JP2010036584A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which can suppress wasteful consumption of ink, forms or the like due to mistake when printing. <P>SOLUTION: A part of printing job consisting of multiple sheets is printed as a trial page, then when continuation of printing job is indicated. the printing job is finished. Thereby, printing details are confirmed by seeing a part of printed pages and corresponding to the result the printing job can be continued or interrupted. Thus, consumption of ink, forms or the like due to printing mistake (for example, selection mistake of a file to be printed and input mistake of printing setting) can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a function of printing an electronic file stored on a removable medium or other storage medium.

  In recent years, a printer having a function of printing an electronic file stored in a removable medium without using an information terminal such as a computer (PC) has been developed. In this type of printer, it is possible to easily print an electronic file stored in the removable medium by attaching the removable medium to the printer. Further, as an electronic file, not only a bitmap image file created by a digital still camera or the like, but also a document file such as a PDF file created on a PC or the like can be printed.

  In such a printer, the user can select an electronic file to be printed with various buttons or set printing conditions while checking the contents of the electronic file and printing conditions on a display provided on the operation panel. Can do.

JP 2006-168206 A

  However, a user interface such as a display or a button mounted on a printer tends to be poor compared to a user interface mounted on a PC or the like due to cost and the like. For this reason, the user cannot confirm the contents of the electronic file sufficiently and selects an incorrect electronic file as a printing target, or erroneously sets printing conditions, resulting in an unintended printed matter being output. There was a fear. Especially when printing electronic files consisting of multiple pages, such as document files, and multiple copies, if you make a printing mistake like the one described above, a large amount of ink, paper, etc. will be consumed, resulting in a large loss. .

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing consumption of ink, paper, and the like due to mistakes during printing.

  As means for achieving the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a selection means capable of selecting a file to be printed, and a print job for printing the file selected by the selection means. An input unit capable of inputting, an instruction unit capable of instructing the continuation of the print job, and printing a part of a print job composed of a plurality of sheets input by the input unit as a trial page, and then the instruction unit A printing unit that executes trial printing for completing the print job when an instruction to continue the print job is provided; and a setting unit that sets whether or not to execute the trial printing. When the print job is input from the input unit and the setting unit is set not to execute the trial printing, the printing is performed without printing the trial page. The setting means is configured to execute the trial printing when the printing condition of the print job is changed from an initial value, and to perform the trial printing when the printing condition is not changed from the initial value. The setting is not to execute.

  According to the first invention, it is possible to check the contents of printing by viewing a part of the printed pages, and to continue or interrupt the print job according to the result. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress consumption of ink, paper, and the like due to a printing error (for example, a selection error of a file to be printed or an input error of print settings). In addition, when it is not necessary to print the trial page, the trial printing can be prevented from being executed, which is convenient. Further, when the print setting is changed from the initial value, it is considered that there is a high necessity for confirming the print content. Since trial printing is executed only in such a case, the usability is good.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the setting means always has a first option that always executes the trial printing, a second option that does not always execute the trial printing, and print conditions of the print job are initial values. Whether or not to execute the trial printing according to an option selected from the third option that does not execute the trial printing when the initial value has not been changed. Set.

  In a third aspect based on the first or second aspect, the printing unit prints only one sheet as a trial page for one print job.

  According to the third invention, when there is a printing mistake, consumption of ink, paper, and the like can be minimized.

  According to a fourth invention, in any one of the first to third inventions, there is provided extraction means for extracting a page satisfying a predetermined extraction condition from a plurality of pages included in the print job. And printing at least a part of the page extracted by the extracting means as the trial page.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to save the user from searching for a page for confirming the contents by extracting a page that allows easy confirmation of the file contents.

  According to a fifth invention, in any one of the first to third inventions, there is provided a specifying means for specifying a page to be printed as the trial page by the printing means.

  According to the fifth invention, for example, it is convenient when the content of the printed file can be easily grasped by looking at a specific page.

  According to a sixth invention, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, when the continuation of the print job is instructed, the printing unit prints all pages except the already printed page.

  According to the sixth aspect, when the continuation of the print job is instructed, all the pages included in the print job except the printed pages are printed, so that wasteful consumption of ink, paper, etc. Can be eliminated.

  According to a seventh invention, in any one of the first to sixth inventions, an image processing means for performing image processing for generating print data supplied to the printing means from the file to be printed based on the print job The image processing means executes image processing based on the print job after the trial page included in the print job is printed by the printing means and before an instruction is given by the instruction means.

