JP2011034533A - Communication device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for reducing the power consumption of a printing device adapted to a plurality of printing methods. <P>SOLUTION: A printer driver 14 checks the operation status of a digital complex machine 2 depending on a printing instruction. The printer driver 14 transmits PJL data 43 for ordering PDL printing when the digital complex machine 2 is not in a normal mode. The printing data 42 of PDL form are created from manuscript data 41 and transmitted to the digital complex machine 2. On the other hand, the printer driver 14 transmits the PJL data 43 for ordering raster printing to the digital complex machine 2 when the digital complex machine 2 is in a power saving mode. The printing data 42 of a raster form are created from the manuscript data 41 and transmitted to the digital complex machine 2. The digital complex machine 2 prints the printing data 42 of the raster form without supplying power to a printer controller 231 when the digital complex machine 2 is in the power saving mode and the raster printing is requested. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that transmits print data to a printing apparatus that can operate in a power saving mode.

  There are digital multifunction devices that can operate in power saving mode. The digital multi-function peripheral shifts to the power saving mode when no operation is performed by the user for a certain period of time. In the power saving mode, power is not supplied to the main control unit of the digital multi-function peripheral, so power consumption is reduced. For this reason, there is an advantage that the operation cost can be reduced for the user. Moreover, there is an advantage that it can contribute to energy saving measures and environmental measures by reducing power consumption.

JP 2001-71602 A

  Printing apparatuses include models that support PDL (Page Description Language) printing and raster printing. In PDL printing, a printer driver creates PDL data described in a page description language from document data, and a printing apparatus prints raster data generated by rasterizing PDL data. In raster printing, a printer driver generates raster data from document data, and the raster data received by the printing apparatus is printed as it is.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a printing method using a printing apparatus corresponding to PDL printing and raster printing. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688, when the printer driver is instructed to print document data, the printer driver predicts a printing time when printing document data by PDL printing and a printing time when printing document data by raster printing. . If the printer driver determines that the print time for PDL printing is short, the printer driver generates print data in PDL format and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus.

  By using the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, printing processing can be performed at high speed. However, as a result of speeding up the printing process, the power consumption of the printing apparatus may increase.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing the power consumption of a printing apparatus corresponding to a plurality of printing methods in view of the above problems.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an invention according to claim 1 is a communication device connected to a printing apparatus via a network, and confirms an operation state of the printing apparatus in response to an instruction to print original data. A check unit that creates print data described in a page description language from the original data when the printing apparatus is not in a power saving mode; and the original data when the printing apparatus is in a power saving mode A print data generation unit that generates raster format print data from the printer, and a transmission unit that transmits a print job including the print data generated by the print data generation unit to the printing apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a communication apparatus connected via a network to a printing apparatus having a printer controller for rasterizing print data described in a page description language, in response to a print instruction for document data, An operation confirmation unit for confirming a power supply state to the printer controller; and when power is supplied to the printer controller, print data described in a page description language is created from the document data, and the printer controller A print data creation unit that creates raster format print data from the document data when power is not supplied; and a transmission unit that transmits a print job including the print data created by the print data creation unit to the printing apparatus. , Provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first or second aspect, the format information further adds format information indicating a data format of the print data created by the print data creation unit to the print job. And an additional unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, the transmission unit includes a storage unit that spools print data created by the print data creation unit, and print data created by the print data creation unit. A data format notifying unit that transmits the format information to the printing apparatus before spooling is completed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the print data described in a page description language after the raster format print data is transmitted to the printing device. And a transition instruction unit that transmits instruction information for instructing to shift to a state where data can be printed to the printing apparatus.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the operation is further performed when the printing apparatus is in a state where it cannot print print data described in a page description language. A data format instructing unit for instructing the data format of the print data to the print data creating unit based on information for setting the data format of the print data when the confirmation unit confirms, the print data creating unit, Print data having a data format designated by the data format designating unit is created.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device connected via a network to a facsimile apparatus having a conversion section for rasterizing transmission data described in a page description language, in response to a facsimile transmission instruction for document data. An operation confirmation unit for confirming whether or not power is supplied to the conversion unit; and, when power is supplied to the conversion unit, creates transmission data described in a page description language from the document data, A transmission data creating unit that creates raster format transmission data from the document data when power is not supplied to the conversion unit, and a transmission in which the transmission data creating unit transmits a transmission job including the transmission data to the printing apparatus. And a portion.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device connected to the printing apparatus via a network, an operation confirmation unit for confirming an operation state of the printing apparatus according to a document data printing instruction, and the printing apparatus is in a power saving mode. Print data written in page description language from the original data when not in the state, and print data in raster format from the original data when the printing apparatus is in a power saving mode A program for causing a creation unit and a transmission unit to transmit a print job including print data to the printing apparatus.

