JP2011062855A - Printer, printing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of determining the denial of monochrome printing and carrying out printing according to the input source of data to be printed in the case that color inks run short. <P>SOLUTION: In the printer, the monochrome printing is permitted when there is an exclusive command (S210, S290, S320) on the data to be printed transmitted from a PC in the case of determining the ink end of the color inks and the monochrome printing is permitted when print set information matches a monochrome printing permitting condition (S210, S260, S320) in the case of the data to be printed from a scanner unit, a memory card controller or others other than the user PC, and thereby the monochrome printing can be carried out while determining the permission of the monochrome printing according to the input source of the data to be printed in the case that the color ink is at the ink end. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a print instructing apparatus that transmits print target data by attaching a conformance command when settings including a paper type, a print color, and a print area among print settings received from a user conform to a monochrome print permission condition. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program that are connected and can print using color ink or black ink based on the print target data to be transmitted and print target data generated by receiving print settings from a user.

  Conventionally, printers that perform printing using black ink and color ink are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this printer, even if the color ink runs out of ink, it is possible to perform monochrome printing using only black ink by converting color print target data into monochrome data.

JP-A-6-183032

  By the way, in recent printers, not only print target data transmitted from a personal computer, but also scan data obtained by printing image data input from a memory card storing images or reading a document. In some cases, data to be printed can be handled as data to be printed from a plurality of input sources. For this reason, if it is assumed that monochrome printing is performed by uniformly converting to monochrome data regardless of the input source of data to be printed, the print result is completely useless for the user when color printing is assumed. .

  The main purpose of the printing apparatus, printing method, and program of the present invention is to print by determining whether monochrome printing is permitted or not according to the input source of the print target data when the color ink is out of ink.

  The printing apparatus, printing method, and program of the present invention adopt the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The printing apparatus of the present invention includes:
The print setting received from the user is connected to a print instruction device that sends a print target data with a conformance command when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area meet the monochrome print permission conditions. A printing apparatus capable of printing using color ink or black ink based on print target data to be transmitted or print target data generated by receiving print settings from a user,
Ink out determination means for determining ink out of each ink,
Print setting accepting means for accepting print settings from the user;
When it is determined that the color ink is out of ink by the ink out determination unit, monochrome transmission is permitted for the print target data to be transmitted when the conforming command is attached, and the print target data to be generated A monochrome print permission unit that permits monochrome printing when each of the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area among the print settings received by the print setting reception unit conforms to the monochrome print permission condition;
And a printing unit that performs monochrome printing using black ink based on print target data permitted to be printed by the monochrome printing permission unit.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when it is determined that the color ink has run out, the print target data transmitted from the print instruction apparatus includes monochrome settings for each print setting, including the paper type, print color, and print area. For print target data that is generated by accepting print settings from the user and accepting print settings when a conformance command indicating compliance with the print permission conditions is attached, the paper type and print color of the accepted print settings , Monochrome printing is permitted when each setting including the print area meets the monochrome printing permission condition, and monochrome printing is performed using black ink based on print target data permitted to be printed monochrome. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not monochrome printing is permitted for the print target data transmitted from the print instruction apparatus based on the presence or absence of the matching command, and whether or not monochrome printing is permitted from the print settings for the other print target data. As a result, when the color ink is out of ink, monochrome printing can be performed by determining whether monochrome printing is permitted or not according to the input source of the print target data. Here, the monochrome print permission condition may be a condition in which the paper type is set to plain paper, the print color is set to monochrome, and the print area is set to border.

  In such a printing apparatus of the present invention, the printing target data includes a reading unit that reads an original and generates RGB color system read data, and the monochrome print permission unit is configured to read the read data generated by the reading unit. When the RGB value indicates black character data, the setting relating to the print color regardless of the print setting received by the print setting receiving unit is a unit that conforms to the monochrome print permission condition. You can also. In this way, monochrome printing can be executed even for read data whose print color settings do not conform to the monochrome printing permission condition.

