JP2009056631A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the printing quality of barcodes even in the printing demand other than a specified drawing direction. <P>SOLUTION: A printing data receiving section 102 receives printing data including discriminating code drawing commands, a barcode setting command detecting section 105 detects that the printing data include the discriminating code drawing commands, a barcode drawing command detecting section 106 detects the drawing direction of the discriminating codes, and a sheet running direction selecting section 111 preferentially selects either of a first media storing section and a second media storing section based on the drawing direction of the discriminating codes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints an identification code on a medium.

Conventionally, in a printing apparatus that prints a barcode, there remains a problem to be solved that the barcode reading rate decreases depending on the printing direction of the barcode. In order to solve this problem and stabilize the print quality of the barcode, Patent Document 1 discloses the contents of a printing apparatus that makes the ink printing direction and the barcode height direction substantially the same direction. Has been.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-44393

  However, even in the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when barcode printing is performed on a standard paper, the ink printing direction and the barcode height direction are substantially different. There remains a problem to be solved that a desired effect cannot be obtained with a print request other than a print request in the same direction, that is, a print request other than when the barcode drawing direction is specific.

  A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a data receiving unit that receives print data including an identification code drawing command, a command detection unit that detects that the identification code drawing command is included in the print data, and the detected identification code. A drawing direction detection unit that detects the drawing direction of the first medium, a first medium storage unit that stores the medium in the first direction, and a second medium storage unit that stores the medium in a second direction different from the first direction. A required feature is that the apparatus includes a selection unit that selects one of the first medium storage unit and the second medium storage unit based on the drawing direction of the identification code.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the drawing direction detection unit detects the drawing direction of the identification code, and the selection unit preferentially selects one of the first medium storage unit and the second medium storage unit based on the drawing direction. Since it becomes possible to select, it is possible to improve the print quality of the barcode even if the print request is other than the specific drawing direction.

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

Description of (Configuration) In this embodiment, a printing apparatus capable of printing by selecting a paper traveling direction so that the traveling direction of a standard-size paper and the bar code direction coincide with each other will be described. As a specific example, if the printing apparatus is equipped with an LED head, the print quality of the bar code varies depending on the paper running direction even in the same print direction, so depending on the print contents of the bar code, for example, A4 portrait / A4 One of the landscape orientations is to select and print one of the print quality. In order to achieve this object, the printing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured as follows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
This figure mainly shows the configuration of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment, in which the printer 101 receives print data including a barcode transmitted from the host PC 120 and performs printing.

  As shown in the figure, the printer 101 includes a print data receiving unit 102, a print data prefetching unit 103, a barcode setting command detection unit 105, a barcode drawing command detection unit 106, and a paper size selection command detection unit 108. , Coordinate rotation command detection unit 109, barcode drawing information storage unit 110, paper travel direction selection unit 111, loaded paper travel direction detection unit 112, tray 1 control unit 113, tray 2 control unit 114, printing A data analysis unit 115, a drawing processing unit 116, and an image forming unit 117 are provided.

  The print data receiving unit 102 is a part that receives print data transmitted from the host PC 120 through an arbitrary data transmission path such as a printer cable, a USB cable, or a network cable. In the present embodiment, the data transmission path may be any, so that it is not specifically specified.

  The print data prefetching unit 103 prefetches a print command related to barcode drawing before the print data analysis unit 115 which is a normal processing path analyzes the print data, and detects the presence of the command. It is. The print data prefetch unit 103 has a prefetch buffer 104 therein.

  The prefetch buffer 104 is a volatile memory area for temporarily copying, storing, and referring to print data for prefetching data contents. The barcode setting command detection unit 105 is a part that interprets the parameters specified in the barcode setting command and detects what setting is specified.

  The barcode drawing command detection unit 106 is a part that interprets parameters specified in the barcode drawing command and detects what kind of barcode is drawn. The bar code drawing command detection unit 106 includes a minimum bar size detection unit 107 therein. The minimum bar size detection unit 107 is a part that detects the minimum value of the bar width when the barcode is drawn, from the parameters of the barcode setting command.

  The paper size selection command detection unit 108 is a part that interprets the parameters set in the paper size selection command and detects what paper size is designated. The coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 is a part that interprets the parameters set in the coordinate rotation command and detects what coordinate system rotation angle is specified.

  The barcode drawing information storage unit 110 is a volatile memory that stores barcode drawing information detected by print data prefetching processing. The stored barcode drawing information includes a paper size on which barcode drawing is performed, a rotation direction at the time of drawing each barcode, a minimum barcode size, and the like.

  The paper traveling direction selection unit 111 is a part that selects a tray on which paper used for printing is set based on the barcode drawing information stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110. In particular, when the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus equipped with an LED head, a tray in which the paper running direction matches the barcode height direction is selected. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the printer has two sheet feeding trays, tray 1 and tray 2.

  The loaded paper travel direction detection unit 112 is a part that detects the paper size and paper travel direction set in the tray 1 and the tray 2. The tray 1 control unit 113 is a part that detects the paper size set in the tray 1 and the paper traveling direction, and controls paper feeding and paper conveyance for printing. The tray 2 control unit 114 is a part that detects the paper size and paper traveling direction set in the tray 2 and controls paper feeding and paper conveyance for printing.

  The print data analysis unit 115 is a part that interprets a print command included in the print data transmitted from the host PC 120 and converts it into an intermediate data format (display list) for performing a drawing process. This process is called an editing process in the printer internal process. Here, when the conversion to the intermediate data format is performed, the coordinate value specified in the print command is rotated so that the coordinate value corresponds to the paper traveling direction.

  The drawing processing unit 116 reads data in the intermediate drawing data format (display list) and generates image data having the same size as the paper size for printing on the memory. In addition, the drawing processing unit 116 is also a part having a function of actually drawing a barcode shape with a size enlarged / reduced to a predetermined size.

