the printed matter inspection program of the present invention in a computer system, the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention can be easily realized.

  As for the printed matter inspection program according to the present invention, only the basic form is shown here, but this is merely to avoid duplication, and the printed matter inspection program according to the present invention includes only the above basic form. Rather, various forms corresponding to the above-described forms of the printed matter inspection apparatus are included.

  Furthermore, elements such as a determination unit that the printed matter inspection program of the present invention constructs on a computer system may be one element constructed by one program part, and one element may be constituted by a plurality of program parts. It may be constructed, or a plurality of elements may be constructed by one program part. In addition, these elements may be constructed so as to execute such an action by themselves, or may be executed by giving instructions to other programs and program components incorporated in the computer system. It may be constructed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the output of the printed matter of several versions, the presence or absence of the output defect of a printed matter can be test | inspected without taking an effort.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a variable printing system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  The variable printing system includes a personal computer 100 and an output device 2170. In the variable printing system, execution data for executing variable printing is created by the personal computer 100, and the created execution data is included in the created execution data. Based on this, the output device 2170 performs output on the paper. This output device 2170 is an output device capable of switching between double-sided output and single-sided output, and which output method is adopted is determined by the output setting of the output device 2170 on the personal computer 100 by the user. . The variable printing system also includes a post-processing machine 2171, and the output paper is subjected to post-processing such as folding processing and binding processing as necessary by the post-processing machine 2171. A variable print is completed. The variable printing here refers to a printing form in which a plurality of printed materials are created by combining different printing contents such as a destination and printing contents common to each other such as New Year's greetings and advertisements, Different print contents are called records. In the following, as an example of variable printing performed in this variable printing system, a booklet direct mail 210 in which a postal code, an address, and a name as a destination are described and a message and an image are combined is described. A case where a part of each of a plurality of predetermined destinations is created will be described. In this direct mail 210, postal code, address, name, and image and message text (hereinafter referred to as individual image and individual message text) corresponding to each destination, which are information about the destination, are described. Except for these destination information, individual images, and individual message texts, a common message text and image (hereinafter referred to as a common image and a common message text, respectively) are described in any direct mail 210 sent to any destination. . Accordingly, in this example, the zip code, address, name, individual image, and individual message text correspond to the record.

  Information on the postal code, address, and name described in the direct mail 210 is listed as a list in one Excel file 220 input in advance to the personal computer 100. Data representing the postal code, address, and name information is extracted from the Excel file 220 by the variable application 10a, and this information is stored in the individual image 210c and the individual message sentence 210d that are input to the personal computer 100 in advance. At the same time, the execution data described above is created by combining the common image 210a and the common message sentence 210b, which are common items for all the destinations. This execution data is data in the PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language) format in which the contents of the record are described for each record. The execution data in the PPML format (hereinafter abbreviated as PPML data) includes The record printing position, color, font, etc. are also defined. Based on the PPML data, printing raster data representing the printing contents for each printed matter is generated by a RIP (Raster Image Processor) 10, and output is performed in the output device 2170 based on the raster data. A plurality of sheets 210 ′ on which images are output by the output device 2170 are bundled and stapled or folded at a center dotted line 2170 a by a post-processing machine 2171 to form a booklet direct mail 210. Is completed. Here, the number and size of individual images and the length of individual message sentences generally differ depending on individual destinations. For this reason, the thickness and weight of the completed direct mail 210 depend on individual destinations. It is a town.

  The completed direct mail 210 is placed in the envelope 2100 so that the destination described in the direct mail 210 can be read from the outside through the transparent portion 2100a of the envelope 2100, and is delivered to each destination in this state.

  In the above description, the output device 2170 and the post-processing machine 2171 share the function between the output function and the post-processing function. In the variable printing system, the output device 2170 and the post-processing machine 2171 are used. Instead, the same variable printing is executed even if a single apparatus having both an output function and a post-processing function is used. Further, here, the PPML format is adopted as the format of the execution data, but the present invention can adopt a format other than the PPML format.

  The personal computer 100 of this variable printing system can predict the thickness and weight of the direct mail 210 by analyzing the PPML data described above. Further, this variable printing system is provided with a measuring device 2172 for measuring the thickness and weight of the completed direct mail 210, and each measurement value of the measuring device 2172 is input to the personal computer 100 and described above. It is collated with each predicted value of thickness and weight.