  The communication apparatus of the present invention checks the operation state of the printing apparatus when a printing instruction is received. When the printing apparatus is in the power saving mode, the communication apparatus according to the present invention creates raster format print data from the original data and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus. Alternatively, if power is not supplied to the printer controller included in the printing apparatus, the communication apparatus of the present invention creates raster format print data from the original data and transmits it to the printing apparatus. As a result, the communication apparatus of the present invention can instruct the printing apparatus to execute a print job without resuming the power supply to the printer controller, so that the power consumption of the printing apparatus can be reduced.

  Further, when transmitting the print data, the communication apparatus of the present invention transmits format information indicating the data format of the print data to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus can determine the data format of the print data based on the format information, and can supply power only to a functional unit necessary for processing the print data. As a result, the power consumption of the printing apparatus can be further reduced.

  The communication apparatus of the present invention transmits format information to the printing apparatus before the print data spooling is completed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the printing apparatus from shifting to the power saving mode before receiving the print data. Since the number of times the printing apparatus returns from the power saving mode can be reduced, the power consumption of the printing apparatus can be further reduced.

  In addition, the communication apparatus of the present invention transmits, to the printing apparatus, instruction information for instructing a shift to a state where the print data described in the page description language can be processed after the raster format print data is transmitted. Accordingly, the printing apparatus can quickly print the print data described in the page description language after printing the raster format print data.

  In the present invention, when the printing apparatus cannot process the print data described in the page description language, the data format instruction unit instructs the data format of the print data to the print data creation unit. This prevents the raster format print data from being automatically generated even though the user of the communication apparatus of the present invention desires print processing using the print data described in the page description language. be able to. Since the printing process desired by the user can be surely executed, the convenience for the user can be improved.

  When instructing the facsimile apparatus to transmit document data, the communication apparatus of the present invention checks whether power is supplied to the conversion unit. If power is not supplied to the conversion unit, the communication device creates raster format transmission data from the document data. As a result, the facsimile apparatus can perform facsimile transmission of transmission data without supplying power to the conversion unit, so that power consumption can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram of a network system including a configuration of a PC (Personal Computer) according to the present embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer driver. It is a figure which shows an example of a confirmation dialog. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the digital multi-function peripheral in a power saving mode.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network system including a PC (Personal Computer) 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The PC 1 is a communication device operated by a user. The PC 1 is connected to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 via a LAN (Local Area Network) 3. The digital multifunction peripheral 2 is a multi-function device having a copy function, a fax function, a scanner function, a printer function, and the like. The user can use the printer function of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 by sending a print instruction from the PC 1 to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 via the LAN 3.

  First, the configuration of the PC 1 will be described. The PC 1 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a monitor 13, a printer driver 14, a storage unit 15, and a LAN interface 16.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and performs overall control of the PC 1.

  The operation unit 12 includes a keyboard and a mouse. The monitor 13 is a liquid crystal display or the like.

  The printer driver 14 is software for the PC 1 to use the printer function of the digital multi-function peripheral 2. The printer driver 14 transmits a print job composed of print data 42 and PJL (Printer Job Language) data 43 to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 in accordance with a user's print instruction. The printer driver 14 includes an operation confirmation unit 141, a print data creation unit 142, and a PJL data creation unit 143.

  The operation confirmation unit 141 confirms the operation state of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). The print data creation unit 142 creates the print data 42 from the document data 41. The print data 42 is created in either a PDL (Page Description Language) format or a raster format in accordance with the operation state of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 or a user instruction. The PJL data creation unit 143 creates PJL data 43 that is control information of the printer unit 23 in response to a user's print instruction. The PJL data 43 includes information indicating the data format of the print data 42, information specifying a paper tray, and the like.

