JP2010204879A - Image formation control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the setting of preset print conditions by a simple method in performing continuous print on the basis of a plurality of preset print conditions. <P>SOLUTION: In outputting each of print conditions included in a print condition list read from a print condition storage part, a signal instructing whether to output each of the print conditions to an image forming part is accepted, and when the signal instructing the output of each of the print conditions to the image forming part is accepted, the print conditions are output to the image forming part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming control apparatus that continuously outputs printing conditions including a plurality of setting items to an image forming unit and causes the image forming unit to perform continuous printing based on the printing conditions.

  Conventionally, various image forming apparatuses such as an ink jet printer and a stencil printing apparatus for forming an image on a recording sheet based on image data output from a personal computer or a scanner have been proposed.

  When printing using the image forming apparatus as described above, print conditions such as color mode and double-sided printing are set by a printer driver installed in a personal computer, and the print conditions are set from the printer driver. Sent to the device. The image forming apparatus performs printing based on the print conditions output from the printer driver.

  Here, the printed material that is to be printed by the image forming apparatus includes, for example, materials distributed to a plurality of departments such as a company. When printing such materials, it is desirable to print under different printing conditions for each department. There is. There are also cases where it is desired to print under various different printing conditions and compare and evaluate the printed materials.

  In such a case, it is very troublesome to set different print conditions by the printer driver each time printing is performed.

  Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed to perform printing based on a plurality of types of printing conditions by setting a plurality of printing conditions in advance and sequentially reading and printing these printing conditions. ing.

JP 2002-251265 A

  However, when printing is performed based on a plurality of preset printing conditions, there is a case where printing is not necessary for a predetermined printing condition among the plurality of printing conditions, or there are cases where it is desired to change setting items of the printing conditions. . Further, there are cases where the setting contents are wrong when setting in advance.

  In such a case, the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 cannot cope with it appropriately because it only prints sequentially according to a plurality of preset printing conditions.

  If an exception such as the above occurs, it may be possible to set the print conditions again. For example, if you want to skip reading without outputting only the predetermined print conditions, The conditions need to be read and edited again. Also, when changing the setting contents of the print conditions, it is necessary to restart the printer driver and change it, and it is very troublesome to perform such work every time an exception occurs.

  Further, when the print condition is re-edited, it is necessary to execute again from the first print condition, and the same print condition is printed a plurality of times, which wastes time and paper.

  Further, in the method described in Patent Document 1, since the contents of the printing conditions cannot be confirmed in the process of continuous printing, if the setting contents of the printing conditions are incorrect, printing is executed as it is with the wrong printing conditions. Will be.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can easily change the setting of a plurality of printing conditions when performing continuous printing based on a plurality of preset printing conditions, and can immediately change the contents of the printing conditions. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image formation control apparatus that can be confirmed in the above.

  An image formation control apparatus according to the present invention includes: an image formation control unit that outputs image data and print conditions to an image formation unit that forms an image based on image data and print conditions including a plurality of setting items; An image forming control apparatus including a setting receiving unit that receives setting of conditions includes a print condition storing unit that stores in advance a print condition list including a plurality of printing conditions received by the setting receiving unit, and the image forming control unit includes: The print conditions included in the print condition list read from the print condition storage unit are sequentially output to the image forming unit, and each print condition included in the print condition list is output when each print condition is output. An instruction signal receiving unit that receives a signal that instructs whether or not to output the condition to the image forming unit and receives the instruction signal Characterized in that when receiving a signal instructing to output and outputs the print conditions to the image forming unit by.

  In the image forming control apparatus according to the present invention, the image forming control unit may not output to the image forming unit the print condition that has received a signal instructing not to output the instruction signal receiving unit.

  In addition, regarding the print condition for which the image formation control unit has received a signal for instructing not to be output by the instruction signal receiving unit, the setting change of the setting item of the print condition can be received.

  In addition, the print condition storage unit can store a plurality of print condition lists in advance, and the image formation control unit can receive a signal for selecting any one of the plurality of print condition lists.

  According to the image formation control apparatus of the present invention, when outputting each print condition included in the print condition list read from the print condition storage unit, whether or not to output each print condition to the image forming unit is determined. When the signal for instructing is received and the signal for instructing to output to the image forming unit is received, the print condition is output to the image forming unit. For example, when there is no need to print the predetermined print condition The print conditions can be skipped by a simple operation without being output to the image forming unit, and the subsequent print conditions can be immediately executed.