According to the seventh aspect, when the continuation of the print job is instructed, it is possible to shorten the time until the printing is completed.

  According to an eighth invention, in any one of the first to seventh inventions, the changing means for changing the trial page and the printing means are configured to change the trial page by the changing means after printing the trial page. If so, another page included in the print job is printed as a trial page.

  According to the eighth aspect, when the contents printed on the trial page cannot be sufficiently confirmed, another page can be printed as the trial page, which is convenient. In addition, consumption of ink, paper, and the like can be suppressed as compared with a case where a large number of pages are printed as trial pages at a time.

  According to a ninth invention, in any one of the first to eighth inventions, the printing unit operates in a dedicated mode in which no other print job is executed when the trial printing is executed for one print job. After the trial page is printed, the exclusive mode is canceled when there is no instruction for a predetermined period from the instruction means.

  According to the ninth aspect, after the trial page is printed, if an instruction is not input for some reason, the execution of the print job is interrupted and the exclusive mode is canceled, so that other users can work. A trouble can be avoided.

  In a tenth aspect of the invention, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the printing unit performs the trial printing when the printing condition of the print job is aggregate printing or duplex printing. A page printed on the same recording medium as the trial page in the print job is printed together with the trial page.

  According to the tenth aspect, when aggregate printing or double-sided printing is performed, a page to be printed on the same recording medium as the trial page in the print job is printed together with the trial page. Accordingly, a printed matter printed as a trial page is the same as that printed as a print job.

  An eleventh aspect of the invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein the printing unit includes a print job when the execution of the print job is interrupted after printing the trial page. Storage means for storing print interruption information indicating which of the printed pages has been printed.

  According to the eleventh aspect, for example, when a print job is interrupted, only unprinted pages can be printed by referring to the print interrupt information later.

  In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, the printing unit can print only the pages other than the printed pages among the pages included in the suspended print job with reference to the print suspension information. .

  According to the twelfth aspect, for example, only a part of pages from a plurality of files can be printed, and an unprinted page of a necessary file can be printed later. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate waste as compared with the case where all pages are printed from the beginning.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on any one of the first to twelfth aspects, the present invention further comprises connection means capable of communication connection with a portable storage medium, and the selection means prints from a file stored in the portable storage medium. The target file can be selected.

  According to the thirteenth invention, since the portable storage medium is generally not always connected to a computer or the like, it is difficult to confirm the contents of the file stored therein, and there is a possibility of a printing error. Therefore, the effect of applying the present invention is high.

  In a fourteenth aspect based on any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the printing means is capable of executing a print job for printing a file composed of a plurality of pages.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, by applying the present invention when printing a file composed of a plurality of pages such as a document file, it is possible to effectively prevent unnecessary consumption due to a printing error.

  According to the present invention, a part of a plurality of print jobs is printed as a trial page, and then the print job is completed when an instruction to continue the print job is given. As a result, it is possible to check the print contents by looking at a part of the printed pages, and to continue or interrupt the print job according to the result. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress consumption of ink, paper, and the like due to a printing error (for example, a selection error of a file to be printed or an input error of print settings).

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. Block diagram schematically showing the electrical configuration of the MFP Flow chart showing the flow of trial printing function setting processing Flow chart showing the flow of direct printing process Flow chart showing the flow of processing when selecting a file in memory Flow chart showing the flow of processing when selecting a file in memory Flow chart showing the flow of print target page determination processing Diagram explaining an example of trial printing Figure showing an example of a suspended file management table Flow chart showing the flow of processing when an interrupted file is selected

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Appearance structure of MFP)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a multifunction machine 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. The multifunction device 1 is a multi-function peripheral device having a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 1 includes a reading unit 3 for reading a document above the main body unit 2. In front of the reading unit 3, an operation unit 4 (an example of a selection unit, an input unit, an instruction unit, a change unit, a setting unit) having a plurality of buttons and capable of various input operations by a user, a liquid crystal display, and the like And a USB connection unit 6 (an example of connection means).

(Electric configuration of the multifunction device)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the electrical configuration of the multifunction machine 1. As shown in the figure, the multifunction device 1 includes a CPU 10 (an example of a printing unit, an extraction unit, and an image processing unit), a ROM 11, a RAM 12 (an example of a storage unit), an NVRAM (nonvolatile memory) 13, a network interface 14, a facsimile. The interface 15 and the USB connection unit 6 described above are provided, and a printing unit 16 (an example of a printing unit), the reading unit 3, the operation unit 4, the display unit 5, and the like are connected thereto.

