JP2010184452A - Print job control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a general-purpose print job control method for obtaining a correct booklet print result without using a face-up paper discharging function and without depending on a paper receiving method of a center binding book making device in a printing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: This method has a step of rearranging physical pages of a center binding job received from a host computer by a print control device in accordance with the print paper receiving method of the center binding book making device. When the print paper receiving method of the center binding book making device takes a descending order, the print control device rearranges physical pages of the center binding job by face-down paper discharging and obtains a center bound booklet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print job control method for obtaining a saddle-stitched booklet in a printing apparatus having a saddle stitch binding function.

  Printing apparatuses include a saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus for performing booklet prints by performing saddle stitch bookbinding as post-processing after printing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the booklet printing includes a saddle stitch job created on the host computer (two physical pages (left-open) and double-sided printing (short-edge binding)) (Including a command description for specifying saddle stitch bookbinding) is printed on both sides in the short-edge binding direction by the print control device, and is folded in two at the center of the physical page that is two-sided by the saddle stitch bookbinding device. ), Which is obtained by saddle stitching. For example, weekly magazines and catalogs are applicable as printed booklets.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus for obtaining a booklet print has a normal order and a descending order as a method for receiving a print sheet. For example, in the case of an 8-page document, in the normal order, “1/8 → 7/2 → 3/6 → 5/4” (“a / b” has two pages a and b. A bookbinding result is a saddle stitching job in the page order (representing a physical page), and a saddle stitching job in the page order of “5/4 → 3/6 → 7/2 → 1/8” in the descending order.

  In the descending order, if the printing device has the reverse order printing function and the face-up discharge function, even if the saddle stitching job is in the same page order as the normal order, the printing device will rearrange the physical pages in the reverse order and face up. Since the paper can be discharged, a correct booklet printing result can be obtained.

  Patent Document 1 describes a technique for imposition according to the attributes of an output device capable of bookbinding printing. In this method, a printing surface at the time of bookbinding printing is determined from a paper discharge port and a finisher type of a printer capable of bookbinding printing, and print data to be sent to an output device is generated.

  Further, as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707, a bookbinding output is performed by appropriately changing the corresponding face-up / face-down discharge mode according to the bookbinding means of the post-processing machine when bookbinding is performed.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, the print data output order determining means adjusts the output order of impositioned print data depending on whether the pickup of the printing paper by the bookbinding unit is “face-up” or “face-down”. Is described.

  However, the conventional method has the following problems.

  In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228688, although the print surface at the time of bookbinding printing can be determined from the paper discharge port of the printer capable of bookbinding printing and the type of finisher, the print data is generated by a printer driver and a spooler, and is impositioned in advance. There is a problem that it cannot be applied to a binding job.

  Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which the page imposition order is changed on the controller side and output to the bookbinding machine, but the case of a saddle stitch job is not considered.

  Further, when the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus is in descending order, it is necessary to rearrange the physical pages in the reverse order on the print control apparatus side and to make face-up discharge in order to obtain an expected booklet printing result.

  Further, when considering a general-purpose saddle stitch bookbinding printing system, the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus often accepts sheets in a saddle stitch job created assuming a normal order case. Therefore, if the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus is in descending order, the bookbinding result is completely opposite as shown in FIG. Therefore, it has been necessary to perform processing so as to obtain an expected result on the printing apparatus side.

  The present invention provides a general-purpose print job control method for obtaining a correct booklet print result that does not use a face-up discharge function in a printing apparatus and does not depend on a sheet receiving method of a saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus. With the goal.

To achieve the above object, the first means of the present invention receives, from a host computer, a saddle stitching job which is print data which is specified in the page order of double-sided printing and saddle stitching and specified in saddle stitching imposition. And a print control device that analyzes the received saddle stitching job and prints it, an external storage device that stores the saddle stitching job, a printing device that has a duplex printing function, and a saddle stitching bookbinding function. A print job control method in a binding apparatus, comprising:
The printing control apparatus includes a step of rearranging physical pages of the saddle stitching job received from the host computer according to the printing paper accepting method of the saddle stitching bookbinding apparatus, and the printing paper accepting method of the saddle stitching bookbinding apparatus. Is in descending order, the print control apparatus rearranges the physical pages of the saddle stitching job by face-down paper discharge to obtain a saddle stitched booklet.

