JP2011177980A - Printer, control method of printer, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the reduction of performance due to the recovery printing of a page whose printing abnormality is detected when a print (output material) is inspected. <P>SOLUTION: An inspection control part 109 performs control so that in a printing job comprising a plurality of partial jobs comprising a set of one or a plurality of pages, a sheet whose printing abnormality is not detected is stored in a buffer tray, until the printing abnormality is detected by an inspection part 108, all sheets stored in the buffer tray are discharged when the partial jobs are completed, and even when the printing abnormality is detected, all sheets stored in the buffer tray are discarded to continue the printing job and after the printing job is completed, the reprinting (recovery printing) of the partial jobs corresponding to the sheet whose printing abnormality is detected is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of inspecting an output result for a printed output, a control method for the printing apparatus, and a program.

  Conventionally, when inspecting the output result of a printed output, even if a page that is NG (printing abnormality) occurs when the same data is printed on multiple pages, the page is stored in the escape tray. The paper was discharged and finally reprinted for NG pages (Patent Document 1).

  Also, when a job is created with all different pages, or when multiple copies of a job consisting of different pages are printed out, the same page is reprinted after ejecting the paper when an NG page occurs. The job printing is completed by the insertion (Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-277739 A JP 2004-106999 A

However, as in the prior art, there is a problem that if recovery printing is executed when an NG page is generated in the inspection, printing productivity is lowered.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress a performance degradation associated with recovery printing (reprinting) of a page detected as a printing abnormality when inspecting a printed output. It is to provide a mechanism.

  The present invention includes a printing unit that prints an image on a sheet by executing a print job, an inspection unit that inspects a printing abnormality of a sheet printed by the printing unit, and the print job includes one page or a plurality of pages. In the determination means for determining whether or not the print job is composed of a plurality of partial jobs in a set, and for the print job determined by the determination means as not comprising a plurality of partial jobs, the inspection means When a printing abnormality is detected, the print job is temporarily interrupted, and control is performed to execute reprinting of the page corresponding to the sheet where the printing abnormality is detected. For a print job determined to be composed of partial jobs, the print job is continued even if a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection means, and the print job is continued. After the end of the job, the print abnormality; and a control means for controlling to perform the reprinting of the portion job corresponding to the detected sheet.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a performance decrease associated with reprinting of a page detected as a printing abnormality when inspecting a printed output.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a printing apparatus having an image inspection unit can be applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a flow of print data and inspection data in the printing system illustrated in FIG. 1. It is the figure which showed the structure in the test | inspection part. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job image of a print job. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation executed by the print control unit 105. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation executed by an inspection control unit 109. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation executed by an inspection control unit 109.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system to which a printing apparatus having an image inspection unit in the apparatus can be applied.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a printing apparatus. A host computer 101 outputs print data and inspection data to the printing apparatus 100. A network 102 connects the host computer 101, the print control unit 105 in the printing apparatus 100, and the inspection control unit 109. Reference numeral 103 denotes a paper feeding unit for supplying a printing sheet (hereinafter referred to as printing paper or paper) to the printing unit 104.

  The printing unit 104 actually performs printing on the printing paper fed from the paper feeding unit 103. A print control unit 105 creates image data from print data received from the host computer 101 and controls the print unit 104. The print control unit 105 includes a CPU (processor), a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls the printing unit 104 when the CPU reads and executes a program stored in the ROM. Reference numeral 106 denotes a UI unit for displaying information in the printing apparatus 100 and for performing print settings by the user.

  An inserter unit 107 is used to insert a preprinted sheet into a sheet printed by the printing unit 104. Note that a paper discharge port (not shown) of the printing unit 104 and a paper feeding port (not shown) of the inserter unit 107 are connected so that the paper printed by the printing unit 104 is conveyed to the inserter unit 107. ing.

  The inspection unit 108 is for inspecting image information on the paper printed by the printing unit 104 and the paper inserted from the inserter unit 107. Note that a paper discharge port (not shown) of the inserter unit 107 and a paper feed port (not shown) of the inspection unit 108 are connected, and a sheet discharged from the inserter unit 107 is conveyed to the inspection unit 108. ing.

  Reference numeral 109 denotes an inspection control unit which performs operation control in the inspection unit 108 to determine whether print data is acceptable. The inspection control unit 109 includes a CPU (processor), a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown), and the CPU reads out and executes a program stored in the ROM, thereby performing operation control of the inspection unit 108 and determination of pass / fail of print data. Do.