  In general, when variable printing is performed, printing errors such as missing pages, overlapping pages, or the presence of blank pages in the created print due to malfunction of the output device or post-processing device, etc. May occur. In particular, when an image is output on a sheet by an output device, the output may be performed in a state where a plurality of sheets are stuck to each other due to static electricity or the like. It is generally called double feed to be handled as a single sheet. When double feeding occurs, an image is output only on the uppermost sheet among the bundled sheets, and the remaining sheets are in a blank state, which causes a problem that the printed matter is unnecessarily bulky.

  In the variable printing system of FIG. 1, it is possible to check whether or not a direct mail having a printing defect has been created by comparing the above-described measured values of the completed direct mail 210 with the predicted values. In this variable printing system, the personal computer 100 operates as an embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention. Hereinafter, the personal computer 100 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a personal computer operating as an embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram thereof.

  The personal computer 100 includes a main body 110 incorporating a CPU, a RAM memory, a hard disk, and the like which will be described later, an image display device 120 that displays a screen on the display screen 121 according to an instruction from the main body 110, and a user's A keyboard 130 for inputting instructions and character information and a mouse 140 for inputting an instruction corresponding to the position by designating an arbitrary position on the display screen 121 are provided.

  The main body 110 further has an FD loading slot 111 into which a flexible disk (hereinafter abbreviated as FD) is loaded, and a CD-ROM loading slot 112 into which a CD-ROM is loaded. An FD drive and a CD-ROM drive (to be described later) for driving an FD and a CD-ROM are also incorporated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 110 includes a CPU 211 that executes various programs, a main memory 212 that reads programs stored in the hard disk device 213 and develops them for execution by the CPU 211, and various programs. And a hard disk device 213 and FD 2140 in which data and the like are stored are loaded, a FD drive 214 and a CD-ROM 2150 that access the loaded FD 2140 are loaded, and a CD-ROM drive 215 that accesses the loaded CD-ROM 2150 Is built-in. These various elements and the image display device 120, the keyboard 130, and the mouse 140 shown in FIG. 2 are also connected to each other via a bus 1200. Further, as described above, an output device 2170 for performing output is provided outside the personal computer 100. In order to send output data from the personal computer 100, the personal computer 100 has an input / output interface 216. Built in. The input / output interface 216 is also connected to the above-described various elements constituting the hardware inside the personal computer 100 via the bus 1200.

  Next, an embodiment of the printed matter inspection program of the present invention will be described.

  When one embodiment of the printed matter inspection program of the present invention is stored in, for example, a CD-ROM 2150, when the CD-ROM 2150 is loaded into the main body 110 from the CD-ROM loading slot 112, the CD-ROM 2150 is loaded. Is stored in the hard disk device 213 of the personal computer 100 by the CD-ROM drive 215. When the printed matter inspection program installed in the hard disk device 213 is activated, the personal computer 100 operates as an embodiment of the printed matter inspection device of the present invention.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the printed matter inspection program of the present invention.

  Here, the printed matter inspection program 900 is stored in the CD-ROM 2150. The storage medium for storing the printed matter inspection program 900 according to the present invention is not limited to the CD-ROM 2150 shown in FIG. 4, but also the hard disk device 213 and FD 2140 shown in FIG. 3, and not shown in FIGS. Various storage media such as DVD and MO can be employed.

  This printed matter inspection program 900 is executed in the personal computer 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and operates the personal computer 100 as one embodiment of the present invention as described above. The RIP generation unit 20, An analysis unit 21, a calculation unit 22, a collation unit 23, a print information acquisition unit 24, a measurement information acquisition unit 25, and a display control unit 26 are included.

  Detailed contents of each element of the printed matter inspection program 900 will be described later together with the operation of each part in the personal computer 100.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of elements constructed on the personal computer for operating the personal computer shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as an embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention and actions by these elements. It is.