  According to a second means of the present invention, in the first means, the saddle stitching apparatus notifies the printing paper receiving mode, and the printing control device acquires the printing paper receiving mode. The physical pages of the saddle stitching job are automatically rearranged according to the paper reception mode acquired by the print control apparatus.

  According to a third means of the present invention, in the second means, the step of the saddle stitching job instructing a paper acceptance mode and the step of the print control device recognizing the printing paper acceptance mode by the saddle stitching job. And the print control apparatus automatically rearranges the physical pages of the saddle stitching job in accordance with the sheet acceptance mode designated by the saddle stitching job.

  According to the present invention, when the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus is in descending order, the physical pages of the saddle stitching job are rearranged so that the booklet printing result is obtained by the face-down discharge output. A booklet printing result which does not depend on the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus and which does not require a function can be obtained.

1 is an overall block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a print job control method according to the present invention. It is a flowchart of the page order control part in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the saddle stitch job processing result of the page order control part in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the page order control part in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the saddle stitch job processing result of the page order control part in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the printing image of the printing control apparatus in saddle stitch bookbinding printing, and a saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus. It is a figure which shows the booklet printing image for every paper reception method of a saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of booklet printing when the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus is in descending order.

  The purpose of printing a booklet correctly without changing the physical page order of the saddle stitching job in the host computer that sends the saddle stitching job and the printing apparatus that receives them and performs saddle stitching bookbinding processing is to This is realized by confirming the paper receiving method of the binding apparatus and rearranging the physical pages as necessary so that the page order is always spread.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to an overall block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a print job control method according to the present invention in FIG. 1 and a flowchart of a page order control unit in FIG.

  FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of a printing apparatus showing an embodiment of a print job control method in saddle stitch job processing, which has the following functions.

  The saddle stitching job created by the host computer 100 and whose physical page order is normal is transmitted to the print control apparatus 310 in the printing apparatus 300 via the bidirectional interface 200.

  In the print control apparatus 310, the saddle stitching job is received by the data receiving unit 311 and stored in the nonvolatile storage device 330. The print job analysis development unit 312 performs command analysis on the received saddle stitching job, develops it into an image data string, and stores it in the frame memory 340. At the time of command analysis, saddle stitch designating saddle stitching and double-sided printing (short edge binding) mode are set.

  The page order control unit 313 acquires the sheet acceptance mode of the saddle stitch binding apparatus 360 from an engine control unit 314 described later, and determines the transmission order of physical pages stored in the storage device 330 according to this mode.

  The engine control unit 314 receives the end of the expansion of the print job analysis / development unit 312 and follows the physical page transmission order determined by the page order control unit 313 to use the image data on the frame memory 340 as video data as the engine mechanism unit 350. Send to. At this time, the engine mechanism unit 350 is instructed to perform saddle stitching and double-sided printing (short edge binding) modes representing a saddle stitch bookbinding command.

  The engine mechanism unit 350 performs double-sided printing on the recording paper according to the received video data and the designated double-sided printing mode, and discharges it to the saddle stitch binding apparatus 360.

  In the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus 360, the saddle stitch mode of the saddle stitch bookbinding command is received, and the saddle stitch staple and the booklet printed in a folded state are discharged as a saddle stitch job.

  The operation panel 320 is for displaying the status of the printing apparatus 300 and for performing print settings for the printing apparatus 300, and the set print setting values are stored in the storage device 330.

  Here, the page order control unit 313 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. However, the physical page order of the saddle stitching job is assumed to be the normal order.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the page order control unit in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The page order control unit 313 first sets initial values as follows (S10).

