JP2010167706A - Print control device, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability for selecting the operation of the synthesizing information of a template or the like in such a constitution that a print device and an external device are connected to each other, synthesizing information concerning an image such as a template or the like is selected from each instrument, and the synthesized information is printed by the print device. <P>SOLUTION: In the printer 111 synthesizing the image and the template and printing the synthesized image, the template is received from the external device 121 by communicating with the external device 121 from a USB IF115. The received information is displayed on a display 116 without discriminating the template recorded by itself from the template received from the external device 121. It is possible to select the template usable for synthesizing arbitrarily from the displayed templates. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus, acquiring information recorded in the external apparatus, managing the acquired information, displaying the acquired information, and printing the acquired information. The present invention relates to a control device and the like.

  With the advancement and popularization of image input devices for computers such as digital video cameras and digital cameras, the need for printing devices that output captured images to paper, especially in the field of youth (home use, etc.) has increased significantly. ing. In such a printing apparatus, the image obtained by taking an image is not simply reproduced, but the image is subjected to a desired edit and output.

  One type of image editing is composition of an input image and a design template image (hereinafter referred to as a template). In many cases, a template is stored in a memory in the form of electronic image data. In this case, a user reads a desired template from the memory and designates an input image and a template to be synthesized.

  In recent years, not only computers but also printing apparatuses are often provided with a memory capable of storing templates. Therefore, the user can not only use the templates held by the computer by operating the computer operation system, but also can use the templates held by the printing apparatus by operating the operation system of the printing apparatus. It has become.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-169838 JP-A-10-187365

  To make full use when the recording device of the printing device and the recording device of the computer are recording the templates independently, if the template is recorded on one recording device, the recording device must be explicitly written on the other recording device. It is necessary to indicate the existence of the template. As a technique for solving this problem, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have been proposed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for printing from a computer the URL of print target data, such as a template, to a printer, and causing the printing apparatus to acquire the print target data. According to this technique, a template that is not held by the printing apparatus can be acquired from the design content distribution server and used for printing. However, in this configuration, it is necessary to use a user interface (UI) on the computer side to specify the URL of the distribution server.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 discloses a technique for searching and printing print target data recorded on a computer-side recording apparatus by operating a printer UI. According to this technology, print target data on the computer side can be utilized only by an operation in the printing apparatus.

  However, in these conventional techniques, the print target data recorded on the printing apparatus side and the print target data displayed on the computer side are not displayed without distinction or are displayed separately. Therefore, the user who uses the print target data must know the device that recorded the target print target data, and the user's operation method changes depending on which print target data is used. There was a problem that operation was difficult.

  Further, the conventional technique has a problem that a template recorded only on the printing apparatus cannot be used on the computer UI.

  In view of the actual situation, the present invention improves the operability of selecting information for combining information such as a template in a configuration in which a printing apparatus and an external device are connected and information for combining images such as a template can be selected from these devices. The purpose is to let you.

