JP2010134539A - Program for controlling printer, information processor and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow addition of a watermark by processing in a rendering part of a printer driver, and to dispense with issuance of a drawing instruction to a printing device context by the rendering part of the printer driver. <P>SOLUTION: When drawing the watermark, the rendering part of the printer driver obtains a displaying device context (S401), and draws the watermark to the displaying device context (S403-S409). The drawn watermark is obtained from the displaying device context (S411), and the obtained watermark is composed with a drawing memory for printing (S413). Thereby, the rendering part of the printer driver can draw the watermark to the drawing memory for the printing without issuing the drawing instruction to the printing device context. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer control program, an information processing apparatus, and a printing system.

  Conventionally, a technique for printing by adding a watermark to a document is known. This type of technology is used, for example, when printing a document that is prohibited from being distributed to other parties. In this case, characters and images such as “secret” are added to the document as a watermark. By doing so, it is possible to call attention to those who have received the document.

With regard to such a watermark addition function, for example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for creating bitmap data of an image to be printed and synthesizing a watermark with the created bitmap data in a printer driver. ing. By using such a technique, a watermark could be added to a document by a printer driver (see Patent Document 1: [0056] to [0079]).
JP 11-298717 A

  However, in the case of the technique described in Patent Document 1, the watermark is converted into a bitmap in the interface section of the printer driver, and the bitmap data is transferred to the rendering section of the printer driver.

  Therefore, when the above technology is applied in an environment where the interface unit and rendering unit of the printer driver do not operate on the same PC (Personal Computer) (for example, when the printer is set to be shared), the watermark cannot be transferred. There was a problem that the watermark could not be printed.

  In order to avoid the above problems, it is preferable that the watermark can be bitmapped by the rendering unit of the printer driver. However, when the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a rendering command for rendering the watermark. There was a problem.

  More specifically, a Windows (registered trademark) OS (Operating System) includes software called GDI (Graphic Device Interface). This GDI is well-known software for managing a device context, which is a virtualized drawing area, and creating data for display or printing accompanying drawing in the device context.

  When application software executes a printing process on a PC on which an OS having such a GDI is installed, a device context for printing is acquired in the process. Then, by calling a function (API; Application Program Interface) for giving a command to the GDI, a drawing command for the acquired device context for printing is issued.

  As a result, various types of information necessary for printing are transmitted to the rendering unit of the printer driver via GDI, and the rendering unit of the printer driver executes drawing processing using GDI. Will be made.

  However, GDI is originally software that application software is prepared for use in the above-described procedure, and is not designed to be used by a rendering unit of a printer driver.

  Therefore, when the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the device context for printing to draw the watermark, various information related to the drawing command issued by itself is returned to the rendering unit itself of the printer driver via GDI. It falls into an irregular situation. As a result, for example, depending on the drawing command, there is a problem that drawing processing by GDI is not properly executed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to add a watermark by processing in the rendering unit of the printer driver, in which case the rendering unit of the printer driver is a device for printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer control program, an information processing apparatus, and a printing system that do not need to issue a drawing command for a context.

  Hereinafter, the configuration employed in the present invention will be described.

  The printer control program according to the present invention transmits a drawing command from at least one software functioning on the information processing apparatus to a rendering unit of the printer driver via a GDI (Graphic Device Interface), thereby performing print output on the printing apparatus. In the information processing apparatus configured to be executable and capable of executing display output on the display device by transmitting a drawing command from the software to the display driver via the GDI, the control provided in the information processing device Is a printer control program for causing a printing unit to function as a rendering unit of the printer driver, and executes drawing processing using the GDI when a drawing command for a device context for printing is issued from the software As a result, the storage area for print output The base image drawing means for drawing the image and the drawing command for the display device context are issued, and the display driver executes the drawing process using the GDI, thereby adding the additional image to the display output storage area. Additional image drawing means for drawing the image, additional image acquisition means for acquiring the additional image drawn in the storage area for display output by the additional image drawing means, and the additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition means Is superimposed on the base image drawn in the storage area for print output, thereby combining the print image with the storage area for print output, and the printing by the image composition means Output control means for executing control for outputting the print image synthesized in the output storage area to the printing apparatus; As the rendering of the printer driver with a program for causing the control unit.

  When the control unit of the information processing apparatus is caused to function as a printer driver rendering unit in accordance with the printer control program configured as described above, the printer driver rendering unit performs print output in accordance with a rendering command issued from software. A base image is drawn in the storage area. Further, the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the display device context, and as a result, the additional image is drawn in the storage area for display output by the display driver. The additional image is combined with the base image in the print output storage area to be a print image, and the print image is output to the printing apparatus.

  With such a printer driver rendering unit, it is not necessary to issue a drawing command for a device context for printing when drawing an additional image. Therefore, unlike the case where the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the device context for printing itself, the rendering command of the printer driver returns to the rendering unit of the printer driver itself via GDI. It does not fall into an irregular situation such as coming. Therefore, GDI can be used appropriately, and thereby an intended additional image can be reliably drawn.

  The printer control program of the present invention preferably further comprises the following configuration.