  The image forming unit 117 is a part that transmits the image data to the print head of the printer 101 and performs process control for causing the paper to run under the print head and transferring the toner to fix the toner on the paper. Each functional part described above is activated and generated when a CPU (not shown) provided in the printer 101 executes a predetermined control program stored in advance in a ROM (not shown).

  On the other hand, the host PC 120 is a computer that includes an input unit 120 a, a barcode application 121, a screen display control unit 124, and a print data transmission unit 125. The input unit 120a is a device that accepts a user input operation to the host PC 120, and is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse.

  The barcode application 121 is application software used by the user of the host PC 120 to perform barcode printing. When this application software is executed, the layout control unit 122 and the barcode drawing command generation unit 123 are activated and generated.

  The layout control unit 122 accepts the operation of the input unit 120a by the user, and the barcode drawing position and size, the barcode type, the information to be embedded as the barcode, the characters, figures, and images to be arranged around the barcode. This is the part for editing the layout.

  The barcode drawing command generation unit 123 is a part that generates a print command for causing the printer 101 to print a barcode. There are two methods for generating a print command: a method using a printer driver and a method actively generated by an application. However, any method may be used to explain the operation of this embodiment. The description of the specific configuration is omitted.

  The screen display control unit 124 controls the generation of a signal for displaying the contents laid out by the layout control unit 122 on a monitor device (not shown) of the host PC. The print data transmission unit 125 is a part that transmits print data to the printer 101.

Next, the tray configuration of the apparatus and the paper traveling direction in this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the paper orientation of the tray and the travel route.
As shown in the figure, the printer 101 in this embodiment includes two paper feed trays, a tray 1 (131) and a tray 2 (132), inside a housing 130 of the printer 101. A4 landscape paper 133 is stored in the tray (131). The tray 2 (132) stores A4 portrait paper.

The sheets mounted on the tray 1 (131) and the tray 2 (132) pass through a common sheet traveling path 135 and are conveyed to the print head so that printing is performed (in FIG. (The positions of the sheets set in the tray 1 (131) and the tray 2 (132) are image diagrams showing the positions of the sheets when the tray is pulled out from the printer 101 and the tray is viewed from directly above.)

Next, the printing contents when barcode printing is performed by the printer 101 will be described.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of barcode drawing.
FIG. 3A shows the barcode printing result when the paper size of the paper feed tray is A4 landscape. As shown in the figure, the A4 landscape paper 142 is transported in the paper traveling direction A toward the LED head 141, and printing is performed. At this time, an enlarged view of the dots drawn with the barcode is an enlarged view 144 of the dots. At this time, there is a problem that the toner spreads in the direction opposite to the paper traveling direction (downward in the drawing) or spreads and fixes due to a transfer error or the like. For this reason, the bar code 143 is drawn in an area where the black bar extends downward from the width that should be originally intended. In general, since a barcode has information on the width of the white area, the interval between the white areas is narrowed, which causes a problem of reducing the barcode reading rate.

  FIG. 3B shows the barcode printing result when the paper size of the paper feed tray is A4 portrait. As shown in the figure, the A4 vertically placed paper 145 is conveyed in the paper running direction A toward the LED head 141, and printing is performed. Note that the content printed on the A4 portrait paper 145 is the same as that of the A4 landscape paper 142 in FIG. 3A, and the printed content and the print position are the same if they are stacked by hand. is there. At this time, an enlarged view of the dots drawn on the A4 portrait paper 145 is an enlarged view 147 of the dots. As in FIG. 3A, the toner at this time spreads in the direction opposite to the paper running direction (downward in the drawing) or spreads and fixes due to a transfer error or the like. However, the downward direction, which is the bar direction of the barcode 146, and the downward direction, which is the direction in which the toner spreads and fixes, are the same direction, and the direction B of the LED head having the information as the barcode (in the drawing) In the left-right direction), since the toner does not spread, the reading rate of the barcode 146 does not decrease. Another reason why the reading rate does not decrease is that the number of LED elements corresponding to the resolution is mounted along the direction B one by one, and the spread of toner in the direction B is suppressed. It can be raised.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), when a barcode printing request in which the barcode height direction and the sheet traveling direction are arranged at right angles on the A4 landscape sheet is received, the sheet traveling direction is received. The selection unit 111 rotates the direction of the barcode and the print data by 90 degrees to determine whether or not the A4 landscape paper can be changed to the A4 portrait paper. The print output of b) is obtained.

  Next, an example of a command specification of a print command related to barcode drawing will be described. In general, there are various command systems for printer print commands, but the information indicated by the print commands is essentially the same. In this embodiment, as the print command system, the command name is first specified by two alphabetic characters, then additional parameters are specified as drawing information by separating them with commas, and finally a print command that ends with a semicolon. It shall be a system.

Four print commands related to specific barcode drawing will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the paper size selection command.
As shown in the figure, the paper size to be used for printing is designated by the PSn; command. n is a numerical parameter for designating the paper size, and its meaning is set by the numerical value of n as shown in the figure.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the coordinate rotation command.
FIG. 5A shows an example of the specification of the coordinate rotation command. The rotation of the origin of the coordinate system specified by the print command is specified by the ROn; command. In this embodiment, the position of the coordinate system is assumed to be located at any one of the four corners of the paper, and the coordinate rotation angle n is designated by 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. Shall. When the angle is 0 °, the upper left corner of the sheet is the origin position, and the rotation direction is considered counterclockwise thereafter.
FIG. 5B shows the contents in a diagram.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the barcode setting command.
FIG. 6A shows a command specification example of the barcode setting command. The setting information of the barcode to be drawn is designated by BSk, h, w1, w2, w3, w4; command. As shown in the figure, the parameter k specifies the barcode type. The parameter h specifies the height of the barcode in 1/600 inch units. Parameters w1, w2, w3, and w4 are barcode width information. The meaning of the bar code width information varies depending on each bar code. However, in the description of the present embodiment, the parameters w1, w2, w3, and w4 are parameters that specify the barcode width as shown in FIG. 6B. Note that the barcode setting command does not draw the barcode when the command is received.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the barcode drawing command.
As shown in the figure, the information of the barcode to be drawn is designated by the BAx, y, n, d1, d2, d3,. The parameters x and y are the start coordinates (x, y) for drawing the barcode. The parameter n is the number of data to be drawn as a barcode. Parameters d1, d2, d3,..., Dn are data strings (numerical strings) to be drawn as barcodes.