  A finisher unit 110 performs processing such as stapling and gluing on the printed paper. Reference numeral 111 denotes a communication line for performing mutual communication between the units in the printing apparatus 100. Note that a paper discharge port (not shown) of the inspection unit 108 and a paper supply port (not shown) of the finisher unit 110 are connected, and the paper discharged from the inspection unit 108 is conveyed to the finisher unit 110. ing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of print data and inspection data in the printing system shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, 201 indicates the flow of print data. As shown in 201, the print data is transmitted from the host computer 101 to the print control unit 105.
Reference numeral 202 denotes a flow of inspection data. As shown at 202, the inspection data is transmitted from the host computer 101 to the inspection control unit 109.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration in the inspection unit 108.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 308 denotes a carry-in sensor that detects a printed matter (printed paper) that is discharged from the printing unit 104 and carried into the inspection unit 108 via the inserter unit 107. Reference numeral 301 denotes a line sensor 1, which is a line sensor for reading image data on one side of the loaded printed paper. Reference numeral 302 denotes a line sensor 2, which is a line sensor for reading image data on the opposite side of the line sensor 1 (301) from the loaded printed paper.

Reference numeral 307 denotes an escape tray, which is a tray for discarding printed sheets that have been judged as NG by the inspection unit 108 (printing abnormality is detected).
A buffer tray 303 functions as a retracting unit that can temporarily store sheets before being discharged or discarded. For example, when the printed paper is determined to be NG in the inspection, the printed paper in the printing apparatus 100 is saved in the buffer tray 303, and the reprinted paper is used as the finisher so that the page order in the job is not changed. Controlled to send to the department.

Reference numerals 304, 305, and 306 denote a path switching unit 1, a path switching unit 2, and a path switching unit 3 for switching the path of a printed sheet.
Here, the print job will be described with reference to FIG.
The print job includes a print job (FIG. 4A) in which all pages are different, and a print job (FIG. 4B) that forms a large job by collecting a plurality of small jobs in which a plurality of sheets are set. .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a job image of a print job.
FIG. 4A corresponds to job images of print jobs in which all pages are different. FIG. 4A shows a state in which printed sheets are arranged with the left side of the drawing at the top. The numbers in parentheses in FIG. 4A indicate page numbers.

  FIG. 4B corresponds to a job image of a print job that forms a large job by collecting a plurality of small jobs (partial jobs) in which one page or a plurality of pages are set. The numbers in parentheses in FIG. 4B indicate the page numbers in the job (large job). Also, the numbers on the thin lines in FIG. 4B indicate set numbers (small job numbers). Also, the upper digits of the numbers on the bold line (job image) in FIG. 4B indicate the set number, and the lower digits indicate the page order within the set.

  The print job corresponding to FIG. 4B is easy to understand if it is considered as a print job for printing a card bill, a usage statement or the like. Since the number of times the card is used is different for each user, a plurality of cards are used depending on the person, and the contents are also different. However, if the pages for each user constitute one job in succession, the order of each set can be ignored, and the print job only needs to be able to output how it is finally printed as data.

  The configuration in the print job in FIG. 4B will be briefly described. For example, pages 1 and 2, pages 3 and 4, and pages 7 to 9 are small jobs different from each other, and they are connected to one large job. You are configuring a job.

Hereinafter, the operation of the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation executed by the print control unit 105. Note that the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU of the print control unit 105 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating an example of operations executed by the inspection control unit 109. Note that the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU of the inspection control unit 109 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

First, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation when all the pages print different print jobs (for example, FIG. 4A) will be described.
When the user creates print data using the application program on the host computer 101 and executes printing, the host computer 101 sends the print data to the print control unit 105 and sends the test data to the test control unit 109. Send to. The print control unit 105 receives print data transmitted from the host computer 101, stores it as a print job in a storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk, and waits for a print instruction from the user. The user confirms reception of a print job by operating the UI unit 106, selects a job to be printed, and sets a print sheet in the paper supply unit 103 based on the job information.