  The storage unit 15 is configured by a hard disk device or the like, and stores document data 41. The document data 41 is data created by an application program (not shown) installed in the PC 1. In addition, a part of the storage area of the storage unit 15 is used as a spooler 60 for temporarily storing the print data 42 transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 2.

  The LAN interface 16 is connected to the LAN 3 and controls communication via the LAN 3. The LAN interface 16 controls communication based on, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

  Next, the configuration of the digital multifunction device 2 will be described. The digital multifunction machine 2 includes a control unit 21, a power control unit 22, a printer unit 23, and a network controller 24. In FIG. 1, the display of the processing unit relating to the scanner function and the fax function of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 is omitted.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU and a RAM, and performs overall control of the digital multi-function peripheral 2.

  The power control unit 22 controls the power supplied to each component of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 according to the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode. Details of the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode will be described later.

  The printer unit 23 prints the print data 42 created by the PC 1. The printer unit 23 includes a printer controller 231 and a printer engine 232.

  The printer controller 231 rasterizes the PDL format print data 42 by analyzing commands included in the PDL format print data 42. The printer engine 232 is an electrophotographic printer engine, and includes a photosensitive drum and a fixing roller (not shown). The printer engine 232 prints raster data generated by the printer controller 231 or raster format print data 42 created by the PC 1 on a print sheet or the like. The printer engine 232 is not limited to the electrophotographic method, and may be an ink jet method.

  The network controller 24 is connected to the LAN 3 and controls communication via the LAN 3 based on TCP / IP or the like. The network controller 24 includes an SNMP response unit 241 and a PJL data confirmation unit 242.

  The SNMP response unit 241 performs a response process for the SNMP packet received from the PC 1 or the like. The PJL data confirmation unit 242 refers to the PJL data 43 received from the PC 1 and confirms whether PDL printing or raster printing is instructed.

{Normal mode, power saving mode and power saving printing mode}
The digital multi-function peripheral 2 operates in any one of a normal mode, a power saving mode, and a power saving printing mode with different power consumptions according to the usage status of the user.

  The normal mode is a mode for supplying power to the entire digital multi-function peripheral 2. The digital multi-function peripheral 2 is divided into a main body processing unit, a printer unit 23, and a network controller 24 as structural units for supplying power. The main body processing unit includes a control unit 21 and an operation panel (not shown). In the normal mode, the power control unit 22 supplies power to the main body processing unit, the printer unit 23, and the network controller 24. In the normal mode, it is not necessary to supply power to all the components of the digital multi-function peripheral 1, and it is sufficient that power is supplied to at least the control unit 21 and the network controller 24.

  In the power saving mode, power is supplied only to the network controller 24 among the main body processing unit, the printer unit 23, and the network controller 24. No power is supplied to the main body processing unit and the printer unit 23. Since the network controller 24 is energized even in the power saving mode, the network controller 24 can execute a response process for the received SNMP packet. Therefore, the PC 1 can check the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 even when the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode.

  In the power saving printing mode, power is supplied to the printer unit 23 and the network controller 24. No power is supplied to the main body processing unit. In the power saving printing mode, there are a case where power is supplied to both the printer controller 231 and the printer engine 232, and a case where power is supplied to the printer engine 232 without supplying power to the printer controller 231.

  For example, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 shifts from the normal mode to the power saving mode after a certain period of time has elapsed after operating according to the user's instruction. When a factor for returning to the normal mode occurs, such as when the user presses the power saving mode release button, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 returns to the normal mode.

  When the digital multifunction peripheral 2 receives the PJL data 43 as a print instruction from the PC 1 in the power saving mode, it shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode. This is because in order to print the print data 42, the printer unit 23 only needs to operate, and it is not necessary to supply power to the main body processing unit. Although details will be described later, whether to supply power to the printer controller 231 is determined according to the data format of the print data 42 specified by the PJL data 43.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the network system when executing the printing process of the document data 41 will be described.

