JP2010167661A - Image forming device, print control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device, a charging device and a program, capable of conducting proper charge when printing collectively image data different in color information. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming device includes a charge amount storage means for storing information capable of determining a charge amount when the image data having color information are collected on the same page, in every combination of the pieces of color information, and a determination means for determining the charge amount, based on the color information of each image data serving as a collection object and based on the information stored in the charge amount storage means, in response to an execution indication of the collective printing of the image data different in the color information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a printing control method, and a program, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, a printing control method, and a program capable of executing aggregate printing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus installed in a lease contracted image forming apparatus, convenience store, or the like is charged for a user according to the usage status. The charge amount often depends on color information specified in copying or printing. For example, generally, a charge for a color copy is higher than that for a monochrome copy.

On the other hand, in recent years, in particular, an image forming apparatus called a multifunction peripheral has been provided which can store scanned image data in a storage device in the apparatus. In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to print and use the image data stored when the user needs it.
JP 2007-041594 A JP 2008-112378 A Japanese Patent No. 3911897

  However, when the accumulated image data is collectively printed, the color information of each image data may be different. For example, there are cases where one of two pieces of image data targeted for aggregation is a monochrome image and the other is a color image.

  In this case, there is a problem that if the billing is not properly performed, the billing source cannot obtain a reasonable price, or the user is requested an unreasonable amount.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus, a charging method, and a program capable of performing appropriate charging when collecting image data having different color information. .

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides, for each combination of color information, charge amount storage means for storing information capable of determining a charge amount when image data having the color information is collected on the same page. Determining means for determining a charge amount based on color information of each image data to be aggregated and information stored in the charge amount storage means in response to an instruction to execute aggregate printing of image data having different color information; Have

  In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to charge appropriately when collecting and printing image data having different color information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform an appropriate charge for aggregate printing of image data having different color information.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, as a specific example of the image forming apparatus, a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine 1 that realizes a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, a scanner, or a fax in a single housing is shown.

  As hardware of the multifunction device 1, there are a controller 601, an operation panel 602, a facsimile control unit (FCU) 603, a scanner 604, and a plotter 605.

  The controller 601 includes a CPU 611, ASIC 612, NB621, SB622, MEM-P631, MEM-C632, HDD (hard disk drive) 633, memory card slot 634, NIC (network interface controller) 641, USB device 642, IEEE 1394 device 643, Centronics device. 644.

  The CPU 611 is an IC for various information processing. The ASIC 612 is an IC for various image processing. The NB 621 is a north bridge of the controller 601. The SB 622 is a south bridge of the controller 601. The MEM-P 631 is a system memory of the multifunction device 1. The MEM-C 632 is a local memory of the multifunction machine 1. The HDD 633 is storage of the multifunction device 1. The memory card slot 634 is a slot for setting the memory card 235. The NIC 641 is a controller for network communication using a MAC address. The USB device 642 is a device for providing a USB standard connection terminal. The IEEE 1394 device 643 is a device for providing a connection terminal of the IEEE 1394 standard. The Centronics device 644 is a device for providing connection terminals of Centronics specifications. The operation panel 602 is hardware (operation unit) for an operator to input to the multifunction device 1 and hardware (display unit) for an operator to obtain an output from the multifunction device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration example in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the software in the multifunction device 1 is configured by layers such as an application mechanism 10, a service mechanism 20, a device mechanism 30, and an operation unit 40. The hierarchical relationship between layers in FIG. 2 is based on the calling relationship between layers. That is, the upper layer in the figure basically calls the lower layer.

  The application mechanism 10 is a layer on which a group of software components (programs) for allowing a user to use resources such as functions or information (data) provided by the multifunction device 1 is implemented. Among these, software components having the name “XXX filter” are collectively referred to as “filter”. Each filter is a software component that executes a part of the job. That is, each filter cannot execute one job alone. An application that executes one job is constructed by connecting a plurality of filters.

  A filter that realizes input of image data is particularly referred to as an “input filter”. A filter that realizes processing of image data is particularly referred to as a “processing filter”. A filter that realizes output of image data is particularly referred to as an “output filter”. Each filter is independent, and can be added (installed) or deleted (uninstalled) in units of filters.

  In FIG. 2, the application mechanism 10 includes a reading filter 111, a stored document reading filter 112, a mail receiving filter 113, a fax receiving filter 114, and the like as input filters.