  First, in the printer control program of the present invention, the additional image drawing means divides the additional image into a plurality of partial images, and sends a drawing command for drawing each partial image to the display device context. Means for causing the display driver to draw each partial image, and the additional image obtaining means obtains the partial image each time one of the partial images is drawn by the display driver, The image compositing means uses the position on the base image on which the partial image is to be superimposed on the partial image acquired by the additional image acquisition means as a dividing condition when the additional image is divided into a plurality of partial images. And means for synthesizing the partial image at the calculated position. The processing by the means, the additional image acquisition means, and the image composition means is executed for each of the plurality of partial images, so that the print image is synthesized in the storage area for print output. And preferred.

  If the control unit of the information processing apparatus functions as a printer driver rendering unit in accordance with the printer control program configured as described above, a plurality of additional images having a size that does not fit in the storage area for display output can be obtained. By dividing the image into partial images and repeating the synthesis of each partial image and the base image, the additional image and the base image can be synthesized.

  Further, the printer control program according to the present invention may be configured such that, for a plurality of regions assumed on the base image, each region is an effective region where the partial image to be superimposed is present in the region, or is superimposed in the region. The control unit functions as a rendering unit of the printer driver that includes a determination unit that determines whether the partial image to be combined does not exist. The region determined as the effective region by the determination unit is targeted. The processing by the additional image drawing means, the additional image acquisition means, and the image composition means is executed for each of the plurality of partial images, so that the print image is synthesized in the storage area for print output. It is preferable that

  If the control unit of the information processing apparatus functions as a rendering unit of the printer driver according to the printer control program configured as described above, an additional image drawing unit and an additional image acquisition unit are targeted for an area determined as an effective area. Each process by the image composition means is executed. Therefore, regardless of whether the region is an effective region or an invalid region, the additional image can be drawn more quickly than when trying to synthesize the partial image and the base image uniformly.

  In the printer control program of the present invention, after the base image drawing unit draws a base image in the print output storage area, the image composition unit stores the additional image in the print output storage area. It is preferable that the print image is combined with the print output storage area by overlapping the base image drawn on the image.

  If the control unit of the information processing apparatus functions as a printer driver rendering unit in accordance with the printer control program configured as described above, an additional image on the premise that the additional image is drawn on the base image is displayed. It will be drawn later. Therefore, a base image that is not assumed to be drawn superimposed on the additional image can be reliably combined with the base image without losing the additional image, compared to a case where the base image is drawn after the additional image. .

  Next, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention transmits a drawing command from at least one software functioning on the information processing apparatus to a rendering unit of the printer driver via GDI (Graphic Device Interface), thereby performing printing on the printing apparatus. The information processing apparatus configured to execute output and to perform display output on a display device by transmitting a drawing command from the software to a display driver via the GDI, the printer driver A rendering unit for rendering a base image in a storage area for print output by executing a rendering process using the GDI when a rendering command for a device context for printing is issued from the software Issuing drawing commands for drawing means and device context for display , By causing the display driver to perform drawing processing using the GDI, additional image drawing means for drawing an additional image in the display output storage area, and the display output storage area by the additional image drawing means An additional image acquisition means for acquiring the drawn additional image; and the additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition means is overlaid on the base image drawn in the storage area for print output. An image composition unit that synthesizes the print image in the storage area for print output, and an image for outputting the print image synthesized in the storage area for print output by the image composition unit to the printing apparatus. Output control means for executing control.

  In the information processing apparatus configured as described above, the rendering unit of the printer driver draws a base image in the storage area for print output in accordance with a drawing command issued from software. Further, the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the display device context, and as a result, the additional image is drawn in the storage area for display output by the display driver. The additional image is combined with the base image in the print output storage area to be a print image, and the print image is output to the printing apparatus.

  According to such an information processing apparatus, the rendering unit of the printer driver does not need to issue a drawing command for the device context for printing when drawing the additional image. Therefore, unlike the case where the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the device context for printing itself, the rendering command of the printer driver returns to the rendering unit of the printer driver itself via GDI. It does not fall into an irregular situation such as coming. Therefore, GDI can be used appropriately, and thereby an intended additional image can be reliably drawn.

  Next, the printing system of the present invention is a printing system including an information processing apparatus and a printing apparatus controlled by the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus functions on the information processing apparatus. By transmitting a drawing command from at least one software to the rendering unit of the printer driver via GDI (Graphic Device Interface), it is possible to execute print output in the printing apparatus, and from the software to the display driver via the GDI By transmitting a drawing command to the display device, display output on the display device can be executed, and the rendering unit of the printer driver included in the information processing device draws the device context for printing from the software. When the command is issued, the drawing process using the GDI is executed. By doing so, a base image drawing means for drawing a base image in a storage area for print output, and a drawing command for a display device context are issued to cause the display driver to execute drawing processing using the GDI. The additional image drawing means for drawing the additional image in the storage area for display output, the additional image acquisition means for acquiring the additional image drawn in the storage area for display output by the additional image drawing means, An image that combines the print image with the print output storage area by drawing the additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition means on the base image drawn in the print output storage area. A print unit combined with the print output storage area by the combining unit and the image combining unit to the printing apparatus; Characterized in that it comprises an output control means for performing control to force.

