JP2011048519A - Print system, print control unit and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a print instruction by selecting one print setting value even when a print instruction is generated for first and second printers whose designatable print setting values such as resolutions are different from each other. <P>SOLUTION: A print job management part 32 sets resolutions selectable upon generating a print job based on resolutions designatable in printers 10A and 10B. The print job management part 32 notifies terminal equipment 40 of the set resolutions as selectable resolutions. An RIP (Raster Image Processing) management part 34 transfers data with a print job management part 32 or a printer management part 39, and obtains the information on the resolutions designated in the print job to be executed or the information on the resolutions to which the printers 10A and 10B are adaptable. The RIP management part 34 controls RIP processing parts 35 and 36 to execute the conversion processing of the necessary resolutions when the print data are generated by the RIP processing parts 35 and 36 based on the obtained information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a printing control apparatus, and a program.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses an image forming system that reduces an extra reciprocal operation between a host device and an image forming apparatus by a user.

  In Patent Document 2, when prior confirmation is performed in a printing system having a continuous configuration in which a plurality of printers perform printing processing on continuous paper, it is possible to efficiently perform prior confirmation without performing an operation on the host device side. A printing system is disclosed.

JP 2001-236190 A JP 2007-310520 A

  An object of the present invention is to select one print setting value and generate a print instruction even when generating a print instruction for the first and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be specified such as resolution. It is an object to provide a printing system, a printing control apparatus, and a program that can be performed.

[Printing system]
The present invention according to claim 1 includes first and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be designated by a print instruction;
Setting means for setting print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses;
And a notification unit that notifies a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a print setting value that can be selected from the print setting value set by the setting unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the setting unit sets a common print setting value that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses as a print setting value that can be selected when generating a print instruction. The printing system according to claim 1.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the setting means sets all print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses as print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction. The printing system according to claim 1.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the setting unit can select a print setting value selected from print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses when generating a print instruction. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system is set as a correct print setting value.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the print setting value specified by the received print instruction is not a print setting value that can be handled by the first printing apparatus, the drawing process is performed based on the print instruction to perform the first process. When generating print data of one printing apparatus, the print data obtained by the drawing process is converted into print data that can be printed by a print setting value that can be handled by the first printing apparatus. Conversion means;
If the print setting value specified by the received print instruction is not a print setting value that can be handled by the second printing apparatus, drawing processing is performed based on the print instruction to generate print data of the second printing apparatus And a second conversion unit that converts the print data obtained by the drawing process into print data that can be printed by a print setting value that can be handled by the second printing apparatus. The printing system according to 3 or 4.

  The present invention according to claim 6 is the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the print setting value is a resolution at the time of performing a printing process.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, prints that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses that have different print setting values that can be specified by a print instruction. A setting means for setting a setting value;
And a notifying unit that notifies a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a print setting value that can be selected as a print setting value set by the setting unit.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, prints that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses that have different print setting values that can be specified by a print instruction. A step for setting a setting value;
A program for causing a computer to execute a step of notifying a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a selectable print setting value.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when print instructions are generated for the first and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be specified such as resolution, one print setting value is selected. Thus, it is possible to provide a printing system that can generate a print instruction.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the present invention, the print data obtained by the drawing process can be handled by the first and second printing apparatuses. It is possible to provide a printing system that can prevent generation of processing for converting into print data that can be printed by values.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the present invention, a printing system that can increase the number of print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction. Can be provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the present invention, a printing system capable of setting the number of print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction. Can be provided.

  According to the present invention of claim 5, in addition to the effect obtained by the present invention of claim 3 or 4, a print setting value that cannot be handled by either of the first and second printing apparatuses is a print instruction. Even if designated by the above, it is possible to provide a printing system that can obtain print data that can be printed by any of the first and second printing apparatuses.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, even when a print instruction is generated for the first and second printing apparatuses having different resolutions that can be handled, the print instruction can be generated by selecting one resolution. An enabling printing system can be provided.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, even when a print instruction is generated for the first and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be specified such as resolution, one print setting value is selected. Thus, it is possible to provide a print control apparatus that can generate a print instruction.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, even when print instructions are generated for the first and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be specified such as resolution, one print setting value is selected. Thus, a program that can generate a print instruction can be provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the controller 20 in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the controller 20 in one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when determining resolution information of the multi-layer printing system in the printing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of selectable resolutions displayed on the display panel of the controller 20 when designation to use only a common resolution is not performed in the multiple printing system. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of selectable resolutions displayed on the display panel of the controller 20 when designation is made to use only a common resolution in the multiple-printing system. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a print job from the terminal device 40 is executed in the printing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing a specific example when a resolution of 1200 dpi is designated as a print job. It is a figure which shows an example of the resolution conversion process from 1200 dpi to 600 dpi. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing a specific example when a resolution of 400 dpi is designated as a print job.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes printing apparatuses 10A and 10B, a controller (printing control apparatus) 20, and a terminal apparatus 40 that functions as a printing host apparatus. The controller 20 is connected to the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B and controls operations of the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B. The terminal device 40 and the controller 20 are connected by a network 30.