  The reading filter 111 controls reading of image data by the scanner 604 and outputs the read image data to a next connected filter (hereinafter referred to as “next filter”). The stored document read filter 112 reads document data (image data) stored in the storage device of the multifunction device 1 and outputs the read data to the next filter. The mail reception filter 113 receives an e-mail and outputs data included in the e-mail to the next filter. The fax reception filter 114 controls fax reception and outputs the received print data to the next filter.

  Further, as the processing filter, an editing filter 121 and the like are shown. The edit filter 121 performs predetermined image conversion processing (aggregation, enlargement, reduction, etc.) on the input data, and outputs it to the next filter.

  As output filters, a print filter 131, a stored document registration filter 132, a mail transmission filter 133, a fax transmission filter 134, and the like are shown.

  The print filter 131 causes the plotter to output (print) the input data. The stored document registration filter 132 stores the input data in a storage device in the multifunction device 1, for example, the HDD 633. The mail transmission filter 133 transmits the input data attached to the e-mail. The fax transmission filter 134 transmits the input data by fax.

  On the other hand, software components having the name “XXX activity” are collectively referred to as “activity”. An activity is a software component that manages in which order a plurality of filters are connected and executes a job by executing the filters in that order. Basically, one application is realized by one activity. It is possible to share the same filter between activities.

  The figure includes a copy activity 101, a transmission activity 102, a fax activity 103, and the like as examples of activities. For example, the copy activity 101 executes a copy job by a combination of the read filter 111 or the stored document read filter 112, the edit filter 121, and the print filter 131. When the reading filter 111 is used as an input filter, a general copy job is executed. When the stored document read filter 112 is used as an input filter, an accumulated document print job is executed. An accumulated document print job is a job for printing document data stored (stored) in the multifunction device 1 in the multifunction device 1 that is the operation target. In this embodiment, a case where the copy activity 101 executes an accumulated document print job will be described.

  The service mechanism 20 is a layer that implements a primitive service used by an activity or a filter, and provides a mechanism for an application to be independent of hardware specifications such as a model. In the figure, the service mechanism 20 includes a session management unit 21, a request management unit 22, a communication unit 23, a UI unit 24, a data management unit 25, a scanner service 26, a plotter service 27, and the like.

  The session management unit 21 manages the user authentication state (login state). For example, the session management unit 21 performs user authentication based on authentication information (user name, password, etc.) input by the user, and recognizes the logged-in user. The request management unit 22 manages jobs. The communication unit 23 controls network communication. The UI unit 24 interprets a user request input via an operation screen displayed on the operation panel 602, and requests the request management unit 22 to execute a job according to the user request. The data management unit 25 manages image data scanned and saved in the HDD 633, bibliographic information, and the like of the image data. The scanner service 26 controls processing for causing the scanner 604 to read image data, and executes processing necessary for reading the image data (for example, counting up a charging counter). The plotter service 27 controls processing for causing the plotter 605 to output (print) image data, and executes processing necessary for printing image data (for example, counting up a charging counter). .

  The device mechanism 30 includes a driver program that controls devices provided for each device included in the multi-function device 1.

  The operation unit 40 is a part on which software components related to system operation management are mounted, and is used across the application mechanism 10, service mechanism 20, and device mechanism 30. In the figure, the operation unit 40 includes a plug-in management unit 41, an access control unit 42, and a history management unit 43. The plug-in management unit 41 manages information on software components (plug-ins) that can be freely inserted and removed (installed / uninstalled) such as activities or filters. The access control unit 42 determines whether or not to use various functions (whether or not there is a use authority) for each user based on the use authority information. Here, the usage authority information refers to information in which the presence or absence of usage authority for various functions is recorded (defined) for each user, and is recorded in the HDD 633, for example. The history management unit 43 counts up a charging counter. The billing counter is a generic name for various counters used for billing. In the present embodiment, attention is particularly paid to a charging counter (print counter) that is counted up when image data is printed. Each billing counter including the print counter is recorded in the HDD 633, for example.

  The processing procedure when the multifunction device 1 executes the stored document print job will be described below. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining the processing procedure of the multi-function peripheral when the stored document print job is executed in the first embodiment.

  When the user presses the start button after setting the setting information for each filter through the stored document print screen displayed on the operation panel 602 by the UI unit 24, the UI unit 24 causes the request management unit 22 to Is requested to execute a stored document print job (S101).