  When the print control unit 105 detects a print job selection operation by the user (S601), the print control unit 105 starts printing the selected print job (S602), and prints the job of the print job started in S602 to the inspection control unit 109. Information is notified (S603). The job information includes a job ID, job configuration information (number of pages, information such as double-sided printing / single-sided printing, configuration information of a small job (partial job), etc.).

Next, the print control unit 105 first analyzes the print job (S604), and checks whether or not necessary sheets are set in the paper feed unit 103 and the inserter unit 107 (S605).
When it is determined in S605 that the necessary paper is not set in the paper feeding unit 103 and the inserter unit 107 (the paper itself is not set, or the paper is set but the size is different). In step S606, the print control unit 105 advances the process.

In step S606, the print control unit 105 displays an error on the UI unit 106, prompts the user to set a sheet (S606), and returns the process to step S605.
On the other hand, if it is determined in S605 that necessary sheets are set in the paper feeding unit 103 and the inserter unit 107, the print control unit 105 advances the process to S607.
In step S <b> 607, the print control unit 105 creates image data from the print job, prints the paper fed from the paper feed unit 103 according to the print job, and conveys (outputs) the printed paper to the inserter unit 107. Control. Then, the inserter unit 107 conveys (outputs) the printed paper conveyed from the printing unit 104 to the inspection unit 108.

  Next, in step S620, the print control unit 105 allows the job executed in step S607 to change the order of small jobs (partial jobs) in the job (for example, a job as illustrated in FIG. 4B). It is determined whether or not. Here, it is determined whether or not the print job is a print job composed of a plurality of partial jobs in which one page or a plurality of pages are set. Then, it is determined that a print job determined not to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs cannot change the order of the small jobs within the job. On the other hand, a print job determined to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs is determined to be capable of changing the order of small jobs within the job.

  If it is determined that the job can be changed in the order of small jobs in the job (Yes in S620), the print control unit 105 advances the process to S621. The processing after S621 will be described later as an operation for recovering without reducing productivity when a plurality of jobs in which a plurality of sheets are set together is a large job.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the job is not a job in which the order of the small jobs can be changed (for example, the job shown in FIG. 4A) (No in S620), the print control unit 105 performs the process in S608. Proceed.

  Next, the print control unit 105 waits for job completion of the job executed in S607 or occurrence of NG (notification of occurrence of NG from the inspection control unit 109) (S608, S609).

Here, the operation on the inspection control unit 109 side will be described.
When the inspection control unit 109 receives the inspection data transmitted from the host computer 101, the inspection control unit 109 stores the inspection data in a storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk and waits for the reception of job information from the print control unit 105. (S701).

Upon receiving job information from the print control unit 105 (Yes in S701), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process to S702.
In step S702, the inspection control unit 109 analyzes the job information received in step S701, and the job is a job that can change the order of small jobs in the job (for example, a job as illustrated in FIG. 4B). It is determined whether or not. Here, it is determined whether or not the print job is a print job composed of a plurality of partial jobs in which one page or a plurality of pages are set. Then, it is determined that a print job determined not to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs cannot change the order of the small jobs within the job. On the other hand, a print job determined to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs is determined to be capable of changing the order of small jobs within the job.

  If it is determined that the job is a job that can change the order of small jobs in the job (Yes in S702), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process to S803 in FIG. Note that the processing after S803 in FIG. 7 will be described later as an operation in the case of performing recovery without reducing productivity when a plurality of jobs in which a plurality of sheets are set is a large job.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the job is not a job that can change the order of the small jobs (for example, the job shown in FIG. 4A) (No in S702), the inspection control unit 109 performs the process in S703. Proceed.

In step S <b> 703, the inspection control unit 109 creates comparison data from the inspection data received from the host computer 101.
In step S <b> 704, the inspection control unit 109 waits until the carry-in sensor 308 in the inspection unit 108 detects the conveyance of the printed paper. When the conveyance of the paper is detected (Yes in step S <b> 704), the process proceeds to step S <b> 705. .

  In step S705, the inspection control unit 109 reads the front and back surfaces of the printed paper that has been conveyed using the line sensor 1 (301) and the line sensor 2 (302), and acquires the read data (received from the line sensor). ) To control.