  In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the printing apparatus is connected to a FAX apparatus that receives FAX data including settings relating to printing colors, and the printing apparatus generates print target data based on the FAX data received by the FAX apparatus. The setting relating to the paper type and the printing area at the time is a device adapted to the monochrome printing permission condition, and the monochrome printing permission unit includes the FAX data received by the FAX device in the FAX data. It can also be a means for permitting monochrome printing when the setting relating to the print color to be met meets the monochrome printing permission condition. In this way, with regard to FAX data, it is possible to determine whether monochrome printing is permitted or not based only on settings relating to printing colors. In the printing apparatus of the present invention of this aspect, storage means for storing data, and storage control means for storing the FAX data in the storage means when the monochrome printing permission means does not permit monochrome printing of the FAX data. It can also be provided. This makes it possible to store FAX data that is not permitted for monochrome printing.

  Furthermore, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, the printing unit includes an ejection head that ejects each ink from the nozzle, and the nozzle check instruction when the ink out determination unit determines that the color ink is out of ink. Is accepted, it may be a means for ejecting only black ink from the nozzles and printing a nozzle check pattern. In this way, it is possible to check the nozzle for black ink even when it is determined that the color ink has run out.

The printing method of the present invention includes:
Connected to a print instruction device that sends print target data with a conformance command when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area of the print settings received from the user meet the monochrome print permission conditions. Printing in a printing apparatus capable of printing using color ink or black ink based on the print target data to be transmitted and the print target data generated by receiving the print setting from the user A method,
(A) determining whether or not each of the inks is out of ink;
(B) When it is determined that the color ink has run out in the step (a), the print data to be transmitted is permitted to be monochrome printed when the conforming command is attached to the print target data to be transmitted, and the generated print For the target data, monochrome printing is permitted when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area among the print settings received by the print setting reception unit conform to the monochrome print permission condition,
(C) The gist is that monochrome printing is performed using black ink based on the print target data permitted to be monochrome printed in the step (b).

  According to the printing method of the present invention, when it is determined that the color ink has run out, the print target data transmitted from the print instruction apparatus includes various settings including the paper type, print color, and print area among the print settings. When a conformance command indicating that conforms to the monochrome printing permission condition is attached, monochrome printing is permitted, and the print target data that is generated by accepting the print settings from the user includes the paper type and When each setting including the print color and the print area meets the monochrome printing permission condition, the monochrome printing is permitted, and the monochrome printing is performed using the black ink based on the print target data for which the monochrome printing is permitted. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not monochrome printing is permitted for the print target data transmitted from the print instruction apparatus based on the presence or absence of the matching command, and whether or not monochrome printing is permitted from the print settings for the other print target data. As a result, when the color ink is out of ink, monochrome printing can be performed by determining whether monochrome printing is permitted or not according to the input source of the print target data. Note that a step of realizing any of the functions of the printing apparatus described above may be added.

  The program of the present invention is for causing a computer to realize the steps of the printing method described above. This program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (for example, hard disk, ROM, FD, CD, DVD, etc.) or from a computer via a transmission medium (communication network such as the Internet or LAN). It may be distributed to another computer, or may be exchanged in any other form. If this program is executed by a single computer or if each computer is assigned to and executed by a plurality of computers, each step of the printing method described above is executed, so that the same effects as the printing method can be obtained. .

1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a print system 10. FIG. The flowchart which shows an example of a main routine. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in a black print mode. The flowchart which shows an example of a nozzle check process routine.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a print system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the print system 10 of the present embodiment is configured such that a user computer (hereinafter referred to as a user PC) 20 and a printer 30 are connected by a USB cable 12.