  When the printed matter inspection program 900 shown in FIG. 4 is installed in the personal computer 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the RIP 10, the analysis unit 11, the calculation unit 12, the collation unit 13, the print information acquisition unit 14, and the measurement information acquisition unit 15 Each element of the display control unit 16 is constructed on the personal computer 100, and this personal computer 100 operates as an embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention. The RIP 10, the storage unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the display control unit 13, and the print control unit 14 are the RIP generation unit 20, the analysis unit 21, the calculation unit 22, the collation unit 23, and the print in the printed matter inspection program 900 shown in FIG. The information acquisition unit 24, the measurement information acquisition unit 25, and the display control unit 26 are each constructed on the personal computer 100. Therefore, each element in FIG. 4 corresponds to each element in FIG. 5, and each element in FIG. 5 includes the hardware of the personal computer 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the OS and application executed on the personal computer 100. 4 is different from the first embodiment in that each element of the printed matter inspection program 900 shown in FIG. 4 is constituted only by an application program. Note that the variable application 10a shown in FIG. 1 is installed in advance using a recording medium for variable application installation separately from the installation by the printed matter inspection program 900 described above.

  Below, each element shown in FIG. 5 and the outline of the effect | action by each element are demonstrated.

  When the PPML data is created by the variable application 10a, the created PPML data is input to the analysis unit 11. Here, the PPML data is data that represents print content (master element) common to each destination, and print content (variable element) that is generally different depending on each destination, divided for each record. It consists of and. The analysis unit 11 analyzes the data of the master element to obtain the finished page size of the direct mail 210 in FIG. 1 (the size of the print area in which images and characters are printed in each page of the direct mail), and further, The record data is analyzed to determine the number of pages of each record, and data about the page size and the number of pages of each record is output to the calculation unit 12. The PPML data that has been analyzed by the analysis unit 11 is converted into printing raster data representing the contents of printing for each individual printed matter by the RIP 10 and sent to the output device 2170. Then, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, a direct mail 210 is created for each destination. The measurement device 2172 measures the thickness and weight of the created direct mail 210, and the measurement value data (measurement information) is acquired by the measurement information acquisition unit 15 and input to the verification unit 13. The print information acquisition unit 14 selects information on the output method such as selection of double-sided output / single-sided output and the number of pages to be output on one side of the paper, the basis weight of the paper, the thickness of the paper, and the paper size. Such information about the paper is acquired, and the acquired information (print information) is input to the calculation unit 12. The calculation unit 12 calculates the thickness and the thickness of the direct mail 210 of each destination from the data of the finished page size and the number of pages of each record obtained by the analysis unit 11 and the print information acquired by the print information acquisition unit 14. Each predicted value of weight is calculated. These predicted values for the thickness and weight are input to the collation unit 13, and collated with the measurement values obtained by the measuring device 2172. The collation unit 16 determines, for each destination, whether or not the predicted value and the measured value are significantly different from each other, and outputs the determination result to the display control unit 16. The display control unit 16 reads the postal code, address, and name information for each destination from the Excel file 220, and associates the determination result with the postal code, address, and name information for each destination. The image is displayed on the image display device 120.

  Here, the analysis unit 11 when acquiring the PPML data corresponds to an example of the data acquisition unit according to the present invention, and the calculation unit 12, the print information acquisition unit 14, and the analysis unit 11 when analyzing the PPML data. And the measurement information acquisition unit 15 corresponds to an example of a measurement value acquisition unit according to the present invention. The collation unit 13 corresponds to an example of a determination unit according to the present invention, and the RIP 10 corresponds to an example of an image creation unit according to the present invention.

  Here, the contents of the Excel file 220 and the PPML data will be described.

  6 is a diagram showing the contents of the Excel file of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of PPML data.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the Excel file 220 includes a list of member number, postal code, address, surname, name, and telephone number information for each destination, and is stored in the storage unit 11. The excel data is data that represents this information. In this list, the postal code, address, last name, and name information enclosed by dotted lines are the contents described on the direct mail 210 as shown in FIG.

  In the computer 100 of FIG. 5, the member number enclosed by the one-dot chain line in FIG. For example, as for the destination person with the postal code “330-0845”, the address “Saitama Prefecture…”, the surname “Aikawa”, and the name “Nana” located at the top of the dotted line in FIG. Since the number is “00101”, the record with the postal code “330-0845”, the address “Saitama Prefecture…”, the last name “Aikawa”, and the name “Nana” at the top is recognized as the record “00101”. Is done. Specifically, the identifier of each record is defined at the head of the data representing each record in the PPML data.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the PPML data starts with master element data representing common items for all destinations, such as the common image 210a, common message sentence 210b, and layout information in FIG. Yes. The master element data also includes information on the finished page size (the size of the print area in which images and characters are printed in each page of direct mail). The finished page size is shown in FIG. In the sentence <PAGE_DESIGN TrimBox = “0 0 11... 97” /> shown in FIG. 2, it is represented by a series of numerical values described between two quotation marks “” ”“ ””.