  Note that a PU command (Pen Up command) is also present in the command system as a command for designating the (x, y) coordinates of the drawing position before using the BS command. However, since the description of this embodiment is not directly related, the existence thereof will be omitted and the following description will be given.

Description of (Operation) The printer 101 of the present embodiment described above receives the barcode print data transmitted from the host PC 120 and operates as follows to perform barcode printing.
First, an outline of an operation until the host PC 120 transmits barcode print data will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and then an operation of the printer 101 will be described in detail with reference to a flowchart.

  First, a user who wants to perform barcode printing activates the barcode application 121 of the host PC 120 via the input unit 120a, and displays the type and size of the barcode to be drawn, the drawing position, and other characters, figures and images. Create a layout. The layout control unit 122 detects input information from the input unit 120a operated by the user, and performs layout processing of barcode print contents according to the operation instruction. At that time, the layout screen is displayed on the screen of the monitor device (not shown) of the host PC 120 through the screen display control unit 124.

  Subsequently, when the user presses a print start instruction button on the barcode application 121, the layout control unit 122 detects this and calls the barcode drawing command generation unit 123. The barcode drawing command generation unit 123 generates a print command that can be interpreted by the printer 101 and transmits the print command to the printer 101 through the print data transmission unit 125. The print data includes a number of print commands corresponding to the barcode printing layout.

Here, as a specific example of the print command included in the print data received by the printer 101, a command related to barcode drawing will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of analyzing a command string.
FIG. 8A shows an example of a command sequence received by the printer 101.
FIG. 8B shows the meaning of the commands included in the command sequence.
The command sequence shown in the figure is configured by the print command sequence shown in FIGS.
When the printer 101 receives this command string, the barcode printing operation of the printer 101 is started.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the overall operation of the printer according to the first embodiment.
From step S101 to step S107, an outline of the overall operation of the printer 101 will be described in order of steps while using FIG.

Step S101
The print data receiving unit 102 receives print data from the host PC 120.

Step S102
The print data receiving unit 102 passes the received print data to the print data prefetching unit 103.

Step S103
The print data prefetch unit 103 prefetches the print data and detects whether a bar code drawing command is included. Details of this operation flow will be described later again.

Step S104
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 selects a paper feed tray set in the travel direction where the paper size desired to be printed is expected based on the detection result of the barcode. Details of this operation flow will be described later again.

Step S105
The print data analysis unit 115 analyzes a print command in the print data and performs an editing process.

Step S106
The drawing processing unit 116 performs drawing processing and generates image data for printing.

Step S107
The image forming unit 117 performs printing on the paper by transferring the toner to the paper based on the image data.

With the above operation flow, barcode printing is completed.
Note that the drawing processing unit 116 at this time performs drawing by reducing the barcode to a specified size based on the barcode size specification command specified in the print data.

Next, details of the operation of the print data prefetch unit 103 (corresponding to step S103) will be described.
FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the print data prefetching unit according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the print data prefetching unit according to the first embodiment.
Description will be made from step S201 to step S213 in FIG. 10 and from step S214 to step S218 in FIG.

Step S201
The print data prefetching unit 103 clears the stored contents of the barcode drawing information storage unit 110.

Step S202
The print data prefetch unit 103 copies the print data to the prefetch buffer 104.

Step S203
The print data prefetching unit 103 determines whether the prefetch buffer has been read to the end. At this time, when the reading is completed, the operation as the print data prefetching unit 103 is completed. That is, step S103 in FIG. 9 is completed, and the process proceeds to the next step S104. On the other hand, if the reading is not completed, the process proceeds to step S204.

Step S204
The print data prefetch unit 103 extracts print data byte by byte from the prefetch buffer 104 and determines which command has been received. Specifically, when one character is extracted, it is determined whether the first character and the second character of the print command match each other. Since the print command determination process itself is known as a general technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted in the description of this operation flow.
In the operation flow after step S204, the bar code setting command detecting unit 105, the bar code drawing command detecting unit 106, and the paper size selection command based on the print command detected by the print data pre-reading unit 103 are read in advance. The detection unit 108 and the coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 are called. This operation will be described in the subsequent steps.

Step S205
If the paper size selection command is detected as a result of the determination in step S204, the process proceeds to step S206. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S208.

Step S206
The print data prefetch unit 103 calls the paper size selection command detection unit 108.

Step S207
The paper size selection command detection unit 108 detects command parameters and stores them in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110. After storage, the process returns to step S203.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, first, the paper size selection command detection unit 108 detects “14;” which is a parameter following the PS command of the received data string in FIG. It is interpreted that the A4 size is designated based on the specifications. The information “paper size = A4” is stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110.

Here, the contents of the barcode drawing information storage unit 110 will be described.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a storage example of barcode drawing information according to the first embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the barcode drawing information file for storing the barcode drawing information is provided with areas for storing the paper size, the rotation direction at the time of drawing each barcode, and the minimum barcode size. The A4 is stored in the storage area for the paper size. Returning again to FIG.

Step S208
If a coordinate rotation command is detected as a result of the determination in step S204, the process proceeds to step S209. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S211.

Step S209
The print data prefetch unit 103 calls the coordinate rotation command detection unit 109.

Step S210
A coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 detects a command parameter and temporarily holds the setting therein. Thereafter, the process returns to step S203.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, first, the coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 detects “0;” that is a parameter following the RO command in the received data string in FIG. It is interpreted that the rotation angle 0 ° is designated based on the specification of a).

Step S211
If a bar code setting command is detected as a result of the determination in step S204, the process proceeds to step S212. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S214.