  In the printing system configured as described above, the rendering unit of the printer driver included in the information processing apparatus draws a base image in a storage area for print output in accordance with a drawing command issued from software. In addition, the rendering unit of the printer driver provided in the information processing apparatus issues a drawing command for the device context for display, and as a result, the additional image is drawn in the storage area for display output by the display driver. The additional image is combined with the base image in the print output storage area to be a print image, and the print image is output to the printing apparatus.

  According to such a printing system, the rendering unit of the printer driver provided in the information processing apparatus does not have to issue a drawing command for a device context for printing when drawing an additional image. Therefore, unlike the case where the rendering unit of the printer driver issues a drawing command for the device context for printing itself, the rendering command of the printer driver returns to the rendering unit of the printer driver itself via GDI. It does not fall into an irregular situation such as coming. Therefore, GDI can be used appropriately, and thereby an intended additional image can be reliably drawn.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example.

[Entire system configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system including a personal computer 1 (hereinafter referred to as PC1) and a printer 2 connected to the PC1. The PC 1 included in the system corresponds to the information processing apparatus referred to in the present invention, and the printer 2 corresponds to the printing apparatus referred to in the present invention.

  In this system, the PC 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an HDD 14 (hard disk device 14), an operation unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication interface 17 as shown in FIG.

  The CPU 11 is a device that executes control and various operations for each part of the PC 1 in accordance with programs stored in the ROM 12 and the RAM 13. Processing as a printer driver and processing as an OS and application are executed by the CPU 11.

  The ROM 12 is a storage device that can retain the stored contents even when the power switch of the PC 1 is turned off, and stores BIOS (Basic Input Output System), read data that is not normally updated, and the like.

  The RAM 13 is a storage device used as a main memory or the like that is directly accessed from the CPU 11. In the RAM 13, software such as an OS and various applications is read from the HDD 14, and results of various calculations by the CPU 11 and data read from the HDD 14 are also stored in the RAM 13. When executing processing as printer drivers (printer driver rendering unit 27 and printer driver interface unit 29), which will be described later, a printer control program necessary for causing the printer driver to function is read from the HDD 14 into the RAM 13, and the RAM 13 The CPU 11 executes processing as a printer driver in accordance with the program stored in.

  The HDD 14 is an apparatus for storing the OS, various application programs, and various data files. The printer control program is also stored in the HDD 14.

  The operation unit 15 is an input device for inputting various instructions from the user, and includes, for example, a keyboard and various pointing devices (for example, a mouse). The display unit 16 is an output device for presenting various types of information to the user, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display.

  The communication interface 17 is a serial interface (for example, USB interface) to which a printer and other peripheral devices can be connected, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface, or the like.

[Outline of watermark addition function]
Next, an outline of software related to the watermark adding function will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, Windows XP (registered trademark) is installed in the PC 1 as the OS. This OS has a well-known multitask function, and thus, on the PC 1, a plurality of processes function in parallel, and the plurality of processes cooperate to execute various processes.

  The application 21 is software such as word processing software or spreadsheet software, for example. When the user uses the printing function of the application 21, the application 21 prints an image (base image) edited on the application 21. A drawing command is issued.

  Win32 (GDI32) 23 is an application program interface implemented as a part of the OS, and the application 21 can give a drawing command to the GDI 25 by calling a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23.

  The GDI 25 is a part that manages a device context, which is a virtualized drawing area, and creates print data associated with drawing on the device context. When the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23, various information passed from the application 21 is transmitted to the GDI 25. These pieces of information are processed in the GDI 25 and the printer driver rendering unit 27.

  The printer driver rendering unit 27 also receives information necessary for executing printing with a watermark (additional image) from the printer driver interface unit 29.

  The printer driver interface unit 29 is a part that provides a user interface capable of performing various print-related settings, separately from the application 21. Using this user interface, the user can instruct printing with a watermark. In addition, if the printer driver interface unit 29 is used, special printing such as reduced printing and layout printing, and various printing-related settings such as paper type and number of copies can be instructed.

  The printer driver rendering unit 27 includes a drawing command rendering unit 31, a watermark drawing / combination unit 33, a data output unit 35, a drawing memory 37, and the like. Among these, the drawing command rendering unit 31 executes drawing on the drawing memory 37 by processing the drawing command from the application 21 using the GDI 25.

  The watermark drawing / combination unit 33 issues a drawing command for a watermark when information indicating that printing with a watermark is executed is received from the printer driver interface unit 29.

  When issuing a drawing command for a watermark, the watermark drawing / combining unit 33 acquires a display device context (= strictly, a memory device context compatible with the display device context). In order to perform drawing on the device context for display, a drawing command is given to the graphic engine (GDI) 41 by calling a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23.

  As a result, the drawing command for the watermark is transmitted to the display driver 43, and the display driver 43 causes an image to be a watermark to be displayed in the drawing memory for display (= the image buffer associated with the memory device context). Will be drawn.

  The watermark image drawn in the display drawing memory in this way is read out by the drawing command rendering unit 31, and the resolution and the number of colors are optimized in accordance with the printing drawing memory 37. Then, the optimized image is synthesized into the drawing memory 37 by the watermark drawing / synthesizing unit 33. As a result, the image (base image) edited on the application 21 and the watermark (additional image) are synthesized. The resulting image is formed in the drawing memory 37.