Total number of physical pages → TP
Total saddle stitching number → BK = (TP + 3) / 4
Current number of saddle stitches → BP = 1
Current physical page number (paper order) → MP = 1
Current physical page number (paper descending order) → NP = TP

Next, the sheet acceptance mode is acquired from the engine control unit 314 (S11). The acquired sheet acceptance mode is checked (S12), and in the normal order, the received physical page order is output. The first physical page is assigned to the front surface of the first saddle stitch, the second physical page is assigned to the rear surface (S15), and the physical page number (paper normal order) counter is incremented by two (S16).

On the other hand, in descending order, the received physical pages are output in descending order and with the front and back sides reversed. The physical page (NP-1) side is assigned to the front surface of the first saddle stitching, the physical page NP side is assigned to the back side (S13), and the physical page number (sheet descending order) counter is decremented by two sides (S14).
Next, the saddle stitch number counter is incremented (S17) and compared with the total saddle stitch number (S18). If the saddle stitching sheet counter is within the total saddle stitching sheet count, the process is repeated from step S102, and physical page rearrangement is determined. Otherwise, the process ends.

  For example, consider a case where the saddle stitching job (left opening) shown in FIG. 3 is printed.

  The saddle stitching job sent from the host computer is specified with a saddle stitching and saddle stitching staple command for instructing post-processing to the saddle stitching bookbinding apparatus, and duplex printing (short edge binding), and two physical pages are attached. It is assumed that the page order is normal (1/8 → 7/2 → 3/6 → 5/4).

  When the print control apparatus receives the saddle stitching job # 1 from the host computer, the print control apparatus stores the job in the storage device and develops the job analysis, recognizes that it is in double-sided printing (short edge binding) and saddle stitch mode, and controls the engine control unit. To instruct.

  Next, since the sheet acceptance mode acquired from the engine control unit by the page order control unit is descending order, the “3/6” page surface of the saddle stitching job # 1 is printed on the front surface of the first sheet of saddle stitching, and “5/4” is printed on the back surface. The page surface is assigned, and the “1/8” page surface is assigned to the front surface of the second sheet of saddle stitching, and the “7/2” page surface is assigned to the rear surface.

  Then, the video data of the corresponding physical page is output from the engine control unit in the above allocation order “3/6 → 5/4 → 1/8 → 7/2”, and double-sided printing (short side binding) is performed by the engine mechanism unit. ) Mode.

  The printed sheet is discharged face-down to the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus, and a saddle stitched staple and a half-folded booklet printing result are obtained.

  As described above, in the saddle stitching job printing process, a correct booklet printing result can be obtained only by rearranging the printing control device in accordance with the paper receiving method without having the face-up discharge function.

  In addition, although the example of the left opening was taken up here, of course, a right opening can be applied similarly.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of the page order control unit in FIG.

  Compared with the first embodiment, this embodiment adds a command for recognizing the physical page order of the saddle stitching job as a command that can be recognized by the print control apparatus, and changes the physical pages to be rearranged according to this command and the paper acceptance mode. (Bold and dotted lines in the figure).

  The page order control unit 313 first sets initial values as follows (S100).

  Next, the sheet acceptance mode is acquired from the engine control unit 314 (S101), and the saddle stitching job order mode obtained by job analysis is acquired (S200).

Then, the acquired saddle stitching job order mode is checked (S201). On the other hand, in the descending order, the paper acceptance mode is checked, and in the descending order, it is not necessary to rearrange the physical pages, so step S105 and subsequent steps are executed. In normal order, output from descending order of physical pages. A physical page OP surface is assigned to the front surface of the first saddle stitching, a physical page (OP-1) surface is assigned to the back surface (S203), and a physical page number (descending order) counter is decremented by two surfaces (S204).
Next, the saddle stitch number counter is incremented (S107) and compared with the total saddle stitch number (S108). If the total number of saddle stitches is within the total, the process is repeated from step S102, the physical page rearrangement is determined, and if not, the process ends.

  For example, consider a case where a saddle stitch job (left opening) shown in FIG. 5 is printed.

  The saddle stitching job sent from the host computer is specified as a saddle stitching and saddle stitching staple command for instructing the post-processing to the saddle stitching bookbinding apparatus, and double-sided printing (short edge binding), and two physical pages are attached. Assume that the pages are in descending order (5/4 → 3/6 → 7/2 → 1/8).