  In the printing system of the present embodiment, a printing apparatus 10A that performs a printing process on the front surface of continuous paper and a printing apparatus 10B that performs a printing process on the back surface of the continuous paper are connected in a cascade configuration, and are continuously connected. This is a continuous printing system that performs printing processing on the front and back surfaces of paper.

  In the present embodiment, first, printing is performed on the front surface of the continuous paper and then printing on the back surface. Therefore, the printing apparatus 10A is referred to as an upstream printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus 10B is referred to as a downstream printing apparatus. .

  In the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 10A has a color printing function, and 300/600/1200 dpi (dot per inch) is set as a resolution that can be supported. The printing apparatus 10B has a monochrome (monochrome) printing function, and 400/600 dpi is set as a compatible resolution. As described above, the resolutions that can be designated by the print job differ between the printing apparatus 10A and the printing apparatus 10B.

  The terminal device 40 generates a print job (print instruction) and transmits the generated print job via the network 30 to the controller 20. The controller 20 generates print data based on the print job transmitted from the terminal device 40, and controls the printing devices 10A and 10B to execute a printing process on continuous paper.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the controller 20 in the printing system of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 20 is a communication interface that transmits and receives data to and from a terminal device 40 and the like via a network 21, a storage device 23 such as a CPU 21, a memory 22, a hard disk drive (HDD), and the network 30. (IF) 24, a user interface (UI) device 25 including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display and a keyboard. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 26.

  The CPU 21 controls the operation of the controller 20 by executing a predetermined process based on a control program stored in the memory 22 or the storage device 23.

  In the present embodiment, the CPU 21 has been described as reading and executing a control program stored in the memory 22 or the storage device 23. However, the CPU 21 stores the program in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and stores it in the CPU 21. It is also possible to provide.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the controller 20 realized by executing the control program.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 20 of the present embodiment includes a transmission / reception processing unit 31, a print job management unit 32, a format analysis processing unit 33, a RIP (Raster Image Processing) management unit 34, and a RIP processing unit. 35, 36, a spool data management unit 37, a spool data storage unit 38, and a printing apparatus management unit 39.

  The transmission / reception processing unit 31 receives a print job from the terminal device 40 and transmits device information of the printing devices 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B to the terminal device 40.

  The print job management unit 32 manages the print job received by the transmission / reception processing unit 31, and manages a queue for executing the print job when a plurality of print jobs are received.

  The format analysis processing unit 33 analyzes the data format of the received print job and executes processing corresponding to each data format.

  The RIP management unit 34 manages RIP processing in the RIP processing units 35 and 36. The RIP processing units 35 and 36 are controlled by the RIP management unit 34, and can perform print processing in the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B by performing drawing processing based on the print job processed by the format analysis processing unit 33. For example, print data for each color of YMCK is generated. The RIP processing unit 35 performs RIP processing of print data for the printing apparatus 10A that performs printing on the front surface of continuous paper, and the RIP processing unit 36 performs RIP processing of print data for the printing device 10B that performs printing on the back surface of continuous paper. Process.

  Furthermore, the RIP processing units 35 and 36 have a function of converting the resolution of the obtained print data when generating print data by performing a drawing process based on the print job.

  The spool data management unit 37 stores the spool data after RIP processing by the RIP processing units 35 and 36 in the spool data storage unit 38 for management.

  The printing apparatus management unit 39 acquires device information including the resolutions of the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B.

  The print job management unit 32 refers to the device information acquired by the printing device management unit 39, and selects resolutions that can be selected when generating a print job based on the resolutions that can be specified in the printing devices 10A and 10B. It functions as a setting means for setting. Then, the print job management unit 32 notifies the terminal device 40 that generates the print job as a selectable resolution of the set resolution.

  Here, the print job management unit 32 may set a common resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B as a resolution that can be selected when generating a print job.

  For example, assume that the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10A is 300/600/1200 dpi, and the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10B is 400/600 dpi. In such a case, the print job management unit 32 sets a common resolution of 600 dpi in the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B as a resolution that can be selected when generating a print job.

  The print job management unit 32 may set all resolutions that can be specified in the printing apparatus printing apparatuses 10A and 10B as selectable resolutions when generating a print instruction.

  For example, as described above, it is assumed that the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10A is 300/600/1200 dpi and the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10B is 400/600 dpi. In such a case, the print job management unit 32 sets all resolutions 300/400/600/1200 dpi that can be specified in the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B as resolutions that can be selected when generating a print job.