  The watermarked image thus formed in the drawing memory 37 is output to the printer 2 by the data output unit 35. Note that a known spooler system is used for output to the printer 2, and the data output unit 35 also issues various commands for managing print jobs. However, since such a spooler system itself is a well-known technique and is not a technique directly related to the main part of the present invention, further explanation is omitted.

[Description of Print Processing in PC 1]
Next, details of the printing process executed in the PC 1 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In this specification, for the sake of brevity, it is described that each processing step shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is executed by the application 21 and the printer driver rendering unit 27. However, as is well known, these processing steps are strictly executed by the CPU 11 functioning as the application 21 and the CPU 11 functioning as the printer driver rendering unit 27.

  The printing process shown in FIG. 3 is a process that is executed by the cooperation of the application 21 and the printer driver rendering unit 27. FIG. 3 shows the application side (left side in the figure) and the printer driver rendering unit side. Each process (right side in the figure) is also shown.

  The process on the application side is started when the user performs an operation for instructing printing of the document. When this process is started, the application 21 first creates a device context for printing (S101). The device context creation command is transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win 32 (GDI 32) 23. As a result, the printer driver rendering unit 27 creates information necessary for printing using the GDI 25 (S201).

  Subsequently, the application 21 commands the start of the document (S103). The document start command is also transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23. As a result, the printer driver rendering unit 27 uses the GDI 25 to acquire information necessary for the print job and output a command for the print job (S203).

  Then, the application 21 commands the start of the page (S105). The page start command is transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win 32 (GDI 32) 23, as with other commands. Accordingly, the printer driver rendering unit 27 uses the GDI 25 to execute acquisition of information necessary for each page and output of a page start command (S205).

  Next, the application 21 commands drawing within the page (S107). This S107 is executed for each individual drawing object in the page. For example, if there are a plurality of drawing objects, S107 is executed a plurality of times, whereby a drawing command corresponding to each drawing object is issued. It will be issued in order.

  Also in S107, a drawing command is issued when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23, and the information is transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI25. As a result, the printer driver rendering unit 27 outputs a command to be drawn for each page as a command, or draws it in a drawing memory to form a BMP (bitmap) (S207).

  In S207, whether to output as a command or to draw in the drawing memory to make a BMP (bitmap) depends on whether or not the printer 2 has a function to execute drawing by the command.

  When all the drawing on the page is completed in this way, the drawing of the image (base image) for one page edited on the application 21 is completed. Thus, the application 21 terminates the page. Command is given (S109). The page end command is transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win 32 (GDI 32) 23, as with other commands. Accordingly, the printer driver rendering unit 27 executes page output processing (S209). In this page output process, watermark drawing and the like are executed, and details thereof will be described later.

  Note that S105 to S109 described above are executed for each page included in the document. For example, in the case of a document including a plurality of pages, S105 to S109 are repeated a plurality of times. As a result, drawing for a plurality of pages is performed.

  If the processing for the last page in the document is completed as a result of such processing, the application 21 commands the end of the document (S111). The end of the document is also transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win 32 (GDI 32) 23, as with other commands. Accordingly, the printer driver rendering unit 27 executes a command output for ending the print job (S211).

  Finally, the application 21 commands the discard of the printing device context (S113). The command issued in S113 is transmitted to the printer driver rendering unit 27 via the GDI 25 when the application 21 calls a function provided by the Win32 (GDI32) 23, as with other commands. Accordingly, the printer driver rendering unit 27 discards information necessary for printing (S213).

  When all the processing steps from S101 to S113 are completed, the printing process by the application 21 is finished.

[Details of page output processing]
Next, the details of the page output processing in S209 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When this page output process is started, the printer driver rendering unit 27 determines whether or not drawing of a watermark is necessary (S305). Whether or not the watermark drawing is necessary can be arbitrarily set by the user using the printer driver interface unit 29. In S305, a determination is made based on the setting by the user.

  If it is determined in S305 that drawing of a watermark is necessary (S305: YES), the printer driver rendering unit 27 executes a watermark drawing process (S307). This S307 is a process as shown in detail in FIG.

  Hereinafter, in describing the processing shown in FIG. 5, the description will be continued by giving a case where the watermark 53 is drawn in the printing drawing area 51 shown in FIG. 6A as a specific case. .

  The drawing area 51 illustrated here is an area having a resolution of 4900 horizontal × 6400 dots vertical, and the drawing area 51 is secured in the drawing memory 37. The watermark 53 is a coordinate system in which the upper left of the above 4900 × 6400 dots is the origin (0, 0), and the coordinates of the upper left vertex (x, y) = (1000, 1700), (horizontal dots Number cx, number of vertical dots cy) = (range of 3000, 3000) ”. Further, the display unit 16 employs a display device having a resolution of 800 × 600 in the horizontal direction, and the resolution of the display drawing area is 800 × 600 in the horizontal direction.