  The ROM 11 stores various programs for controlling the operation of the multifunction device 1, and the CPU 10 controls each unit while storing the processing result in the RAM 12 or the NVRAM 13 according to the program read from the ROM 11. .

  The network interface 14 is connected to an external computer or the like via a communication line (not shown), and mutual data communication is possible via the network interface 14. The facsimile interface 15 is connected to a telephone line (not shown), and facsimile data can be communicated with an external facsimile apparatus or the like via the facsimile interface 15. A USB memory 20 (an example of a portable storage medium) or the like is detachably connected to the USB connection unit 6. The printing unit 16 forms an image on a recording medium such as paper based on the print data.

(Trial print function setting process)
The MFP 1 can execute a direct printing process for printing a file stored in the USB memory 20 or the like without using an information terminal device such as a computer (PC). Further, as will be described later, the multi function device 1 has a trial printing function for printing a part of pages included in a print job first in the direct printing process. Next, a description will be given of trial print function setting processing that is executed to set the operation state of the trial print function during direct printing. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the trial print function setting process.

  The trial printing function setting process is started when a predetermined instruction is input from the operation unit 4 by the user. When starting the trial printing function setting process, the CPU 10 first displays a screen for selecting whether to turn on or off the trial printing function on the display unit 5 (S101). When “OFF” is selected by an input from the operation unit 4 by the user (S102: No), the trial printing function is set to “OFF” (S103, specifically, the setting value is stored in the NVRAM 13. The same).

  When “ON” is selected (S102: Yes), the display unit 5 “turns on the trial printing function when the printing condition is changed from the default” or “turns on the trial printing function always. An option for selecting "ON" is displayed (S104). When “Always turn on trial printing function” is selected by the user (S105: Yes), the trial printing function is set to “always on” (S106), and when it is not selected (S106). In S105: No), the trial printing function is set to “ON when the condition is changed” (S107).

(Direct printing process)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of direct printing processing, FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing at the time of file selection in memory executed in the direct printing processing, and FIG. 7 is at the time of file selection in memory. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the printing target page determination process performed within a process. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an execution example of trial printing, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an interrupt file management table, and FIG. 10 is an interrupt file selection process executed in the direct print process. It is a flowchart which shows a flow.

The direct printing process is started when the user attaches the USB memory 20 or the like to the USB connection unit 6 and inputs an execution instruction for direct printing from the operation unit 4. When starting the direct printing process, the CPU 10 first starts the exclusive mode as shown in FIG. 4 (S201). In this exclusive mode, the operation unit 4 does not accept input of other jobs (print jobs such as copying and direct printing, as well as jobs such as scanning and facsimile transmission). In addition, if another job such as a print job or facsimile transmission is input from an external computer or the like via the network interface 14 during execution of the exclusive mode, the job is registered in the queue without being executed immediately. The job registered in the queue is executed after the exclusive mode is canceled.

  Subsequently, the CPU 10 determines whether or not an interruption file (described later) is registered in the interruption file management table stored in the RAM 12 (S202). When the interrupted file is not registered (S202: No), a list of files stored in the USB memory 20 is displayed on the display unit 5 (S203).

  If an interrupt file is registered (S202: Yes), an item for instructing “print interrupt file” is displayed as an option in addition to the file list in the USB memory 20 (S204). When any file in the file list is selected by input from the operation unit 4 in S203 or S204 (S205: Yes), the following in-memory file selection process is executed (S206). If “print interrupt file” is selected (S205: No), the interrupt file selection process described later is executed (S207).

  When the CPU 10 starts the in-memory file selection process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the CPU 10 first displays a print condition setting screen on the display unit 5 (S301). Here, the user can set various printing conditions such as paper size, aggregate printing, and duplex printing by the operation unit 4. More specifically, in the paper size setting, one of the options such as “A4 portrait”, “A4 landscape”, and “A3 portrait” can be selected. In the consolidated print setting, “1 in 1 (one sheet of paper)” can be selected. One page can be printed on one side, that is, aggregate printing is not performed.) One of the options such as “2 in 1” and “4 in 1” can be selected, and “on” or “off” can be selected in the duplex printing setting. You can choose either.