  On the accumulated document print screen, a setting screen for setting setting information can be called for each filter used in the accumulated document print job. For example, on the setting screen for the stored document read filter 112, a list of image data (stored documents) stored in the HDD 633 is displayed, and image data to be read is selected from the list. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that two image data are selected. The stored document read filter 112 notifies the copy activity 101 of the identifier (image ID) of the selected image data. On the setting screen of the editing filter 121, settings relating to image conversion processing for image data are performed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that at least aggregate printing has been set. Each filter holds setting information set for itself in the MEM-P 631 (hereinafter simply referred to as “memory”).

  The stored document print screen is displayed when the type of job to be executed is selected by the user. When the accumulated document print job is selected as an execution target, the copy activity 101 is called. The copy activity 101 establishes a connection relationship of filters (stored document read filter 112, edit filter 121, and print filter 131) used by itself. Specifically, the filter connected behind is notified to each filter.

  Subsequently, the request management unit 22 requests the copy activity 101 to execute the stored document print job 101 (S102). Subsequently, the copy activity 101 causes the history management unit 43 to generate page attribute data for storing information related to the image data for each image data to be a job target (here, a print target). In the present embodiment, since two image data are selected as print targets, two page attribute data are generated by the history management unit 43 and returned to the copy activity 101 (S103, S104).

  Subsequently, the copy activity 101 requests the stored document read filter 112 to execute processing (S105). At this time, the copy activity 101 passes the two page attribute data to the stored document read filter 112.

  The stored document read filter 112 acquires from the data management unit 25 image data and bibliographic information corresponding to the image ID set in the setting information held in the memory. Here, two image data and the like are acquired (S106, S107).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of bibliographic information of image data. As shown in the figure, the bibliographic information 310 has an image ID, the number of colors, a used color, and the like. Here, the number of colors and the colors used correspond to the color information of the image data.

  The number of colors is the number of colors used and is indicated by Bk, 1C, 2C, or FC. Bk means black and white. 1C means a single color. The single color means one color other than black, and includes the case where black is used simultaneously with the one color. 2C means two colors. Two colors refer to two colors other than black, including the case where black is used simultaneously with the two colors. FC means full color. Full color means that at least three colors other than black are used.

  The color used is the color being used. For example, the identifier of the color used from black, yellow, beige, orange, red, light green, cyan, pink, magenta, green, marine blue, blue, and purple is recorded.

  In steps S106 and S107, bibliographic information 310 as shown in FIG. 4 is acquired for each image data. The stored document read filter 121 registers the acquired bibliographic information 310 in the page attribute data corresponding to each image data.

  Subsequently, the stored document read filter 112 requests the editing filter 121 connected to the subsequent stage thereof to execute the process (S108). At this time, the stored document read filter 112 inputs two image data and two page attribute data to the edit filter 121.

  The edit filter 121 performs conversion processing on the input image data based on the setting information (S109). In this embodiment, consolidated printing is set. Therefore, the editing filter 121 generates one image data (hereinafter referred to as “aggregated image data”) in which two image data are aggregated into one page. Subsequently, the editing filter 121 requests the history management unit 43 to merge (integrate) two page attribute data (S110).

  The history management unit 43 integrates two page attribute data (that is, bibliographic information 310 of two image data) into one page attribute data (S111). When integrating the page attribute data, the history management unit 43 refers to the color merge definition table stored in the HDD 633 and integrates the color information.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color merge definition table. In the drawing, the color merge definition table 350 includes items such as the number of colors A, the number of colors B, the number of colors after aggregation, and the count destination.

  The number of colors A is the number of colors of one image data to be aggregated. The number of colors B is the number of colors of the other image data to be aggregated. The number of colors after aggregation is the number of colors after aggregation. The count destination is information indicating a counter that counts up when the aggregated image data is printed. In other words, the color merge definition table 350 defines, for each combination of the number of colors of image data to be aggregated, the number of colors after aggregation and the count destination when the image data relating to the number of colors is aggregated on the same page. Has been. For example, the number of colors after aggregation of Bk and Bk is Bk. The number of colors after aggregation of Bk and 1C is 1C.

  In step S111, the history management unit 43 applies a combination of the number of colors included in one page attribute data and the number of colors included in the other page attribute data to the color merge definition table 350. Determine the number of colors after aggregation.

  However, there are cases where the number of colors after aggregation cannot be uniquely identified simply by applying the number of colors. For example, in the color merge definition table 350, the number of colors after aggregation of 1C and 1C is 1C or 2C. This indicates that the number of colors after aggregation is 1C if both colors are the same, and 2C if both colors are different. This is the same as the case where the number of colors after aggregation of 1C and 2C is 1C or 2C and the number of colors after aggregation of 2C and 2C is 2C or FC. Therefore, in this case, the history management unit 43 refers to the use color included in one page attribute data and the use color included in the other page attribute data, and determines whether there is a duplication of the use color. To determine the number of colors after aggregation. Note that the number of colors after aggregation is registered in the integrated page attribute data.