  Continuing the description of the case where the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG. 5, the printer driver rendering unit 27 first acquires a display device context (S401). Through S401, as the display device context, a display device context and a memory device context compatible with the display device context are acquired.

  Subsequently, the printer driver rendering unit 27 obtains a drawable size from the display device context and calculates the number of divisions (S403). In S403, the “drawable size” acquired from the display device context corresponds to the resolution of the drawing area of the display unit 16, and in the example illustrated in the present embodiment, the resolution: horizontal 800 × vertical 600 is acquired. Is done.

  The number of divisions calculated in S403 is divided into a number of regions in the horizontal and vertical directions when the print drawing area 51 is divided into regions each having a size equivalent to the drawing area of the display unit 16. It is a value indicating whether or not.

  For example, when the printing drawing area 51 is 4900 × 6400 dots in the horizontal direction and the drawing area for display is 800 × 600 dots in the horizontal direction, the number of divisions in the horizontal direction is calculated by the formula “4900 ÷ 800 = 6. The number of divisions “7” is calculated by rounding up the decimal part from “125”. Similarly, the number of divisions “11” is calculated as the number of divisions in the vertical direction by rounding up the decimal part from the calculation formula “6400 ÷ 600 = 10.66.

  In this case, the drawing area 51 for printing (horizontal 4900 × vertical 6400 dots) is virtually divided into seven horizontal unit drawing areas of 800 × 600 horizontal dots as shown in FIG. 6B. It can be regarded as a region corresponding to a part of a virtual drawing area 55 (5600 horizontal × 6600 vertical) arranged in 11 rows in the vertical direction.

  Further, in such a case, the water drawn in the “range of the horizontal dot number cx and the vertical dot number cy (3000, 3000) having the coordinates x, y (1000, 1700) as the upper left vertex” is described above. The mark 53 can be regarded as being in the position shown in FIG. 6C in the virtual drawing area 55. In this case, the watermark 53 is actually drawn, as shown in FIG. 6D, numbers 16-19, 23-26, 30-33, 37-40, 44-47, 51-54. Each unit drawing area is 4 × 6 in the horizontal direction.

  Under this assumption, after finishing S403, the printer driver rendering unit 27 determines whether or not drawing is performed on the divided display device context from the drawing target area of the watermark 53 (S405). In S405, the horizontal 4 × vertical 6 unit drawing areas are drawn in the divided display device context, and the other unit drawing areas are drawn in the divided display device context. It is determined that there is not.

  More specifically, the following four relational expressions: “x coordinate (x) of upper left vertex of watermark 53> {(number of horizontal dots in display drawing area) × (in virtual drawing area 55 “Position from the left of a certain unit drawing area)}”, “y coordinate (y) of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53> {(number of vertical dots in the drawing area for display) × (in the virtual drawing area 55 Position from the top of a certain unit drawing area}}, “{the x coordinate (x) of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53 + the number of horizontal dots of the watermark 53 (cx)} <{(the width of the display drawing area Number of direction dots) × ((position from left of unit drawing area in virtual drawing area 55) −1)} ”,“ {y coordinate (y) of upper left vertex of watermark 53 + watermark 53 Number of dots in the vertical direction (cy)} <{( “Number of dots in the vertical direction of the drawing area for indication) × ((position from above the unit drawing area in the virtual drawing area 55) −1)}” ”, each unit in the virtual drawing area 55 If the drawing area satisfies any one of the relational expressions, it is determined in S405 that there is no drawing on the divided display device context.

  For example, in the case of the unit drawing area with the number “1”, “x coordinate (x = 1000) of upper left vertex of watermark 53> {(number of horizontal dots in display drawing area = 800) × (virtual The position of the unit drawing area in the correct drawing area 55 from the left = 1)} ”is“ 1000> 800 ”, and the relational expression is established. It is determined that there is no drawing (= the unit drawing area that does not overlap with the watermark 53 in FIG. 6C).

  Further, in the case of the unit drawing area to which the number: 16 is attached, “x coordinate (x = 1000) of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53> {(number of horizontal dots in the drawing area for display = 800) × (virtual In the drawing area 55, the position of the unit drawing area from the left = 2)} ”does not hold because“ 1000> 1600 ”. Similarly, “y coordinate of upper left vertex of watermark 53 (y = 1700)> {(number of vertical dots in display drawing area = 600) × (above unit drawing area in virtual drawing area 55 "1700> 1800" does not hold, and "{the x coordinate of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53 (x = 1000) + the number of horizontal dots of the watermark 53 (cx = 3000)} <{(number of horizontal dots of the drawing area for display = 800) × ((position from the left of the unit drawing area in the virtual drawing area 55 = 2) −1)} ” “1000 + 3000 <800 × (2-1)” does not hold, and “{y coordinate of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53 (y = 1700) + number of vertical dots of the watermark 53 (cy = 30) 0)} <{(number of vertical dots of display drawing area = 600) × ((position from above unit drawing area in virtual drawing area 55 = 3) −1)} ” “1700 + 3000 <600 × (3-1)” is not satisfied. Therefore, in this case, since all four relational expressions do not hold, in this case, “there is drawing in a divided display device context (= in FIG. 6C, there is an overlap with the watermark 53. Unit drawing area) ”.