{Operation of printer driver 14}
First, the operation of the printer driver 14 provided in the PC 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer driver 14.

  A user of the PC 1 operates an application program running on the PC 1 to instruct printing of the document data 41. As a result, the printer driver 14 is activated and the processing shown in the figure is started.

  After the printer driver 14 is activated, the operation confirmation unit 141 confirms the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 using SNMP (step S101). Specifically, an operation state confirmation request is transmitted to the digital multi-function peripheral 1. In the digital multi-function peripheral 2, the network controller 24 holds state information indicating the operation state of the digital multi-function peripheral 2. The SNMP response unit 241 creates response information in which a MIB (Management Information Base) based on the state information is set, and transmits the response information as a response to the confirmation request.

  The printer driver 14 confirms whether the digital multi-function peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode based on the received response information (step S102).

  When the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the normal mode or the power saving printing mode (No in step S102), the printer driver 14 determines to print the document data 41 by PDL printing. That is, when the printer driver 14 determines that power is being supplied to the printer controller 231, PDL printing is selected. The PJL data creation unit 143 creates the PJL data 43 that instructs PDL printing (step S103). In the PJL data 43, as the control information of the printer unit 23, a PDL language name (such as PostScript (registered trademark)) used to create the print data 42 is set. The PDL language name is used as information indicating the data format of the print data 42 while instructing PDL printing. The printer driver 14 transmits the PJL data 43 set with PDL printing to the digital multi-function peripheral 2 (step S104).

  The print data creation unit 142 creates the PDL format print data 42 from the document data 41 based on the determination of the printer driver 14, and temporarily stores the PDL format print data 42 in the spooler 60 (step S105). The print data 42 in the PDL format is stored in the spooler 60 and then transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 (step S106).

  In the process shown in FIG. 2, after transmitting the PJL data 43 (step S104), the PC 1 creates print data 42 in the PDL format (step S105). Actually, the process of step S104 and the process of step S105 are executed in parallel. The PJL data 43 is transmitted from the PC 1 to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 before the spooling of the print data 42 in the PDL format is completed. The reason for this will be described. The digital multifunction peripheral 2 saves power by satisfying a predetermined transition condition during a period from when the printer driver 14 determines execution of PDL printing (No in step S102) until reception of print data 42 in PDL format. There is a possibility of transition to mode. Examples of the predetermined transition condition include a case where a certain period of time has elapsed after the digital multifunction peripheral 2 operates in accordance with a user instruction, as described above. Immediately after the data format of the print data 42 is determined to be PDL, the printer driver 14 transmits PJL data 43 including information instructing PDL printing to the digital multifunction peripheral 2. This prevents the digital multifunction peripheral 2 from shifting to the power saving mode immediately before receiving the print data 42 in the PDL format, and prevents the number of times the digital multifunction peripheral 2 returns from the power saving mode from increasing. Yes.

  In step S102, when the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode (Yes in step S102), the printer driver 14 determines to execute raster printing and displays a confirmation dialog 50 on the monitor 13 (step S102). S107). That is, when the printer driver 14 determines that no power is supplied to the printer controller 231, the confirmation dialog 50 is displayed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the confirmation dialog 50 displayed on the monitor 13. The printer driver 14 displays a confirmation dialog 50 and notifies the user that raster printing is to be executed because the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode. The check box 52 will be described later.

  After the user clicks the OK button 51 of the confirmation dialog 50, the PJL data creation unit 143 creates the PJL data 43 set for raster printing (step S108). As the setting information for raster printing, “GDI (Graphic Device Interface)” is set in the language setting of the PJL data 43. This is because the print data creation unit 142 uses GDI when the raster format print data 42 is created from the document data 41.

  Next, the printer driver 14 confirms whether a check has been input to the check box 52 (step S109). The check box 52 is a user interface for instructing whether to activate the printer controller 231 after raster printing.

  If the check box 52 is checked (Yes in step S109), the printer driver 14 adds instruction information for instructing the activation of the printer roller 231 to the PJL data 43 after the raster printing is completed (step S110). . The instruction information is added as a PJL comment. Then, the PJL data 43 to which the instruction information is added is transmitted from the PC 1 to the digital multifunction device 2 (step S111).