  Subsequently, the history management unit 43 returns the integrated page attribute data to the editing filter 121 (S121). The integrated page attribute data is page attribute data for the aggregated image data. Subsequently, the editing filter 121 requests the print filter 131 connected to its subsequent stage to execute the process (S122). At this time, the edit filter 121 inputs the aggregated image data and the integrated page attribute data to the print filter 131.

  The print filter 131 inputs the aggregated image data and the integrated page attribute data to the plotter service 27, and requests execution of printing (S123). The plotter service 27 designates the user name of the current user and the integrated page attribute data, and inquires of the access control unit 42 whether or not the current user has print authority for the aggregated image data (S124). Note that the user name of the current user is acquired by making an inquiry to the session management unit 21.

  In response to an inquiry from the plotter service 27, the access control unit 42 refers to the access control table and determines whether there is an authority.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access control table. In the figure, the access control table 400 defines at least the number of printable colors for each user. The number of printable colors indicates a limit on the number of colors that can be printed, and Bk, 1C, 2C, or FC is registered. Therefore, the access control unit 42 determines whether or not the current user has printing authority by comparing the number of colors (the number of colors after aggregation) included in the integrated page attribute data with the number of colors available for the current user. . The authority inclusion relationship is Bk <1C <2C <FC. For example, when the number of colors available for the current user is 2C, if the number of colors in the integrated page attribute data is 2C, 1C, or Bk, it is determined that the user has print authority.

  Subsequently, the access control unit 42 returns the determination result to the plotter service 27 (S125). If the determination result indicates that the user has print authority, the plotter service 27 causes the plotter 605 to print the aggregated image data (S126). When printing is successful, the plotter service 27 requests the history management unit 43 to count up the print counter (S127). At this time, the plotter service 27 inputs the integrated page attribute data to the history management unit 43.

  The history management unit 43 determines a print counter (count destination) to be counted up based on the number of colors included in the integrated page attribute data and the color merge definition table 350, and counts up the counter ( S128).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the print counter. As shown in the figure, the print counter is classified into a mono color counter and a full color counter. This is because the charge amount differs depending on the difference between mono-color printing and full-color printing.

  When the count destination corresponding to the number of colors included in the integrated page attribute data is mono color in the color merge definition table 350, the history management unit 43 counts up the mono color counter. When the count destination corresponding to the number of colors is full color, the full color counter is counted up.

  Note that the counter may not be divided for mono-color printing and full-color printing, but the count-up number of the same print counter may be changed. In this case, the count destination column of the color merge definition table 350 may be the count-up number. Both the count destination and the count-up number correspond to information with which the charge amount can be determined.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the flow of page attribute data in the stored document print job according to the first embodiment. The step numbers in the figure correspond to the step numbers in FIG.

  First, the two page attribute data generated by the copy activity 101 are input to the stored document read filter 112 (S105). After the bibliographic information 310 of the image data to be aggregated is registered for each page attribute data by the stored document read filter 112, each page attribute data is input to the editing filter 121 (S108). The edit filter 121 requests the history management unit 43 to integrate the two page attribute data (S110). The history management unit 43 integrates two page attribute data, and generates integrated page attribute page data. At this time, the number of colors after integration (after aggregation) is determined based on the color merge definition table 350. The integrated page attribute data is returned to the edit filter 121 (S121), and is input to the plotter service 27 through the edit filter 121 and the print filter 131 (S122, S123). The plotter service 27 inputs the integrated page attribute data to the access control unit 42 (S124). The access control unit 42 determines the presence / absence of printing authority based on the number of colors of the integrated page attribute data and the color merge definition table 350. If there is a print authority, the plotter service 27 inputs the integrated page attribute data to the history management unit 43 (S127). The history management unit 43 counts up a print counter (mono color counter or full color counter) corresponding to the number of colors of the integrated page attribute data based on the integrated page attribute data and the color merge definition table 350.

  Incidentally, FIG. 3 does not describe the processing of the plotter service 27 when the access control unit 42 determines that there is no printing authority. Subsequently, this point will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a first processing procedure of the plotter service in accordance with the print authority determination result.

  When it is determined that the user has the print authority (Yes in S201), the aggregated image data is printed as described above (S202). Therefore, in this case, aggregate printing is executed.