  That is, according to the discrimination method as described above, the numbers 16 to 19, 23 to 26, 30 to 33, 37 to 40, 44 to 47, and 51 to 54 as shown in FIG. By leaving each 4 × 6 unit drawing area, the other unit drawing areas can be excluded from the processing target.

  Now, after the unit drawing areas to be processed are selected in this way, the number of repetition processes corresponding to the number of unit drawing areas to be processed is subsequently executed, and in each case S407 to S413 described below. Execute.

  That is, first, the printer driver rendering unit 27 calculates drawing coordinates for the display device context (S407), and uses the API (Win32 (GDI32) 23) for the display device context as a watermark. Is drawn (S409).

  In S407, if the watermark 53 is drawn by designating what coordinates are as the upper left vertex of the watermark 53, the display upper right vertex is set to (0, 0) with respect to the display drawing area. Whether or not the “part of the divided watermark 53” of the period can be drawn is calculated.

  Specifically, the following two calculation formulas: “x coordinate (cx ′) = (x coordinate of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53) − {(number of horizontal dots in the drawing area for display) × ((virtual 1)} ”,“ y coordinate (cy ′) = (y coordinate of upper left vertex of watermark 53) − {(in the drawing area for display) Based on (vertical number of dots) × ((position from above the unit drawing area in the virtual drawing area 55) −1)} ”, the coordinates set as the upper left vertex of the watermark 53 are calculated. .

  For example, in the first iteration, if the unit drawing area numbered 16 is a processing target, the second from the left and the third from the top as shown in FIG. 6B. Therefore, “cx ′ = 1000− (800 × (2-1)) = 200” and “cy ′ = 1700− (600 × (3-1)) = 500” are calculated.

  In this case, in S409, the watermark 53 is drawn with the coordinates (200, 500) in the display drawing area (800 × 600) where the coordinates of the upper left vertex are (0, 0) as the upper left vertex, The partial image to be drawn in the unit drawing area numbered 16 is drawn in the display drawing area.

  Similarly, in the second iteration, if the unit drawing area numbered 17 is the processing target, the third from the left and the third from the top as shown in FIG. 6B. Since it is the eye area, “cx ′ = 1000− (800 × (3-1)) = − 600” and “cy ′ = 1700− (600 × (3-1)) = 500” are calculated.

  In this case, in S409, the watermark 53 is drawn with the coordinates (−600,500) in the display drawing area (800 × 600) where the coordinates of the upper left vertex are (0, 0) as the upper left vertex, thereby , The partial image to be drawn in the unit drawing area numbered 17 is drawn in the display drawing area.

  That is, by setting a negative value as the x coordinate of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53, the drawing is executed in such a way that a part of the watermark 53 protrudes to the left of the display drawing area (800 × 600). Thus, an intended partial image (a range having coordinates that coincide with the display drawing area in the watermark 53) can be drawn in the display drawing area.

  Similarly, in the 24th iteration, if the unit drawing area numbered 54 is a processing target, as shown in FIG. 6B, the fifth from the left and 8 from the top. Since it is the first area, “cx ′ = 1000− (800 × (5-1)) = − 2200” and “cy ′ = 1700− (600 × (8-1)) = − 3900” are calculated.

  In this case, in S409, the watermark 53 is drawn with the coordinates (−2200, −3900) in the display drawing area (800 × 600) where the coordinates of the upper left vertex are (0, 0) as the upper left vertex. Thus, the partial image to be drawn in the unit drawing area numbered 54 is drawn in the display drawing area.

  This case is a case where a negative value having the largest absolute value is set as the x and y coordinates of the upper left vertex of the watermark 53. In this case, the drawing is executed in such a way that a part of the watermark 53 protrudes to the left and the uppermost part of the display drawing area (800 × 600). As a result, the watermark is displayed in the display drawing area. The partial image corresponding to the lowermost right of 53 can be drawn.

  Note that in S409 described above, drawing in the display drawing area is executed as drawing for a display device context. However, in that case, the memory device context is used instead of the display device context in the device context acquired in S401. As a result, even if drawing is performed on the device context for display, it is possible to avoid the fact that the drawn matter is actually displayed on the display unit 16.

  Now, after drawing a partial image (a part of the watermark 53) corresponding to one unit drawing area to be processed in this way, the printer driver rendering unit 27 draws the drawn water from the display device context. A mark is acquired (S411). In S411, an image corresponding to a part of a watermark having a size equivalent to the display drawing area drawn in S409 is acquired.

  Then, the acquired watermark is combined with the drawing memory for printing (S413). That is, the image (base image) edited on the application 21 is stored in the print drawing area 51 by S207 described above, and the acquired watermark is combined therewith.

  Here, for example, in the first iteration, if the unit drawing area with the number: 16 is a processing target, as shown in FIG. A part of the watermark 53 is synthesized. Thereafter, in the second to fourth iterations, as shown in FIG. 7B, a part of the watermark 53 is synthesized in the drawing area 51 for printing in the order indicated by the arrows. Furthermore, in the fifth to sixth iterations, a part of the watermark 53 is indicated by an arrow in the print drawing area 51 at the second position from the top as shown in FIG. 7C. They are synthesized in order. Finally, the unit drawing area with the number 54 is processed, and the 24th partial image is synthesized as shown in FIG. The entire watermark 53 is combined in 51.