The print control apparatus of the present invention is a print control apparatus that combines an image and information for synthesis to print a composite image, and communicates with a recording unit that records the information for synthesis and an external device, and the external device Communication means for receiving the information for synthesis from the display, display means for displaying the information for synthesis recorded in the recording means and the information for synthesis received by the communication means without distinction, and displayed on the display means It is selected by combining information selecting means that can arbitrarily select combining information from combining information recorded in the recording means and combining information received by the communication means, and selected by the combining information selecting means It has a composite image creating means for compositing the information for composition and the image.
Also, the printing control method of the present invention is a printing control method for a printing apparatus that has a recording unit that records composition information, and synthesizes the image and the composition information to print a composite image. A communication step of performing communication and receiving synthesis information from the external device; a display step of displaying without distinguishing the synthesis information recorded in the recording means and the synthesis information received in the communication step; A combining information selection step for arbitrarily selecting combining information from the combining information recorded in the recording means displayed in the display step and the combining information received in the communication step based on a user operation; And a composite image creating step for compositing the composite information selected in the composite information selection step with the image.
The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a print control method of a printing apparatus that has recording means for recording information for synthesis and prints a synthesized image by synthesizing the image and the information for synthesis. Without distinguishing between the communication step of communicating with the external device and receiving the synthesis information from the external device, and the synthesis information recorded in the recording means and the synthesis information received in the communication step Based on the user's operation, the information for synthesis is arbitrarily selected from the display step to be displayed, the information for synthesis recorded in the recording means displayed in the display step, and the information for synthesis received in the communication step. Causing a computer to execute a combining information selection step and a combined image creation step of combining the combining information and the image selected in the combining information selection step. It is because of the program.
Further, the printing system of the present invention is a printing system in which an external apparatus that holds composition information and a printing apparatus that combines the image and the composition information and prints the composite image are connected via a network. In the printing apparatus, a recording unit that records the composition information, a communication unit that communicates with the external device and receives the composition information from the external device, and the composition information and the communication unit that are recorded in the recording unit Display means for displaying without distinguishing the information for synthesis received in the step, any information from the information for synthesis recorded in the recording means displayed on the display means and the information for synthesis received by the communication means It is characterized in that there is provided synthesis information selecting means for selecting synthesis information and synthesized image creating means for synthesizing the synthesis information selected by the synthesis information selecting means and the image.

  According to the present invention, in a configuration in which a printing apparatus and an external apparatus are connected and composition information related to an image such as a template can be selected from these devices, the operability of a selection operation for composition information such as a template is improved. be able to.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system (hereinafter, system) according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of each device included in the system according to the present embodiment. It is. The system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a template distribution system 101, a computer system 121, and a printer 111. The template distribution system 101 and the computer system 121 are connected via the Internet 131, and the computer system 121 and the printer 111 are connected via USB via the USB cable 141. The printer 111 includes a print control apparatus according to the present invention.

  The computer system 121 is configured by connecting a mouse 122, a keyboard 123, and a display 124 to a computer main body 125 that controls the entire system. The computer main body 125 performs various controls such as drawing on the connected display 124, displaying a confirmation message to the user of the computer system 121, and notifying the system status. Further, the user can respond to the system status and confirmation message displayed on the display 124 by using the keyboard 123 and the mouse 122.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the computer system 121 includes a CPU 126, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 127, a network board 128, and a USB interface (USB I / F) 129. These are assumed to be included in the computer main body 125.

  The CPU 126 controls each unit in the computer system 121. Under the control of the CPU 126, drawing is performed on the display 124, a confirmation message for the user is displayed, the system status is notified, and the like.

  The HDD 127 stores software for notifying the status of the computer system 121 and a design template (hereinafter referred to as a template or template data) that is composition information used for composition printing by the printer 111. Further, the HDD 127 also records a template that can be combined with an image by the printer 111.

  The network board 128 communicates with the template distribution system 101 connected via the Internet 131. The computer main body 125 can acquire template data recorded in the HDD 108 of the template distribution system 101 by communicating with the template distribution system 101, and can additionally write to the HDD 127 of the computer main body 125.

  The USB I / F 129 is an interface with an external device, and is connected to the USB I / F 115 of the printer 111 via the USB cable 141 to transmit commands to and receive template data used for composite printing from the printer 111. Do.

  Next, the printer 111 includes an operation button 112, a CPU 113, a printing unit 114, a USB interface (USB I / F) 115, a display 116, a memory 117, and a card reader 118 as shown in FIG.

  The USB I / F 115 is an interface with an external device, and can transmit and receive data from the computer main body 125 connected via the USB cable 141. The printing unit 114 prints data received from the USB I / F 115, prints data recorded in the memory 117 of the printer 111, and synthesizes an image and template data to print a composite image. The printing unit 114 corresponds to a configuration example of the composite image creating unit referred to in the present invention.

  Further, the printer 111 can display template data that can be combined with an image, including template data recorded in the memory 117, on the display 116. The user can select and determine desired template data from the template data displayed on the display 116 using the operation buttons 112.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the template distribution system 101 is configured by connecting a mouse 103, a keyboard 104, and a display 105 to a computer main body 102 that controls the entire system. As shown in FIG. 2, the template distribution system 101 includes a network board 106, a CPU 107, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 108. These are assumed to be included in the computer main body 102.