  Further, under the master element data, data representing the contents of each record is described for each record. For example, for the record having the membership number “00101”, the identifier of the record described above is “<DOCUMENT_SET Label =” as “<DOCUMENT_SET Label =“ 00101 ”>” shown at the top of FIG. Later, it is defined as the number between the two quotation marks "" "" "". Also, as shown in the figure, the data “00101” is followed by the text “<DOCUMENT_SET Label =“ 00101 ”>”, and the text “</ DOCUMENT_SET>” The description of the data representing the record “00101” ends. The data of each page of the record “00101” is classified for each page, and the data of each page includes a sentence “PAGE Label =...” And a sentence “</ PAGE>”. It is described in the area sandwiched between. In the drawing, the state where the data of the page of the record “00101” is divided and described for each page is shown by the data block surrounded by a dotted line. Here, for example, numbers between two quotation marks “” ”“ ”” such as <PAGE Label = “1”> at the top of these data blocks are names given to the data of each page, In this figure, serial numbers from 1 to 10 are used as the names of the data of each page for the data of 10 pages of the record “00101”.

  Other records are also described with the same data structure as the record “00101” described above. However, as described above, since the number of pages is generally different for each record, the number of the data blocks is different for each record.

  Here, the membership number is adopted as the record identifier. However, the record identifier may be other than the membership number, for example, “name” or “phone number”, or in the Excel file. The order (for example, 10th) described in the above may be used as an identifier as it is. In this way, which information is adopted as the identifier is determined by the setting of the variable application 10a by the user. However, the identifier is preferably discriminating in identifying the records from each other, and the member number used as the identifier here is assumed to be different for each destination.

  Next, the operation of each part in FIG. 5 when checking the thickness and weight of the direct mail will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of each part of FIG. 5 when checking the thickness and weight of the direct mail.

  When checking the thickness and weight of the direct mail, the print information acquisition unit 14 in FIG. 5 outputs the output method (double-sided output or single-sided output, single-sided paper output when creating the direct mail 210 in FIG. 1). Print information such as setting information of the number of pages to be printed, paper basis weight, paper thickness, and paper size paper information are acquired (step S1). Here, prior to the creation of the direct mail 210, the output setting of the output device 2170 is performed by the user in order to specify the output method and the type of paper used for output. The print information acquisition unit 14 acquires the information of the output method designated by the user from this output setting, and further, the basis weight for various types of paper stored in the print information acquisition unit 14 in advance. Referring to a table showing the paper thickness and paper size, information on the basis weight, paper thickness, and paper size is obtained for the type of paper specified by the output setting. The acquired print information is input to the calculation unit 12 in FIG.

  When the PPML data is created by the variable application 10a, the analysis unit 11 in FIG. 5 analyzes the data representing the master element in the PPML data in FIG. 7, and <PAGE_DESIGN TrimBox = ”0 0 11.・ ······················································· Determine the finished page size from the description of 97 ”/> Further, the analysis unit 11 analyzes the data of each record, and each page of each page sandwiched between the sentence <PAGE Label = ...> and the sentence </ PAGE> as shown in FIG. The number of pages representing each record is obtained by counting the number of areas representing data for each record (step S2). The obtained finished page size and the number of pages of each record are input to the calculation unit 12 in FIG.

  The calculation unit 12 predicts the thickness and weight of the direct mail based on the print information input from the print information acquisition unit 11 and the information on the finished page size and the number of pages of each record input from the analysis unit 12. Is calculated for each destination by the following procedure (step S3).

First, the calculation unit 12 calculates a predicted value of the number of sheets required for creating direct mail. For example, in the situation where two pages are set to be output on one side of the sheet as in the sheet 210 ′ of FIG. 1, and the duplex output is set, the predicted value of the number of sheets is calculated by the following formula. The
Predicted value of the number of sheets = (integer number of pages of record + 3) / 4 rounded down integer value For example, if the number of pages of the record is 10 pages, the number of sheets is 13/4 = 3.25 according to the above formula. The number after the decimal point is rounded down to 3 sheets. Here, in the above formula, the division by 4 is a setting for outputting two pages on one side of the paper, and further, since double-sided output is set, it is possible to output four pages per sheet. The reason why 3 is added to the number of pages in the record is to count the last sheet that does not output pages in all areas on both sides, which is present when the number of pages in the record is not divisible by 4. is there.