  The processes in S407 to S413 as described above are repeated until all the drawing necessary for the watermark is completed (S415: NO). If all the drawing necessary for the watermark is completed (S415: YES), the printer driver rendering unit 27 discards the display device context (S417). That is, the display device context and the memory device context acquired in S401 are discarded, and resources related to these device contexts are released.

  Now, when S401 to S417 shown in FIG. 5 are ended by the above procedure, S307 shown in FIG. 4 is ended. Therefore, returning to FIG. 4 to continue the description of the process, when S307 is completed, the process proceeds to S309. If it is determined in S305 that drawing of a watermark is unnecessary (S305: NO), the printer driver rendering unit 27 does not execute S307, and also proceeds to S309. In other words, whether or not to execute S307 varies depending on whether or not drawing of the watermark is necessary, but in either case, the process proceeds to S309.

  In step S309, the BMP-format drawing memory image and page end command are output (step S309), and the page output process shown in FIG. 4 ends. With this S309, an image for one page is output to the printer 2. At this time, if S307 is executed, an image in which a watermark is added to the image (base image) edited on the application 21 is output to the printer 2. If S307 is not executed, the image (base image) edited on the application 21 itself is output to the printer 2.

[effect]
As described above, according to the PC 1 having the printer driver rendering unit 27, the base image is stored in the drawing memory 37, which is a storage area for print output, according to the drawing command issued from the software such as the application 21 in S207. Draw. In step S409, the printer driver rendering unit 27 issues a drawing command for the display device context, and as a result, the display driver 43 draws the additional image in the storage area for display output. Then, in S411 and S413, this additional image is combined with the base image in the print output storage area to be a printing image, and this printing image is output to the printing apparatus in S309.

  Therefore, in the case of the PC 1 having such a printer driver rendering unit 27, when drawing an additional image, a drawing command for a display device context may be issued in S409. There is no need to issue a drawing command. Therefore, unlike the case where the printer driver rendering unit 27 issues a drawing command for the device context for printing, the drawing command issued by the printer driver rendering unit 27 returns to the printer driver rendering unit 27 itself via GDI. It does not fall into an irregular situation such as coming. Therefore, GDI can be used appropriately, and thereby an intended additional image can be reliably drawn.

  If the watermark is converted into a bitmap in the printer driver rendering unit 27 by the above method, the bitmap data need not be passed from the printer driver interface unit 29 to the printer driver rendering unit 27. Accordingly, even in an environment where the printer driver rendering unit 27 and the printer driver interface unit 29 do not always operate on the same PC, such as when the printer is set to be shared, the printer driver interface unit 29 is On the provided PC side, a watermark can be drawn and printed out.

  Further, according to the PC 1 including the printer driver rendering unit 27, even an additional image having a size that does not fit in the display output storage area (drawing memory) is divided into a plurality of partial images through S403 to S415. Then, by repeating the synthesis of each partial image and the base image, the additional image and the base image can be synthesized.

  Further, according to the PC 1 provided with the printer driver rendering unit 27, S409 (additional image drawing unit), S411 (additional image acquisition unit), and S413 (for the region determined to be an effective region in S405). Each process by the image synthesizing means) is executed. Therefore, regardless of whether the region is an effective region or an invalid region, the additional image can be drawn more quickly than when trying to synthesize the partial image and the base image uniformly.

  In addition, according to the PC 1 having the printer driver rendering unit 27, after executing S207, an additional image based on the premise that the additional image is drawn on the base image is executed by executing S209. It will be drawn later than the image. Therefore, a base image that is not assumed to be drawn superimposed on the additional image can be reliably combined with the base image without losing the additional image, compared to a case where the base image is drawn after the additional image. .

[Modifications, etc.]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said specific one Embodiment, In addition, it can implement with a various form.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which an image corresponding to a part of the watermark is drawn in the display drawing area and the process of combining the image with the printing drawing area is repeated multiple times. Whether or not to perform such image division is also arbitrary. For example, if the watermark to be added is relatively small, the watermark may be drawn without being divided into display drawing areas. In this case, the image division as described in the above embodiment is unnecessary. Become.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the unit drawing area (numbers: 16 to 19, 23 to 26, 30 to 33 in the above embodiment) that requires drawing of the watermark in the virtual drawing area 55 in S405. , 37 to 40, 44 to 47, and 51 to 54 are extracted (4 × 6 unit drawing areas), whether or not to perform such processing is also arbitrary. That is, for example, even if the watermark drawing process is performed on all unit drawing areas in the virtual drawing area 55 without performing such a process, the final processing result is as described above. A processing result that is completely different from the embodiment can be obtained. However, when it is desired to complete the processing more quickly, it is preferable to select a unit drawing area to be processed as in the above embodiment.