  The HDD 108 records template data to be distributed. The display 105 displays the template management status to be distributed. A keyboard 104 and a mouse 103 are used by a user to manage a template to be distributed. The CPU 107 controls the template distribution system 101 as a whole.

  The template distribution system 101 receives a request for template data from the computer main body 125 via the network board 106 and publishes the template data recorded in the HDD 108 to the computer main body 125. At this time, the computer main body 125 acquires the published template data from the template distribution system 101 by the network board 128. The computer main body 125 can record the template data acquired from the template distribution system 101 in the HDD 127.

<Communication between computer system 121 and printer 111>
Next, the flow of communication between the computer system 121 and the printer 111 and the display mode of the display 116 of the printer 111 at this time will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of communication when thumbnail transfer of a template recorded in the HDD 127 and composite printing of a template main body image recorded in the HDD 127 are performed by the printer 111. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a template selection screen 401 displayed on the display 116.

  First, when the physical connection between the computer system 121 and the printer 111 is established, in step S301, the computer system 121 and the printer 111 perform initial settings for confirming the specifications of each other.

  Thereafter, it is assumed that the operation button 112 of the printer 111 is operated by the user to display the template selection screen 401. In this case, an instruction to display the template selection screen 401 shown in FIG. 4 is sent to the printer 111, and the printer 111 issues a template request event to the computer system 121 in step S302. The process in which the printer 111 issues a template request event corresponds to an example of a process for requesting information for synthesis according to the present invention.

  When the computer system 121 receives the template request event (step S302), the computer system 121 transmits template list information to the printer 111 in step S303. The template list information includes thumbnails 406a and 406b, which are simple information displayed on the display 116 shown in FIG.

  When the printer 111 receives the template list information (step S303), the printer 111 returns a normal acquisition event to the computer system 121 in step S304.

  Here, the template selection screen 401 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. The template selection screen 401 displays thumbnails related to templates that can be used by the user. 404a and 404b displayed on the template selection screen 401 are thumbnails of templates recorded in the memory 117 of the printer 111, respectively. Also, 406 a and 406 b displayed on the template selection screen 401 are thumbnails of templates in which main body images are recorded in the HDD 127 of the computer system 121.

  On the template selection screen 401, the user can move the cursor 402 up, down, left and right with the cross key 112a, and arbitrarily select and determine a template to be used for template composite printing with the determination button 112b. In addition, the structure which can select a template arbitrarily in the template selection screen 401 respond | corresponds to one structural example of the information selection means for a synthesis said by this invention.

  The template surrounded by the cursor 402 is used for composite printing at the moment when the enter button 112b is pressed. More specifically, if the thumbnail main image surrounded by the cursor 402 exists in the memory 117 at the moment when the enter button 112b is pressed, the printer 111 reads the main image from the memory 117 and the print unit 114 causes the template composite print result. Is output. On the other hand, when the main body image of the thumbnail surrounded by the cursor 402 exists in the HDD 127 at the moment when the enter button 112b is pressed (step S305), the printer 111 sends the main body image as the main body information to the computer system 121 in step S306. Request.

  In this way, on the template selection screen 401, the template data recorded in the memory 117 and the template data recorded in the HDD 127 are displayed without distinction (strictly, thumbnails related to these), and the same (same) operation method is displayed. Can be selected. Therefore, in the printer 111, the thumbnail of the template data recorded in the memory 117 and the thumbnail of the template data recorded in the HDD 127 are recorded together in the folder 501 (FIG. 5, Frame) in the memory 117.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a file structure of the folder 501 in the memory 117. The folder 501 includes thumbnails 502 and 503 and a list 504.