  Next, the inspection control unit 109 extracts print sheet surface information from the data received from the line sensors 1 (301) and 2 (302), and compares the extracted print sheet information with the comparison data to determine pass / fail. (S706). That is, the presence or absence of printing abnormality of the printed paper is inspected. It should be noted that a page where print data exists is compared with the data constituting the print paper surface information, and a page where there is no print data is inspected for dirt on the page. For example, if the paper transported in S704 is a paper on which only the front surface is printed, print data exists for the page corresponding to the front surface of the paper, so that the print data and the print page information of the front page are configured. Compare the data with On the other hand, since there is no print data for the page corresponding to the back side of the paper, the page is inspected for stains based on the print paper surface information of the back page.

  If the determination result in S706 indicates that there is no problem (good (no printing abnormality), that is, determination OK) (Yes in S707), the inspection control unit 109 sets the printed sheet conveyed in S704 to the finisher unit. (S708).

  Then, the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not the print job corresponding to the job information received in S701 has ended (S709), and determines that the print job has not ended (No in S709). , The process returns to S704.

  If the determination result in S706 indicates a problem (No (printing abnormality), that is, determination NG) (No in S707), the inspection control unit 109 first notifies the print control unit 105 of the occurrence of NG, A print interruption is instructed (S710). The NG occurrence notification stores a job ID, a page number that has become NG, and the like.

  Further, the inspection control unit 109 controls the path switching unit 3 (306) to switch the paper determined to be NG to the escape tray 307 (S711). And after discharge | emission, the path | route switching part 3 (306) is returned.

  Further, the inspection control unit 109 switches the path switching unit 1 (304), inspects the in-machine paper in the apparatus (in the printing unit 104) that is subsequently conveyed, and stores it in the buffer tray 303 (S712). ). That is, the paper determined to be OK after the paper determined to be NG and immediately before the paper to be reprinted is stored in the buffer tray 303. When all the in-flight sheets are stored in the buffer tray 303, the inspection control unit 109 returns the path switching unit 1 (304), notifies the print control unit 105 of the end of storage, and performs recovery printing (NG and NG). An instruction to reprint the page corresponding to the determined paper is issued (S713).

  Then, in step S714, the inspection control unit 109 stands by until the carry-in sensor 308 in the inspection unit 108 detects the conveyance of the recovery printed paper. If the conveyance of the recovery printed paper is detected (Yes in S714), the inspection control unit 109 proceeds to S715. Proceed with the process.

  In step S715, the inspection control unit 109 reads the front and back surfaces of the conveyed printed paper using the line sensor 1 (301) and the line sensor 2 (302), and acquires the read data (received from the line sensor). ) To control.

  Next, the inspection control unit 109 extracts print sheet surface information from the data received from the line sensors 1 (301) and 2 (302), and compares the extracted print sheet information with the comparison data to determine pass / fail. (S716).

  When the determination result in S716 indicates that there is a problem (No (printing abnormality), that is, determination NG) (No in S717), the inspection control unit 109 notifies the print control unit 105 that NG has occurred (S720). ).

  Further, the inspection control unit 109 controls the path switching unit 3 (306) to switch the paper determined to be NG to the escape tray 307 (S721). And after discharge | emission, the path | route switching part 3 (306) is returned.

Further, the inspection control unit 109 again instructs recovery printing (reprinting of the page corresponding to the paper determined to be NG) (S722), and returns the process to S714.
On the other hand, if the determination result in S716 indicates no problem (good (no printing abnormality), that is, determination OK) (Yes in S717), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process to S718.
In step S718, the inspection control unit 109 discharges the reprinted paper conveyed in step S714 to the finisher unit, switches the path switching unit 2 (305), and discharges the paper in the buffer tray 303 to the finisher unit 110. To do. And after discharge | emission, the path | route switching part 2 (305) is returned.

Then, the inspection control unit 109 instructs the print control unit 105 to resume the job (S720), and returns the process to S704.
If the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not the print job corresponding to the job information received in S701 has ended (Yes in S709), the process of the flowchart ends.

Here, the description returns to the print control unit 105 side again.
When the print control unit 105 receives from the inspection control unit 109 a notification of NG occurrence and a print interruption instruction for the job executed in S607 (Yes in S609), the print control unit 105 interrupts the NG occurrence job (S610), and proceeds to S611. Proceed with the process.

In step S611, the print control unit 105 discharges all the in-machine paper (paper existing in the printing unit 104) to the inspection unit 108, and confirms the completion of discharging all in-machine paper (S611).
When it is confirmed that all the in-flight paper has been discharged (Yes in S611), the print control unit 105 reprints the paper corresponding to the page determined as NG (identified from the page number included in the NG occurrence notification). (S612). Further, the print control unit 105 determines whether or not the reprinted sheet is the inspection NG (S613).