  In the image forming control apparatus according to the present invention, when a print condition for receiving a signal instructing not to output to the image forming unit is accepted, a setting change of the setting item of the print condition is accepted. It is possible to change the setting contents immediately for only predetermined print conditions without having to restart the printer.

  Further, when a plurality of print condition lists are stored in advance and a signal for selecting any one of the plurality of print condition lists is received, continuous printing corresponding to various uses can be immediately performed. it can.

  Further, when it is determined whether or not a setting item for exclusive control is set among a plurality of setting items for print conditions, it is possible to avoid setting a setting item for exclusive control by mistake. it can.

  In addition, when a setting item for exclusive control is set, if the setting content of the setting item is automatically changed so that exclusive control is not performed, the operator can change the setting item for exclusive control. This saves you the trouble of making changes.

  In addition, when a signal that indicates whether or not to change the setting item is automatically received before the setting item is automatically changed, the setting is made after the operator confirms the changed setting content. It can be changed, and it is possible to avoid changing to unintended setting contents.

  Further, when receiving a signal instructing whether or not to output each print condition to the image forming unit, if the setting contents of the setting items of the print condition to be instructed are displayed, the operator Since it is possible to instruct whether or not to output the print condition after confirming the setting contents, for example, even if the print condition is set incorrectly, the error can be immediately noticed, and the print condition Can be skipped or settings can be changed.

  Further, when the setting contents of the setting items of each printing condition in the printing condition list are displayed, the operator can immediately confirm the contents of the printing condition list.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer system using an embodiment of an image formation control apparatus of the present invention. Flow chart for explaining the operation of setting print conditions and saving them as a print condition list Diagram showing an example of the print condition setting screen Figure showing an example of the finisher setting screen The figure which shows an example of the exclusive error screen when the setting contents used as exclusive control are set Diagram showing an example of the continuous print settings save screen Flowchart for explaining an operation of reading a print condition list and performing continuous printing based on the print condition list Diagram showing an example of the continuous print execution screen The figure which shows an example of the confirmation dialog whether a print job may be output to an inkjet printer

  Hereinafter, an inkjet printer system using an embodiment of an image formation control apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet printer system using the present embodiment.

  An ink jet printer system using the present embodiment includes a print job output device 10 that outputs a print job including image data and print conditions including a plurality of setting items used when printing the image data, and a print job output. An inkjet printer 20 is provided that forms an image represented by the image data on a recording sheet based on the image data included in the print job output from the apparatus 10 and the print conditions.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the print job output apparatus 10 is installed with a display monitor 10a for displaying print condition setting items and the like, and a printer driver for generating a print job and outputting the print job to the inkjet printer 20. Output device main body 10b having a hard disk for storing a print condition list consisting of print conditions as a file, an input keyboard 10c for accepting input of setting contents of each setting item of print conditions and a predetermined operation input, and a mouse as a pointing device 10d. The operation of the printer driver will be described later in detail.

  The inkjet printer 20 includes a paper feed unit in which recording paper is installed, an inkjet head that forms an image on the recording paper based on input image data, a transport unit that transports the recording paper, and a recorded recording paper. It is equipped with a paper discharge unit for paper and can be printed on both sides. Since the configuration of the printer engine capable of duplex printing is a known configuration, detailed description thereof is omitted. In addition, the inkjet printer 20 of the present embodiment includes a finisher that performs booklet production and stapling using recorded recording paper ejected to a paper ejection unit.

  Next, the operation of the ink jet printer system of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, the operation of continuous printing, which is a feature of the ink jet printer system of this embodiment, will be mainly described. Continuous printing is a function for performing printing by sequentially executing a plurality of printing conditions.

  First, an operation of setting print conditions necessary for continuous printing and storing the print conditions as a print condition list will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, a print condition setting registration editor is activated by the printer driver installed in the print job output apparatus 10, and a print condition setting screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display monitor 10a of the print job output apparatus 10 (ST10). ). Note that the print condition setting registration editor is activated, for example, by selecting a property of the printer driver.