1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a printing system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the printing system. 10 is a flowchart of print processing. The flowchart of a page output process. The flowchart of a watermark drawing process. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the relationship between the drawing area for printing, the drawing area for a display, and a virtual drawing area. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the condition which combines the image acquired from the drawing area for a display with the drawing area for printing.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Personal computer (PC), 2 ... Printer, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Hard disk drive, 15 ... Operation part, 16. ..Display unit, 17 ... Communication interface, 21 ... Application, 23 ... Win32 (GDI32), 25 ... Graphic device interface (GDI), 27 ... Printer driver rendering unit, 29 ... Printer Driver interface unit, 31... Rendering command rendering unit, 33... Watermark rendering / synthesizing unit, 35 .. data output unit, 37 .. rendering memory, 41 .. graphic engine (GDI), 43 ... Display driver, 51 ... Drawing area for printing, 53 ... Watermark 55 ... virtual drawing area.

Claims (6)

By transmitting a drawing command from at least one software functioning on the information processing apparatus to the rendering unit of the printer driver via GDI (Graphic Device Interface), print output on the printing apparatus can be executed. In the information processing apparatus configured to execute display output on a display device by transmitting a drawing command to the display driver via the GDI, the control unit included in the information processing device includes a rendering unit of the printer driver A printer control program for functioning as
A base image rendering unit for rendering a base image in a storage area for print output by executing a rendering process using the GDI when a rendering command for a device context for printing is issued from the software;
An additional image rendering means for rendering an additional image in a storage area for display output by issuing a rendering command for a device context for display and causing the display driver to perform rendering processing using the GDI;
Additional image acquisition means for acquiring the additional image drawn in the storage area for display output by the additional image drawing means;
The additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition unit is drawn on the base image drawn in the storage area for print output so as to be combined with the storage area for print output. Image synthesis means;
As the rendering unit of the printer driver, comprising: output control means for executing control for outputting the print image synthesized by the image synthesis means to the storage area for print output to the printing apparatus; A printer control program for causing the control unit to function. The additional image rendering means divides the additional image into a plurality of partial images, and issues a rendering command for rendering each partial image to the display device context, thereby providing each display driver with a rendering command. Means for drawing a partial image,
The additional image acquisition means acquires the partial image every time the partial image is drawn by the display driver;
The image synthesizing means, with respect to the partial image acquired by the additional image acquisition means, a position on the base image on which the partial image is to be superimposed, a division condition when the additional image is divided into a plurality of partial images Means for combining the partial image with the calculated position,
And
The processing by the additional image drawing unit, the additional image acquisition unit, and the image synthesis unit is executed for each of the plurality of partial images, so that the print image is synthesized in the storage area for print output. The printer control program according to claim 1, wherein: For a plurality of regions assumed on the base image, whether each region is an effective region where the partial image to be superimposed in the region is present or an invalid region where the partial image to be superimposed is not present in the region The control unit functions as a rendering unit of the printer driver including a determination unit that determines
Each process by the additional image rendering unit, the additional image acquisition unit, and the image composition unit is executed for each of the plurality of partial images for the region determined as the effective region by the determination unit. The printer control program according to claim 2, wherein the print image is combined with the print output storage area. After the base image drawing means draws a base image in the print output storage area, the image composition means draws the additional image in an overlapping manner with the base image drawn in the print output storage area. The printer control program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the print image is combined with the print output storage area. By transmitting a drawing command from at least one software functioning on the information processing apparatus to the rendering unit of the printer driver via GDI (Graphic Device Interface), print output on the printing apparatus can be executed. The information processing apparatus configured to execute display output on a display device by transmitting a drawing command to the display driver via the GDI,
The rendering unit of the printer driver
A base image rendering unit for rendering a base image in a storage area for print output by executing a rendering process using the GDI when a rendering command for a device context for printing is issued from the software;
An additional image rendering means for rendering an additional image in a storage area for display output by issuing a rendering command for a device context for display and causing the display driver to perform rendering processing using the GDI;
Additional image acquisition means for acquiring the additional image drawn in the storage area for display output by the additional image drawing means;
The additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition unit is drawn on the base image drawn in the storage area for print output so as to be combined with the storage area for print output. Image synthesis means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: output control means for executing control for outputting the printing image synthesized in the storage area for print output by the image synthesizing means to the printing apparatus. A printing system comprising an information processing device and a printing device controlled by the information processing device,
The information processing apparatus includes:
By transmitting a drawing command from at least one software functioning on the information processing apparatus to a rendering unit of a printer driver via GDI (Graphic Device Interface), print output on the printing apparatus can be executed, and By transmitting a drawing command from the software to the display driver via the GDI, the display output on the display device can be executed,
The rendering unit of the printer driver included in the information processing apparatus includes:
A base image rendering unit for rendering a base image in a storage area for print output by executing a rendering process using the GDI when a rendering command for a device context for printing is issued from the software;
An additional image rendering means for rendering an additional image in a storage area for display output by issuing a rendering command for a device context for display and causing the display driver to perform rendering processing using the GDI;
Additional image acquisition means for acquiring the additional image drawn in the storage area for display output by the additional image drawing means;
The additional image acquired by the additional image acquisition unit is drawn on the base image drawn in the storage area for print output so as to be combined with the storage area for print output. Image synthesis means;
A printing system comprising: output control means for executing control for outputting the printing image synthesized in the storage area for printing output by the image synthesizing means to the printing apparatus.