  The user PC 20 includes a CPU 22 that executes various controls, a ROM 23 that stores various control programs, a controller 21 that includes a RAM 24 that temporarily stores data, an HDD 25 that stores various application programs and various data files, a keyboard, An operation unit 26 composed of a mouse, a display unit 27 as a display, and a USB controller 28 for exchanging data with a printer 30 connected via the USB cable 12, are electrically connected via a bus 29. It is a general-purpose personal computer connected. The user PC 20 reads out the printer driver installed in the HDD 25 by the controller 21 and displays it on the display unit 27 and displays the paper size (for example, “L size”, “A4”, etc.) and the paper type (for example, for example). “Photo paper”, “Plain paper”, etc., Borderless printing or Bordered printing setting, Color printing or Monochrome printing setting, Number of print settings, Print quality setting (for example, “Fast”, “Standard” "," Pretty "), etc., can be set via the operation unit 26. When the print setting is accepted, the controller 21 determines whether or not a predetermined item in the print setting meets the monochrome print permission condition. Specifically, among the print settings, the paper type setting is “plain paper”, the borderless printing or bordered printing setting is “bordered”, and the color printing or monochrome printing setting is “monochrome”. In some cases, it is determined that the monochrome print permission condition is met. The user PC 20 transmits various commands to the printer 30 and receives responses from the printer 30 via the USB controller 28 by the printer driver. Examples of various commands transmitted to the printer 30 include a print command for performing printing, a nozzle check command for checking the nozzles of the print head provided in the printer mechanism 42 of the printer 30, and the like. Here, when the print setting for the print target data conforms to the monochrome print permission condition, a dedicated command is attached to the print target data and transmitted as a print command.

  The printer 30 includes a main controller 31 that controls the entire apparatus, a power selection button, a mode selection button for selecting various modes, a setting button for print setting, a start button, and a print setting screen. A display unit 37 serving as a display for displaying various screens such as an error screen, a USB controller 38 to which the USB cable 12 is connected, a printer unit 40 that performs printing by discharging ink as a colorant onto the paper S, A scanner unit 43 that optically reads a document placed on a document table and generates image data, a FAX modem 46 that is connected to a telephone line 46a as an electric communication line and can transmit and receive data, and a memory card slot 47a. Input / output data to / from the inserted memory card M And a memory card controller 47 that they are electrically connected via the bus 39. The operation mode that can be selected by the mode selection button includes a scan mode for reading a document on the platen, a copy mode for reading a document on the platen for printing, and printing by reading image data stored on the memory card M. There are memory card modes to perform. In addition, the setting buttons of the operation unit 36 can accept print settings of items similar to the print settings in the user PC 20 described above.

  The printer unit 40 includes a printer ASIC 41 and a printer mechanism 42. The printer ASIC 41 is an integrated circuit that controls the printer mechanism 42. When receiving a print command from the main controller 31, the printer ASIC 41 controls the printer mechanism 42 to print on the paper S based on data to be printed. Although not shown, the printer mechanism 42 pressurizes each ink of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) supplied from the ink cartridge and ejects it from the nozzles of the print head onto the paper S. By doing so, it is configured as a well-known inkjet mechanism that performs printing on the paper S. In the following description, cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks are collectively referred to as color inks, while black (K) inks are referred to as black inks.

  The scanner unit 43 includes a scanner ASIC 44 and a scanner mechanism 45. The scanner ASIC 44 is an integrated circuit that controls the scanner mechanism 45. Upon receiving a scan command from the main controller 31, the scanner ASIC 44 controls the scanner mechanism 45 to read the document placed on the document table as image data. The scanner mechanism 45 is configured as a well-known image scanner, and separates reflected light after emitting light toward the original into red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors to generate RGB data (scan Data), a known color image sensor.