  A thumbnail 502 (FRAME001 to 002.JPG) represents a thumbnail group of template data recorded in the memory 117 of the printer 111. A thumbnail 503 (FRAME003-006.JPG) represents a thumbnail group of template data recorded in the HDD 127 of the computer main body 125. The list 504 has information indicating whether the main body image of the template thumbnail recorded in the folder 501 is recorded in the printer 111 or the computer main body 125 for each thumbnail.

  The printer 111 displays the thumbnails in the folder 501 on the display 116 without distinguishing them. At the time of display, the display is made so that there is no difference in the selection procedure or selection method of the template recorded in the memory 117 of the printer 111 and the template recorded in the HDD 127 of the computer main body 125.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the description content of the list 504. The list 504 describes the contents of the file name information 601, the storage device information 602, and the path 603.

  The file name information 601 describes the file names of thumbnails recorded in the folder 501. The storage device information 602 describes a device in which the thumbnail of the file name information 601 on the same line is stored. In the present embodiment, PRT represents the printer 111, and CMP represents the computer main body 125. A path 603 describes a storage destination of template data that is a main body in the device specified by the storage device information 602 in the same row. In the present embodiment, the template data recorded on the printer 111 side is indicated by a relative path so as to be referred to by the folder 501, but may be indicated by an absolute path including a drive name.

  The thumbnail on the computer main body 125 side recorded in the list 504 can be realized by including the template thumbnail and the template storage destination in the template list information received in step S303. If there is a template that exists only on the printer 111 side, the entity of the template data can be transmitted from the printer 111 to the computer main body 125 at this timing. If template data that exists only on the printer 111 side is transmitted to the computer main body 125 in this way, the template recorded only on the printer 111 can be used in the UI of the computer system 121.

  Returning to FIG. 3, it is assumed that the printer 111 requests the computer system 121 for a main body image of the selected template (a template held on the computer system 121 side) in step S305. In this case, in step S <b> 306, the printer 111 passes to the computer system 121 the main image of the template selected by the determination button 112 b and the path of the selected image acquired from the list 504.

  Receiving the template request event, the computer main body 125 transmits the template selected by the printer 111 to the printer 111 in step S307. When the printer 111 receives the designated template, the printer 111 transmits information indicating that it has been acquired normally to the computer main body 125 in step S308.

  The basic flow of communication between the computer system 121 and the printer 111 has been described above. To summarize this flow, the printer 111 records the thumbnail related to the template recorded in the memory 117 and the thumbnail related to the template recorded in the HDD 127 together in the folder 501 in the memory 117. Based on the thumbnails, the template selection screen 401 displays the templates recorded in the memory 117 and the templates recorded in the HDD 127 without any distinction (strictly speaking, these thumbnails), and the single or the same operation is performed. The method can be selected. With such a configuration, the printer 111 can intuitively use the template recorded in the memory 117 and the template recorded in the HDD 127 by the same operation method without the user being aware of the template recording destination. Yes.

  Further, in the template selection stage on the template selection screen 401, the printer 111 receives and records only the thumbnail from the computer main body 125, displays it for user selection, and waits. After the template data is selected, the main body image of the template that is the main body is received from the computer main body 125. With this configuration, the printer 111 can reduce the communication time and save the storage area when handling the template data.

  Further, the template list information (step S303) received by the printer 111 includes only the thumbnail information of the template held by the computer system 121. Therefore, on the display 116, only the thumbnail of the template held by the computer system 121 and the thumbnail held by itself are displayed. In this way, unnecessary selections are never made.

  Next, the template data acquisition process of the printer 111 will be described more specifically. Here, a flow of acquiring templates pre-categorized by category as a group of templates from the computer main body 125 in units of categories will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this case, first, at the initial setting in step S301, the printer 111 acquires the category list shown in FIG.

  In the category list shown in FIG. 7, a category ID 701 and a display name 702 of the category ID 701 are described. The category list shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display 116 as a category selection screen 801 as shown in FIG. 8 when the user performs a predetermined operation on the operation button 112.