  In the upper part of the print condition setting screen, multiple types of tabs such as main setting, layout, image processing, finisher, option setting, watermark, etc. are displayed, and the screen switches by selecting these tabs, Various setting items can be set on each screen. FIG. 3 shows a setting screen when the main setting tab is selected.

  In the main setting screen, for example, “color mode” for setting color printing or black and white printing, “document mode” for setting whether text priority for easy-to-read printing or photo priority for fine reproduction of photos, Double-sided printing to set the presence and type of double-sided printing, “Paper Tray Selection” to set the type of paper feed tray, “Paper Type” to set the type of recording paper, and print only a part when printing multiple copies Setting items such as “temporarily print and stop” for setting whether to pause printing at the time of printing and “number of copies” for setting the number of copies are displayed.

  Then, these setting items are set by the operator, and the printing conditions are edited (ST12). Although only the display items of the main setting have been described here, it is assumed that the setting items are set by the operator on the display screens of other tabs. In addition, the setting items for the printing conditions are not limited to those described above, and known setting items for the ink jet printer can be employed. Setting items are set by selecting predetermined setting contents with the keyboard 10c or the mouse 10d.

  Then, when each setting item is set as described above, the printer driver determines whether or not the setting contents of the relationship that is mutually exclusive control are not set (ST14). Then, if the setting contents of the relationship for exclusive control are set, an error screen indicating that is displayed. Specifically, for example, the output paper size is set to “same as original size” on the layout tab setting screen, duplex printing is set to “none” on the main setting screen, and imposition is set on the layout tab setting screen. Consider the case where the booklet creation is set to “Fold Fold + Staple” on the finisher setting screen as shown in FIG. 4 when “OFF” is set.

  In this case, for example, since the paper size that can be folded in booklet creation is determined to be equal to or larger than a predetermined size (for example, A4 size) from the mechanical configuration, for example, when the document size is smaller than the predetermined size. It is impossible to set “same as document size” as the output paper size. Therefore, “Fold Fold + Staple” for creating a booklet and “Same as document size” for the output paper size are setting contents that are mutually exclusive. In addition, when the booklet creation is set to “two-fold + staple”, double-sided printing is necessarily performed. Therefore, “Fold Fold + Staple” for booklet creation and “OFF” for double-sided printing are setting contents that are mutually exclusive. Further, when the booklet creation is set to “Fold Fold + Staple”, the imposition of the image data is automatically performed on the booklet. Therefore, “Fold Fold + Staple” in the booklet creation and “OFF” in the imposition are setting contents that are mutually exclusive.

  Therefore, the printer driver displays an error screen as shown in FIG. In other words, a message indicating that the output paper size “same as original size”, duplex printing “OFF” and imposition “OFF”, and booklet creation “folding + staple” cannot be set simultaneously. To do. Along with this error message, a setting content that does not have the exclusive control relationship with “folding and stapling” in the booklet creation is displayed, and a message prompting the user to change to the setting content is displayed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, “A4” is displayed for the output paper size, “Bind long edge” is displayed for double-sided printing, and “Booklet” is displayed for imposition. When the “OK” button is pressed on the screen by the operator, the setting contents after the change are automatically changed. When the “Cancel” button is pressed by the operator on the screen shown in FIG. 5, the error message screen is closed, and the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed again. Done.

  In addition to the above, the setting contents that are mutually exclusive control are, for example, the exclusive control relationship between the setting of “two places on the left” of the finisher staple and the setting of the output paper size that is equal to or smaller than a predetermined size. . In addition, the setting of “folding” for creating a booklet of the finisher and the setting of an output paper size equal to or smaller than a predetermined size have an exclusive control relationship.

  Then, when there is no setting content that causes an exclusive error and all setting items have been set, the operator selects the “Continuous Print Setting Save” tab on the setting screen shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. The “Continuous print setting save” screen is displayed.

  Then, when the “reference” button is pressed by the operator on the “continuous print setting save” screen shown in FIG. 6, the file name of the save destination of the print conditions set as described above and its hierarchical position are displayed. . Here, the file name of the save destination is “Settei.list”.