  Furthermore, the print job management unit 32 sets a part of the resolutions selected from the resolutions that can be specified in the printing apparatus printing apparatuses 10A and 10B as selectable resolutions when generating a print job. Also good.

  For example, as described above, it is assumed that the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10A is 300/600/1200 dpi and the resolution that can be specified in the printing apparatus 10B is 400/600 dpi. In such a case, the print job management unit 32 generates a print job with a combination of resolution 300/600/1200 dpi or a combination of resolution 300/400/1200 dpi from the resolutions that can be specified by the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B. Set as a selectable resolution.

  Then, the RIP management unit 34 communicates with the print job management unit 32 and the printing device management unit 39, and information on the resolution designated in the print job to be executed, and information on the resolution that the printing devices 10A and 10B can handle. Get. Then, based on the obtained information, the RIP management unit 34 sets the RIP processing units 35 and 36 so as to execute the necessary resolution conversion processing when print data is generated in the RIP processing units 35 and 36. Control.

  Under such control of the RIP management unit 34, when the resolution specified by the received print job is not a resolution that can be supported by the printing apparatus 10A, the RIP processing unit 35 performs drawing processing based on the print job and performs printing. When the 10A print data is generated, the print data obtained by the drawing process is converted into print data that can be printed at a resolution that can be handled by the printing apparatus 10A.

  Similarly, when the resolution specified by the received print job is not a resolution that can be supported by the printing apparatus 10B, the RIP processing unit 36 performs drawing processing based on the print job and generates print data of the printing apparatus 10B. At this time, the print data obtained by the drawing process is converted into print data that can be printed at a resolution that can be handled by the printing apparatus 10B.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 20 is described using a configuration that is commonly provided for the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B. However, a controller is provided independently for each of the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B. It is also possible to adopt such a configuration.

  Next, the operation of the printing system of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, in the printing system of the present embodiment, an operation when determining resolution information of the redundant printing system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the printing apparatus management unit 39 acquires device information of the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B (step S101). Then, the print job management unit 32 refers to the device information acquired by the printing device management unit 39, and determines whether or not there is a common resolution among the resolutions that can be handled by the printing devices 10A and 10B. (Step S102).

  If it is determined in step S <b> 102 that a common resolution exists between the printing apparatuses 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B, the print job management unit 32 determines whether or not the setting for using only the common resolution is performed. (Step S103).

  If it is determined in step S103 that only the common resolution can be used, the print job management unit 32 sets the common resolution in the resolution information as a selectable resolution in the print job (step S103). S104).

  If it is determined in step S102 that no common resolution exists, or if it is determined in step S103 that only the common resolution is not set, the print job management unit 32 determines that the printing apparatus All resolutions that can be handled by 10A and 10B are set in the resolution information as selectable resolutions in the print job (step S105).

  Then, the print job management unit 32 notifies the terminal device 40 of the resolution information in which selectable resolutions are set via the transmission / reception processing unit 31 (step S106).

  In step S105, it is described that all resolutions that can be supported by the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B are set in the resolution information as selectable resolutions in the print job. However, the resolutions that the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B can handle are set. Some of the resolutions may be set in the resolution information as selectable resolutions in the print job.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the display panel of the controller 20 is not designated to use only the common resolution in the multiple printing system, all the resolutions 300 that the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B can handle are set. / 400/600/1200 dpi can be selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the display panel of the controller 20 is designated to use only the resolution common to the multiple printing system, the resolution of the printing apparatuses 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B is compatible. Only a common resolution of 600 dpi can be selected.

  Next, an operation when executing a print job from the terminal device 40 in the printing system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

  First, a print job designating one resolution from resolutions selectable by the terminal device 40 is generated (step S201). This print job is transmitted to the transmission / reception processing unit 31 via the network 30 and registered in the print job management unit 32 (step S202). Then, execution of this print job is started by the print job management unit 32 (step S203). Thus, the value of n indicating the page being printed is set to 1.

  After the print job that has been started is subjected to format analysis by the format analysis processing unit 33, the RIP management unit 34 determines whether the currently processed page is back side data or front side data ( Step S204). Specifically, the determination is made based on whether or not the number of pages n divided by 2 (here, expressed as n% 2) is 0. That is, if n is 1, 3, 5,..., It is determined to be the front surface, and if n is 2, 4, 6,.

  If it is determined in step S204 that the data currently being processed is front side data, the RIP management unit 34 determines that the resolution specified in the print job is compatible with the printing apparatus 10A that performs front side printing. Is determined (step S205).

  If it is determined in step S204 that the data currently being processed is back side data, the RIP management unit 34 determines that the resolution specified in the print job is compatible with the printing apparatus 10B that performs back side printing. Is determined (step S206).

  If it is determined in steps S205 and S206 that the resolution specified in the print job is a resolution that can be supported by the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B, the data on the nth page is developed by the RIP processing unit 35 or the RIP processing unit 36. And converted into print data (step S208).