  On the category selection screen 801 shown in FIG. 8, the names designated by the display name 702 described in the category list shown in FIG. 7 are displayed as 803 to 807. On the category selection screen 801, a category selection cursor 802 (thick frame) indicating a category selection state, a cross key 112a for moving the category selection cursor 802 to another category, and a determination button 112b for determining a category to be used are displayed. The

  When the user selects one of the categories on the category selection screen 801 with the category selection cursor 802 and presses the enter button 112b in that state, the printer 111 issues a template list request event to the computer main body 125 in step S302. In the example of FIG. 8, since the user has set the category selection cursor 802 to the Halloween category 803, the determination button 112b is pressed in that state. In this case, the printer 111 refers to the category list shown in FIG. 7, and transmits “01” (FIG. 7), which is the category ID of the Halloween category 803, as a template list request event to the computer main body 125 in step S302. become.

  The computer main body 125 that has received the template list request event transmitted in step S302 compares the received category ID with the category list on the computer side possessed by itself. An example of the category list on the computer side is shown in FIG.

  In the category list 901 shown in FIG. 9, five categories and file names of templates classified into the categories are described. Reference numeral 902 describes a template name belonging to the Halloween category of category ID “01”. Reference numeral 903 describes a template name belonging to the Christmas category of category ID “02”. Reference numeral 904 describes a template name belonging to the New Year category with the category ID “03”. Reference numeral 905 describes a set segment category with a category ID “04”. In this example, the template name is not described because a template belonging to the setsub category 905 does not exist in the HDD 127. Reference numeral 906 describes a template name belonging to the hinamatsuri category of category ID “06”.

  The computer main body 125 compares the category ID received from the printer 111 with the description in the category list 901 to determine the requested category. Here, for example, it is assumed that the Halloween category is requested from the printer 111. In this case, in step S <b> 303, the computer main body 125 transmits a thumbnail of the template belonging to the Halloween category described in 902 to the printer 111.

  The printer 111 that has received the thumbnail of the Halloween category stores the received thumbnail in the folder 501 (FIG. 5) before returning normal acquisition in step S304. Further, the storage destination of the received thumbnail main body is also added to the list 504. Thereafter, the printer 111 displays the template thumbnail received from the computer main body 125 on the display 116 in parallel without distinguishing the template thumbnail held by the printer 111.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the selected category is changed and thumbnails belonging to different types of categories are acquired, all thumbnails belonging to unselected categories existing in the folder 501 are always deleted. Then, whenever necessary, the latest state of the HDD 127 is acquired again. Assuming that the received category is used again immediately, the newly selected template may be added to the memory 117 as long as there is room in the memory 117.

<Acquisition of template from template distribution system 101>
In the present embodiment, the computer system 121 acquires the template data from the template distribution system 101 in a timely manner when a template related to the category selected by the printer 111 does not exist in the HDD 127. When the computer system 121 can communicate with the template distribution system 101, such acquisition processing is possible. Next, details of this configuration will be described.

  The computer system 121 acquires template data from the template distribution system 101 when the network board 128 can communicate with the network board 106 of the template distribution system 101 via the Internet 131. As an outline, the computer main body 125 acquires a template belonging to a category requested by the printer 111 from the template distribution system 101 in response to a template list request event of the printer 111. The acquired template is recorded in the HDD 127 so that it can be used by the printer 111. In this way, it is possible to acquire an insufficient template when the template related to the category selected by the printer 111 does not exist in the HDD 127, and it is possible to widen the range of user selection.

  11 and 12 show a flow of acquiring a template from the template distribution system 101 and using the acquired template by the printer 111. FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow in which the printer 111 acquires a template from the template distribution system 101 via the computer system 121. FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the flow of template acquisition using a category selection screen. FIG.

  First, in step S1101, the printer 111 displays the category selection screen 801, and it is assumed that a category is designated from the category selection screen 801. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the set segment category is selected with the category selection cursor 802. In this case, the printer 111 requests a template for a set amount from the computer main body 125 (FIG. 12, 1202).

  In step S <b> 1102, the computer main body 125 checks whether communication with the template distribution system 101 is possible using the network board 128. If communication with the template distribution system 101 is impossible, the process proceeds to step S1107. If communication with the template distribution system 101 is possible, the process advances to step S1103.