Step S212
The print data prefetch unit 103 calls the bar code setting command detection unit 105.

Step S213
The barcode setting command detection unit 105 detects the command parameter and temporarily holds the setting therein. Thereafter, the process returns to step S203.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, first, the bar code setting command detection unit 105 performs parameters “21, 600, 50, 100, 150, 200” that are parameters following the BS command of the received data string in FIG. Next, based on the specification of FIG. 6A, the barcode type is EAN / JAN-8, the barcode height is 600 dots, the barcode width is 50 dots, 100 dots. , 150 dots and 200 dots are specified.

Step S214
If a barcode drawing command is detected as a result of the determination in step S204, the process proceeds to step S215. Otherwise, the process returns to step S203.

Step S215
The print data prefetch unit 103 calls the barcode drawing command detection unit 106.

Step S216
The bar code drawing command detection unit 106 detects command parameters.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, first, the bar code drawing command detecting unit 106 first sets parameters “1800, 2400, 10, 0, 1, 2” which are parameters following the BA command of the received data string in FIG. , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; ”, and based on the specification of FIG. 7, the barcode drawing start position is (1800, 2400), and the barcode data The number is 10, and it is specified that the data to be replaced with the barcode is drawn with 10 data of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Interpret.

Step S217
The minimum bar size detection unit 107 detects the minimum bar size from the detected command parameter and temporarily holds it inside.
Here, as a specific example of detection of the minimum bar size, the bar code setting information held in the bar code setting command detection unit 105 in step S213 and the data to be replaced with the bar code interpreted in step S216 From this, it is realized by calculating the size of the bar code in the width direction when it is actually drawn, and selecting the smallest one of them.
Since the bar size also changes depending on the bar code type, the minimum bar size detecting unit 107 switches the calculation method depending on the bar code type (the details are affected in explaining the present embodiment). Since there is no part, explanation is omitted.)

Step S218
The barcode drawing command detection unit 106 receives the rotation setting information held in the coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 and the minimum barcode width information previously held in the minimum bar size detection unit 107. The set is stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, one line of data is stored such as “No. 001 barcode rotation angle = 0 °, minimum barcode width = 50 dots”.

Since the received data may include a plurality of barcode drawing commands, the same information is stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110 every time the barcode drawing command detection unit 106 detects a barcode drawing command. Store.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, one line of data is additionally stored one after another as in “No. 002 barcode rotation angle = 0 ° minimum barcode width = 60 dots”. FIG. 12 is an example up to the point where “No. xxx barcode rotation angle = 0 ° minimum barcode width = 100 dots” is stored in the last row, assuming that an arbitrary number of times is stored.

Next, the operation of the paper travel direction selection unit 111 will be described.
FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart of the paper travel direction selection unit.
This flowchart specifically shows the internal processing in step S104 of FIG. Steps S301 to S316 will be described in order of steps while using FIG.

Step S301
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 acquires barcode drawing information from the barcode drawing information storage unit 110. As a specific example, barcode drawing information as described above with reference to FIG. 12 is acquired.

Step S302
The paper traveling direction selection unit 111 confirms the contents of the barcode drawing information, and determines whether at least one barcode drawing command is included in the print data to be printed. If there is a barcode drawing command, the process proceeds to step S303. On the other hand, if there is no barcode drawing command, the process proceeds to step S316.
As a specific example of the determination, one line such as “No.001 Barcode rotation angle = 0 ° Minimum barcode width = 50 dots” is included in the barcode drawing information shown in FIG. However, if it exists, it is determined that there is a barcode drawing command.

Step S303
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 confirms the contents of the barcode drawing information and determines whether all the barcode drawing directions included in the print data are the same direction. If all the barcode rotation angles are the same, the process proceeds to step S304. On the other hand, if the barcode rotation angles are not all the same, the process proceeds to step S313.
As a specific example of the determination, the barcode rotation angle stored in “Barcode rotation angle =” included in each line in the barcode drawing information shown in FIG. Judgment is made based on whether the barcode rotation angle is the same value.

Step S304
The paper traveling direction selection unit 111 confirms the contents of the barcode drawing information, and acquires the minimum barcode width of the barcode drawing bars included in the print data. As a specific example, the minimum barcode width stored in “minimum barcode width =” included in each line in the barcode drawing information shown in FIG. Get the width.

Step S305
The paper traveling direction selection unit 111 determines whether the minimum barcode width acquired in step S304 is less than 5 dots at 1/600 inch dpi, for example. If it is less than 5 dots, the process proceeds to step S306. On the other hand, if it is not less than 5 dots, the process proceeds to step S316. Note that the criterion of 1/600 inch dpi and 5 dots is an example of a limit value that is erroneously detected when a bar code is read in the horizontal position. In practice, the printing characteristics of the printer 101 are taken into consideration. Just decide.

Step S306
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 confirms the contents of the barcode drawing information and acquires paper size information. As a specific example, the paper size stored in the line “paper size = A4” in the barcode drawing information shown in FIG. 12 is confirmed, and the print designation to the A4 paper size is specified. Get information.

Step S307
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 acquires paper travel direction information from the loaded paper travel direction detection unit 112. At this time, the loaded paper travel direction detection unit 112 inquires of the tray 1 control unit 113 and the tray 2 control unit 114, acquires information on the paper size set in each tray, and creates paper travel direction information. The paper travel direction selection unit 111 is notified. Here, the paper traveling direction information will be described.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the paper traveling direction information.
As shown in the figure, the paper travel direction information stores the paper size stored in each tray and the paper placement direction. Returning again to FIG.

Step S308
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 determines whether the barcode rotation angle determined in step S303 is 0 ° or 180 °. If the angle is 0 ° or 180 °, the process proceeds to step S309. If not, the process proceeds to step S311. As a specific example, if the barcode storage information stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110 is as shown in FIG. 12, the barcode rotation angle is 0 °, and the process proceeds to step S309. become. Here, the barcode rotation angle being 0 ° or 180 ° means that the drawing direction of the barcode bar is the vertical direction (FIG. 5B) when the paper is viewed vertically. is doing.