  In addition, the current contents of the save destination file “Settei.list” are displayed. That is, the print conditions already stored in “Settei.list” are displayed as a print condition list. It is assumed that one line of the display of the print condition list in FIG. 6 displays the contents of each setting item of one print condition. Further, in the present embodiment, the contents of each setting item of the print condition are displayed as shown in FIG. 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for each print condition, for example, a department name or an evaluation test name is displayed. Etc., and a list of the names may be displayed. Then, when a predetermined name in the list is selected by the operator, the contents of each setting item of the print condition of that name may be displayed.

  Then, on the continuous print setting storage screen, as shown in FIG. 6, “Add current setting to list”, “Read selected record”, and “Delete selected record” buttons are displayed. When the “Add current setting to list” button on the continuous print setting saving screen is pressed by the operator, the print conditions set on the setting screen of FIG. 3 are additionally registered in the print condition list and displayed. When the “Save” button on the continuous print setting save screen is further pressed by the operator, the added print condition settings are written in the “Settei.list” file and saved on the hard disk. (ST18). At this time, all setting items relating to printing are stored as printing conditions.

  As described above, print conditions necessary for continuous printing are set and stored as a print condition list.

In the continuous print setting save screen, it is also possible to read or delete a predetermined print condition from the already saved print condition list. To read the specified print condition from the already saved print condition list, select the specified print condition from the print condition list displayed on the continuous print setting save screen, and click the “Read selected record” button. It is executed by pressing. Further, for the read print condition, each setting item is re-edited on the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 and is again saved as one print condition in the print condition list by pressing the “Save” button on the continuous print setting saving screen. can do. To delete a specified print condition from the already stored print condition list, select the predetermined print condition from the print condition list displayed on the continuous print setting save screen, and select “Delete selected record. Next, the operation of reading the print condition list stored as described above and performing continuous printing based on the print condition list will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. To do.

  First, the print condition list file saved as described above is opened (ST20). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a tab for executing continuous printing is selected and displayed. The setting screen shown in FIG. 8 and the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 are the same setting window except that the selected tab is different. Although the tab for continuous printing does not appear on the setting screen shown in FIG. 3, all the tabs shown in FIG. 3 move to the left by pressing the arrow button in the right corner of FIG. The tab on the right side of the tab is displayed, and continuous print execution can be selected.

  Then, on the continuous print execution screen shown in FIG. 8, by pressing the “reference” button, the print condition list file stored in advance as described above is referred to and read from the hard disk (ST22). Note that the number of files in the print condition list is not limited to one, and a plurality of files may be stored in the hard disk in advance. Here, the “Settei.list” file is selected from the plurality of files. This file shall be referenced by accepting it. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a message “Continuous printing can be started even if the continuous printing setting file is dropped here” is displayed on the continuous printing execution screen. Then, by opening another window, selecting a predetermined print condition list file, and dropping the selected file on the central portion of the continuous print execution screen, the print condition list file can be referred to and read out. .

  Then, when the “continuous print” button on the continuous print execution screen is pressed by the operator, continuous printing is executed (ST24). Specifically, first, the first print condition in the print condition list is read out. At this time, it is confirmed whether or not the “display confirmation dialog” check box in the lower left corner of the continuous print execution screen shown in FIG. 8 is checked, and if the check box is checked ( (ST26, YES), a confirmation dialog is displayed as to whether or not the print job including the first print condition may be output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST28). Specifically, a confirmation dialog as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, a confirmation message “Do you want to send a print job with this setting?” Is displayed, and the contents of the setting items of the print conditions are displayed. The

  When the operator confirms the contents of the print condition setting items and presses the “Yes” button in the confirmation dialog (ST30, YES), a print job including the print conditions and image data is output to the inkjet printer 20. (ST38).

  Next, it is confirmed whether all the print conditions included in the print condition list have been output, that is, whether there is a print condition to be read next, and if there is a print condition to be read next (S40, NO). The print conditions are read out. Then, a confirmation dialog is displayed as to whether or not a print job including the print conditions may be output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST28). When the operator confirms the contents of the print condition setting items and presses the “Yes” button in the confirmation dialog (ST30, YES), a print job including the print conditions and image data is output to the inkjet printer 20. (ST38). Then, it is confirmed again whether all the print conditions included in the print condition list have been output. If there is a print condition to be read next (ST40, NO), the print condition is read. Then, a confirmation dialog is displayed as to whether or not a print job including the print conditions may be output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST28).