  In step S <b> 1103, the computer main body 125 acquires a list of templates belonging to the category designated by the printer 111 from the template distribution system 101. In FIG. 12, since the settling category is selected by the printer 111, a list of templates belonging to the settling category is acquired from the template distribution system 101.

  Next, in step S1104, the computer main body 125 compares the template list acquired from the template distribution system 101 with the list of templates held by the computer main body 125. If the computer main body 125 has all the templates that the template distribution system 101 has, the process advances to step S1107. If a template that does not exist in the computer main body 125 exists in the template distribution system 101, the process advances to step S1105.

  In step S1105, the computer main body 125 acquires only the template data that does not exist in the computer main body 125 from the template distribution system 101, and subsequently records it in the HDD 127 in step S1106. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, first, the computer main body 125 refers to a template list 1205 that is a list of templates recorded by the template distribution system 101. Then, among the template data belonging to the setsubun category 1206, template data not held by the computer main body 125 is requested (1205), acquired (1207), and recorded.

  In step S1107, the computer main body 125 reads all the template data recorded in the HDD 127. In step S 1108, the thumbnails of the templates belonging to the category designated by the printer 111 are sent to the printer 111. In the example of FIG. 12, thumbnails of templates belonging to the set segment category selected by the printer 111 are transmitted to the printer 111 (1208).

  In step S <b> 1109, the printer 111 receives the specified category thumbnail and records the thumbnail in the memory 117. Thereafter, the printer 111 and the computer main body 125 wait until a template that is a main image of the received thumbnail is requested or another work is requested.

  Through the processing as described above, on the display 116 of the printer 111, a thumbnail in which the main body image of the template is recorded in the memory 117 of the printer 111, a thumbnail in which the main body image of the template is recorded in the HDD 127 of the computer main body 125, A template thumbnail acquired from the template distribution system 101 and added to the HDD 127 of the computer main body 125 can be displayed without distinction. In this display, the printer 111 displays the template so that there is no difference in the user's template selection procedure or selection method, regardless of which template the user uses.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In the present embodiment, an example of template data has been dealt with, but font data and stamp data can be exchanged between the printer 111 and the computer main body 125 by the same mechanism. Further, communication and steps between the computer main body 125 and the template distribution system 101 can be used for font data and stamp data.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the computer system 121 is connected to only the template distribution system 101 has been described. However, it is also possible to communicate with a plurality of template distribution systems so that template data can be acquired from these.

  In order to realize the present invention, a storage medium in which a program code (computer program) of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments may be used. In this case, the object of the present invention is achieved by supplying the storage medium to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  Needless to say, the OS (basic system or operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code.

  Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. In this case, based on the instruction of the written program code, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may perform part or all of the actual processing.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the printing system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the internal structure of each apparatus contained in the printing system which concerns on this Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of communication when transferring thumbnails of templates recorded in an HDD of a computer system and combining and printing an image recorded in the HDD using a printer, according to the present embodiment. It is the figure which showed the template selection screen displayed on the display of the printer in this Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a file structure of a folder in a printer memory according to the present embodiment. It is a figure showing the contents of a list included in a folder in the printer memory according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a category list acquired by the printer in the present embodiment from a computer system. It is the figure which showed the category selection screen which the printer in this Embodiment displays. It is the figure which showed an example of the category list | wrist of the computer system in this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the category selection screen which the printer in this Embodiment displays. It is a flowchart explaining the flow in which the printer in this Embodiment acquires a template from a template delivery system via a computer system. It is a figure which illustrates typically the flow in which the printer in this Embodiment acquires a template from a template delivery system via a computer system using a category selection screen.