  If it is determined that the reprinted sheet is inspection NG (NG notification is received from the inspection control unit 109) (Yes in S613), the print control unit 105 returns the process to S612 and returns to the NG page again. Reprint the paper corresponding to.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the reprinted sheet is not inspection NG (OK notification is not received from the inspection control unit 109) (No in S613), the print control unit 105 receives a job resumption instruction from the inspection control unit 109. It is determined whether or not (S614).

If it is determined that the job resumption instruction has not been received (No in S614), the print control unit 105 returns the process to S613 and waits for reception of a notification from the inspection control unit 109.
If it is determined that a job resumption instruction has been received (Yes in S614), the print control unit 105 resumes the job suspended in S610 (S615), and returns the process to S608.

  If the print control unit 105 determines that the job executed in S607 (the job resumed in S615) has ended (Yes in S608), the process of this flowchart ends.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, an explanation will be given of the operation when recovery is performed without reducing productivity when a plurality of jobs in which a plurality of sheets are set together is a large job.
If the print control unit 105 determines in S620 that the job executed in S607 is a job that can change the order of the small jobs in the job (for example, a job as shown in FIG. 4B) ( Yes in S620), the process proceeds to S621.

  Then, the print control unit 105 waits for NG generation (notification of NG generation from the inspection control unit 109) of the job executed in S607 or the job end (S621, S623).

  When the print control unit 105 receives from the inspection control unit 109 a notification of NG occurrence for the job executed in S607 (Yes in S621), the print control unit 105 records the page number notified as NG in a RAM (not shown) or the like. (S622), the process proceeds to S623.

  On the other hand, if the print control unit 105 does not receive a notification of NG occurrence for the job executed in S607 from the inspection control unit 109 (No in S621), the process proceeds to S623 as it is.

If the print control unit 105 determines in step S623 that the job executed in step S607 has not been completed (No in step S623), the process returns to step S621.
On the other hand, if it is determined in S623 that the job executed in S607 is completed (Yes in S623), the print control unit 105 determines whether there is unfinished recovery printing (S624).

  If it is determined that there is unfinished recovery printing (Yes in S624), the print control unit 105 performs reprinting (recovery printing) of the small job including the page determined to be NG. (S625), and the process returns to S621.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S624 that there is no unfinished recovery printing (including the case where there is no page determined to be NG) (No in S624), the print control unit 105 ends the processing of this flowchart. .

The operation on the inspection control unit 109 side will be described below using FIG.
The inspection control unit 109 determines that the job information received in S701 in FIG. 6 is a job that can change the order of the small jobs in the job (for example, a job as shown in FIG. 4B) ( The process proceeds to S803 in FIG. 7 (Yes in S702 in FIG. 6).

In step S <b> 803, the inspection control unit 109 creates comparison data from the inspection data received from the host computer 101.
In step S804, the inspection control unit 109 waits until the carry-in sensor 308 in the inspection unit 108 detects the conveyance of the printed paper. When the conveyance of the paper is detected (Yes in step S804), the process proceeds to step S805. .

  In step S805, the inspection control unit 109 reads the front and back surfaces of the printed paper that has been conveyed using the line sensor 1 (301) and the line sensor 2 (302), and acquires the read data (received from the line sensor). ) To control.

  Next, the inspection control unit 109 extracts print sheet surface information from the data received from the line sensors 1 (301) and 2 (302), and compares the extracted print sheet information with the comparison data to determine pass / fail. Is performed (S806). That is, the presence or absence of printing abnormality of the printed paper is inspected.

  Next, the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not NG has occurred in the small job to which the printed paper conveyed in S804 belongs (S807). If it is determined that no NG has occurred in the small job (No in S807), the process proceeds to S809, and the process branches based on the determination result in S806.