Step S309
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 refers to the paper travel direction information acquired in step S307, and determines whether or not the vertical paper travel direction can be selected for the paper size acquired in step S306. The reason why it is possible to determine whether or not the vertical paper running direction can be selected is that, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the printing quality of the barcode is higher when printing on the vertical paper than when using the horizontal paper. It is. If selection is possible, the process proceeds to step S310. On the other hand, if it cannot be selected, the process proceeds to step S313. As a specific example of the operation, the sheet traveling direction selection unit 111 refers to the sheet traveling direction information of FIG. 14 acquired in step S307, so that both A4 portrait and A4 landscape are tray 2 and tray 1. The A4 size barcode printing acquired in step S306 is determined to be printable by selecting the vertical paper traveling direction.

Here, a corresponding method for improving print quality will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of print quality improvement processing.
In the figure, the paper traveling direction is A, (a) shows a case where a vertical barcode is printed on a vertical paper, (b) shows a case where a vertical paper horizontal barcode is printed, and (c) shows a case where (D) shows the case where the horizontal barcode is printed on the horizontally placed paper, and (d) shows the case where the vertical barcode is printed on the horizontally placed paper.

  In the case of (a), printing may be performed with the vertically placed paper. In the case of (b), it is sufficient to rotate the sheet 90 ° and select a horizontally placed sheet. In the case of (c), it is only necessary to rotate the sheet by 270 ° and select the vertically placed paper.

  Therefore, when the barcode rotation angle is 0 ° or 180 °, the reason why the vertical print quality of the barcode is better is the same as the paper travel direction and the barcode bar direction as shown in (a). This is because it can be printed. If the paper is placed horizontally and printed, it will be printed as shown in (c). If the barcode width is small, the barcode reading quality will be reduced due to the problem of blurring of printing as described in FIG. It will fall.

  For this reason, it can be determined that the printing quality is improved by rotating the printing contents of (c) without performing printing as in (c) and selecting and printing the vertically placed paper as in (a). . Incidentally, (a) and (c) are examples when the barcode rotation angle is 0 °. Returning to FIG.

Step 310
Based on the information stored in the bar coat drawing information storage unit 110, the paper travel direction selection unit 111 selects the vertical placement of the corresponding paper size as a medium to be used for printing. Specifically, the paper travel direction selection unit 111 instructs the tray 2 control unit 114 to select the paper loaded in the tray 2 and perform printing. Note that the control method for selecting one of a plurality of tray selections and printing is a general concept, and is not directly affected by the description of the operation of this embodiment. Omitted. Finally, when the operation of this step is completed, the operation as the paper travel direction selection unit 111 in FIG. This means that the internal processing in step S104 in FIG. 9 has been completed, and control of the entire apparatus shifts to step S105 in FIG.

Step S311
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 refers to the paper travel direction information acquired in step S307, and the horizontal paper travel direction (which can be expected to improve the print quality of the barcode) with respect to the paper size acquired in step S306. It is determined whether or not can be selected. If selection is possible, the process proceeds to step S312; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S313.

  As a specific example of the operation, both the A4 portrait orientation and the A4 landscape orientation can be selected by referring to the paper travel direction information of FIG. 14 acquired by the paper travel direction selection unit 111 in step S307. Knowing this, it is determined that the A4 size barcode printing acquired in step S306 can be printed by selecting the horizontal paper traveling direction (which can be expected to improve the printing quality of the barcode). Here, when the barcode rotation angle is 0 ° or 180 °, the reason why the printing quality of the barcode is better when the paper is placed horizontally is as shown in FIG. This is because the printing can be performed with the directions matched. If printing is performed with the vertical paper orientation selected, printing is performed as shown in FIG. 15B. Therefore, if the barcode width is small, the barcode reading quality is caused by the problem of blurring of printing described in FIG. Will fall. For this reason, the printing quality is better when the contents are rotated without selecting the printing as shown in FIG. 15B, and the printing is performed by selecting the paper horizontal placement as shown in FIG. 15D. to decide. FIGS. 15B and 15D are examples in which the barcode rotation angle is 90 °.

Step S312
The paper traveling direction selection unit 111 selects the horizontal orientation of the corresponding paper size as a medium used for printing. Specifically, the paper travel direction selection unit 111 instructs the tray 1 control unit 113 to select the paper loaded in the tray 1 and perform printing. The control method for selecting and printing one of a plurality of trays is a general concept, and is not directly affected by the description of the operation of the present embodiment, so detailed description thereof is omitted. To do. Finally, when the operation in this step is completed, it means that the internal processing in step S104 in FIG. 9 has been completed. Therefore, the control of the entire apparatus shifts to step S105 in FIG.

Step S313
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 displays a message asking whether or not to perform barcode printing. At the same time, a response (permission or cancellation) from the printer user is accepted. Specifically, the message “A barcode with a certain accuracy may not be printed. Do you want to print the barcode?” Is displayed on the information display section on the operation panel of the printer 101. As an implementation example, it is possible to detect that the user presses either the online button or the print cancel button on the operation panel of the printer 101.

Step S314
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 determines the response result from the user in step S313, and if the response is print cancellation, the process proceeds to step S315. On the other hand, if the response is not print cancellation, the process proceeds to step S316.

Step S315
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 executes print cancel for the print job currently being processed. Note that the mounting method of the print cancel operation is not directly affected by the description of the operation of the present embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Step S316
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 selects a default tray as a tray on which paper used for printing is mounted. The default tray means one tray registered in advance in the printer 101 by a predetermined method. The default tray mounting method is not directly affected by the description of the operation of the present embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. Finally, when the operation in this step is completed, it means that the internal processing in step S104 in FIG. 9 has been completed, and thus the control of the entire apparatus shifts to step S105 in FIG.