Also, in the setting to output two pages on one side of a sheet with single-sided output or the setting to output one page on one side of a sheet with double-sided output, the predicted value of the number of sheets is calculated by the following equation.
Predicted value of the number of sheets = (number of record pages + 1) / 2 rounded down to the nearest whole number Note that with one-sided output, the estimated number of sheets is the number of pages in the record. Will be the same.

When the predicted value of the number of sheets required for creating the direct mail is obtained, the calculation unit 12 then uses the predicted value of the number of sheets and the predicted value of the thickness and weight of the direct mail as follows: Calculate with
Predicted thickness = (paper thickness) x (predicted number of sheets)
Predicted weight = (basis weight) x (paper size) x (predicted number of sheets)
Here, since the weight of the staple of the stapler at the time of the stapler binding by the post-processing machine 2171 in FIG. 1 is very small, it is ignored in the calculation of the predicted value of the weight. The predicted values of the thickness and weight of the direct mail for each destination obtained by the calculation of the calculation unit 12 are input to the verification unit 13.

  On the other hand, after the analysis of the PPML data by the analysis unit 11 is performed, raster data is created based on the PPML data, and the output device 2170 and the post-processing machine 2171 for each destination as shown in FIG. The booklet direct mail 210 has been completed, and the measuring device 2172 measures the thickness and weight of the completed direct mail 210. The measurement information acquisition unit 15 acquires, in real time, measurement value data (measurement information) on the thickness and weight of the direct mail 210 as the measurement device 2172 performs the measurement work on the direct mail 210 of each destination. (Step S4). The acquired measurement information is input to the verification unit 13.

  The collation unit 13 predicts the thickness and weight of the direct mail 210 calculated by the calculation unit 22 using the measurement values for the thickness and weight of the direct mail 210 described in the measurement information for each destination. And for each measured value, it is checked whether or not the difference between the measured value and the predicted value is less than or equal to a predetermined amount. Further, the collating unit 13 calculates the mailing cost of the direct mail by collating the predicted value of the weight of the direct mail with the numerical value described in the postage fee table stored in the collating unit 13 in advance. (Step S5). This postage fee table describes the postage according to the weight of the postal items and is the same as that distributed at the post office.

  In addition, since direct mail often belongs to non-standard sizes in the category of mail size, and it is rare that the thickness is extremely large, here it is based on the estimated value of the weight of direct mail. An example will be described in which the mailing cost of direct mail is calculated based on ordinary mail charges. However, in a situation where a thick direct mail is created, the computer 100 may enter the ordinary mail category or the mail parcel category based on the predicted value of the thickness of the direct mail instead of the collation unit 13 described above. By adopting a collation unit that can determine whether to enter, it is also possible to calculate the postage including the case where it is sent by mail parcel. Further, in a situation where a direct mail of a small booklet is created, the computer 100 receives the paper size data and the number of pages output to one side of the paper from the print information acquisition unit 14 instead of the collation unit 13 described above. Acquires the size (width) of the mail based on the data and adopts a collation unit that determines whether the size of the direct mail is non-standard or non-standard. You can also calculate the postage for direct mail.

  The collation result and the postage value obtained by the collation unit 13 are sent to the display control unit 16 in FIG. Further, the display control unit 16 obtains the data of the zip code, address, and name for each destination from the Excel file 220 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the data, the above-described collation result and the postage. Are associated with each other and displayed on the image display device 120 (step S6). In this association, a member number as an identifier is used.

  FIG. 9 is a collation result display window showing the collation result and the postage displayed on the image display device of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the display column 304, the postage and the collation result are displayed on the right side of the postal code, address, and name as the destination. Here, the collation result indicates that if any one of the measurement values of the thickness and weight of the direct mail deviates from the corresponding predicted value by more than a predetermined amount, “×” is indicated as a printing defect. If any deviation from the predicted value is less than or equal to a predetermined amount for any measured value, “◯” is described as good printing.

  Below the display column 304, a “display only defective print” button 305 and a “display all” button 306 are provided. The user can display the postage and the collation result only for the defective printing destination by clicking the “Display only defective printing” button 305 using the mouse 140 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. Further, by clicking the “display all” button 306, the postage and the collation result can be displayed for all the destinations. In this figure, a state when the “display all” button 306 is clicked is shown.