  If it is determined in steps S205 and S206 that the resolution specified in the print job cannot be handled by any of the printing apparatuses 10A and 10B, the n-th page data is stored in the RIP processing unit 35 or After being developed and converted into print data by the RIP processing unit 36 (step S207), resolution conversion processing is further performed (step S209).

  Then, the spool data management unit 37 determines whether the spool data after the RIP processing in the RIP processing units 35 and 36 is back side data or front side data (step S210). When it is determined that the data is the front surface data, it is stored as spool data for the front surface in the spool data storage unit 38 (step S211). When it is determined that the data is the back surface data, the spool data for the back surface is stored. Is stored in the spool data storage unit 38 (step S212). Note that the determination method in step S210 is the same as the determination method in step S204, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Then, it is determined whether or not all pages have been processed (step S213). If all pages have not been processed, the value of n is incremented by 1 (step S214), and the next page is processed. The process is repeated from step S204.

  Next, a specific operation flow in the printing system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows an example when a resolution of 1200 dpi is designated as a print job.
In the example shown in FIG. 8, since the resolution 1200 dpi specified by the print job is a resolution that can be handled by the printing apparatus 10A that performs the front surface printing process, the RIP processing unit 35 performs the print data expansion process. Only done. However, since the resolution 1200 dpi specified by the print job cannot be handled by the printing apparatus 10B that performs the back side printing process, the RIP processing unit 36 performs the print data expansion process and starts from 1200 dpi. Resolution conversion processing to 600 dpi is performed. An example of resolution conversion processing from 1200 dpi to 600 dpi is shown in FIG.

Next, FIG. 10 shows an example when a resolution of 400 dpi is designated as a print job.
In the example shown in FIG. 10, the resolution 400 dpi specified by the print job cannot be handled by the printing apparatus 10 </ b> A that performs the front surface printing process, and therefore the RIP processing unit 35 develops the print data. In addition to processing, resolution conversion processing from 400 dpi to 300 dpi is performed. However, since it is difficult to directly convert the resolution from 400 dpi to 300 dpi, 400 dpi print data is temporarily converted to 1200 dpi, which is the least common multiple of 400 dpi and 300 dpi, and then converted to 300 dpi print data. Is called.

  Note that the resolution 400 dpi specified by the print job is a resolution that can be handled by the printing apparatus 10B that performs the printing process on the back side, and therefore, the RIP processing unit 36 performs only the print data expansion process.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the case where the resolution is used as the print setting value which is a parameter set in the print processing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same applies when other information is used. The present invention can be applied to. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied even when information such as setting of a print area is set as a print setting value.

10A, 10B Printing device 21 CPU
22 memory 23 storage device 24 communication interface (IF)
25 User Interface (UI) Device 26 Control Bus 20 Controller (Print Control Device)
30 Network 31 Transmission / Reception Processing Unit 32 Print Job Management Unit 33 Format Analysis Processing Unit 34 RIP Management Unit 35, 36 RIP Processing Unit 37 Spool Data Management Unit 38 Spool Data Storage Unit 39 Printing Device Management Unit 40 Terminal Device S101 to S105 Steps S201 to S214 Step

Claims (8)

First and second printing apparatuses having different print setting values that can be specified by a print instruction;
Setting means for setting print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses;
A notification means for notifying a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a print setting value that can be selected as the print setting value set by the setting means;
Printing system equipped with.   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets a common print setting value that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses as a print setting value that can be selected when generating a print instruction.   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets all print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses as print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction.   The setting means sets a print setting value selected from print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses as a print setting value that can be selected when generating a print instruction. The printing system according to 1. If the print setting value specified by the received print instruction is not a print setting value that can be handled by the first printing apparatus, drawing processing is performed based on the print instruction to generate print data of the first printing apparatus A first conversion unit that converts the print data obtained by the drawing process into print data that can be printed by a print setting value that can be handled by the first printing apparatus;
If the print setting value specified by the received print instruction is not a print setting value that can be handled by the second printing apparatus, drawing processing is performed based on the print instruction to generate print data of the second printing apparatus A second conversion unit that converts the print data obtained by the drawing process into print data that can be printed by a print setting value that can be handled by the second printing apparatus;
The printing system according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising:   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print setting value is a resolution at the time of performing a printing process. Setting means for setting print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses that have different print setting values that can be specified by a print instruction;
A notification means for notifying a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a print setting value that can be selected as the print setting value set by the setting means;
A printing control apparatus. Setting print setting values that can be selected when generating a print instruction based on print setting values that can be specified in the first and second printing apparatuses that have different print setting values that can be specified by a print instruction;
A program for causing a computer to execute a step of notifying a terminal device that generates a print instruction as a selectable print setting value.

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