  Thus, after the digital multifunction peripheral 2 executes raster printing, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 can be shifted to a state where PDL printing is possible. That is, when the user of the PC 1 instructs to continue printing other document data, the user can select whether to continue raster printing or to execute PDL printing. Therefore, convenience for the user is improved.

  On the other hand, when the check box 52 is not checked (No in step S109), the printer driver 14 transmits the PJL data 43 to which instruction information is not added to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 (step S111).

  The print data creation unit 142 creates and spools the raster format print data 42 using GDI (step S112). After the spooling of the print data 42 is completed, the print data 42 is transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 (step S113).

  As in the case of PDL printing, transmission of the PJL data 43 (step S111) and creation and transmission of the print data 42 (step S112) are executed in parallel. That is, before the raster format print data 42 is spooled, the PJL data 43 is transmitted from the PC 1 to the digital multifunction peripheral 2. This prevents the digital multi-function peripheral 1 from entering the power saving mode before the digital multi-function peripheral 1 receives the raster format print data 42.

  If the printer driver 14 confirms that the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode (Yes in step S102), the printer driver 14 may cause the user to select whether or not to continue raster printing. That is, the printer driver 14 determines whether to perform PDL printing or raster printing based on information (corresponding to print format setting information described later) input by the user of the PC 1 via the operation unit 12. When the user of the PC 1 instructs execution of PDL printing without continuing raster printing, the printer driver 14 may execute the processes of steps S103 to S105. In general, the image quality of printed matter tends to be higher in PDL printing than in GDI printing. In the present embodiment, although the user of the PC 1 wants to execute high-quality PDL printing, there is a possibility that raster printing may be forcibly executed because the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode. However, the printer driver 14 allows the user to select whether or not to continue raster printing (whether or not to perform raster printing) when the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode, and the user performs raster printing. Raster printing is executed when continuation is instructed. As a result, the printer driver 14 can reliably cause the digital multi-function peripheral 2 to execute print processing with the image quality desired by the user of the PC 1. Therefore, the convenience of the user of the PC 1 can be improved.

  When the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode (Yes in step S102), the printer driver 14 determines whether to continue raster printing based on print format setting information set in advance by the user (raster printing is performed). Or not). The print format setting information is information for instructing whether to perform PDL printing or raster printing when the digital multi-function peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode. Thus, the user of the PC 1 does not have to specify the print format each time the user instructs the digital multifunction peripheral 2 in the power saving mode to print the document data 41. By setting the print format setting information according to whether the user of the PC 1 attaches importance to the energy saving effect of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 or the image quality, the printer driver 14 ensures the print processing of the image quality desired by the user of the PC 1. Can be executed.

  When the digital MFP 2 is in the power saving mode (step S102), the process for determining whether or not to continue raster printing is not an essential process. Basically, the printer driver 14 executes raster printing if the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode, and executes PDL printing if it is not in the power saving mode.

{Operation of the digital multifunction device 2}
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 when the PJL data 43 is received in the power saving mode.

  Although not shown in FIG. 4, in the power saving mode, when the network controller 24 receives an SNMP packet, the SNMP response unit 241 executes a response process for the SNMP packet. When the network controller 24 receives data other than the PJL data 43 and the SNMP packet, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 supplies power to necessary components and processes the received data.

  When the network controller 24 receives the PJL data 43, the processing shown in FIG. 4 is started. The PJL data confirmation unit 242 confirms whether PDL printing or raster printing is instructed based on the language setting of the PJL data 43 (step S201).

  When the language name of the page description language is set in the language setting of the PJL data 43, the PJL data confirmation unit 242 determines that PDL printing is instructed (Yes in step S201). When the power control unit 22 supplies power to the printer controller 231 and the printer engine 232 (step S202), the digital multi-function peripheral 2 shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode. When the network controller 24 receives the print data 42 in the PDL format (Yes in step S203), PDL printing is executed (step S204). Specifically, the printer controller 231 rasterizes the PDL format print data 42 to generate raster data. The printer engine 232 prints raster data generated by the printer controller 231. Thereby, the process shown in FIG. 4 is completed.