  In addition, when it is determined No in step S309 and step S311, in the above configuration, the process proceeds to step S313 to select cancel or the default tray. However, instead of this configuration, a message may be displayed that prompts the user to replenish paper in the corresponding paper tray, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the process may return to step S308 again.

Description of (Effect) As described above, the printer 101, when performing barcode printing, places the paper vertically so that printing can be performed so that the paper running direction and the barcode bar direction match. Alternatively, it is possible to select horizontal paper placement, so that it is possible to perform printing with good bar code printing quality.

Description of (Configuration) In the first embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a barcode drawing command that realizes barcode drawing by drawing a graphic such as a line segment or a rectangle has been described. However, the barcode drawing method is generally realized by using a barcode font. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a barcode drawing method using a barcode font.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the configuration of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment.
This figure shows a configuration when the printer 201 as the printing apparatus of the second embodiment receives barcode print data transmitted from the host PC 220 and performs barcode printing.

  As shown in the figure, the printer 201 includes a print data receiving unit 102, a print data prefetching unit 203, a font selection command detection unit 205, a font size designation command detection unit 206, a character drawing command detection unit 207, and a paper size selection command detection unit 108. , Coordinate rotation command detection unit 109, barcode drawing information storage unit 110, paper travel direction selection unit 111, loaded paper travel direction detection unit 112, tray 1 control unit 113, tray 2 control unit 114, print data analysis unit 115, drawing A processing unit 116, an image forming unit 117, a barcode font data analysis unit 208, a minimum bar size detection unit 209, and a barcode font data storage unit 210 are provided. Only portions different from the first embodiment will be described in detail below. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment and the description thereof is omitted.

  The print data prefetch unit 203 has the same configuration as that of the print data prefetch unit 103 of the first embodiment, but uses a font selection command, a font size designation command, and the like used when performing barcode drawing using a barcode font. A function for detecting a character drawing command or the like has been added.

  The font selection command detection unit 205 is a part that interprets parameters specified in the font selection command and detects what settings are specified.

  The font size designation command detection unit 206 is a part that interprets parameters designated in the font size designation command and detects at what font size the bar code character is drawn.

  The character drawing command detection unit 207 is a part that interprets parameters specified in the character drawing command and detects what kind of character data is used to perform bar code drawing.

  The barcode font data analysis unit 208 includes a minimum bar size detection unit 209 therein, and is a part that analyzes barcode font data. The minimum bar size detection unit 209 is a part that analyzes the bar code character data stored in the bar code font data and calculates the bar code minimum bar size based on the font size information at the time of drawing. is there.

  The barcode font data storage unit 210 is a nonvolatile memory area in which barcode font data is stored.

  On the other hand, the host PC 220 is a computer that includes an input unit 120 a, a barcode application 221, a screen display control unit 124, and a print data transmission unit 125. In addition, the barcode application 221 includes a layout control unit 122 and a barcode drawing command generation unit 223. Only portions different from the first embodiment will be described in detail below. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment and the description thereof is omitted.

  The barcode drawing command generation unit 223 has the same configuration as the barcode drawing command generation unit 123 of the first embodiment, and is a part that generates a print command for printing a barcode. However, a function for outputting a font selection command, a font size designation command, and a character drawing command is added to cause the printer 201 to perform barcode drawing using a barcode font.

  Next, the printing contents when barcode printing is performed by the printer 201 are in the same situation as in FIG. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, an example of a command specification of a print command related to barcode drawing in the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the same print command system as used in the first embodiment is used. That is, it is assumed that the print command system is such that a command name is first designated by two alphabetic characters, then additional parameters as drawing information are designated by numerical values separated by commas, and finally terminated by a semicolon.

  It was first described that the barcode drawing in the present embodiment is an implementation method using a barcode font. At this time, five commands are used as print commands related to specific barcode drawing. Among them, for the paper size selection command (PSn) and the coordinate rotation command (ROn), commands having exactly the same specifications as those used in the first embodiment are used (FIGS. 4 and 5 correspond), and thus description thereof is omitted.

Hereinafter, the remaining three commands will be described.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the font selection command.
As shown in the figure, the character string of the font name of the font used for barcode drawing is designated by the FO “fontname”; command. “Fontname” is a character string of the font name.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the font size designation command.
As shown in the figure, the font size of the font used for barcode drawing is specified by the FS pt; command. The parameter pt is a value in points (72 points = 1 inch = 25.4 cm).

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the specification of the character drawing command.
As shown in the figure, a character is one character per character. This command has a command specification that allows a plurality of characters to be drawn together. That is, a character string to be drawn is designated by a CH “xxxx”; command. The parameter “xxxx” is a character string to be drawn.

  The barcode font will be described again here. The barcode font has the same data structure as that of a normal font. However, the character shape data is only designed so that the shape of each character is the shape of a barcode. For this reason, there is no special processing for performing barcodes, but only an instruction is given to draw characters using fonts. As an easy-to-understand example, when a character string “12345568” is drawn with a barcode font, a barcode-shaped character corresponding to the number 1 is drawn, and thereafter, the character data is processed one character at a time. The barcode corresponding to “12345678” can be drawn.

Finally, the data format of the barcode font data stored in the barcode font data storage unit 210 will be described.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the structure of font data.
This figure represents the entire font data space for one font.

  As shown in the figure, the entire font data space is composed of three data areas called a font descriptor, a character descriptor, and character data. The font descriptor is an area for storing font attribute information. This information is common information regardless of each character, and indicates attribute information as one font.

  The character descriptor is an area for storing character-specific attribute information. The attribute information includes an offset value (relative address value) to the corresponding character data area. There are as many character descriptors as the number corresponding to each character code (in the example of FIG. 20, it is assumed that the character codes include hexadecimal numbers 00H to FFH).

  The character data is an area where shape data of each character is stored. Several methods are conceivable as data for representing the shape of the character, but a font data format called a scalable font in which contour information is stored is typical (as an actual example of a scalable font, True Type). There is a font data format called Font.) In the following description, it is assumed that the character data in FIG. 20 is contour shape data.