  The main controller 31 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 32, and includes a ROM 33 that stores various processing programs, a RAM 34 that temporarily stores data, and data that can be stored and retained even when the power is turned off. The flash memory 35 is provided. The RAM 34 stores, as a data buffer area for temporarily storing various data, a PC data buffer for storing data to be printed from the user PC 20 and RGB data generated by the scanner unit 43 in the copy mode. A copy data buffer, a card data buffer for storing data read from the memory card M by the memory card controller 47, a FAX data buffer for storing FAX data received via the FAX modem 46, and the like are provided. . The flash memory 35 is also provided with a data holding buffer for holding data, and the held data will be described later. When the main controller 31 receives various data, the main controller 31 stores the data in each buffer according to the input source (generation source) of each data. The dedicated command described above is stored in the PC data buffer together with the data to be printed, and the print setting information set by the user in the copy data buffer and the card data buffer is stored together with each data as print setting information. Further, when receiving the FAX data, the main controller 31 extracts setting information for color printing or monochrome printing from the received FAX data, and stores the setting information together with the FAX data in a FAX data buffer. In the present embodiment, it is predetermined that the FAX data is printed with “plain paper” and “bordered”.

  Next, the operation of the printer 30 of this embodiment configured as described above, particularly the operation when the power is turned on and printing is possible and the operation when a nozzle check instruction is received will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a main routine executed by the CPU 32 of the main controller 31. This routine is executed when the printer 30 is turned on and printing is possible.

  When the main routine is executed, the CPU 32 of the main controller 31 determines whether or not there is a print request (step S100). Here, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether there is a print request based on whether the data to be printed is stored in each data buffer of the RAM 34 or the data holding buffer of the flash memory 35 described above. did. When there is a print request, print processing is executed based on the print target data stored in the data buffer (step S110). When the printing process is executed, an ink end determination process for determining whether or not each ink has run out (ink end) is executed (step S120). This process is performed by determining whether or not the remaining amount of color ink or black ink falls below a predetermined ink outage determination value. Here, the predetermined ink out determination value is set to a value slightly larger than zero in consideration of the fact that the ink does not run out during printing. The ink remaining amount may be a value calculated by subtracting the ink consumption amount in the printing process from the previous ink remaining amount, or a value directly detected by various sensors. When it is determined that there is no ink that has reached the ink end (step S130), the process returns to step S100 and the process is repeated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S130 that there is an ink that has reached the ink end, it is determined whether the ink color that has reached the ink end is black ink or color ink (step S140). When it is determined that the black ink has run out, an ink end error screen (not shown) is displayed on the display unit 37 to display the ink color that has run out of ink (in this case, black (K)) and prompt the user to replace the ink cartridge. It is displayed (step S160). When it is determined that the ink cartridge that has reached the ink end has been replaced (step S170), the process returns to step S100 and the process is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S140 that the color ink has run out, black print mode processing is executed (step S150). Details of this process will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in the black print mode. In the black print mode process, the CPU 32 of the main controller 31 first determines whether or not there is a print request (step S200). Unlike the processing of step S100 of the main routine described above, this determination does not consider whether the data to be printed is stored in the data holding buffer of the flash memory 35, and prints to each data buffer of the RAM 34. This is performed depending on whether or not the target data is stored. When it is determined that there is a print request, it is determined whether the input source of the data to be printed is the user PC 20 or the scanner unit 43 other than the user PC 20, the FAX modem 46, or the memory card controller 47 (step S210). As described above, since each data is stored in each data buffer for each input source, the input source can be determined based on the data. If it is determined that the data input source is other than the user PC 20, it is further determined whether or not the data input source is the FAX modem 46, that is, whether or not the data to be printed is FAX data (step S220).

  If it is determined in step S220 that the data is not FAX data, it is determined from the print setting information stored in the data buffer together with the data to be printed whether the setting for color printing or monochrome printing is “color” (step S220). S230). When it is determined that the setting is not “color”, it is determined whether or not the print setting information conforms to the monochrome printing permission condition described above, that is, whether the setting is “plain paper”, “bordered”, or “monochrome”. (Step S260). When it is determined that the monochrome printing permission condition is satisfied, the monochrome printing process is executed using only the black ink based on the data to be printed (step S320). As a result, even if the color ink is in an ink end, for data to be printed from other than the user PC 20, whether or not monochrome printing is permitted is determined based on whether or not the print setting information satisfies the monochrome printing permission condition. Monochrome printing can be performed.