  If it is determined that there is no printing authority (No in S202), divided printing is executed (S203). In the present embodiment, divided printing refers to printing each piece of image data targeted for aggregation individually (without aggregation). In the divided printing, the plotter service 27 inquires the access control unit 42 about the print authority for each image data, and prints the print authority.

  Even if there is no authority for collective printing, all image data may be printable if printed individually. For example, when the number of colors of one image data is 1C and the number of colors of the other image data is 1C, and the two colors are different, the number of colors after aggregation is 2C. If the current user has only authority up to 1C, it is determined that there is no authority for 2C after aggregation, but it is determined that there is authority for individual 1C.

  By the way, when performing divided printing, it is necessary to individually check printing authority for each image data and perform printing individually. Therefore, the page attribute data and each image data before aggregation are input from the editing filter 121 to the print filter 131 together with the integrated page attribute data and the aggregate image data, and further input from the print filter 131 to the plotter service 27. Good.

  Note that the result of divided printing is different from the result desired to be consolidated. Accordingly, the user may be inquired via the operation panel 602 as to whether or not to perform divided printing.

  Next, FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a second processing procedure of the plotter service according to the determination result of the printing authority. 10, the same steps as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 10, when there is no printing authority (No in S201), the absence of authority is displayed on the operation panel 602 (S204), and printing is stopped.

  As described above, according to the multifunction device 1 of the first embodiment, even when aggregate printing is performed on image data having different numbers of colors, the number of colors after aggregation and the color merge definition table 350 are displayed. Based on this, it is possible to appropriately determine the count destination. Therefore, a reasonable charge can be made for aggregate printing of image data with different numbers of colors.

  In addition, by determining whether or not to have printing authority based on the number of colors after aggregation and the color merge definition table 350, printing for the number of colors (color mode) for which the user has no authority is permitted at the time of aggregation printing. It is possible to prevent inconsistencies such as

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. The points not particularly mentioned in the second embodiment may be the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining the processing procedure of the multi-function peripheral when the stored document print job is executed in the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the same steps as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 11, after integrating page attribute data (S111), the history management unit 43 inputs the current user name and integrated page attribute data to the access control unit 42, and inquires about the presence of printing authority (S112). The access control unit 42 refers to the access control table 400 and determines whether or not there is a print authority based on the number of colors of the integrated page attribute data. Subsequently, the access control unit 42 returns the determination result of the presence / absence of printing authority to the history management unit 43 (S113).

  If the determination result indicates that there is no printing authority, the history management unit 43 notifies the editing filter 121 that the current user does not have printing authority in step S121. The edit filter 121 stops the job in response to the notification.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a flow of page attribute data in the stored document print job according to the second embodiment. The step numbers in the figure correspond to the step numbers in FIG. In FIG. 12, the description of the same steps as those in FIG. 8 is omitted.

  In FIG. 12, an arrow corresponding to step S112 of FIG. 11 is added. That is, integrated page attribute data is input from the history management unit 43 to the access control unit 42 in step S112.

  That is, in the second embodiment, authority determination is performed when the number of colors after aggregation is determined. By doing so, it can be detected at an early stage that the current user has no print authority for the number of colors after aggregation, and the response can be speeded up.

  In FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, step S124 corresponding to the authority determination request from the printer service 27 remains. This is because it is actually necessary to determine whether there is authority other than the number of colors.

  In the above description, the number of colors is used as the color information of the image data. However, the color information of the image data is not limited to the number of colors. For example, it may be information regarding a color plane to be used (for example, a CMYK plane). In this case, the bibliographic information of the image data is configured as follows, for example.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of the bibliographic information of the image data. The bibliographic information 310a in the figure includes the number of planes and the used planes as color information.

  The number of planes is the number of planes in use among the four CMYK planes, and is indicated by Bk, 1P, 2P, and FC. Bk means one K plane. 1P refers to one plane other than K, and includes the case where K is used simultaneously with the one plane. 2P refers to two planes other than K, and includes the case where K is used simultaneously with the two planes. FC means that all CMYK planes are used.

  The used plane is the plane in use. Among CMYK, an identifier (for example, C, M, Y, K) indicating the plane being used is recorded.

  In this case, the color merge definition table 350 may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the color merge definition table. In the drawing, the color merge definition table 350a includes items such as the number of planes A, the number of planes B, the number of planes after aggregation, and the count destination.