  In each printing condition, for example, values of paper size “A4 portrait”, consolidated printing “1 in 1”, and duplex printing “off” are set as initial values (default), and there is no need to change them. Can set those values as they are. When setting completion is input from the operation unit 4, a print command for instructing printing based on the set printing conditions, that is, a print job, is registered (input) with the file selected from the file list described above as a print target.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the trial printing function is set to off (S302). If the trial printing function is set to off by the process of S103 (S302: Yes), all pages of the file selected as the printing target are checked. Image processing is performed, the generated print data is transferred to the printing unit 16, and printing of all pages included in the print job is executed (S303). Thereafter, the process at the time of selecting the file in the memory is exited, the exclusive mode is canceled (S208 in FIG. 4), and the direct printing process is ended. As a result, a job such as another print job can be processed.

  If the trial printing function is set to other than OFF in S302 of FIG. 5 (S302: No), it is determined whether the trial printing function is set to “always on” by the process of S106 (S302: No). S304). If “ON when condition is changed” is set in the process of S107 (S304: No), it is determined whether the printing condition is changed from the default (S305). If the print conditions have not been changed from the default (S305: No), the process proceeds to S303, and all pages included in the print job are printed.

If the printing condition is changed from the default in S305 (S305: Ye)
s), or when the trial printing function is set to “always on” in S304 in S304 (S304: Yes), two of “trial printing” and “print all pages” are displayed on the display unit 5. One option is displayed (S306). If “all page printing” is selected by the operation of the operation unit 4 (S307: Yes), the process proceeds to S303, and all pages included in the print job are printed.

  If “trial printing” is selected (S307: No), the following print target page determination process is executed (S308). If the above-described processing of S306 and S307 (selection display of “print all pages”) is eliminated and the printing conditions are changed from the default in S305 (S305: Yes), or the trial printing function is performed in S304. Is set to “always on” (S304: Yes), the process (trial printing process) from S308 onward may be always executed.

  When the CPU 10 starts the print target page determination process in S308, first, as shown in FIG. 7, the display unit 5 displays a screen for selecting a method for selecting a page (trial page) for trial printing. (S401). Here, for example, “only specified pages”, “until specified pages”, “first page”, “first page including color characters”, “first page including images”, and the like are displayed, and the user selects one of these items. Can be selected by the operation unit 4.

  When “only specified page” or “up to specified page” is selected (S402: Yes), a screen for inputting the number of the page specified as the trial page is displayed on the display unit 5, and the user is displayed there. Thus, the page number input from the operation unit 4 is acquired (S403). As a result, when “only specified page” is selected, the page with the input number is selected as the trial page among the pages included in the print job, and when “up to the specified page” is selected. The pages from the first page to the input numbered page are selected as trial pages.

  If “first page including color characters” or “first page including image” is selected in S401 (S404: Yes), the contents of the file to be printed are searched and the print job is processed. Among the included pages, a page that satisfies each condition (an example of an extraction condition) is extracted as a trial page (S405). In addition, when the page applicable to conditions is not found, for example, the first page is selected as a trial page. If “first page” is selected in S401 (S404: No), the first page of the pages included in the print job is selected as a trial page (S406).

  Next, the CPU 10 determines a page to be printed when the trial page is printed (S407). Here, in the print job being processed, if aggregate printing or double-sided printing is set as the print condition and a page other than the trial page is printed on the same paper as the page selected as the trial page, that page Is to be printed along with the trial page. In the print job, when neither aggregate printing nor double-sided printing is set as the printing condition (that is, when only one page is printed per sheet), or on the same sheet as the page selected as the trial page If no pages other than the trial page are printed, only the trial page is set as the print target.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the fifth page of the print job is selected as the trial page, the same paper as the fifth page is set if the aggregate printing is set to “2 in 1” and the duplex printing is set to “on”. The sixth, seventh, and eighth pages that are printed on top are the print targets together with the fifth page.

Then, the CPU 10 performs image processing based on the page determined as the print target page as described above, and delivers the generated print data to the printing unit 16 to perform printing (S309 in FIG. 5). As a result, the print target page including the trial page is printed on the paper according to the print conditions, so that the user sees the printed page and the selection of the print target file is correct or the print condition settings are appropriate. It can be judged.

  Subsequently, the CPU 10 displays options for instructing the next operation such as “print interruption”, “printing remaining pages”, “printing all pages”, “retry”, “end”, etc. on the display unit 5 (S310). Then, a print preparation process is performed (S311). Here, image processing for generating print data is performed based on an unprinted page included in the print job, and it is confirmed that the button of the operation unit 4 is pressed after a certain period of time (S312).

  If there is no input from the operation unit 4 (S312: No), it is determined whether a predetermined timeout period has elapsed (S313). If the timeout period has not elapsed (S313: No), S311 is determined. Then, the image processing is continued, and it is confirmed whether or not there is an input of the button of the operation unit 4 again in S312 after a certain period of time.