Next, outline shape data will be described.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of an example of character data.
The contour line shape data at this time is assumed to be data constituted by vector data of the start point and the contour line, as shown in FIG.
FIG. 21B is an example when character-shaped bitmap character data (bitmap image) is formed based on the contour line information.

It is assumed that such an image forming function from contour line shape data to bitmap character data is possessed by the image processing unit 116 (FIG. 16) which is a general drawing path.
Here, it is assumed that the vector data of the contour line stores a relative value, not an absolute amount. In other words, before forming bitmap character data with the actual dimensions necessary for drawing, the contour line vector data (relative value) is multiplied by the font size specified separately from the outside. The absolute value of the vector data is calculated, and bitmap character data is formed based on the calculated value.

Description of (Operation) The printer 201 of the present embodiment described above receives the barcode print data transmitted from the host PC 220 and operates as follows to perform barcode printing. The operation of the present embodiment is to explain that the operation of the paper traveling direction selection unit 111 described in the first embodiment can be performed in the same manner even when a barcode font is used. It is assumed that the tray configuration of the apparatus is a printer apparatus including the tray 1 and the tray 2 shown in FIG.

  First, the operation of the host PC 220 will be described with reference to FIG. The operation of the host PC 220 is different from the first embodiment only in the operation of the barcode drawing command generation unit 223. The barcode drawing command generation unit 223 is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 17, 18, and 19 as a print command for performing barcode drawing when an instruction to start printing is given from the barcode application 221. The command is transmitted to the printer 201. In the following description, as the commands related to bar code drawing, the description will be made with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a command string analysis example.
FIG. 22A shows an example of a command string received by the printer 201.
FIG. 22B shows the meaning of the commands included in the command sequence.
The command sequence shown in the figure is composed of the print command sequences shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 17, 18, and 19.
When the printer 201 receives this command string, the barcode printing operation of the printer 201 is started.

FIG. 23 is a schematic flowchart of the overall operation of the printer according to the second embodiment.
From step S401 to step S407, an overview of the overall operation of the printer 201 will be described in order of steps while using FIG.

Step S401
The print data receiving unit 102 receives print data from the host PC 220.

Step S402
The print data receiving unit 102 passes the received print data to the print data prefetching unit 203.

Step S403
A print data prefetch unit 203 prefetches the print data and detects whether or not a drawing command using a barcode font is included. Details of this operation flow will be described later again.

Step S404
The paper travel direction selection unit 111 selects a paper feed tray set in the travel direction where the paper size desired to be printed is expected based on the detection result of the barcode. Since this operation flow is the same as step S104 of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

Step S405
The print data analysis unit 115 analyzes a print command in the print data and performs an editing process.

Step S406
The drawing processing unit 116 performs drawing processing and generates image data for printing.

Step S407
The image forming unit 117 performs printing on the paper by transferring the toner to the paper based on the image data.

With the above operation flow, barcode printing is completed.
Note that the drawing processing unit 116 at this time performs drawing by reducing the barcode to a specified size based on the barcode size specification command specified in the print data. Since the step described above is the only step different from the first embodiment in step S403, the details of the operation of the print data prefetch unit 203 (corresponding to step S403 above) will be described below.

FIG. 24 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of the print data prefetching unit according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 25 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the print data prefetching unit according to the second embodiment.
Description will be made from step S501 to step S513 in FIG. 24 and from step S514 to step S524 in FIG. However, Steps S501 to S510 have exactly the same contents as Steps S201 to S210 in FIG. 10 if the print data prefetch unit 103 is replaced with the print data prefetch unit 203. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted, and step S511 and subsequent steps will be described.

Step S511
If a font selection command is detected as a result of the determination in step S504 (corresponding to step S204 in the first embodiment), the process proceeds to step S512. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S514.

Step S512
The print data prefetch unit 203 calls the font selection command detection unit 205.

Step S513
The font selection command detection unit 205 detects command parameters and temporarily holds the settings therein. Thereafter, the process returns to step S503.
As a specific example of the command parameter detection, the font selection command detection unit 205 detects ““ OCR-B ”;” which is a parameter following the FO command in the received data string in FIG. It is detected that “OCR-B” has been selected as the font name used for.

Step S514
If it is determined in step S504 (corresponding to step S204 in the first embodiment) that a font size designation command is detected, the process proceeds to step S515. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S517.

Step S515
The print data prefetch unit 203 calls the font size designation command detection unit 206.

Step S516
The font size designation command detection unit 206 detects command parameters and temporarily holds the settings therein. Thereafter, the process returns to step S503.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, the font size designation command detection unit 206 detects “12;” which is a parameter following the FS command in the received data string in FIG. 22 and uses it for character drawing. It is detected that 12 pt is designated as the font size of the font.

Step S517
If a character drawing command is detected as a result of the determination in step S504 (corresponding to step S204 in the first embodiment), the process proceeds to step S518. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S503.

Step S518
The print data prefetch unit 203 calls the character drawing command detection unit 207.

Step S519
The character drawing command detection unit 207 detects command parameters.
Here, as a specific example of the command parameter detection, the character drawing command detection unit 207 detects ““ 123456789 ”;” which is a parameter following the CH command in the received data string in FIG. It is detected that a numeric character string “123456789” is designated as the column.

Step S520
The character drawing command detection unit 207 notifies the barcode font data analysis unit 208 of the font name used for barcode drawing, the font size, and character string information to be drawn.
As a specific example, “OCR-B” as the font name, 12 pt as the font size, and “123456789” as the character string information are notified.

Step S521
The barcode font data analysis unit 208 acquires barcode font data corresponding to the notified font name from the barcode font data storage unit 210.
As a specific example, the location of the font data corresponding to the font name “OCR-B” is confirmed, and the font data head in the nonvolatile memory is accessed so that the font data having the data space structure shown in FIG. 20 can be accessed. Get the address.