  When the monochrome printing process is executed in this way, an ink end determination process is executed (step S330). Since the case of monochrome printing using only black ink is considered now, only black ink is determined. If the ink end is not determined, the process returns to step S200 and is repeated. On the other hand, if the ink end of the black ink is determined, the process is terminated. When this process ends, the process returns to the main routine, and an ink end error screen is displayed in the process of step S160. In this case, it is displayed that the color ink and the black ink that have ended in ink first have ended.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S230 that the setting is “color” from the print setting information, it is determined whether the data to be printed is data that can be converted into monochrome (step S240). Here, in the present embodiment, whether or not the data can be converted into monochrome even though the print setting is “color” is determined based on the scanner data stored in the copy data buffer and black. The determination was made based on whether or not it can be determined that the data includes only characters. Such data is printed by so-called composite black that expresses black using three inks of CMY (color ink) even if the print setting is “color”. This is because there are few inconveniences. Whether or not the data is only black characters can be determined by determining each RGB value of the scanner data, or by detecting a character region by extracting an edge component included in the scanner data. When it is determined that the data can be converted into monochrome, the color setting of the print setting information is changed to the setting of “monochrome” (step S250), and the print setting information is set to monochrome printing permission in step S260. Determine whether the condition is met. In this case, since the setting has already been changed to “monochrome”, the remaining “plain paper” and “bordered” are determined. If it is determined that it is suitable, a monochrome printing process is executed in step S320, and each process after step S330 is executed. In this way, even if the initial print setting is “color” and the data does not conform to the monochrome printing permission condition, if the data can be converted to monochrome printing, the print setting is changed to “monochrome” and the monochrome setting is changed. Printing can be performed.

  If it is determined in step S240 that the data cannot be converted into monochrome, or if it is determined in step S260 that the print setting information does not conform to the monochrome printing permission condition, monochrome printing cannot be performed. Is displayed on the display unit 37 (step S300). This non-printable error screen is configured as a screen that displays a message that printing cannot be performed because there is no color ink, and that asks the user whether or not to cancel printing. In step S310), printing is stopped and the process returns to step S200 to repeat the process. In this case, the data to be printed is erased. On the other hand, when the print cancellation is not selected in step S310, this process is terminated. When this process is completed, as described above, the process returns to the main routine, the ink end error screen is displayed in the process of step S160, and the process of step S100 is performed when it is determined that the ink end cartridge has been replaced in the process of step S170. Return to. Since it is determined in step S100 that there is a print request, the printing process is executed.

  If it is determined in step S220 that the data to be printed is FAX data, it is determined from the print setting information whether the setting is “color” (step S270). If it is not “color”, the print is performed in step S260. It is determined whether or not the setting information meets the monochrome printing permission condition, and the subsequent processing is executed. On the other hand, when the setting is “color”, the FAX data is stored in the data holding buffer of the flash memory 35 (step S280), and the process returns to step S200. As described above, since the FAX data is stored in the data holding buffer if the setting is “color”, the print setting information conforms to the monochrome printing permission condition in step S260 every time the “color” FAX data is received. It is possible to prevent the display of the print disabled error screen from being determined in step S300. Here, the FAX data cannot be printed later if it is erased unlike other print target data. However, as described above, in the print impossible error screen, the print cancellation is selected. The data to be printed is erased. Therefore, in order to eliminate the possibility that the FAX data is accidentally erased before printing, if the setting is “color”, it is stored in the data holding buffer. Note that when determining whether or not there is a print request in the process of step S200 of the black print mode process, the data in the data holding buffer is not considered, so that the FAX data once stored in the data holding buffer is In the process in the black print mode, the print target is not selected again.