  When the time-out period elapses without the input of the button of the operation unit 4 (S313: Yes), or when “printing interruption” is selected in S310 (S314: Yes), the image processing is interrupted and processing is performed. The information about the print job in the middle is registered in the interruption file management table (an example of printing interruption information). This interrupt file management table is stored in the RAM 12, and as shown in FIG. 9, the name of the file to be printed (referred to as the interrupt file), the print condition setting value, and the printed page number are recorded. The Thereafter, the process at the time of selecting the file in the memory is exited, the process proceeds to S209 in FIG. 4 to release the exclusive mode, and then the direct printing process is ended.

  When “print remaining page” is selected on the operation selection screen in S310 (S316: Yes), pages other than the already printed page among the pages included in the print job are printed (S317). In this case, all pages can be obtained by combining the previously printed page and the later printed page.

  If “all page printing” is selected on the operation selection screen in S310 (S318: Yes), all pages included in the print job including the previously printed page are printed (S319). . In this case, all pages of the original file are output without changing the order.

  If “retry” is selected on the operation selection screen in S310 (S320: Yes), the process returns to S308, and the print target page determination process (see FIG. 7) is executed again. As a result, if it is not possible to determine whether the selection of the file to be printed is correct even if the user sees the printed page as the trial page, another page can be selected by selecting “Retry”. Can be output as a trial page.

  When “End” is selected on the operation selection screen in S310 (S320: No), or when printing is finished in S317 and S319, the process at the time of file selection is exited, and exclusive use is made in S209 of FIG. After canceling the mode, the direct printing process is terminated.

  As described above, in FIG. 4, when there is a suspended file registered in the suspended file management table (S202: Yes), in addition to the file list in the USB memory 20, “suspended file printing” is displayed. Are displayed (S204). When “interrupt file printing” is selected (S205: No), the following interrupt file selection process is executed (S207).

  When starting the interrupt file selection process, the CPU 10 first displays a list of interrupt files registered in the interrupt file management table on the display unit 5 as shown in FIG. 10 (S501). When the user selects one interrupt file from the list using the operation unit 4 (S502), based on the information of the interrupt file management table, the selected interrupt file is used as a print target and an unprinted page is selected. Printing is performed according to the printing conditions (S503). Here, not only unprinted pages but also all pages of the interrupt file may be instructed to be printed.

(Effect of this embodiment)
According to the present embodiment, a part of a plurality of print jobs is printed as a trial page, and then the print job is completed when an instruction to continue the print job is given. As a result, it is possible to check the print contents by looking at a part of the printed pages, and to continue or interrupt the print job according to the result. As a result, consumption of ink, developer, paper, and the like due to a printing error (for example, a selection error of a print target file or an input error of print settings) can be suppressed.

  In addition, by printing only one sheet as a trial page for one print job, it is possible to minimize consumption of ink, paper, and the like when there is a printing error.

  In addition, a page satisfying the extraction condition is extracted from a plurality of pages included in the print job and printed as a trial page. Thus, by extracting a page that allows easy confirmation of the file contents, it is possible to save the user from searching for a page for confirming the contents.

  In addition, since a page to be printed can be designated as a trial page, it is convenient when, for example, the contents of a printed file can be easily grasped by looking at a specific page.

  In addition, when an instruction to continue the print job is given, all the pages included in the print job except for the printed pages can be printed, so that wasteful consumption of ink and paper can be eliminated. .

  In addition, since the image processing is executed after the trial page is printed and before the instruction is input from the operation unit 4, when the continuation of the print job is instructed, the time until the printing is completed is set. It can be shortened.

  In addition, if the content of the page printed as the trial page cannot be sufficiently confirmed, another page can be printed as the trial page, which is convenient. In addition, consumption of ink, paper, and the like can be suppressed as compared with a case where a large number of pages are printed as trial pages at a time.

  Also, after printing a trial page, if no instructions are input for some reason, the execution of the print job is interrupted and the exclusive mode is canceled, thereby preventing other users' work from being hindered. it can.

  In addition, when it is not necessary to print the trial page, the trial printing can be prevented from being executed, which is convenient.

  In addition, if the print condition setting is changed from the initial value (default), it is considered that there is a high need for confirmation of the print content, and by performing trial printing only in such a case, Usability is improved.

  In addition, when aggregate printing or double-sided printing is performed, a page printed on the same recording medium as the trial page in the print job is printed together with the trial page. Accordingly, a printed matter printed as a trial page is the same as that printed as a print job.