Step S522
The barcode font data analysis unit 208 acquires character descriptor information and character data information corresponding to the character string to be drawn from the acquired barcode font data.

  As a specific example, from the font data corresponding to the font name “OCR-B”, among the character descriptor and character data shown in FIG. 19, “123456789” which is the character string to be rendered shown in FIG. A character descriptor and character data corresponding to each character of the character string are acquired. For example, since the character code of character 1 is ASCII code 0x31, a character descriptor and character data corresponding to 0x31 are acquired. The same applies to the remaining characters.

Step S523
The minimum bar size detecting unit 209 analyzes the acquired character descriptor information and character data information, detects the minimum bar size, and temporarily holds it inside.
Specifically, the vector data of the character data acquired in the specific example of step S523 is multiplied by 12 pt which is the font size notified from the character drawing command detection unit 207 as in the specific example of step S520. To vector data of the actual outline. Further, from this information, the minimum bar size detection unit 209 performs the same processing as that for generating an actual size bitmap character as described in FIG. Calculate the size. In general, since a plurality of bars are drawn corresponding to one numeric data, the bar code stores the smallest one among the bar size calculation results. This process is performed on each character of “123456789” which is character string information for drawing a barcode, and the minimum barcode in one barcode can be calculated. For example, when the minimum barcode width is 40 dots in one barcode, information of 40 dots is temporarily held in the minimum bar size detection unit 209.

Step S524
The barcode font data analysis unit 208 sets the rotation setting held in the coordinate rotation command detection unit 109 and the minimum barcode width previously held in the minimum bar size detection unit 209 as a set. It is stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110.

Here, the contents of the barcode drawing information storage unit 110 will be described.
FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of an example of storing barcode drawing information according to the second embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the barcode drawing information file for storing the barcode drawing information is provided with areas for storing the paper size, the rotation direction at the time of drawing each barcode, and the minimum barcode size. The A4 is stored in the storage area for the paper size.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 26, data for one row is stored as “No. 001 barcode rotation angle = 0 °, minimum barcode width = 40 dots”.
Since the received data may include a plurality of character drawing commands for selecting a barcode font and drawing a barcode, the same information is obtained each time the character drawing command detection unit 207 detects a character drawing command. It is stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 26, one line of data is additionally stored one after another as in “No. 002 barcode rotation angle = 0 ° minimum barcode width = 70 dots”. FIG. 26 shows an example up to the point where “No. xxx barcode rotation angle = 0 ° minimum barcode width = 110 dots” is stored in the last row, assuming that an arbitrary number of times is stored.
When processing is performed according to the above operation flow and the operation flow is finally completed, step S403 in FIG. 23 is completed. The subsequent operation is the processing after step S404, but as described above, the operation of the paper traveling direction selection unit 111 is the same as that in the first embodiment. This is based on the fact that the data format of the information stored in the barcode drawing information storage unit 110 described in FIG. 26 is the same as the barcode drawing information in FIG. 12 described in the first embodiment.

Description of (Effect) As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when barcode printing is realized by character drawing using a barcode font, as in the first embodiment, the paper The printing direction can be selected according to the barcode direction, and the barcode reading rate can be improved.

As with the present embodiment, if the apparatus configuration supports both vertical and horizontal placement for one paper size, even if the printing method is not a method using an LED head but another printing method. The same effects as in this embodiment can be obtained.
Even when the paper travel direction with good barcode print quality is opposite to the direction described in this embodiment, the direction of the barcode at the time of tray selection in the operation flow of the paper travel direction selection unit is If processing is performed with the judgment conditions reversed, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

1 is a block diagram of a configuration of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the paper direction of a tray, and a driving path. It is explanatory drawing of one example of barcode drawing. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a paper size selection command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a coordinate rotation command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a barcode setting command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a barcode drawing command. It is explanatory drawing of the example of analysis of a command sequence. 3 is a schematic flowchart of an overall operation of the printer according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart (No. 1) of a print data prefetch unit according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the print data prefetch unit according to the first exemplary embodiment. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a storage example of barcode drawing information according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a paper travel direction selection part. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of paper traveling direction information. It is explanatory drawing of a printing quality improvement process. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a configuration of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a font selection command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a font size designation | designated command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the specification of a character drawing command. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the structure of font data. It is an example explanatory drawing of character data. It is explanatory drawing of the example of analysis of a command sequence. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an overall operation of a printer according to a second embodiment. 12 is an operation flowchart (part 1) of a print data prefetch unit according to the second exemplary embodiment. 12 is an operation flowchart (part 2) of the print data prefetching unit according to the second exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a storage example of barcode drawing information according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Printer 102 Print data receiving part 103 Print data prefetching part 104 Prefetching buffer 105 Barcode setting command detection part 106 Barcode drawing command detection part 107 Minimum bar size detection part 108 Paper size selection command detection part 109 Coordinate rotation command detection part 110 Bar Code drawing information storage unit 111 Paper running direction selection unit 112 Mounted paper running direction detection unit 113 Tray 1 control unit 114 Tray 2 control unit 115 Print data analysis unit 116 Drawing processing unit 117 Image forming unit 120 Host PC
120a input unit 121 barcode application 122 layout control unit 123 barcode drawing command generation unit 124 screen display control unit 125 print data transmission unit

Claims (6)

A data receiving unit for receiving print data including an identification code drawing command;
A command detection unit for detecting that an identification code drawing command is included in the print data;
A drawing direction detector for detecting a drawing direction of the detected identification code;
A first medium storage unit for storing a medium in a first direction;
A second medium storage unit for storing a medium in a second direction different from the first direction;
A printing apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects one of the first medium storage unit and the second medium storage unit based on a drawing direction of the identification code.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification code is a bar code.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reduction processing unit that reduces the print data and the identification code.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the directions are a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification code drawing command is a graphic drawing command.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification code drawing command is a character drawing command using a barcode font.

Images