  As described above, each print condition in the print condition list is read one by one, a confirmation dialog is displayed each time the print condition is read, and the process ends when there is no print condition to be read next. (ST40, YES).

  Then, for example, when the confirmation dialog is displayed in ST28, the contents of the setting items of the print conditions are confirmed by the operator, and for the predetermined print conditions in the print condition list, “change setting” in the confirmation dialog by the operator. When the button is pressed (ST32, YES), the print condition setting can be changed (ST34). Specifically, the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed again, and the setting items of the print conditions can be reset. When the resetting of the setting items of the print conditions is completed, the operator presses the “OK” button on the setting screen shown in FIG. 3, thereby writing the print conditions after the resetting into the file of the print condition list. .

  Then, the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 is switched again to the continuous printing execution screen shown in FIG. 8, and the continuous printing is resumed by pressing the “resume” button on this screen by the operator. The confirmation dialog shown in FIG. 9 is displayed again (ST28). When the “Yes” button in the confirmation dialog is pressed (ST30, YES), a print job including the print conditions and image data whose settings have been changed is output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST38). Next, the print condition next to the print condition whose setting has been changed is read, and a confirmation dialog is displayed in the same manner as described above (ST28).

  Also, for example, when a confirmation dialog is displayed in ST28, the contents of the print condition setting items are confirmed by the operator, and a “No” button in the confirmation dialog for a predetermined print condition in the print condition list is displayed by the operator. When is pressed (ST32, NO), the print job including the print condition is skipped without being output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST36). If there is a print condition next to the skipped print condition (NO in ST40), the next print condition is read and a confirmation dialog is displayed (ST28). On the other hand, if there is no print condition next to the skipped print condition, the process ends (ST40, YES).

  Also, for example, when the operator presses the “Cancel” button in the confirmation dialog for a predetermined print condition in the print condition list, all the print conditions after the print condition included in the print condition list are inkjet. Reading is skipped without being output to the printer 20, and the process is terminated.

  In ST26, if it is confirmed that the “Display confirmation dialog” check box on the continuous print execution screen shown in FIG. 8 is not checked (ST26, NO), the confirmation dialog as described above is displayed. Without printing, each print condition in the print condition list is sequentially read, and a print job including the print condition and image data is sequentially output to the inkjet printer 20 (ST42).

  As described above, the output of the print conditions in the print condition list to the inkjet printer 20 is controlled by the operator.

  Then, the print job including the printer condition instructed to be output to the ink jet printer 20 by the operator by the above operation is sequentially input to the ink jet printer 20. The inkjet printer 20 sequentially executes printing based on the input image data of the print job and the printing conditions.

  In the above embodiment, the image forming control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer system. However, the image forming control apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the ink jet printer system. The present invention is also applicable to an image forming system using other printing apparatuses such as an apparatus.

10 Print Job Output Device 10a Display Monitor 10b Output Device Body 10c Input Keyboard 10d Mouse 20 Inkjet Printer

Claims (4)

An image forming control unit that outputs the image data and the print condition to an image forming unit that forms an image based on image data and a print condition composed of a plurality of setting items, and a setting that accepts the setting of the print condition In an image formation control device including a reception unit,
A print condition storage unit that pre-stores a print condition list including a plurality of the print conditions received by the setting reception unit;
The image formation control unit sequentially outputs each print condition included in the print condition list read from the print condition storage unit to the image formation unit, and each print included in the print condition list. When outputting the conditions, an instruction signal receiving unit that receives a signal instructing whether or not to output each print condition to the image forming unit is received, and the instruction signal receiving unit receives a signal instructing to output the print condition. The image forming control apparatus is characterized in that the print condition is output to the image forming unit in the event of a failure.   2. The image forming control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming control unit does not output to the image forming unit a print condition in which a signal instructing not to output by the instruction signal receiving unit is received. .   2. The print condition in which the image formation control unit receives a signal instructing not to be output by the instruction signal receiving unit, wherein the setting change of the setting item of the print condition is received. 3. The image formation control device according to 2. The print condition storage unit stores a plurality of the print condition lists in advance;
The image formation control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image formation control unit receives a signal for selecting any one of the plurality of print condition lists.