  When the print control device receives the saddle stitch job # 2 from the host computer, the print control device stores the job in the storage device and develops the job analysis, recognizes that it is in double-sided printing (short edge binding) and saddle stitch mode, and engine control unit To instruct.

  Next, since the sheet acceptance mode acquired from the engine control unit by the page order control unit is normal order, the “1/8” page surface of the saddle stitching job # 2 is printed on the front surface of the first sheet of saddle stitching, and “7 / 2 ”page surface is allocated, and“ 3/6 ”page surface is allocated to the front surface of the second sheet of saddle stitching, and“ 5/4 ”page surface is allocated to the back surface.

  Then, the video data of the corresponding physical page is output from the engine control unit in the above allocation order “1/8 → 7/2 → 3/6 → 5/4”, and double-sided printing (short side binding) is performed by the engine mechanism unit. ) Mode.

  The printed sheet is discharged face-down to the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus, and a saddle stitched staple and a half-folded booklet printing result are obtained.

  As described above, in the print processing of the saddle stitching job, not only the sheet receiving method but also the physical page order of the saddle stitching job can be considered in the print control apparatus by the saddle stitching page order mode. Correct booklet printing results can be obtained.

  The present invention can be applied to a host computer that transmits a saddle stitch job and a printing apparatus that receives them and performs a saddle stitch bookbinding process. In particular, the present invention can be applied even when the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus is in descending order.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus is in descending order, the physical pages of the saddle stitching job are rearranged so that the booklet printing result can be obtained by the face-down paper discharge output. Thus, a booklet printing result that does not depend on the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus that does not require the face-up sheet discharge function can be obtained.

  In addition, since the printing control apparatus can acquire the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus and automatically recognize the sheet receiving method of the saddle stitch bookbinding apparatus, a more general-purpose printing apparatus can be formed.

  Further, the print control apparatus is provided with a saddle stitching page order mode in which the saddle stitching page order can be recognized, and by adding the saddle stitching page order mode to the saddle stitching job, the print control apparatus can specify the page order specified in the saddle stitching job. Accordingly, the physical pages can be rearranged, so that a correct booklet printing result adapted to the saddle stitching job can be obtained, and a more versatile printing apparatus can be formed.

  100 is a host computer, 200 is a bidirectional interface, 300 is a printing device, 310 is a printing control device, 311 is a data receiving unit, 312 is a print job analysis and development unit, 313 is a page order control unit, 314 is an engine control unit, 320 Is an operation panel, 330 is a storage device, 340 is a frame memory, 350 is an engine mechanism unit, and 360 is a saddle stitch bookbinding device.

JP 2002-36669 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-146652 JP 2004-78449 A

Claims (3)

Printing from a host computer that receives a saddle stitching job, which is print data that has been specified in the page order of double-sided printing and saddle stitching binding and saddle stitching imposition, analyzes the received saddle stitching job, and performs print processing A print job control method in a control device, an external storage device for storing the saddle stitching job, a printing device having a duplex printing function, and a saddle stitch binding device having a saddle stitch binding function,
The printing control apparatus includes a step of rearranging physical pages of the saddle stitching job received from the host computer according to the printing paper accepting method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus, and the printing paper accepting method of the saddle stitch binding apparatus. Is a descending order, the print control device rearranges the physical pages of the saddle stitching job by face-down paper discharge to obtain a saddle stitched booklet.   The saddle stitch binding apparatus has a step of notifying a printing paper receiving mode, and the printing control apparatus acquires a printing paper receiving mode, and automatically according to the paper receiving mode acquired by the printing control apparatus. The print job control method according to claim 1, wherein physical pages of the saddle stitching job are rearranged.   The saddle stitching job includes a step of instructing a paper acceptance mode, and the print control device recognizes the print paper acceptance mode by the saddle stitching job, and the print control device is designated by the saddle stitching job. 3. The print job control method according to claim 2, wherein the physical pages of the saddle stitching job are automatically rearranged according to the paper receiving mode.

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