  In this way, the display of the postage and the verification result allows the user to grasp to which destination the direct mail with the printing failure is sent, and at the same time, the postage for each destination is also shown. I can grasp it.

  In the above description, the display field 304 of FIG. 9 displays all information of the postal code, address, and name described in the direct mail. However, in the present invention, the displayed contents are: What is necessary is just to have a sufficient amount of information that allows the user to specify a printed matter that has failed to be printed. For example, a part of the information of the record described in the printed matter may be displayed.

  In the above description, the measuring device 2172 in FIG. 5 measures the thickness and weight of the direct mail, and the predicted value and the measured value are compared for the thickness and weight of the direct mail. In addition to the thickness and weight of the printed material, a measured value for the number of sheets of printed material is also acquired as the amount of the printing medium referred to in the present invention, and the measured value is calculated based on, for example, the predicted value of the number of sheets obtained by the above-described method. To determine whether or not the output is normal.

1 is a configuration diagram of a variable printing system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 1 is an external perspective view of a personal computer that operates as an embodiment of a printed matter inspection apparatus of the present invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the personal computer which operate | moves as one Embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the printed matter inspection program of this invention. It is a figure showing the outline of the effect | action by those elements constructed | assembled on this personal computer in order to operate the personal computer shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 as one Embodiment of the printed matter inspection apparatus of this invention. It is a figure showing the content of the Excel file of FIG. It is a figure showing the structure of PPML data. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of each part of FIG. 5 when checking the thickness and weight of the direct mail. FIG. 9 is a verification result display window showing a verification result and a postage displayed on the image display device of FIG. 8.

Explanation of symbols

10 RIP
10a variable application 11 analysis unit 12 calculation unit 13 collation unit 14 print information acquisition unit 15 measurement information acquisition unit 16 display control unit 20 RIP generation unit 21 analysis unit 22 calculation unit 23 collation unit 24 print information acquisition unit 25 measurement information acquisition unit 26 Display control unit 100 Personal computer 110 Main unit 111 FD loading port 112 CD-ROM loading port 120 Image display device 121 Display screen 130 Keyboard 140 Mouse 1200 Bus 210 Direct mail 210 'Paper 210a Common image 210b Common message sentence 210c Individual image 210d Individual Message sentence 220 Excel file 2100 Envelope 2100a Transparent portion 2170a Dotted line 211 CPU
212 Main memory 213 Hard disk device 214 FD drive 2140 FD
215 CD-ROM drive 2150 CD-ROM
216 Input / output interface 2170 Output device 2171 Post-processing device 2172 Measuring device 300 Verification result display window 304 Display field 305 “Display only defective print” button 306 “Display all” button 900 Printed matter inspection program

Claims (3)

A data acquisition unit for acquiring print data representing a plurality of versions of printed matter;
A medium amount predicting unit that predicts the amount of print medium in each printed matter output by an output device that outputs the plurality of versions of printed matter using a print medium according to the print data by analyzing the print data;
A measurement value acquisition unit that acquires measurement values from a measurement device that measures the amount of print medium in each of the multiple versions of printed matter output by the output device;
By comparing the amount of the print medium predicted by the medium amount prediction unit with the measurement value (the amount of print medium represented by the measurement value) acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit, the output of each printed matter by the output device is performed. A printed matter inspection apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the image is normal. The print data is arranged in the image constituting the plurality of versions of the printed material, and the master element commonly used and arranged among the plurality of versions, and the image is individually used and arranged in the plurality of versions. It represents the variable element separately,
2. An image creating unit that creates an image constituting the multiple-version printed matter by combining a master element and a variable element represented by print data obtained by the data obtaining unit. Printed matter inspection equipment. Built into a computer system, on that computer system,
A data acquisition unit for acquiring print data representing a plurality of versions of printed matter;
A medium amount predicting unit that predicts the amount of print medium in each printed matter output by an output device that outputs the plurality of versions of printed matter using a print medium according to the print data by analyzing the print data;
A measurement value acquisition unit that acquires measurement values from a measurement device that measures the amount of print medium in each of the multiple versions of printed matter output by the output device;
By comparing the amount of the print medium predicted by the medium amount prediction unit with the measurement value (the amount of print medium represented by the measurement value) acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit, the output of each printed matter by the output device is performed. A printed matter inspection program characterized by constructing a determination unit for determining whether or not it is normal.

Images