In S809, if the determination result in S806 indicates no problem (good, that is, determination OK) (Yes in S809), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process to S810.
In S810, the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not the small job to which the printed paper conveyed in S804 belongs is composed of a plurality of pages. When a small job is a job in which a plurality of pages are printed on one sheet, such as double-sided printing, it is determined whether or not the small job is a job printed on a plurality of sheets. .
If it is determined that the job is not composed of a plurality of pages (a job to be printed only on one sheet) (No in S810), the inspection control unit 109 directly uses the printed sheet conveyed in S804 as the finisher unit 110. (S811), and the process proceeds to S820.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the small job to which the printed paper conveyed in S804 belongs is composed of a plurality of pages (job printed over a plurality of papers) (Yes in S810), the inspection control unit 109 The sheet conveyed in S804 is discharged to the buffer tray 303 (S812).

  Next, the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not the sheet discharged to the buffer tray in S812 is a sheet corresponding to the last page of the small job. If it is determined that the sheet is not the sheet corresponding to the last page of the small job (No in S813), the process proceeds to S820 as it is.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S812 that the sheet discharged to the buffer tray is a sheet corresponding to the last page of the small job (Yes in S813), the process proceeds to S814. In step S814, the inspection control unit 109 discharges all pages of the small job that has been discharged and stacked on the buffer tray 303 to the finisher unit 110 of 111, and advances the processing to step S820.

If the determination result in S806 indicates that there is a problem (No, that is, determination NG) (No in S809), the inspection control unit 109 continues the print job (without interrupting the print job), and proceeds to S815. Proceed with the process.
In step S815, the inspection control unit 109 controls the path switching unit 3 (306) to switch to discharge the paper determined to be NG to the escape tray 307.
Next, the inspection control unit 109 determines whether or not a sheet corresponding to a page in the small job to which the sheet discharged to the escape tray 307 belongs in S815 is stacked on the buffer tray 303 (S816).

  If it is determined that the sheets corresponding to the pages in the same small job are stacked on the buffer tray 303 (Yes in S816), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process in S817.

  In step S817, the inspection control unit 109 discharges all pages of the small jobs that have been discharged and stacked on the buffer tray 303 to the finisher unit 110 of 111, and advances the processing to step S818.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S816 that the paper corresponding to the page in the same small job is not stacked on the buffer tray 303 (No in S816), the inspection control unit 109 proceeds with the S818 process as it is.

  In S818, the inspection control unit 109 stores the number of the small job to which the page determined to be NG belongs in a RAM (not shown), notifies the page number of the page determined to be NG to the print control unit 105, and performs the process in S820. Proceed.

  Then, based on the small job number stored as NG, the inspection control unit 109 confirms whether there is unfinished recovery printing (S820) and confirms job completion (S821). If it is determined that there is unfinished recovery printing (Yes in S820) or the job has not been completed (No in S821), the inspection control unit 109 returns the process to S804.

  If it is determined in S807 that NG has already occurred in the small job to which the printed paper conveyed in S804 belongs (Yes in S807), the inspection control unit 109 advances the process to S808. . In step S808, the inspection control unit 109 discharges the printed sheet conveyed in step S804 (the sheet corresponding to the page of the same small job as the NG page) to the escape tray, and returns the process to step S804.

  Also, when there is no unfinished recovery printing (when there is no small job that is NG, or when all recovery printing is OK) (No at S820), and when the job is finished (S821). Yes), the inspection control unit 109 ends the process of this flowchart.

  In this embodiment, when the order of small jobs (partial jobs) in the job can be changed, and the number of small jobs is small, the number of printed sheets discarded when NG occurs in the inspection is small. . However, when the number of pages constituting a small job is large, the number of discarded pages increases. Therefore, if the inspection control unit 109 determines NG in the inspection, and the print control unit 105 receives the NG notification and the remaining pages of the small job are still printed, the small job printing is immediately canceled. You may control to perform printing of the next small job. In the case of this configuration, it is possible to change the process by synchronizing which page is printed from the print control unit 105 to the inspection control unit 109 and which page is cancelled.

Further, as described in the present embodiment, since the page configuration information of the input print job is different from the page configuration information of the output printed matter, the print control unit 105 creates the latter information and sets the host after the job is completed. It is also possible to output to the computer 101.
For example, when the inspection control unit 109 executes reprinting (recovery printing) in a print job determined to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs (a print job that can change the order of small jobs in the job) The print control unit 105 may be configured to generate information indicating the discharge page order of the print job and print it on a sheet. Note that information indicating the discharge page order of the print job may be displayed and output on the UI unit 106. Further, information indicating the print page discharge page order may be transmitted and output to the host computer 101 that is the transmission source of the print job. In this case, the CPU of the host computer 101 that has received this information controls to display the information on the display of the host computer 101.