  On the other hand, when “GDI” is set in the language setting of the PJL data 43, the PJL data confirmation unit 242 determines that raster printing is instructed (No in step S201). When the power control unit 12 supplies power to the printer engine 232 (step S205), the digital multifunction peripheral 2 shifts from the power saving mode to the power saving printing mode. At this time, power is not supplied to the printer controller 231. When the network controller 24 receives the raster format print data 42 (Yes in step S206), the printer engine 232 prints the raster format print data 42 (step S207). In the process of step S207, the printer controller 231 is not used.

  Thus, by registering information for executing either raster printing or PDL printing in the PJL data 43, raster printing can be executed without supplying power to the printer controller 231 that is not involved in the printing process. Since the number of times power supply to the printer controller 231 is restarted and the number of times the printer controller 231 is used can be reduced, the power consumption of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 can be reduced.

  Next, when the PJL data confirmation unit 242 confirms that the instruction information for instructing activation of the printer controller 231 is set in the PJL data 43 (Yes in step S208), power is supplied to the printer controller 231. (Step S209). As a result, when the user of the PC 1 instructs the PDL printing of other document data continuously after instructing the raster printing of the document data 42, the digital multi-function peripheral 2 can quickly execute the PDL printing.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not power can be supplied to the printer controller 231 after the raster printing process (step S207) (step S208), but the present invention is not limited to this. The digital multi-function peripheral 2 may execute the process of step S208 at any timing as long as it has received the PJL data 43. For example, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may confirm the presence / absence of the instruction information before executing the raster printing process (step S207). When the instruction information is detected, the power control unit 22 resumes power supply to the printer controller 231 in parallel with the process of step S207. As a result, when the user of the PC 1 instructs the PDL printing of other document data continuously after instructing the raster printing of the document data 41, the digital multi-function peripheral 2 can execute the PDL printing more quickly. it can.

  As described above, the PC 1 according to the present embodiment confirms the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 in accordance with the print instruction, and sets the data format of the print data 42 to be transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 2 based on the confirmation result. change.

  If the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode, the printer driver 14 transmits raster format print data 42 that does not require the printer controller 231 to be energized. In this case, since power is not supplied to the printer controller 231, the power consumption of the digital multifunction peripheral 2 can be reduced. If the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is operating in the normal mode, the PC 1 transmits print data 42 in the PDL format. In general, the size of the print data 42 in the PDL format is smaller than the size of the print data 42 in the raster format. Therefore, the communication amount of the LAN 3 can be reduced.

  The printer driver 14 adds information indicating either raster printing or PDL printing to the PJL data 43 when transmitting the print data 42 to the digital multifunction peripheral 2. Accordingly, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 can easily confirm the power supply destination when shifting to the power saving printing mode.

  In this embodiment, the printer driver 14 determines whether or not PDL printing can be executed based on whether or not the digital multi-function peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode (step S102). Not limited to. The printer driver 14 may decide to execute PDL printing when the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving printing mode state and can confirm that the power is supplied to the printer controller 231 (step). Yes in S102). On the other hand, the printer driver 14 may determine to execute raster printing when the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving printing mode state and can confirm that power is not supplied to the printer controller 231 ( No in step S102).

  In the present embodiment, the PC 1 has been described with reference to an example in which the digital multifunction peripheral 2 confirms whether or not the digital multifunction peripheral 2 is in the power saving mode when the document data 41 is printed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the operating state of the digital multi-function peripheral 2 may be confirmed when the PC 1 transmits the document data 41 by PC-FAX. In this case, the PC 1 executes a process similar to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the PC 1 checks whether power is supplied to the printer controller 231 instead of the process of step S102. When it is confirmed that power is supplied to the printer controller 231, the PC 1 creates transmission data in PDL format and transmits it to the digital multifunction device 2. On the other hand, when the PC 1 confirms that no power is supplied to the printer controller 231, it creates raster format transmission data and transmits it to the digital multifunction device 2. As described above, by switching the data format of the transmission data in accordance with the operation state of the digital multifunction peripheral 2, the digital multifunction peripheral 2 can reduce power consumption during fax transmission. Further, the PC 1 transmits the PJL data 43 to the PC 1 before the transmission data spooling is completed. This prevents the digital multifunction device 1 from entering the power saving mode by satisfying a predetermined condition during the period from when the user of the PC 1 instructs PC-FAX until the digital multifunction device 1 receives the transmission data. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the printer driver 14 includes the operation confirmation unit 141 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, software that functions as the operation confirmation unit 141 (SNMP agent) may be installed in the PC 1 separately from the printer driver 14. In this case, the operation confirmation unit 141 operates in accordance with an instruction from the printer driver 14 when an instruction to print original data is given.