  In addition, when execution of a print job is interrupted after printing a trial page, information indicating which of the pages included in the print job has been printed is stored as an interrupt file management table. Thereby, for example, when a print job is interrupted, only the unprinted page can be printed by referring to the information of the interrupt file management table later.

  Further, referring to the interrupt file management table, only the pages other than the printed pages among the pages included in the interrupted print job can be printed. Therefore, for example, it is possible to use such a method that only some pages are printed from a plurality of files, and then all necessary pages are printed later. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate waste as compared with the case where all pages are printed from the beginning.

  A file to be printed can be selected from the files stored in the USB memory 20. In general, a portable storage medium such as the USB memory 20 is not always connected to a computer or the like, so it is difficult to check the contents of a file stored therein, and the possibility of a printing error is compared. Therefore, the effect of applying the present invention is high.

  In addition, by applying the present invention when printing a file consisting of a plurality of pages such as a document file (for example, PDF, TIFF, DOC file, etc.), it is possible to effectively prevent wasteful consumption due to a printing error. Can do.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, a file stored in a USB memory is shown as a print target. However, according to the present invention, a file stored in a memory card or a portable hard disk drive as a portable storage medium is used. It is good also as a printing object. Furthermore, a file stored in a hard disk drive or the like incorporated in an external information processing apparatus or the like via a network interface or the like may be a print target.
(2) A plurality of copies may be set as printing conditions included in a print job at the time of direct printing. When printing multiple copies, for example, the first copy may be printed as a trial page, and then the remaining copies may be printed when an instruction to continue printing is given.

1 ... Multifunction machine (an example of an image forming apparatus)
4. Operation unit (an example of selection means, input means, instruction means, change means, setting means)
6 ... USB connection section (an example of connection means)
10 ... CPU (an example of printing means, extraction means, image processing means)
12 ... RAM (an example of storage means)
16: Printing section (an example of printing means)
20 ... USB memory (an example of a portable storage medium)

Claims (14)

A selection means capable of selecting a file to be printed;
An input unit capable of inputting a print job for printing the file selected by the selection unit;
Instruction means capable of instructing continuation of the print job;
A part of a plurality of print jobs input by the input unit is printed as a trial page, and then trial printing is performed to complete the print job when the instruction unit instructs to continue the print job. Printing means to
Setting means for setting whether to execute the trial printing;
With
The printing unit executes the print job without printing the trial page when the setting unit is set not to perform the trial printing when the print job is input from the input unit. And
The setting unit is set to execute the trial printing when the printing condition of the print job is changed from an initial value, and is set to not execute the trial printing when the printing condition is not changed from the initial value. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The setting means always executes a first option for executing the trial printing, a second option for not always executing the trial printing, and executes the trial printing when the print condition of the print job is changed from an initial value. If it is not changed from the initial value, whether to execute the trial printing is set according to an option selected from the third option that does not execute the trial printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The printing unit prints only one sheet for one print job as the trial page. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An extraction means for extracting a page satisfying a predetermined extraction condition from a plurality of pages included in the print job;
The printing unit prints at least a part of the page extracted by the extraction unit as the trial page. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Designation means for designating a page to be printed as the trial page by the printing means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The printing unit prints all pages except the already printed page when an instruction to continue the print job is given. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Image processing means for performing image processing for generating print data supplied to the printing means from the file to be printed based on the print job;
The image processing unit executes image processing based on the print job after the trial page included in the print job is printed by the printing unit and before an instruction is given by the instruction unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Change means to change the trial page,
The printing means prints another page included in the print job as the trial page when the trial page is changed by the changing means after printing the trial page. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The printing means operates in a dedicated mode in which no other print job is executed when executing the trial printing for one print job, and when the instruction means does not instruct for a predetermined period after printing the trial page. Cancel the exclusive mode. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
When the printing condition of the print job is aggregate printing or double-sided printing, the printing unit prints on the same recording medium as the trial page in the print job during the trial printing. Printed page with the trial page. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
When the printing unit suspends execution of a print job after printing the trial page, the printing unit includes storage unit that stores print interruption information indicating which of the pages included in the print job has been printed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11.
The printing unit can print only the pages other than the printed pages among the pages included in the suspended print job with reference to the print suspension information. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
A connection means capable of communication connection with a portable storage medium;
The selection unit can select a file to be printed from files stored in the portable storage medium. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
The printing means can execute a print job for printing a file composed of a plurality of pages.