  Note that the present invention can also be applied to a print job (copy job) in which a scanner unit is provided in the printing apparatus 100 and image data read by the scanner unit is printed by the printing unit 104. Further, the printing apparatus 100 is provided with a storage device such as a hard disk drive so that image data can be stored in the storage device, and the present invention is also applied to a print job (box print job) based on the image data stored in the storage device. Applicable. In the case of the copy job or the box print job, the inspection data is transmitted from the scanner unit, the printing unit 104, and the print control unit 105 to the inspection control unit 109.

Also, in the print job of the host computer 101, the inspection data may be transmitted from the printing unit 104 to the inspection control unit 109.
As described above, if all pages of a print job are different, recovery printing is performed when an NG page occurs, and if it is not inserted, the output will be different from the input data. It is difficult to prevent the decline. However, when one page or a plurality of pages are a set and a job is created from a plurality of sets, it is possible to minimize a decrease in productivity.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the order in which sets (partial jobs) are output can be ignored, such as a print job configured by collecting a plurality of partial jobs in which one page or a plurality of pages are set, A decrease in productivity can be suppressed while guaranteeing the page order in (partial job).

It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the various data and configurations are configured according to the application and purpose.
Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or storage medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

(Other examples)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not. That is, the present invention includes all the combinations of the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof.

  As described above, the printing apparatus according to the present invention can suppress the performance degradation associated with the reprinting of the page detected as a printing abnormality when the printed output is inspected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printing apparatus 104 Printing part 105 Print control part 108 Inspection part 109 Inspection control part

Claims (7)

Printing means for printing an image on a sheet by executing a print job;
Inspection means for inspecting printing abnormalities of the sheet printed by the printing means;
Determining means for determining whether the print job is a print job composed of a plurality of partial jobs in which one page or a plurality of pages are set;
In a print job that is determined not to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs by the determination unit, when a print abnormality is detected by the inspection unit, the print job is temporarily interrupted and the print abnormality is detected. On the other hand, in the print job that is determined to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs by the determination unit, a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit. Control means for continuing the print job and performing reprinting of the partial job corresponding to the sheet in which the printing abnormality is detected after the print job is completed;
A printing apparatus comprising: A discarding unit for discarding a sheet in which a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit;
Retraction means capable of temporarily storing the sheet before discharging or discarding,
The control unit is configured to save, in the print job determined by the determination unit as a plurality of partial jobs, a sheet in which no printing abnormality is detected until a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit. When the partial job is completed, all sheets stored in the save unit are discharged, and when a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit, all sheets stored in the save unit are discarded. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed as follows.   The control unit discharges a sheet in which no printing abnormality is detected until a printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit in a print job that is determined not to be configured by a plurality of partial jobs by the determination unit; After the printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit and immediately before the reprinted sheet, the sheet in which the printing abnormality is not detected is stored in the retracting unit, and the reprinted sheet is discharged. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein control is performed so that all sheets stored in the evacuation unit are discharged.   The control unit performs control so that, in a partial job for printing on one sheet, a sheet in which no printing abnormality is detected by the inspection unit is discharged without being stored in the retracting unit. Item 4. The printing apparatus according to Item 2 or 3.   The control means creates and outputs information indicating the discharge page order of the print job when the reprint is executed for the print job determined by the determination means to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is controlled as follows. A control method for controlling a printing apparatus,
A printing step in which a printing unit prints an image on a sheet by executing a print job;
An inspection step for inspecting a printing abnormality of the sheet printed in the printing step;
A determining unit that determines whether the print job is a print job including a plurality of partial jobs in which one page or a plurality of pages are set; and
For a print job in which the control unit determines that the determination step does not include a plurality of partial jobs, when a print abnormality is detected in the inspection step, the print job is temporarily interrupted and the print job is Control is performed to execute reprinting of the page corresponding to the sheet in which the abnormality is detected. On the other hand, in the print job determined to be composed of a plurality of partial jobs in the determination step, the printing abnormality is performed in the inspection step. A control step for controlling to continue the print job even if detected, and to perform reprinting of the partial job corresponding to the sheet in which the printing abnormality is detected after the print job is completed;
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising:   The program for functioning the processor provided in the printing apparatus as a means of the printing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5.

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