  The number A of planes is the number of planes of one image data to be aggregated. The number of planes B is the number of planes of the other image data to be aggregated. The number of planes after aggregation is the number of planes after aggregation. The count destination is information indicating a counter that counts up when the aggregated image data is printed. That is, in the color merge definition table 350a, the number of planes after aggregation and the count destination are defined for each combination of the number of planes of image data to be aggregated.

  The configuration of the access control table corresponding to the bibliographic information 310a and the color merge definition table 350a is self-evident from FIG. That is, the number of printable colors in the access control table 350 may be replaced with the number of printable planes.

  Further, the processing procedure in this case is omitted because it is obvious from FIG. 3 or FIG.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which both pieces of image data to be aggregated are stored in the HDD 633 in advance has been described. However, one of the image data has been read from a document by the scanner 604 when a job is executed. May be. Also in this case, the color information of the two image data does not necessarily match. Therefore, the present invention can be applied effectively.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which two pieces of image data are aggregated has been described. However, in implementing the present invention, the number of image data to be aggregated is not limited to two. For example, in the case of four, the color information after aggregation is determined based on the color merge definition table 350 or the like for every two pairs, and the two color information after aggregation is further applied to the color merge definition table 350 for aggregation. The subsequent color information may be determined. The idea is the same when the aggregation number is 8 or more.

  However, the color merge definition table 350 may be created for each aggregation number. That is, the color merge definition table 350 may be created for each of the cases where the number of aggregations is 2, 4 and 8, respectively.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration example in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining a processing procedure of the multi-function peripheral when an accumulated document print job is executed in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the bibliographic information of image data. It is a figure which shows the example of a color merge definition table. It is a figure which shows the example of an access control table. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a printing counter. It is a figure which shows the flow of the page attribute data in the accumulation | storage document print job of 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 1st process sequence of the plotter service according to the determination result of the printing authority. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the 2nd process sequence of the plotter service according to the determination result of the printing authority. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining a processing procedure of a multi-function peripheral when an accumulated document print job is executed in the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the page attribute data in the accumulation | storage document print job of 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of the bibliographic information of image data. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of a color merge definition table.

1 MFP 10 Application mechanism 20 Service mechanism 21 Session management unit 22 Request management unit 23 Communication unit 24 UI unit 25 Data management unit 26 Scanner service 27 Plotter service 30 Device mechanism 40 Operation unit 41 Plug-in management unit 42 Access control unit 43 History Management unit 101 Copy activity 102 Send activity 103 Fax activity 111 Read filter 112 Archived document read filter 113 Mail receive filter 114 Fax receive filter 121 Edit filter 131 Print filter 132 Archived document registration filter 133 Mail send filter 134 Fax send filter 601 Controller 602 Operation Panel 603 Facsimile control unit 604 Scanner 605 Plotter 611 CPU
612 ASIC
621 NB
622 SB
631 MEM-P
632 MEM-C
633 HDD
634 Memory card slot 235 Memory card 641 NIC
642 USB device 643 IEEE 1394 device 644 Centronics device

Claims (7)

For each combination of color information, charge amount storage means for storing information capable of determining a charge amount when image data having the color information is collected on the same page;
Determining means for determining a charge amount based on the color information of each image data to be aggregated and information stored in the charge amount storage means in response to an instruction to execute aggregate printing of image data having different color information; An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color information is the number of colors used by the image data.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color information is a number of color planes used by the image data. Aggregated color information storage means for storing color information used when image data having the color information is aggregated on the same page for each combination of color information;
Authority information storage means for storing information indicating the presence or absence of printing authority corresponding to the color information for each user;
Post-aggregation color information determination means for determining color information after aggregation based on color information of image data to be aggregated and information stored in the aggregate color information storage means;
An authority presence / absence determining means for determining presence / absence of printing authority by an operator based on the color information after the aggregation and the authority information storage means;
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data collected according to the determination result by the authority presence determination unit is printed. 5.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the authority presence / absence determining unit determines that there is no printing authority, the image data to be aggregated is printed without being aggregated. A printing control method executed by an image forming apparatus,
A billing amount for storing information for determining a billing amount when image data having the color information is collected on the same page for each combination of color information in response to an execution instruction of the aggregate printing of image data having different color information A print control method including a determination procedure for determining a charge amount based on storage means and color information of each image data to be aggregated. In the image forming device,
A billing amount for storing information for determining a billing amount when image data having the color information is collected on the same page for each combination of color information in response to an execution instruction of the aggregate printing of image data having different color information A program for executing a determination procedure for determining a charge amount based on storage means and color information of each image data to be aggregated.

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