  If it is determined in step S210 that the data is to be printed from the user PC 20, it is determined whether a dedicated command is stored in the PC data buffer (step S290). When there is a dedicated command, monochrome printing processing is executed in step S320, and the subsequent processing is performed. As a result, if it is data to be printed from the user PC 20, it is possible to smoothly determine whether the monochrome printing process is permitted or not simply by determining the presence or absence of a dedicated command. In this way, when color ink has run out, the black print status is determined by determining whether to allow monochrome printing of the data to be printed according to the data input source without causing an ink end error. This is called a mode.

  Next, an operation when a nozzle check instruction is received will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a nozzle check processing routine. This process is executed when a nozzle check command is received from the user PC 20 or when a nozzle check command is received from the user by operating the operation unit 36. When the nozzle check processing routine is executed, the CPU 32 of the main controller 31 determines whether or not it is in the black print mode (step S400). This determination is made based on whether or not the above-described black print mode processing is being executed. When in the black print mode, the nozzle check pattern is printed using only the black ink (step S410). When not in the black print mode, the nozzle check pattern is printed using all the ink (step S420). This routine ends. Thereby, even when it is determined that the color ink has run out, it is possible to check the black ink nozzles necessary for monochrome printing.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The main controller 31 that executes the process of step S120 of the main routine of FIG. 2 of this embodiment and the process of step S330 of the black print mode process of FIG. 3 corresponds to “out of ink determination means”. The main controller 31 that corresponds to the “print setting accepting unit” and executes the processes of steps S200 to S270 and S290 in the black print mode process of FIG. 3 corresponds to the “monochrome print permission unit”, and the black print mode of FIG. The main controller 31 and the printer unit 40 that execute the process of step S320 of the time process correspond to “printing means”. Also, the scanner unit 43 corresponds to “reading means”, the FAX modem 46 corresponds to “FAX apparatus”, the flash memory 35 corresponds to “storage means”, and the black print mode processing in FIG. The main controller 31 that executes the processing corresponds to “storage control means”. The user PC 20 corresponds to a “print instruction apparatus”.

  According to the printer 10 of the present embodiment described in detail above, in the black print mode process in which the ink end of the color ink is determined, monochrome printing is performed when there is a dedicated command for the print target data transmitted from the user PC 20. When the data to be printed is from the scanner unit 43 other than the user PC 20, the FAX modem 46, or the memory card controller 47, monochrome printing is permitted when the print setting information conforms to the monochrome printing permission condition. When the ink is in the ink end, monochrome printing can be executed by determining whether monochrome printing is permitted or not according to the input source of data to be printed. Even if the print setting is color printing and does not meet the monochrome printing permission conditions, if the data can be converted to monochrome printing, the print setting is changed from color printing to monochrome printing and monochrome printing is performed. Can be executed. Further, since the FAX data is stored in the data holding buffer if the setting is color printing, it is determined that the print setting information does not conform to the monochrome printing permission condition every time FAX data for the color printing is received. It is possible to prevent display of an error screen that cannot be printed. Even when it is determined that the color ink has run out, it is possible to check the black ink nozzles necessary for monochrome printing.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above at all, and it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect, as long as it belongs to the technical scope of this invention.

  In the embodiment described above, when the print target data is FAX data, if it is determined in step S270 that the print setting is not color printing, whether or not the print setting information conforms to the monochrome print permission condition in subsequent step S260. However, since printing of FAX data is determined in advance as “plain paper” and “bordered”, the determination in step S260 may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the FAX modem 46 is built in the printer 30, but it may be externally attached.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printer 30 includes the scanner unit 43, the FAX modem 46, and the memory card controller 47. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the printer 30 may include only one or two of them. If the FAX modem 46 is not provided, the processing in steps S220, S270, and S280 of the black print mode processing of FIG. 3 may be omitted.

  In the embodiment described above, the print setting received via the operation unit 36 is stored in the data buffer as print setting information, and it is determined whether or not the monochrome print permission condition is met when there is a print request. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be determined whether or not the print setting information is matched when the print setting is received via the operation unit 36.