101 Template distribution system 102 Computer system 103 Mouse 104 Keyboard 105 Display 106 Network board 107 CPU
108 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
111 Printer 112 Operation Button 113 CPU
114 Printing unit 115 USB interface (USB I / F)
116 Display 117 Memory 118 Card reader 121 Computer system 122 Mouse 123 Keyboard 124 Display 125 Computer main body 126 CPU
127 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
128 Network board 129 USB interface (USB I / F)
131 Internet 141 USB cable

Claims (14)

A print control apparatus that combines an image and information for synthesis to print a composite image,
Recording means for recording information for synthesis;
Communication means for communicating with an external device and receiving information for synthesis from the external device;
Display means for displaying without distinguishing the information for synthesis recorded in the recording means and the information for synthesis received by the communication means;
Combining information selection means for arbitrarily selecting combining information from the combining information recorded in the recording means displayed on the display means and the combining information received by the communication means;
A print control apparatus comprising: composite image creation means for combining the composite information selected by the composite information selection means with an image.   The synthesizing information selection unit can select the synthesizing information by the same method without distinguishing between the synthesizing information recorded in the recording unit and the synthesizing information received by the communication unit. Item 2. The print control apparatus according to Item 1. The information for synthesis includes simple information and main body information,
3. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a composition information request unit that separately performs the request for the simple information to the external apparatus and the request for the main body information to the external apparatus. The combining information request means requests the simple information before requesting the main body information,
The display means displays the simplified information until selected by the synthesis information selection means,
4. The print control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the compositing information requesting unit requests the main body information when selected by the compositing information selecting unit. Having a designation means for designating a group of information for synthesis classified into a predetermined category by category;
The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit receives a group of composition information designated by the designation unit from the external device. Obtaining means for obtaining the state of the information for synthesis recorded in the external device;
The composition information not recorded on the external device is not displayed on the display means based on the state of the composition information recorded on the external device acquired by the acquisition means. The printing control apparatus according to any one of 1 to 5.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit the composition information recorded in the recording unit to the external device.   The composition information recorded in the recording means is compared with the composition information received by the communication means, and the composition information recorded only in the recording means is transmitted by the transmission means. The print control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the print control apparatus is a print control apparatus.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composition information is template data, font data, or stamp data. A printing control method for a printing apparatus that includes a recording unit that records composition information, prints a composite image by combining the image and the composition information,
A communication step of communicating with an external device and receiving synthesis information from the external device;
A display step of displaying without distinguishing the synthesis information recorded in the recording means and the synthesis information received in the communication step;
A combining information selection step for arbitrarily selecting combining information from the combining information recorded in the recording means displayed in the display step and the combining information received in the communication step based on a user operation; ,
A print control method comprising: a composite image creation step of combining the composite information selected in the composite information selection step and the image. A program for causing a computer to execute a print control method of a printing apparatus that includes a recording unit that records composition information, and synthesizes the image and the composition information to print the composite image,
A communication step of communicating with an external device and receiving synthesis information from the external device;
A display step of displaying without distinguishing the synthesis information recorded in the recording means and the synthesis information received in the communication step;
A combining information selection step for arbitrarily selecting combining information from the combining information recorded in the recording means displayed in the display step and the combining information received in the communication step based on a user operation; ,
A program for causing a computer to execute a composite image creation step of combining the synthesis information selected in the selection step with an image. A printing system in which an external device that holds composition information and a printing device that combines the image and the composition information and prints the composite image are connected via a network,
In the printing apparatus,
Recording means for recording information for synthesis;
Communication means for communicating with an external device and receiving information for synthesis from the external device;
Display means for displaying without distinguishing the information for synthesis recorded in the recording means and the information for synthesis received by the communication means;
Combining information selection means for arbitrarily selecting combining information from the combining information recorded in the recording means displayed on the display means and the combining information received by the communication means;
A printing system comprising: a composite image creating unit that combines the composite information selected by the composite information selection unit and an image. In the printing apparatus, a designation unit is provided for designating a group of compositing information classified into predetermined categories by category,
13. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein a group of compositing information designated by the designation means is received from the external device by the communication means. In the external device,
Means for communicating with other external devices;
Means for acquiring a group of information for synthesis designated by the designation means from the other external device;
Means for recording the acquired group of information for synthesis;
14. The printing system according to claim 13, further comprising means for transmitting the recorded group of composition information to the printing apparatus.

Images