  In the present embodiment, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 has been described as operating in the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode, but is not limited thereto. For example, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may operate in two modes, a normal mode and a power saving mode. In this case, when the digital multifunction peripheral 1 receives the print data 42 in the power saving mode, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 may shift to the normal mode. In addition to the normal mode, the power saving printing mode, and the power saving mode, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may operate in a mode in which power is supplied to the control unit 11 and the fax unit (not shown).

  In the present embodiment, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 may include a fax unit and a scanner unit in addition to the components shown in FIG.

1 PC
2 Digital MFP 14 Printer Driver 22 Power Control Unit 23 Printer Unit 24 Network Controller 41 Document Data 42 Print Data 43 PJL Data 141 Operation Check Unit 142 Print Data Creation Unit 143 PJL Data Creation Unit 231 Printer Controller 232 Printer Engine 241 SNMP Response Unit 242 PJL data confirmation part

Claims (8)

A communication device connected to a printing device via a network,
An operation confirmation unit for confirming an operation state of the printing apparatus according to an instruction to print document data;
Print data described in a page description language is created from the document data when the printing device is not in the power saving mode, and raster format is created from the document data when the printing device is in the power saving mode. A print data creation unit for creating print data;
A transmission unit that transmits a print job including print data created by the print data creation unit to the printing apparatus;
A communication apparatus comprising: A communication device connected via a network to a printing device having a printer controller for rasterizing print data described in a page description language,
An operation confirmation unit for confirming a supply state of power to the printer controller in response to an instruction to print original data;
Print data described in a page description language is created from the document data when power is supplied to the printer controller, and raster format print data is generated from the document data when power is not supplied to the printer controller. A print data creation section for creating
A transmission unit that transmits a print job including print data created by the print data creation unit to the printing apparatus;
A communication device comprising: The communication device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
A format information adding unit that adds format information indicating the data format of the print data created by the print data creating unit to the print job;
A communication apparatus comprising: The communication device according to claim 3.
The transmitter is
A storage unit for spooling print data created by the print data creation unit;
A data format notification unit that transmits the format information to the printing apparatus before spooling of the print data created by the print data creation unit is completed;
A communication device comprising: The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:
A transition instruction unit that transmits instruction information for instructing a transition to a printable state of print data described in a page description language after transmitting the raster format print data to the printing apparatus;
A communication apparatus comprising: The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:
When the operation confirmation unit confirms that the printing apparatus cannot print the print data described in the page description language, the data format of the print data is determined based on the information for setting the data format of the print data. A data format instruction unit for instructing the print data creation unit;
With
The printing apparatus, wherein the print data creation unit creates print data in a data format designated by the data format designation unit. A communication device connected via a network to a facsimile machine having a conversion unit for rasterizing print data described in a page description language,
An operation confirmation unit for confirming whether power is supplied to the conversion unit in response to a facsimile transmission instruction for document data;
Transmission data described in a page description language is created from the document data when power is supplied to the conversion unit, and raster format transmission data is generated from the document data when power is not supplied to the conversion unit. A transmission data creation unit for creating
A transmission unit configured to transmit a transmission job including transmission data to the printing apparatus by the transmission data creation unit;
A communication device comprising: A communication device that connects to a printing device via a network
An operation confirmation unit for confirming an operation state of the printing apparatus according to an instruction to print original data;
Print data described in a page description language is created from the document data when the printing device is not in the power saving mode, and raster format is created from the document data when the printing device is in the power saving mode. A print data creation section for creating print data,
A transmission unit for transmitting a print job including print data to the printing apparatus;
Program to function as.

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