  In the above-described embodiment, the monochrome printing permission condition is “plain paper”, “with border”, and “monochrome”, but is not limited to this. For example, two or more types of paper are allowed, or “no border”. May be allowed, or other items may be added.

  10 printing system, 12 USB cable, 20 user computer (user PC), 21 controller, 22 CPU, 23 ROM, 24 RAM, 25 HDD, 26 operation unit, 27 display unit, 28 USB controller, 29 bus, 30 printer, 31 Main controller, 32 CPU, 33 ROM, 34 RAM, 35 Flash memory, 36 Operation unit, 37 Display unit, 38 USB controller, 39 Bus, 40 Printer unit, 41 Printer ASIC, 42 Printer mechanism, 43 Scanner unit, 44 Scanner ASIC 45 Scanner mechanism 46 FAX modem 46a Telephone line 47 Memory card controller 47a Memory card slot M Memory car , S paper.

Claims (8)

The print setting received from the user is connected to a print instruction device that sends a print target data with a conformance command when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area meet the monochrome print permission conditions. A printing apparatus capable of printing using color ink or black ink based on print target data to be transmitted or print target data generated by receiving print settings from a user,
Ink out determination means for determining ink out of each ink,
Print setting accepting means for accepting print settings from the user;
When it is determined that the color ink is out of ink by the ink out determination unit, monochrome transmission is permitted for the print target data to be transmitted when the conforming command is attached, and the print target data to be generated A monochrome print permission unit that permits monochrome printing when each of the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area among the print settings received by the print setting reception unit conforms to the monochrome print permission condition;
And a printing unit that performs monochrome printing using black ink based on print target data that is permitted to be printed by the monochrome printing permission unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing target data includes a reading unit that reads a document and generates read data of an RGB color system,
When the RGB value of the read data generated by the reading unit indicates black character data, the monochrome print permission unit sets the print color setting regardless of the print setting received by the print setting reception unit. A printing device that is a means of conforming to monochrome printing permission conditions. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
Connected to a fax machine that receives fax data that contains settings for print color,
The printing apparatus is an apparatus for setting the paper type and the print area when generating the print target data based on the FAX data received by the FAX apparatus according to the monochrome printing permission condition.
The monochrome printing permission means is a means for permitting monochrome printing of FAX data received by the FAX apparatus when a setting relating to a print color included in the FAX data satisfies the monochrome printing permission condition. The printing apparatus according to claim 3,
Storage means for storing data;
A storage control unit configured to store the FAX data in the storage unit when monochrome printing of the FAX data is not permitted by the monochrome printing permission unit;   5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monochrome printing permission condition is a setting for plain paper as a paper type, a setting for a monochrome printing color, and a setting for a printing area with a border. 6.   The printing unit has an ejection head that ejects each ink from the nozzles, and when the ink out determination unit determines that the color ink has run out, only the black ink is received when the nozzle check instruction is received. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a unit that discharges the nozzles from the nozzles and prints a nozzle check pattern. Connected to a print instruction device that sends print target data with a conformance command when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area of the print settings received from the user meet the monochrome print permission conditions. Printing in a printing apparatus capable of printing using color ink or black ink based on the print target data to be transmitted and the print target data generated by receiving the print setting from the user A method,
(A) determining whether or not each of the inks is out of ink;
(B) When it is determined that the color ink has run out in the step (a), the print data to be transmitted is permitted to be monochrome printed when the conforming command is attached to the print target data to be transmitted, and the generated print For the target data, monochrome printing is permitted when the settings including the paper type, print color, and print area among the print settings received by the print setting reception unit conform to the monochrome print permission condition,
(C) A printing method for performing monochrome printing using black ink based on the print target data for which monochrome printing is permitted in the step (b).   The program for making a computer implement | achieve each step of the printing method of Claim 7.

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